1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



231 



almost all that had been written on bee cul- 

 ture when I was first led into it. I have now 

 in my possession books written on bees 

 more than a hundred years a^^o, and almost 

 every thing of importance that has been 

 printed, from that time up to the present. 



BUYING BEES BY THE POUND WHEN 

 YOU CAN KAISE THEM YOURSEIiF. 



SOME SENSIBLE ADVICE IN THE MATTER FROM 

 FRIEND HOUSE. 



M FTER thanking you for your catalogue which 

 J^\ you sent me on application, I write to ask 



' your advice in relation to building up my 



apiary, in which I met with severe loss last winter. 

 Out of 50 good colonies of bees that I went into the 

 winter with, I have only 10 stocks left; the cause of 

 this, I am confident, was impure honey gathered 

 late in the season. I am thus If ft with over 300 good 

 brood-combs, some containing considerable honey. 

 I had thought that, in order to save these combs, 1 

 could purchase bees by the pound, with queen, or 

 obtain 3 or 4 comb nuclei. My friend Ceil. Walton, 

 of Industry (who has before dealt with you), is in the 

 same dilemma with myself. How soon can you send 

 out bees by the pound, and queen? ai«d at what 

 price? or would you advise another plan to replenish 

 our losses? Any counsel will be gladly received. 



Beaver, Pa., April 23, 1883. Wm. S. Barclav. 



Mr. House replies as follows : — 



My Friend Barclay:— All right; if you want my 

 advice, you shall have it. That's .iust what I'm here 

 for; and if the advice doesn't suit you, you have the 

 pleasure of knowing it was of no expense to you. 

 Now, why in the world do you, with 10 good swarms 

 of bees, and 300 empty combs, want to talk of buy- 

 ing nuclei, or bees by the pound? Why, you are in 

 the neatest possible condition, and you couldn't 

 have more fun than it will give >ou to increase to 40 

 heavy swarms, and have 1000 lbs. of extracted hon- 

 ey by fall. I would not attempt to raise much box 

 honey while increasing rspidly, Now, first raise 

 about 10 queens from the best queen you have, and 

 get these queens to laj ing in nuclei just as early 

 and ju«t as strongly as po'^sible. Keep in mind that 

 the number of bees, and hence the number of strong 

 colonies you have in the fall, will depend directly 

 upf'n the number of queens you have laying, and the 

 num'ber of eggs they lay. But dou't get careless, and 

 let a queen exist in a hive without plenty of bees for 

 warmth, etc. And as your combs are an essential 

 part of your stock in trade, give them the best of 

 care. Hang the frames in hives, or on racks made 

 for the purpose, at least two inches apart, to pre- 

 vent ravages of moth, and have them secure against 

 mice or robber bees. 



Always have queens on hand, and keep every lay- 

 ing queen at her level hest; let h< r ivcnr out, if need 

 be; she can easily be replaced. But don't be guilty 

 of keeping worn-out queens. Use division-boards, 

 chaff cushions, etc., and spread brood-nest just as 

 fast as you can with economy, by use of your empty 

 combs. We wish you and your friend Col. Walton 

 the greatest success, and I shall be disappointed if 

 you meet with any thing short of that. 



Medina. O., Apr. 2.5, 18S3. W. B. House. 



I entirely agree with the remarks of Mr. 

 House ; and, in fact, I have many times felt 



almost pained to receive orders for bees by 

 the pound from those who, it seems to me, 

 could raise them very much cheaper than we 

 could sell tliem. It will be noticed that we 

 charge 83.00 per lb. for bees this month. 

 Now, perhaps nearly half of this price is to 

 pay for cages, expense of putting up, and 

 guaranteeing safe delivery to remote points. 

 Another thing: We have purposely put the 

 price high, because we are so overwhelmed 

 with orders every season that our apiary 

 would soon be entirely gone, did we not 

 charge high. It may be urged that I should 

 get more bees and niore help ; but the truth 

 is, dear friends, I have more cares now to 

 look after than any one man ought to have. 

 Where one has lost all his bees, and has 

 nothing to begin with, then bees by the 

 pound, even at our prices, will probably be 

 a profitable investment. The same may,be 

 the case with beginners, where they want 

 perhaps a single pound, or others who want 

 them to play with, or study, as may be the 

 case ; but where one has an abundance of 

 combs, and ten colonies of bees, they ought 

 to be, it seems to me, able to make $10.00 a 

 day, raising bees by the pound at our prices. 

 That is, they would save §10.00 a day by 

 raising them, instead of purchasing them at 

 So. 00 per lb. I am glad to sell you goods ; 

 but I never wish to sell you anything where 

 you could get it cheaper some other way 

 than by buying of me.— In regard to the 

 manner of raising bees, our journals are full 

 of reports and directions, and our text-books 

 make tlie matter so plain that it seems to me 

 even a child can lake it up arid do it snccess- 

 fully; and earnef>t students often do suc- 

 ceed, even the very first season. 



AN OIPKOVEWIENT Sl'GftESTEK ON THE 

 YUt CA BRUSH. 



A LO>'G-NEEDED AVANT SUPPLIED. 



^^ 0MB time last season I sent to y<;u and got a 

 ^^, yucca brush to use in our apiary, and liked it 

 very well, except it was too small; so T invent- 

 ed a hempen brush, a sample of which I send you by 

 this mail. The fiber of toe brush is sea-grass tnken 

 from a piece of new rope. The plan of construction 

 is simple, and easily understood. I hope jou will 

 think enough of it to give it a trial. If the brushes 

 fire mus8(.d, and out of proper shape, just dip them 

 up to the "head " in water, and press out with the 

 hand, on a board, and when dry they will keep their 

 place. 



COOK S BRUSH FOR GETTING BEES OFF THE COMBS. 



These brushes are worth 25 cts. each to those who 

 keep bees; you know a brush of some kind is Indis- 

 pensable, and the cost of such a one as I sent you is 

 nothing, compared to the time it takes to gather as- 

 paragus tops, etc. They are worth 25 cts. each, but 

 can be manufactured tor about $1.25 per doz.; single 

 brush. 15 cts. ; half dozen, 75 cts. 



The few warm days we are having just now make 

 me feel well. Bees are working briskly, gathering 



