10G 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May 



uy. I know these are novel ideas, which will be objeeteil 

 to. espeeiilly by some Italian ciucen breeders; but facts, 

 and well au'.henticated experiments of wise and honest 

 .■tfiiiriins. shoi;ld alone govern us in these matters. 1 

 liave an Itali in hive of bees called pure, from which I in- 

 tend raising queens this season; but I know it will be 

 several years before I will b( able to gret all the black 

 blood from thein. even if I get an imported queen every 

 .\en'. W. P. Nej,sok. Mt. Pleasant. Tenn. i 



The experiment yoti mention tViencl N., ba? j 

 been m.ade repeatedly ; and Me believe that! 

 I'Sils htiil in drone cells always produce drones, | 

 no matter wiiere they may be grafted, unless ' 

 we put them into u queen cell ; in whicli case ' 

 the poor drone flourishes flnely for a while,] 

 and then dies, perhaps from loo much rich j 

 food, lil-ce some other folks. Your theory does ! 

 very well until you jump at the conclusion! 

 that the roya! jelly is in some way compound- \ 

 id by the aid of tlie drones in the hive ; which \ 

 is an old and exploded idea given by one Kir- : 

 by many years ago in the A. B. J. The details 

 >>f all the experiments made, arc too long to go ' 

 over, but they indicate plainly we think,' that i 

 the royal jelly has no more eftect on the young | 

 (jueen, than has the milk that is given an in-: 

 fant, on /tn development. You certainly i 

 would not hold that the human race was in i 

 danger of partaking of the nature of cattle, by 

 bringing our infants up on cow's milk in place \ 

 of that of their own mother? Well, the testi- 1 

 mony i> very strong, that royal jelly is to the 

 young larviv. just what milk is to young ani- 

 mals, and nothing more. Wc rear queens sole- 

 ly for honey producing bees, and not for sale, 

 and yet we have never been able to see anj' 

 ditterence between those reared by black bees, 

 atid those having Italian nurses. 



VO«EI.^S HOBISV FllvI^Y EXPtAlTVED. 



'•KEMr.MJSEK WK WANT TKL-ni.''~Nf)Vice. 



fr 



|;|pjHE bce-wall-halls can be built, cither by piling 

 or by compaitmeuting— and this latter is the 

 best— so I ■wrote. 



Now, "compartmcnting"' means dividing large ca- 

 ses by hori.'.ontal and vertical partitions into as 

 many rooms or cells, as hives or colonies are wanted , 

 these comj)artments being so produced and arrang- 

 ed with "walls in common'" ior each adjoining hive- 

 room (like the cells in the comb or the pigeon holes 

 for the letters in the post-ofl'ice) which economy of 

 ^'pacc, material and work renders this class of bee- 

 homes the easiest, cheapest to build, the most concen- 

 trated and the best one in every respect— the most 

 recommendable— iby long and large experience with 

 several, and one of 103 colonies,! and therefore this. 

 not the piled one, is my real hobby. So wc have the 

 choice of .3 classes of bee-houses or liee-halls. 



I. The bee-shops like Coc's, Faulknr r's and many 

 others, a mere receptacle, or dejiositoiy, or extra 

 liouse, built tor hives put upon shelves— costins doub- 

 le and ti-cble expense, 1. first lor the house, '2. for the 

 hives, and 3. the shelves— therefore most expensive in 

 space, work, material and money— but best for those 

 who have already, or prefer their Universal or other 

 lop-opening hives. A long known, old, common fash- 

 ion or style of house-apiaries, it is in much danger 

 irom moth-millers and other inconveniences, and so 

 by and by given up lor*ijettcr Xo".* II. and III. 



If. The hive-wall-hall— ahall with from 1 tot! walls, 

 Iniilt l.iy hives, {single or compound ones} piled i;i J lo 



C I'ows uiion one anotlier so as to form a closed room 

 (standing free or combined with some other building) 

 so the piled hives bui:d the walte and the hall— no 

 extra liouse needed, and so much cheaper and belter 

 than No. I., and very reconnnendablo. mostly for 

 moving often— celling out! an I lor tr.ivelin? apiaries. 

 111. The comb (or cell) or very l>ee wall-hall— a hall 

 with from 1 to or more walls tilled with bse colonies 

 in compartments, separated only bv partitions in com- 

 mon, dividing large cases iUtO hive-rooms, as al)Ove 

 explained, a house, with its front-boards outside and 

 with its shelves iiisiile building all the hives, ami not. 

 like No. II., built ^// hives, nor. like No. I., built/.)r 

 hives. So III. needs no single hives at all. The front 

 01 outside, is closed with boards (and these in winter 

 sheltered by a hai ly c irtiin) bii:; th3 iiisila or 

 rear is covered with glass doors (besides glass slides) 

 one for each cell, compartment or liiTC-room. con- 

 taining a colony, or one of all these U. S.- a Union 

 Aidary, truly '. 



So the Bee-IIalls I., II.. II [. can be made Sweet 

 lIoraes--inside looking like Glass Palaces— 'he beo-s 

 all at onoeiusightl and the Becwall-IIalls II., Ifl. 

 may become even Bee-Wallhalls, yea, a very Elysi- 

 um for tlie bees and keei)ers, dwelling in the midst 

 of nectar, ambrosia and happiness, like the heroes in 

 the Everglades,or in the O'd Saxon Wallhall ! 



llemember: III. makes the cheapest, best and fair- 

 est of all the 7?ec-Tt',i?p^<',<(. wliich name may t)e given 

 to every bee-house (classes I., II., Ill,) if well shai^ed. 

 well attended, and piously devoted to no other but 

 true '.humane) bee-ruUure, carefully keeping these 

 lovcl}' companions from Eilen as one of Heaven's best 

 gifts to mankind, learning wisilom (so .admirably 

 taught) from this wondertul book, obeying His laws, 

 fullilling His intciitions— and worshippings© our pets" 

 Guardian and Creator! 



Now call it my hobby or even "folly,"' I don't care, 

 lor— since now published -f am sure it will soon run 

 like Fisk's and Fulton"s! See! my prophetical ti- 

 dings: in A. B. J\s waste-basket, since Mareh 1875. 

 (before Coe's ! ) 



N. P..— The general introduction and imitation of 

 the top-opening hives for only "supposed easiest"" 

 moving the combs (frames), till now considered lobe 

 the best improvement and a great progress of real val- 

 ue, was a real bad luck botch and blunder, and the 

 greatest drawback for general progress and success of 

 Apiculture in this country. Top-opening fashion is 

 for many reasons the worst kind for the safety and 

 welfare ot bees and beekeeping,— as truly as I told you 

 the real cause of the foul brood — and is amain cause 

 of tiie general failure of "modern" bee-culture in this 

 country, losses and disgust being the rule, and hard- 

 ly 10 per cent success the exception. Top-ojiening 

 orthodoxy prevented till now, in this country, my 

 proposed progress to perfection. 



Re.ar-opening hives are the easiest to handle, if well 

 built, and with tuw/s [not tongues!] it is a pleasure 

 to take out and in all the frames. Rear-opening is 

 the best manner in every regard, for the bees and 

 keepers. Do.vn with the prejudices and that bugbear 

 difflcult operating! Try it well and you will find It 

 so! I could convince you witii lots of good reasons, 

 but Oleanixgs and maybe others don't like my 

 "lengthy writings— of no real vrlue ! " 



Oh. I"ll show you— as soon as 1 can sell O'.i; here, in 

 order to begin my Bee-Mission in a more sunay home, 

 like Califoriiia. To this end, dear friends, please to 

 read my iilverliseraenl in thi^ No., and help me to 

 find a buyer. Truly your IJ. T. [Prophet, Priest and 

 Knlghll Apiphiius IVI. '\'ogp:l, Boyne, Mich. 



