1876 



GLEA.NINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



125 



out of it. It may be. Henry Bo?shard, of 

 Highland, Ills., has a pair of plates for comb 

 foundations, that came from Europe ; and he 

 has made and used the article successfully, 

 nearly the full size of frames 11x12. 



We are very glad indeed to know that the 

 Mar/azin-e has a desire that bee-keepers may 

 abandon the idea of selling individual rights, 

 or of having patent monopolies. The April 

 No. presents very fair evidence to the effect, 

 that king birds do not eat bees. From our own 

 observation we can hardly think them innocent 

 in all cases, and should be glad to have further 

 facts in the matter. Capt. Hetheringtou re- 

 marks as follows in regard to wintering and 

 springing: 



It has been rather humilating to most of lis, certain- 

 ly so to me, not to be able to meet the change in cli- 

 mate, or whatever it may be, and thus avert the great 

 mortality in wintering and sprinsing, that is so latal 

 to our business. 



MOVING BEES, JBI'RYIIVG BEES, 

 PATEIVXS, ETC. 



BEAR GLEANINGS:— I remember the motto at 

 ) the head of the columns of the old Prairie Far- 

 ' mer, "Farmers, write for your paper," and I 

 think it would be a good motto for a Bee Journal. I 

 am pleased with the leaded type now used in Gr^EAX- 

 IKGS and if anj- thing I can write gives one half as 

 much pleasure and profit to others as their letters and 

 your comments in Gleanings do to me, I shall not re- 

 gret the time spent. 1 frequently get letters enclosing 

 stamps, from different parts of the country, asking me 

 very kindly if I will explain to them my method of 

 managing bees, of making a cheap extractor, or some 

 other information pertaining to bee culture ; these, if 

 all answered separately would take more time than I 

 can spare, as many besides myself have found. Now 

 I am willing to make public all "I know about bees" 

 through your columns ; subject of course, to your su- 

 pervision. But most of it would be only a repetition 

 and an endorsement of the theories and practice of 

 those who contribute regularly to Glk.\.xin'GS. 



I can not refrain however, from protesting occa- 

 sionally when I see theories advanced that do not 

 seem practicable, or that I do not think sound ; as for 

 instance, when friend Heddon declares in Bee Maoa- 

 ^inf, that no one can keep bees successfully except 

 those who make it a specialty, or as now, that "all 

 bee culture is vanity and vexation of spirit." Well, I 

 must not forget my report for 1870. 



I took my bees from the pit April 8th, all in good 

 condition. The following day I was absent and one 

 stock was overpowered and robbed, leaving 23 swarms. 

 I gave away one, and now start the season with 22 

 swarms none of which I hope will be permitted to 

 starve, a la Novice, before flowers. My bees worked 

 5 days on rye and oat meal before poplars bloomed, 

 and all had brood in eveiy stage when taken from the 

 pit. I had great hopes of the comb foundations while 

 you had the machine, but at $1,50 per lb. I do uot ex- 

 pect to use any. I think with sectional boxes and 

 cheap foundations I could work some bees on comb 

 honey profitabh', but at present prices I shall stick to 

 the slinger. Many have written me about extractors. 

 Now I say confidently, having just had mine rigged 

 over by a mechanic, that your extractors are as cheap 

 as a mechanic will make a wooden one like mine. 



1 moved my bees to where I now live, this spring, 

 on wagons without loss of any kind. Distance three 

 miles and roads very rough. I made a frame of lath 



the size of the front of my hives, covered it with wire 

 cloth, fastened the cap on the hive, tacked the wire 

 frame on the i'ront, put i inches of straw in the box of 

 my lumber wagon, set the hives 4 inches apart, packed 

 straw tightly around them except the front, and drove 

 along. The bees soon came out and clustered under 

 the wire frame, riding safely. 



I find that extracted honey is improved, in appear- 

 ance at least by standing 21 hours in an open vessel, 

 and being skimmed before barreling. I believe cer- 

 tain kinds of honey will not candy under any circum- 

 stances, as I have some two years old in Muth's jirs, 

 in a drug store window, as clear as ever. 



My brother-in-law, J. T. Morris, now knows by ex- 

 perience that bees can be robbed by the extractor so 

 late in the fall as to die from want in the winter, his 

 bees, 7 swarms, being all dead when we opened the 

 pit this spring, with not a cell of honey or a particle 

 of the candy we laid on the frames last fall, remaining. 



There is a man ne"ir here who never heard of Mr. 

 Wagner or his patent who has made artificial comb by 

 casting in moulds; and it seems folly that Mr. Wag- 

 ner's patent should cover the making of artificial 

 comb bi/ whatever process. If that is so, some fool 

 will patent the 2^rocess of raising queens by any meth- 

 od, and go and take your lamp nursery awaj' from 

 you. Novice, don't you go back on the position you 

 have so long maintained of hostility to patents in bee- 

 cultui-e. AVe look upon you as our champion. The 

 money you have already saved to the bee-keepers of 

 the eountrj' would build a monument of marble over 

 your grave, as high as Bunker hill. 



I say to every bee-keeper, wear a light bobinet [we 

 would say tarlatan instead.— Ed.] veil on your hat 

 when at work among bees, and at the first sympton of 

 anger among them droi) it over your face and neck; 

 but gloves are a nuisance. I find a roll of rags all the 

 smoker I need. Butter firkins holding 150 lbs eaeh, 

 are the nicest honey packages for my use. Drive the 

 hoops tight, nail the outside ones and wax the keg 

 tight. Bees are never assessed here, as they are not 

 salable property at any price ; most people consider- 

 ing them a nuisance around a place, and bee-keepers 

 being all supplied. 



Don't let anybody be so foolish as to extract honey 

 before it is ripe. This sometimes may get thicker by 

 standing in an open vessel, but will generally get 

 thinner. 



Bees having stores sufficient, wintered well in this 

 locality in cellars, pits, and out-doors everywhere. 

 R. L. Joiner, Wj-oming, Wis., May 2d, '7r>. 



VERY EARL,V^ QTIEENS. 



/rtpf LEANINGS for May just at hand. We note your 

 ?(^^p remarks on page 101 regarding the sale of early 

 queens. You say you think it unsafe to offer them 

 before Jutie, but that we "might perhaps safely agree to 

 furnish them a month sooner." Now in this matter we 

 have gained a little experience, as in other things, but I 

 can assui*e you it is a sad one. One cas3 : I have raised 

 quite a number of queens, and have shipped, as I advised 

 you, see paic 102, a few queens early in April which reach- 

 ed their destination safelj". In the latter part of the same 

 month we shipped quite a number, some goinir as far 

 south as Texas, others as far north as New York. We 

 have reiwrts of all, and only two reached their destination 

 alive. These two went to Illinois. When we mailed 

 them the weather was pleasant, hut suddenly changed at 

 night turning very cool ; at this writing it is almost frdez- 

 ing. With thi'; experience we have arrived at the con- 

 clusion that wj c.innot "saf jly agree to furnish them a 



