1883 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



645 



THOSE CRAZY BEES. 



If friend J. M. Harris' bees are mad, there is meth- 

 od in their madness; for while they are pretending- 

 to rake hay they are also raking up the fibers of 

 wood, or lint, to use in brood-capings, eh? 



A. A. Fradenburg. 



Port "Washington, O., Aug. 11, 1883. 



[I can't quite agree with you, friend F., althoug-h 

 your explanation is ingenious. If, after they had 

 raked and scraped a while, they could be seen rak- 

 ing portions of the fuzzy wood, I would accept your 

 explanation; but I have watched, and have never 

 been able to see that they sc. aped up any thing.] 



PUTTING BEES ON FDN. DURING SEPTEMBER. 



I write you for a little information. 1. Can 3 or 3 

 pounds of bees make enough this fall on comb 

 foundation to keep them through the winter? 3. 

 Since ray old swarm turned out the last new swarm, 

 they have apparently done but little good. One or 

 two days after they swarmed last, I saw a queen in 

 front of the old hive. What became of her, I don't 

 know. Since then they don't appear to be doing any 

 thing. I examined brood comb, and can not see any 

 young bees. Do you think the queen is lost? It's 

 very seldom you see a bee leave hive or return. 

 The hive-box is almost full of honey. I placed a box 

 on top, but they do not go into it. 



J. W. Stevenson. 

 Zanesville, Ohio, Aug. 14, 1883. 



[Friend S., you can build up good colonies in the 

 way you suggest, with three or four pounds of bees, 

 if you get them right into business, and make them 

 "climb." But unless you give them very careful 

 attention, and make the queen raise brood largely, 

 there is much danger of a failure.— The only way 

 you can do any thing with the old colony that has 

 swarmed, is to transfer them, for you must be able 

 to see their combs, and know what they are doing, 

 before you can decide what to do. They may be all 

 right; for a colony, after it has swarmed, is usually 

 pretty quiet for a week or two. The young queen 

 would not be laying under ten days or two weeks, 

 perhaps. See remarks in regard to building up in 

 the fall, on page 536. 



GLEAHmC S ro BEE CULTURE. 



-A-. I. I^OOT, 

 EDITOR AND FUELISHER, 



MEDINA, O. 



TERmS: $1.00 PER YEAR, POST-PAID. 



FOR CLUBBING RATES, SEE FIRST PAGE 

 OF READING MATTER. 



3\a:x3X3X3Nr.A., s:e3x>'x*. i, loss. 



The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, tliat we are 

 the children of God— Rom. 8:16. 



We have to-day, Aug. 31, 6190 subscribers. The 

 highest number Gleanings has ever reached. 



Half-pound honey-pails we are obliged to ad- 

 vance to $4.35 per 100, instead of $4.00, as formerly 

 given. We have them packed 100 in a box, all ready 

 to ship; the extra 35 cts. is to pay for the box and 

 packing. There has been a great demand for the 

 three sizes of glass honey-pails; but we hope soon to 

 be able to send any of the three sizes promptly; 

 namely, %, 1, and IVi ft. sizes. 



supplies for another season. 

 As WE have now a good force of hands to make 

 work, or to put up orders, and comparatively little 

 to do, we will, until Jan. 1, 1884, allow a discount of 5 

 percent on all orders for fdn. mills; and on orders 

 for bee-hive material, and implements for bee cul- 

 ture, a discount of three per cent, in addition to the 

 discounts already mentioned in our price list. On 

 goods from the counter store, we can make no fur- 

 ther discounts than those already mentioned in the 

 price list. 



decline in foundation and wire nails. 

 In accordance with the drop in wax, we have re- 

 duced the price of fdn. as follows: 



1 to 35 lbs., per pound 43c 



35 to .50 '• •■ " 41c 



50 to 100 " " " 40c 



By mail, the regular size will be 65c; 3 lbs., $1.80. 

 By freight or express, 



3 lbs., regular sizes, will be $130 



5 •' 3 00 



10 " " •' " 4 00 



25 ' " 9 75 



We have the fdn. ready to ship by first train, any 

 size or any quantity. Very thin, for starters, 10c 

 per lb. more than above prices. We can now make 

 very thin in full L. sheets where wanted. Above 

 prices are good until further notice. 



We have also been able to make quite a reduction 

 in the price of wire nails, and more too, they are 

 now to be made of Bessemer steel instead of iron. 

 For particulars, see new price list. 



THE ONE-PIECE SECTIONS. 



Considerable discussion has come vip in regard 

 to the one-piece section, and some do not seem to 

 see clearly what we intend to do about it. Well, there 

 is nothing to do about it, that I know of, except to 

 tight it out; in fact, there ts nothing else to do. If 

 Mr. Forncrook has no legal or moral right to the 

 one-piece section, to give way to him would be like 

 giving way to a thief because it is a difficult matter 

 to arrest him. I have had counsel from an able at- 

 torney, whom I am to pay $25 a day, if I need him; 

 and he says Mr. Forncrook can by no means make 

 our sections an infringement, after what I have 

 shown you of what Fiddes has made and used since 

 1873; and it seems to me any reasonable man must 

 admit as much. With this before us, it is only a 

 question of resisting an attempt at blackmail. But 

 on the other hand, just as soon as it can be made to 

 appear that friend Forncrook has a right to the sec- 

 tions, I will stop making them at once, and do all in 

 my power to induce all bee-keepers to stop making 

 or using any not of Mr. F.'s make. If Mr. Forn- 

 crook can give any satisfactory reason why he has a 

 right to monopolize sections made of one piece of 

 wood, our columns are always open to him; but un- 

 til he can make some such explanation, it seems to 

 me a Christian duty to resist him with all our com- 

 bined strength, even if it takes the best lawyers in 

 the land, and costs ten thou.sand dollars to do it. 

 Most of you know how earnestly Gleanings has 

 fought against humbugs and swindles in all these 

 years that are past, and some of you know that I 

 have been a great many times threatened. I want 

 to be sure that I am right; and I am always glad of 

 suggestions and advice. But while I am in the right, 

 I hope I shall not be easily frightened out of what I 

 ought to do, even if it takes large sums of money to 

 maintain right. 



