GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb 



FOSJI^BA'l'IOIV'S ? 



lyrp^HE following hasty note from Mv. Hunter, 

 JXi strikes a very intei'cstinir i: 



i-ery 

 Dec. Gluani.vgs just at hand. 



point. 



Tliere is no advan- 

 tage in .//7('t)A.f/ a IVaiue with embossed slieets, and I 

 <loul)t ifembossing is any service at all; rertaiiib/ as 

 ])hiin scrips of lliin wax sheets 1« inches ueep is quite 

 eiillicicnt to s(unive straight combs. I, last siiirjmcr, 

 used no other and got worker comb where I wanted 

 it. I'lit a sheet ol" embossed ii'/ir/cer comb in tlie mid- 

 dle of a strong colony wlien lioney conies plentifully 

 ami see it you'don't get it turned into f/ninc comb. 



We liavij boili sugar candy and bai-ley sugar. The 

 first is crystali/.ed, the latter lused. Candy we do not 

 reckon good for bees. JoiiN Ht'NXEK. 



Eaton liise, England, Dec. 20th, 1875. 



We certainly must think friend Hunter mis- 

 taken wlien he says there is no advantage in 

 lilliui; a frame with embossed sheets; yet it is 

 Ijrobabl.y true that they will sometimes con- 

 struct drone comb on worker foundations, al- 

 though VN-e have never heard of its being done 

 here. The question now arises as to Avhether 

 the plates used by Mr. Long, produce a greater 

 depth of cell than those used in England; 

 if we are correct, Mr. Long's came originally 

 from England, and to test this matter we have 

 ordered a sample i'roni England. We certainly 

 7iam got the upper hand of the bees, for comb 

 crui be made. And we have some of our own 

 make v/ilh cells so deep that it is veritable 

 honey comb, and would be so pronounced by 

 the bees. The combs we have now in our api- 

 ary, that were built on frames jfillcd with Mr. 

 Long's foundations are more beautiful than 

 any natural combs we ever saw, and the bees 

 could by no possibility have made tlie same 

 progress without them ; in fact the cells were 

 raised up in some of them, while placed in an 

 upper story, at a time when they would not 

 build comb at all. 



Many thanks friend Hunter, for your timely 

 cautions. It is the crystalized — rock candy — 

 that we need for bees, and we think no bad re- 

 sults can possibly ensue from its use. 



Jan. 22nd — Did you ever ! The BrUisli Bee 

 Jovrual for Jan. lias come to hand and just 

 liear what it says : 



long's iioney-comj; foundations. 

 This wonderful America!'. irro<hiction far surpasses 

 anything of the kind ever attemjited in England. We 

 have been I'avored with .i few sample sheets, which 

 are of wax of the i)urest whiteness; and, in compari- 

 son with them, our best specimens of impressed wax 

 .sheets are nou-kere. In this new ]n-o<iuction the mid- 

 rib, composed of the well known lozenge-shaped 

 7)lates (three of whiiih form the base of each cell), is 

 a^ thin and perfect as the bees themselves make it; 

 but the v;ix\\6--fhefiiu)uiafioiis only of which are laid— 

 are al)0ut ten to twelve times thicker than the bees 

 rcijuire th'-m to be, but contain as nearly as possible 

 the correct amount of material required to complete 

 the cells. All the bees have to do is to soften the wall 

 found Uions, and elongate tiiem ; no time is lost in 

 wax making— the bees arc saved tliat exhaustive la- 

 bour, and their owner the excessive cost of the honej^ 

 usually consumed in the process. 



As the editor had advertised metal plates 

 for the i)urposc for some time we supposed of 

 i-our.-e that they v/ere similar if not the same 

 as 3Ir. l>ong',s. Some time in March, 1874, we 

 procured some foundations of Mr. Fred Weiss 

 -■see page 54, vol. HI— and these foundations 

 were precisely of the width and appearance, 

 even when examined with a glass, as those af- 

 terward sent us by Mr. I^ong, with the exceji- 

 tion of the small samples sent out by Mr. 



liong, which had very thin bottoms to the 

 cells^. 



Of course these are what we want for sur- 

 })lus boxes, ami they are in all probability 

 what the B. 7>. J. alludes to. But on sending 

 to Mr. Long for a quantity of these veiy thin 

 sheets, we received only the usual thickness, 

 and nearly the same after sending the second 

 time. It is quite likely that it is going to be 

 rather a difficult matter to furnish these very 

 thin sheets by the quantity. Our own experi- 

 ments up to this date, have resulted in making 

 such as would do lor brood combs without 

 trouble, but we are determined that we will 

 have as perfect as any in the market, Ijefore we 

 ott'er any for sale. That Mr. Long's is nothing 

 particularh' new, we have proof, for as perfect 

 a specimen as those of Mr. Long or Weiss — 

 whether they are both made with one set of 

 plates or not does not matter — were sent us by 

 Mv. Wagner in 1870; and so far as we can rec- 

 ollect now, he then stated that there was a pair 

 of plates for making them in the possession of 

 a German, and thtxt they originally came from 

 England. The samples received from the 

 three sources mentioned look precisely alike. 



We are pleased to receive a specimen of type 

 from one of onr readers (Mr. Palmer, of Hart, 

 Mich.) that is much ahead of any of our own 

 work. Three are cast in one piece ; this gives 

 a clear sharp impression in each, and they 

 stand upright without trouble. 



We are very glad that we now know why 

 our English friends have not had the same 

 success with their comb foundations that we 

 have, and think it may be said to be a settled 

 fact, that W'C need jiled frames, and that we 

 then have nothing to fear from the bees build- 

 ing drone comb ; also, that there is a veri/ great 

 saving of expense in giving them large sheets 

 of foundation. 



For brood combs we don't want any patching, as 

 they will be sure to put in a row of drones alongevery 

 joint. J. V. Moore, lUnghamptou, N. Y., .Jan. 17th. '70. 



DEPOSITORY OF 



Or Metiers frsssji T5ios«? "Wiso Mave Made 



Boe Cwltmre ii Ftiilijire. 



k 



I. ROOT — Dea?' Sir: — I am sorry to' inform 

 you that 1 will have no more use for Glean- 

 _9 INGS, fearing to lose all my bees this winter, 

 as they are badly diseased already, although 1 gave 

 them sugar syrup for winter. I have, therefore, con- 

 cluded to spend no more money for bees until I see 

 whether I will have any left. Please discontinue 

 GtKANiNGS until you hear from me again. 



Samuel L. Mohlee. 

 Covington, O.. Dec. 'iSth, 1875. 



We sincerely hope our friend's apprehensions 

 somewhat exaggerate the condition of things, 

 yet we fear it is really a fact that bees will,"c/;: 

 timeii, die in spite of all the care we at present 

 know how to give, whether North or South. 

 We may be mistaken in this, and of course 

 hope we are. No one ever need take the troub- 

 le to order Gle.\nings discontinued after the 

 time paid for has expired. 



I met with very poor success in my lirst attempt to keeji 

 lici.'s ; haviivj; bou'jrbt a sw.arm in the summer of '71; but 

 tlii'y (lid not gather honey enoiigb for winter , coiis'e- 

 qucnlly 1 lost them, but I have the hive and cumb yet. Is 



