lla 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mat 



MR.A. I. ROOT.Tte.r/- .Sir: -The only kind of white] 

 C'ldver we haTe, is the whilo Dutch ; the native American j 

 u-i-owsso >(hcrt it Ls exceed iu^Jv hard to harvest, it conse- ! 

 cviienth>- rauld not Iw^ saved for the price it wonld brin^. 



The white Put oil is iiierely a larger jn'owing; kind, of 

 (%iual value for lioney a.nd much Ix'tter for other jxisture. 

 Our i)«ce is 40 fts. per lb.. Sov pi»r 100 lbs. 



K. n. St.uh & Co., Clevelaiul, O., March 3I.st, 1976. 



We win furnish the white Dutch clover, at 

 above prices ; if wanted bj- mail, send 30 cents 

 extra for bag and postage. 



1 .startoil !:ist spring with '.'O swai'iu,*, mostly weak ; in- 

 creased tn ;5S and e.ttra<'ted a little over -iOOl) lbs. of hone.y, 

 sold three sw^arms and inn winteriiix o.") ia cellar. Took 

 tliem out on the 9th of March ; found them all ri^ht with 

 the exception of perhaps two or tliree fiueons pone. Most 

 of them breeding and sti'on;;; with bees : Vuit the weather i 

 turnin),' cold, I put them back and they h.ive beim snug 

 .■(ud quiet throu'.?h the March stonns. V. EnwARRS. 



Rrapona. Kan., IMarch 'iSth, 1876. 



I have ha-d four swanns this week. R. Wilkix. 



San Buena Ventura, Cal., ^March •.••2u, '"C 



A. T. ROOT, Dear fi!r: — 1 commenced keepin;; bees a 1 

 few years api by accident. Finding a couple of swarms in ] 

 bos hive.s, on iny hands, it became a question what I i 

 should do with them. I knew nothing of bee-keepinsr, the I 

 old, new or any other way. It oceuired to me that I had j 

 .seen passinic through the office, journals in the interest of \ 

 Bee-culture. I commenced a M-atch, and after a long | 

 time found where one was and secured it. I'^rom it, T 

 found where I could obtain books on the subject. These ! 

 I obtained and became interested in the science at once. \ 



Before, I had looked upon the possession of ]>ees as a I 

 bother, now no mone.v could bw.v them of me. (I mean | 

 when I had but the two stands). All my leisure time li 

 devoted to the study of my bees, became fearless of them, | 

 and handled them with impunity, to the astonishment of i 

 all the old Iwe men, I hav<! now about tO hives in mova- 

 ble frames. Italianized, etc. I have kept bees only for thf 

 pleasure they afforded me, but last .vear, when they all 

 got to worlc right, thej- piled in the honey so rapidly that 

 1 had to tvork to tak(! care of it. This took the poetry all 

 out of the business. I extracted 'altogether, have now on 

 hand, barrels, tubs, kegs, jars and jugs full of candied 

 honey. 



I think extracting best and the honey the Ixjst, a-s it 

 Avill not make one sick, eat eicr so much of it ; but I want 

 to make some honey in the comb the coming year. I 

 must reduce the work ;i little, or I think 1 .shall not like it 

 so well. I have now so many bee^ that I need not hurry 

 them to get all the hone.y I want. Willi this long preface 

 (which of course you care noU\ing about) I will come 

 down to business. 



1 want something nice in the w.ay of Iioney boxes. Only 

 samples ; I have a buzz saw, scroll saw and other fixings, 

 with which I can make anything from a pattern. It will 

 astonish you that I am so ignorant, but I never saw honey 

 in boxes. I see you advertise section boxes with comb 

 guides, fancy boxes, etc., and you speak of getting up 

 something more fancy still. Now I w.ant a sample of all 

 these, sent by mail. You need not send glass, I can sup- 

 ply that here. I sav/, in the Jan. No. of the A. B. J., an 

 illustration by C. R. Isham, of his honey boxes, which I 

 think would be nice, especially for one comb. The picture 

 shows a slot in the bottom but none in the top. When 

 boxes are set one above another as I understand they arc 

 in the hive, how do the bees g^t up to the top boxes? I 

 also read of boxes placed on the side ; how do the bees get 

 in when the four sides arc ghiss? These things have 

 bothered me. Slots or entrances might be placed any 



where iii the wooden part of the box, Vnit thiak not s.> 

 ciiiily in glass. And would not. these holes detract much 

 from tho beauty of the bo.i, or rr ceptacJe, even if paperecf 

 over r 31. C. Griek. 



Lam:?;-. JIo., Mart?h -iOlIi, 187U. 



It (I'.x a nuisance to be obliged to paste paper 

 over the Ijoles in a great number of boxes, and 

 it is a bother to be obliged to make them iu 

 the boxes in the first ])la';e. For side entran- 

 ces, one of the side glasses is usually mad'- 

 narrow ;iud is f listened only at its top Slxx<.1 

 bottom, like the Quinbybox; but such boxis 

 are ditticult to clo«e when filled, and are not 

 neat and finished in appearance. The opera- 

 tion of putting in the glasses, clo.ses the open- 

 ings to such section boxes as those made liy 

 friend Wheeler, but thev hardly present as nice 

 an appearance as the Isham lx>x. What wi> 

 want now, is as neat a box as the Isham, and 

 one that will allow of glassing after it is re- 

 moved from the hive, and of all openings belnic 

 closed by the operation. Our section box case 

 does all this, but it has glass only on two sides, 

 is not as large a l)ox as may Ix; wanted by 

 some, and is rather more expensive, being all 

 made of tin and glass, than if the top and bot- 

 tom Avere wood, like the Ishim box. 



I will vote for small type and lots of it. Bees have com'; 

 through the winter with plenty of sugar fed last fill, but 

 there is no brood more than 3 or 1 days old. I am goiu-- 

 to place ii. glass frame (such as arc used for hot beds) over 

 the meal feeding table so as to run the rain off, and boar(i 

 up all but one side; and then when the sun shines thei'i- 

 will be "music in the"— feeder. My frames are lljxl - 

 but I will reduce to Standard size. I (h)n't think I slnll 

 make section boxes when extracted honey sells for 25 cts.. 

 (as it did list season) :is fast as the bees can gather it. 



Now No\ice, you have forgotten to tell us how to hitch 

 the wind-mill on to th? buzz-saw, or rather how to raakr 

 it run the first wheel or belt. I have cut a circular saw 

 out of a hand saw, made a frame and a 3S inch pulley to 

 turn a '1\ inch one attached to the savr. It will cut liki; 

 anything, but I want our wind-mill to do the turning. 



1 wanted some comb foundations but as I am an is 

 years old, anti-monopolist, and tlic bees always have buili 

 their own comb, I think they will this year. By the way, 

 I bought m.v tirst bees when I was 13 years old, have h.nl 

 bees every se;i.son since, and with the aid of Gle.^jtiMt^j 

 can divide a swarm, introdtiee a queen, or anytking elsi'. 

 In fact, I have always had be3 on the bnin, and sDuii'- 

 times over my eye or in my hair. 



(jI.ka>'Ings is just the thing for beginners, yoimg or old. 

 Llotd Z. Jones, Galva, 111., April 3d, 1876. 



Bravo, friend Jones, and may the youths whi> 

 have the skill and pailence tocut clrcuhir saws 

 out of a hand saw, receive the reward that 

 comes to the irood mechanics of our land soon- 

 er or later. There are so ['e\y good ones, that 

 you may depend upon being hunted up and 

 "fairly remunerated just as soon as you have 

 learned to do anything xcdl. In applying power 

 to the saws, we need a counter-.shaft under the 

 buzz saw table. To enable us to handle long 

 boards readily, the belt to the counter-shaft 

 should come through the floor from the room 

 below, or the counter-.-haft should reach i-ome 

 distance away frbm the table. The Barnes' 

 foot-power saw that we offer for sale, is fur- 

 nished with counter-sliaft for steam, wind or 

 horse power for $10.00 extra. 



