1883 



VENILE GLEANINGS. 



553 



of nice red honey. Our Cyprians are far ahead of 

 the Italians. If we had bad all Cyprians, they would 

 have gathered as much again honey as they did. I 

 will close this brief article (as it is my first) hy tell- 

 ing you that I am an A B C scholar, only two years 

 In the business. I am a brother of Dr. J. E. Lay, and 

 superintendent of his apiary of 51 colonies. 



Joseph R. Lay. 



Hallettsville, Lavaca Co., Texas, Sept. 23, 1883. 



Friend L., we are glad to hear this of the 

 Cyprians, and we are also glad to hear more 

 from our good friend Dr. Lay ; but we are 

 sorry to know that so many of our Texas 

 friends have had such an up-hill time of it, 

 this past season. Never mind ; next year 

 may give you another boom like that of "last 

 year. 



In this country we get our surplus honey in Aug. 

 and Sept. We are in the middle of a fine honey-flow 

 just now from Spanish-needle, a rich floe honey. 

 This is a grand, rich, and booming country, and fine 

 for bees. Italians are ahead, or, rather, Cyprians, 

 but they are hard to handle. A. R. Lupb. 



Cherokee, Kan., Sept. 20, 1883. 



REPORT FROM A BEE-KEEPER WITH ONLY ONE 

 YEAR'S EXPERIENCE. 



I da not want any one-piece sections of anybody's 

 make, as long as there is any place to get those to 

 nail. It is true, they are less labor to put together; 

 but what good are they when they are, especially 

 when they are fastened to the frames in the brood- 

 chamber? for then they are liable to come apart and 

 collapse when I am removing one section at a time, 

 as I do as fast as they get finished. 



As I am writing, I will give you my report, and a 

 description of my hive. In the first place, I just be- 

 gan to keep bees this spring, although I bought two 

 the 20th of last October, and brought them through 

 the winter good and strong. I bought four this 

 spring, and one queen and 2 lbs. of bees, with five 

 empty frames, from O. Foster, of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, 

 which I would call a daisy, as I have got, in all my 

 hives, young fjueens from her eggs, so all the bees I 

 have are of her progeny. Increased to 30. 

 Paid for 6 colonics and one nucleus - - f 40 20 

 " " Hives and frames - - - - - 9 95 

 " " Comb foundation ... - 915 



" " Sugar for feeding 1 70 



" " Paint and brush 4 25 



" " Racks, sect's, glass, and sepr's - - 17 35 



" " Novice extractor 8 50 



" " Uncapping-can 2 00 



" " Gleanings and Journal - - - 3 00 

 " " Ex. charges and postage - - - 3 75 



Total expenses - - - - - 99 85 



STOCK ON HAND. 



13 colonies @ $6.50 - - - - $ 84 50 



Extractor 8 50 



Racks, sect's, glass, and sep'rs - 7 25 



Uacapping-can - - - - - 2 00 



Honey -- 64 25 



Sold 7 cols. @ f6..50 45 50 



" Honey 98 80 



Total 310 80 



Expenses - - - - - - 99 85 



Profit 210 95 



Average profit per colony - - - 30 13 



I did not weigh my honey; sold it at 30c. per sec- 

 tion of 5Jix6J4x2, and 45c. per quart, and counted 

 what I have on hand the same way. My hives are 

 nothing but a Simplicity brood-chamber, without 

 any bottom or toi), set inside of a box made like a 

 Langstroth hive, with portico and cap; height, in- 

 gide, 18; width, 20; length, 24 Inches. The ad- 



vantages that I claim for this are: It is cooler in 

 summer, for you can raise this outside box and let 

 the air circulate all around; and in the winter you 

 can fill this box with sawdust, chaff, or any thing 

 else; and when you want to divide, I don't think 

 they can be beat, for the outside appearance is the 

 same, only moving the brood-chamber, the same as 

 you have to move on account of robbing. 

 Quincy, 111., Oct. 1, 1883. C. H. Smith. 



Friend S., we do not quite agree with you 

 on one-piece sections. They are in use now 

 the world over, and I do "not know that I 

 have heard a complaint before, such as you 

 mention. Either your one-piece sections 

 are very poor, or you have not the knack of 

 handling them. As yours are rather large 

 size, this may have something to do with it. 

 — Your report is truly wonderful. I think 

 you must have gone into the bees with some 

 enthusiasm. — Your hive is virtually a Sim- 

 plicity hive. I am glad indeed to know you 

 have done so well. 



WHAT ONE .SWARM OF BLACK BEES DID IN A SIM- 

 PLICITY HIVE WITH WIRED COMBS. 



How baby Gleanings has improved! It almost 

 surpasses its mother, since the Home Papers have 

 been added to its columns. 



Last spring Mr. Samuel Palmer bought a full Sim- 

 plicity hive, with wired brood-frames, sections, etc. 

 On the 16th qf June he put a swarm of black bees 

 into the hive, and in just one month they had tilled 

 the upper story full of white honey, mostly bass- 

 wood. He put more sections on, and they filled 

 them again with dark honey, making in all 80 lbs. 

 of comb honey, and have their lower story full to 

 overflowing for winter. Of course, he reads Glean- 

 ings. My own colony of bees gave 105 lbs. extracted 

 honey, and a swarm; they are Italians, and are 

 gentle. I think almost as much of them as I would 

 of a cage of canary birds. Bell R. Duncan. 



Black Lick, Pa., Oct. 1, 1883. 



This has been a flne season for bee-keepers in this 

 part of Southern Illinois. Until the first of June 

 the season was very unfavorable. Honey began to 

 flow in, in almost unlimited quantities; then in the 

 latter part of May I wrote you a rather gloomy ac- 

 count of our prospects. You answered in June 

 Gleanings that I was "borrowing trouble," and 

 chided me mildly for murmuring. God forgive me. 

 I thank you for your chiding. See Psalm 143 : 5. 

 Bees have increased very rapidly this season, and 

 the sale of hives and other supplies has been large. 

 I have sold a flne lot of my five-frame colonies; in- 

 creased my stock from 40 to 85 colonies; have sold 

 quite a number of queens, and my bees, during the 

 week, have stored honey enough to winter on, and I 

 am going to get considerable surplus, if the weather 

 continues for a couple of weeks longer. So you see 

 that we had always better wait and see before we 

 complain. Wm. Little. 



Marissa, 111., Sept. 7, 1883. 



Bees are carrying in honey by the ton from golden- 

 rod. J. W. ECKMAN. 

 Rio Grande, Texas, Oct. 3, 1883. 



I have 4 or 5 bushels of heart's-ease seed, the only 

 honey-plant we have here in Neb., which I will sell 

 cheap, and take goods. Heart's-ease has enabled 

 me to take 100 lbs. of comb honey in 1-lb. sections 

 from one swarm, and one of my neighbors to ex- 



