142 



GLEANINGS IK BEE CULTURE. 



Mae. 



the honey that would have gone into the brood- 

 frames, in the section boxes? Chas. Ballamy. 



St. Clair, Mich., Feb, 18, 1883. 



A division -board, or "dummy," would 

 cause the bees to put the honey in the sec- 

 tions ; but if your hives are of such a width, 

 I would rather have a few frames of thinner 

 sections, and then you might test the advan- 

 tages of thin and thick sections, side by side. 

 — I do not think an entrance into the upper 

 story advisable : it often induces the bees, 

 queen and all, to vacate the lower story, and 

 go above. Better shade the hives, or give 

 ventilation at the entrance below. — I think, 

 friend B., you would have made the season 

 more profitable, had you sold all except 

 about from 15 to 25 of your colonies, until 

 you had had a little more experience. 



FROM 33 yO 65, AND ISOO LBS. OF COMB HONEY. 



I commenced in the spring- of 1883 with 33 hives, 

 mostly weak ones. I got 1800 lbs. of section -box 

 honey, mostly from Spanish needle and honey-dew 

 and bee-weed. I have 65 stands at present, all rich 

 and strong; sold 8 swarms; had 14 run away, mostly 

 Italians. I did all my work myself, and raised 500 

 bushels of corn from ten acres of ground; also five 

 acres of buckwheat; got considerable seed, but no 

 honey. Hiram Peek. 



Ellis, 111., Teb. T, 1883. 



Pretty well done, I should say, Hiram. 



a suggestion in regard to spring dwindling. 



Our president, Mr. S. I. Freeborn, said at our con- 

 vention this winter, that he had noticed (after an 

 experience of 35 years) that bees that had been win- 

 tered in a very low degree of temperature were al- 

 ways the most affected by spring dwindling. Have 

 others noticed it? He said, that if they were kept 

 warm enough so they would carry out their own 

 dead bees he thought the conditions about right, and 

 that none but diseased or old bees would leave the 

 hive if kept dark. Is this not about 5 degrees above 

 the law? I will give you a " brief " of our 

 convention report. 



We have 23 members, of which 13 were present, 

 and reported 787 colonies, spring count; condition 

 fair. 1249 colonies, fall count;, condition good. 



Produced, light comb honey - - 3,980 lbs. 



•' ext'd " - - -43,400 lbs. 



" dark " " - - 18,450 lbs. 



Total 7t),130 1bs. 



Had the other members reported, I think we could 

 have swelled the amount to nearly 50 tons, as one of 

 the members, I have since learned, had 10,000 lbs. 

 So you see we make SAveet enough up here among 

 the basswoods to sweeten up a big batch of glucose, 

 SO city folks can eat it. M. A. Gill, 40, 



Viola, Wis., Feb., 1883. Sec. P. B. K. A. 



A " CORN - SHELLER " BUZZ - SAW. 



I want a circular saw, one for making bee sash 

 by hand power, rigged to a corn-sheller. I have a 

 good heavy fly-wheel, and good speed. I want it for 

 ripping'out sash, or suited to a little cross-cut use. 

 Now, what sized saw and gauge will you recommend 

 and furnish? I have a mandrel for one-inch hole. 



Parker's Landing, Pa., Feb. 14, 1883. H. H. Say. 



Many thanks, friend S., for your novel 

 suggestion. The machinery for running a 

 corn-sheller is just about what we need for 

 a hand-ripper; and although some of the 



brethren may laugh, I tel) you the laugh 

 may be eventually on our side. I wonder 

 now that it never occurred to me before. I 

 am sure the manufacturers of corn-shellers 

 might, by a very little change, give us a 

 hand-power saw at about the same price as 

 a corn-sheller. I would advise about 10-inch 

 saws ; and if they could be firmly set on the 

 same mandrel that carries the balance- 

 wheel it would give the best results,! think. 

 This shaft should be about 3 feet long, so 

 that the balance - wheel need not be in the 

 way of long and wide stuff, and the crank 

 would be best near this wheel. With such 

 a machine a couple of good men ought to 

 make hives pretty fast. As the turning 

 would be harder than feeding the stuff, they 

 could change about; or if "orders" were 

 rushing, a tYiird man might assist, and then 

 one could be resting, or doing some light 

 work, about a third of the time. A lu-inch 

 saw, geared so as to have about the speed of 

 a fauning-mill, or a little more, will do very 

 effective work. 



HONEY ON THE HONEY-HOUSE FLOOR. 



Those who have honey in combs hanging in the 

 honey-house never seem to speak of its dripping, 

 and daubing the floor. Would it not be a good plan 

 to have large square shallow pans to catch the drip? 

 It looks bad to see it on the floor. A. B. Osborn. 



Spring Bluff, Adams Co., Wis., Feb. 13, 1883. 



You are right, friend O. I would not 

 have honey daubed on the floor, under any 

 circumstances. Our combs are always hung 

 in spare Simplicity hives ; and, by the way, 

 are we sure any better comb-closet can be 

 invented than they make when piled one 

 over the other V ^Vell, to keep the floor clean 

 we have for years used shallow tin pans 

 that a Simplicity hive will just stand in. 

 They are in size about 16^x20^, and the edge 

 is turned up about i inch, and soldered at 

 the corners, so the honey never runs out of 

 them. AVhere the floor was uneven we used 

 to have some trouble with mice gnawing un- 

 der the bottom of the hive ; but with these 

 large dripping-pans, we have a sure thing 

 on the mice. When the pans are not in use 

 under the hives they are nested and set 

 away. In green-corn season they are handy 

 for drying corn. We can make them for 15 

 cts. each ; $1.35 for 10, or $12.00 per hundred, 

 if any of the friends should want them. 



A tomato that BEARS HONEY. 



I wish to ask you or your readers if there is any 

 special merit in the Strawberry tomato, or ground- 

 cherry, as a honey-plant. I noticed my bees on the 

 blossoms almost constantly. They bloom when six 

 inches high, and continue in bloom all the season. 

 This plant is quite rare In some sections, although it 

 is a very valuable fruit indeed. I have raised them 

 several years, and esteem them above any other 

 fruit for canning or preserving. Perhaps some of 

 your readers will be interested in a description of 

 them. They are an entirely distinct species of to- 

 mato; are about as large as ox-heart cherries, and 

 grow in a pod, or husk. They are of a bright yellow 

 color, and have a strawberry flavor. They will yield 

 wonderfully; are cultivated like tomatoes, and will 

 keep, in their pods till mid-winter, if desired. Now, 

 if it should be that they are valuable for honey, it 



