187G 



"GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



171 



ciently sincere to practice what you teach ? 



Can not all this be done without faith in 

 God and the Bible 'i I would not for the world 

 provoke controverey and discussion on the 

 subject, and so perhaps I had better only say, 

 that no amount of reasoning would have ever 

 turned your humble friend from the path he 

 was in, and from a path that he knew was day 

 by day drawing him, in spite of his efforts to 

 the contrary, steadily downward. Nothing 

 would or could have induced him to under- 

 take the task of winning selfish, profane, and 

 disorderly boys to better lives, except a feeling 

 of gratitude to his Maker, that he burned to 

 repay, by reclaiming others in the same way 

 he /iiWiseZ/had been reclaimed. The patience 

 that is required for such work, especially 

 where no pay of any kind ever enters into the 

 calculation, is so far as I can discover, never 

 found outside the circle of those who take the 

 Bible for their guide. In other words as it 

 seems to me, the pure and peaceful "homes", 

 where all the cares and trials of life are receiv- 

 ed with cheerful calmness, and where trouble 

 can scarcely enter, are those wliose inmates j 

 daily look to their Maker for strength and 

 faith, and sliow the sincerity of their love for 

 him, by daily manifestations of their love to 

 all mankind in the thousand little acts of ev 

 ery day life, as well as in the Sabbath 

 schools and mission labor in foreign lands. 

 In such homes evil can scarcely enter for the 

 presence of God is always felt. 



We had only 4 colonies to start v.'ith this sprin?, but 

 now have 8, and we thuoght yesterday there were 'J as a 

 fine swarm came out and clustered on a tree and as soon 

 as they left, the bees from a:ljoinin:^ hives poured into 

 the hive they had left, and before we could hive them 

 they all returned to their old home ; not being versed i:i 

 bee culture I was unable to account for such a proceeding-. 

 Mrs. GouLDiNU, Butteville, O. May 27th, 1876. 



[The first swarm went back probably because their 

 queen for some cause was not Avith them, and while 

 out, it seems another swarm came out, and attracted by 

 the commotion at that hive, went to it and entered. 

 Unless they are quickly separated, a somewhat troub- 

 lesome operation, one of the <iueens is usually kill- 

 ed in a very short time. It" the hive has movable 

 combs, the queen can readily be found on opening, 

 for one or both will be found in a knot of bees. Sep- 

 arate the queens and then divide the bees pretty 

 nearly equal. It they are neglected until one queen 

 is killed, the better way is to hive them and get a 

 large crop of honej'.'l 



^ 



%cke^ and ^ej'i^s. 



LELL Novice, I took your plan of using saw 

 dust from my 6aws under and around my 

 hives. I was in my ajiiary to-day to show one 

 of my customers some of my line Italian queens, etc. 

 Went through several hives but we got very warm 

 and went back to my shop. Had been there just long 

 enough to sell one extractor, when to my surprise 

 some one cried fire ! fire ! and behold, the bee yard 

 was on tire in two places. One of my best Italians 

 was in flames and it was just worth SlO,CO. I called 

 lor water, the next thing was my bee cap. Well, 

 "you bet" I got arouiul very fast.' But one colony was 

 seriously injured. The fire dropped from my burning 

 cloth ; and this circumstance has almost discouraged 

 me in regard to using saw dust about my bees. 



John B. Bkay, Lynnville, Tenn., June 8th, '70. 

 [We give the above as a warning, as some of you 

 may remember we had a similar experience, a few 

 years ago ; since which time we have been very cau- 

 tious with fire in hot weathei-. It is on tliis very ac- 

 count that we prefer some kind of a smoker, in place 

 of bui'ning rags, or fire in any opcvi utensil. With the 

 Quinby smoker, such an occurrence can not very well 

 happen.] 



From 50 L. hives I extracted 46 gallons and though three 

 weeks have elapsed there is no honey capped over yet. 

 Yield is about half as great as last year. 



J. A. Xelson, Macon, Ga., June 91h, 1876, 



White clover in profusion and honey coming in rap- 

 idly. One hive, ((ueen from 3IcGaw, has given me a 

 swarm, and 75 lbs. of finest comb honey. The new 

 swarm has filled 12 Gallup frames already. The queen 

 in the old hive on the Kith day of May had brood in 

 every one of the 1'2 frames. 



W. O. ATKi^■:l^o^•, Vermont, Ills., June 15th, 'TO. 



After uniting our bees down to where we thought they 

 ought to be, we found we had but 07 colonies to commence 

 the season with. The flood did us more damage than we 

 thought, as many of' our stocks have to cut their combs 

 clear away and buili new to get suitable ones for brood 

 rearing. Here is a jwiut worthy of note : while the hy- 

 brids are discouraged and let the mud remain, the Italians 

 gnaw the comb and mud out and build new. ^^'o could 

 no more think of going back to black bees, than to box 

 hives. G. M. Doolittle, Borodino, N. Y., June 1;», '70. 



Shall feel like putting Novice in "Humbug & Swindle'' 

 column if he contiiuies to recommend paraffine founda- 

 tions. Think he recommends them before testing thor- 

 ouirhly. I can furnish undoubted proof that bees do not 

 thin the foundations suificicntly in all cases, and that they 

 do not accejjt a full size starter of foundation in surplus 

 boxes as soon as a small starter of natural comb. The 

 foundation I tested was said to be made of pure beeswax 

 by the vendor, a man engaged in the same kind of busi- 

 ness as Mr. Perrine. There is danger that bee-keepers 

 will by their use destroy the market for both comb' honey 

 and lieeswax. Neither do I think pure wax. foundations 

 will be a suci^ess. Prospect not very flattering at present 

 for a large crop of honey. Found no bees in crop of king 

 bird that seemed to be eating bees on apple blossoms. 



P. H. Elwood. Starkville, N. Y., June 17th, '76. 



[Now friend E., we should be very sorry to find you 

 standing mth those who seem to feel it a duty to predict 

 failures prematurely, of many of the new things just com- 

 ing out. Friend Heddon has just written us saying our 

 extractors were altogether too frail, etc., which is to us 

 quite a big joke, as we with the help of many hands 

 ai-e entirely vuiable to keep up witli orders, that come 

 mainly from neighborhoods where they have been in use 

 longest. We are not sure that H. has ever seen one at all, 

 and we think certainly not one we have made this season. 

 Now it is getting to be much the same with the founda- 

 tions; orders are coming thick and fast from those who 

 have tried them ; and shall we not suppose they know 

 what they want ? Let us get it into practical shape. If 

 any one send< to us for foundations and is not satisfied 

 with them, we will send back his money. Does that leave 

 any room for argument ? Our bees alwaijs make th } bot- 

 tom of them thin, and we havn't a jxirticle of doubt but 

 that yours will, friend E., under the same circumstances.] 



Which would you prefer for out of door wintering, a 

 hive holding S frames, regular Langstroth style, or 8 

 frames 10 inches long and 12 inches deep inside measure ? 



Do you think a triangidar top bar is as good to insure 



