1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



247 



cause I could do it so much faster; and as these 

 strips were lightly nailed with short brads they 

 would come apart very easily, and leave the fdn. in 

 good shape, with no waste. Of course, this top edge 

 would not be worked out, but I placed the starters 

 so that this edge would be at the bottom of the sec- 

 tion. Then with these strips I could draw the frames 

 nearer to the I'dn. when it seemed best to econo- 

 mize room and save the heat of a nucleus. 



These sheets of new comb I cut just as large as I 

 could manage and get it in the section, always cutting 

 them square, so that by dipping two sides in hot wax 

 and rosin I could make them stick in a corner, and 

 hardly ever had one fall. Now, if there is any thing 

 that will induce bees to work in surplus boxes it is 

 neiv comb; and I have never before been able to get 

 more than a few pieces of fresh comb to vise, and 

 that was generally drone, and often contained eggs. 

 But this was perfect ; and 1 had an idea, too, that the 

 "fishbone " was worked down thinner than it would 

 have been in sections. The fdn. I used was made 

 for use in brood-chamber; but a much thinner grade 

 is now being made for starters in sections. I tried 

 to have no more surplus room on a hive than was 

 fully occupied, and often changed the positions of 

 boxes from outside to the center, where bees were 

 working strongest. 



My honey season was a poi>r one. There was but a 

 very light flow of clover, and I never have any bass- 

 wood. There was only about two weeks of good hon- 

 ey-yield, and that was during goldenrod. But I do 

 think, Mr. Dickerson, that there was a secret under- 

 lying it all that helped more than any other one 

 thing to give me the oOOO lbs., nearly all of which was 

 comb honey, and the 18 new swarms; and that was, 

 that the pasture was not overstocked, there being 

 scarcely another swarm to interfere with them. I 

 think 1 am correct in this; for frequently with fifty 

 swarms, in good honey seasons, where there were 

 many other bees in the neighborhood, I have been 

 unable to obtain more honey than I did from these 

 twelve. 



Now I think I have mentioned the principal items 

 that led to any degree of success, unless it is that I 

 have omitted to speak of the use of the extractor in 

 the brood-chamber, a matter that should never be 

 neglected. Whether I have made it plain enough 

 for a 14 year-old boy, I don't know, though I guess 

 that you can understand it. But do not fall into the 

 error of thinking you can definitely follow the plan 

 of some one else entirely. I believe every success- 

 ful honey-raiser has a great deal of uidiiHcluaUty in 

 his method, and is obliged to have, for their circum- 

 stances are so various. Almost every action in an 

 apiary is an emergency, and one must be prepared for 

 them as a surgeon would be for '• surgical emergen- 

 cies." 



One finds a great deal of individuality among bee- 

 keepers that is quite astonishing in such a position 

 as Mr. Root has given me. It's really amusing. 

 Before me now lies a letter from Missouri from a 

 man who wants all his frames and 500*sections made 

 wp and shipped to him, and wants a tin separator, 

 bent down at each end for each individual section. 

 He was written to last week, and advised of what an 

 enormous freight bill he would have to pay, and 

 how impractical it was to have such separators. But 

 he says he'll risk the freight; and as to the separa- 

 tors he knows what he wants. But this is only one 

 of a dozen such that come up every day. Some are 



willing to listen to advice; but most of them bow be- 

 fore the shrine of their pet idea. Josh Billings nev- 

 er came nearer the truth than when he said, "Eggs- 

 periens iz a gud skule, but the tooishun is veri hi." 

 Your friend,— Walter B. House. 

 Medina, O., April 17, 1883. 



There are two points in tlie above I would 

 strongly commend : First, letting the bees 

 swarm, then moving the main part of the 

 brood to the new colony for getting box hon- 

 ey. Secondly, tilling the sections with large 

 starters or freshly made comb partly worked 

 out. 



^ <»♦ ^1 



WINTEKING BEEifi. 



THE WHOLE OF IT IN A NUT-SHELL. 



WELL, well! what's the use running after new 

 ideas nd Improved methods in wintering 



^ -" if they only lead in a circle? Just stand 

 still, and you will be right part of the time at 'east. 

 Only hear the confused advocacy of clamps, "haff 

 hives, a dry cellar, a root house, a bank vault, b . ly 

 them in the ground in the snow, in a strawstacK, 

 upward ventilation, downward ventilation, no venti- 

 lation, no bottom-board, no honey-board, no cover, 

 no enamel cloth, no pollen, no honey, pure sugar, 

 no noise, no light, no dampness, plenty of water, 

 running water, snow shoveled in to produce damp- 

 ness, sawdust, absorbing material, old duds, corn- 

 cobs, wooden spiders, division-boards, mattresses, 

 quilts, cushions, counterpanes, pillows, etc., ad in- 

 finitum. 



Well, what is the result? Why, the blessed bees 

 wax fat and thrive, and the "blasted" bees languish 

 and die under almost every kind of treatment. 



ENAMELED CLOTH AND WATER IN WINTER. 



What treatment do I advocate, did you say? Oh! 

 that's not the point; I was trying to express my 

 surprise to find that my shi tless and blundering 

 method has been hit upon and almost commended 

 by one of our highest authorities —Mr. Doolittle. I 

 refer to the water collected b the enemeled cloth 

 (page 173). 



I have only thirty swarm . I put 28 of them in the 



cellar just as they were In the open air — covers, 



enameled cloth, and all, face to the wall, all in one 



tier, four hives high and sever long. The bee-cellar 



is partitioned off by itself; is er Hrely dark, and has 



a chimney used for ventilation whenever 1 judge it 



to be necessary. Every hive came out in good 



order, yet dripping with water when moved irom 



a level position. Another time I would give them a 



little slant, to facilitate drainage. 



Joel A. Barber. 

 Lancaster, Wis., April 6, 1883. 



Eriend B.,my wife said jestingly, a few 

 days ago, that it didn't trouble her nearly so 

 much when people told things that were not 

 true as it did when they told things about 

 her that were true. Perhaps this philosophy 

 will account for a tendency of mine to feel a 

 little irritated at your numeration of our 

 wintering troubles and devices. It is laugh- 

 able, anyhow ; and if it is not all true, there 

 is at least a pretty big grain of truth in it. I 

 am glad to find out that you know how to 

 winter your bees. Now just keep right on 

 doing it, year after year, and pretty soon we 

 shall all know how, won't we V 



