782 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dim. 



Or liCtters from Those Who have Mnde 

 Bee Culture a FaiUm-e. 



^|S^OU CHD put ihis in Blasted Hnpes. When I 

 W made my report last lall I tf>ld you that you 

 ' migbt hear from me again, if the bees did not 

 die in the winter (and you wiii)^ but this time the 

 corners of mj' mouth are turned down, while last 

 fall they were up. WeJl, they wintered well — lost 

 only a nucleus or two; went in with »0 and came out 

 with 116 good swarms. How is this for wintf-ring in 

 cellars? Can you beat it in chaff hives, Mr. Root? 

 Perhaps you would like to know how it is done. 

 Well, there is no patent on it, a"d any of you can do 

 It, if you only know how. We got a good boom on 

 white clover, and it did look for awhile as though we 

 should have a big crop of honey to give away this 

 fall. But, presto! and the whole business stopped, 

 and that was the last of it. We got about 1700 lbs. 

 of merchantable comb honey; extracted, say, 200 

 lbs , and hnve got 300 or 400 unfinished sections. 

 This, remember, is from 116 stands, spring count — 

 a pretty showing, is it not? I have got in cellars 175 

 swarms; most of them have pli^nty to winter, and a 

 few light ones. T don't think they will Increase this 

 winter in the cellar. Now let another wan-visaged 

 chap step up snd report, and let's see if we can't 

 have the Blasted Hopes department written up in 

 some kind of shrtpe, like the Smilery. Who wants 

 to buy 175 swarms of bees? Going, going! Had I 

 better sell them all? What do you think, brother 

 Root? E. P. GlBBS. 



Lyndon, 111., Dec. 4, 1883. 



Friend G., I do not think your Blasted 

 Hopes report is a very good one ; but it may 

 stir tip some of the other brethren to give ns 

 one that is more worthy of a place in this 

 department. Very likely we are a little at 

 fault in not keeping Blasted Flopes constant- 

 ly before the eyes of those who contemplate 

 or are just starting in bee culture. If so, we 

 will try to do better. 



GETTING REPORTS OF THF BEF AND 

 HONFY INDUSTRY. 



A MODEL PLAN OF DOINO IT, FURNISHED BY FRIEND 

 BLISS. 



FRIEND Bliss has worked the matter 

 down to a system so complete, as it 

 seems to me, we give ihe full details 

 and report below. 



Aug. 15 I sent blanks, like the form below, to about 

 250 bee-keepers in this county alone. 



Dear Sir: Please fill out the following 

 blank, and return to me as soon as the sea- 

 son is over. 



Ko. of Stands in Spring, 1883, 



" " " " Fall, •' 



" " Pounds of Honey, 



" " " " Wax, 



Average price obtained for Honey, $. . . 

 Remarks. 



Up to this date I have received but 15 of these 

 blanks properly filled out. Why it is that they do 

 not send them in, is more than I can tell. The last 

 one arrived Nov. 10. I for one am ashamed of the 

 above report; but it ia the best I could do. As some 



do not wish to have their names published with their 

 reports, I have left all the names blank. Nos. 8 and 

 10 are the best; No. 4 I would suggest for Blasted 

 H'^pes. W. w. Bliss. 



Diiarte, Los Angeles Co., Cal., Nov. 25. 1883. 



The blank mentioned above looks as if it 

 had been made with a rubber stamp ; and if 

 any bee-keeper in any other State wants to 

 be furnished with one of these stamps, they 

 can be gotten up at little expense. Letters 

 are large and plain, and printed with violet 

 ink. so as to catch the eye. I should think, 

 on looking at the above blank, that at least 

 ISO or 200 ought to have sent in their reports. 

 However, this is how it turns out : 



TABITLATED REPORT OF THE FIFTEEN. 



THE CONVENTION AT COIiUMBUS. 



fIjHE Ohio Bee-Keepers' Annual Convention will 

 be held in Columbus, Ohio, January 14th, 15th, 

 — ' and 16th, 1884. Meetings will be held in the 

 parlors of the Farmers' Hotel, where acoommoda- 

 tions can be had at the greatly reduced rates of f 1.25 

 per day for all bee-keepers. 



SUBJECTS TO BE DISCUSSED. 



How to winter bees successfully. 



How many brood-frames are necessary in one hive? 



What can be done to prevent adulteration of hon» 

 ey? 



How to create a home market for honey. 



How many colonies can be kept in one locality? 



Can we do without separators? 



What shHll we do with second swarms? 



Which is the most salable section — one-half , one, 

 or Two pounds? 



Which are best — deep or shallow frames? 



Is it advisable to have a standard-size frame for 

 all bee-keepers? 



The above subjects will be discussed by able men. 



Chas. F. Muth, of Cincinnati, A. I. Root, Medina, 

 L. L. Langstroth, and many other able men will be 

 there: and in addition to the above. Prof. Lazenby 

 will deliver a lecture on honey-producing plants; 

 and Dr. Bpsse, of Delaware, will lecture on ancient 

 and modern bee-keeping; and, in fact, all questions 

 interesting to bee-keepers will be discussed. All 

 are invited to attend. The convention will be held 

 at the same time the Ohio State Board of Agri- 

 culture meets, and it is customary to have half-fare 

 rates on all roads leading into Columbus. 



C. M. Kingsbury, Sec. 



Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Dec. 3, 188?. 



