184 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



DEPAKTMEXT 



FOB BOXJOTE^EEJiEEPEKS. I 



[For Gleaning's Box Hive Department.] 

 sfnlDITOE GLEANINGS :-Your remarks prefixed to 

 Srrt rav article in July Xc. induces me to makeAEE- 

 ^^^ QUEST of yon. You have wisely advised apiarians 

 not to chantje their style of hive, for a seemingly better 

 one, where thev had many hives of another kind. Now I 

 have 103 hives in my house apiary all alike, and 150 cf an- 

 other style (all alike) in my apiary six miles away. Ac- 

 cordins'tovoui- own .?oH»d advice, how can you expect 

 me to^^add to mv already established apiaries another 

 kind of hive? Asain,my stocks are all Italians except 

 four or five, and a few hybrids. I don't propose to breed 

 them back, but I assure you I shall take no pains to 

 prevent their doing it themselves. The purer the Iial- 

 ians, the poorer wax workers they are, and the longer it 

 takes the new swarms to till the brojd chamber. Two 

 more humlniis are artificial queens, and transferring 

 l>ees from box to frame hives. Y'ou may think me radi- 

 cal, but the future will verify what I say; such is my 

 opinion. But that psoposiTios. Supposing yon are 

 somewhat anxious to see me surrounded by a lot of these 

 box hives, I request that you put in Gleaxixgs (free cf 

 charge) an advertisement of Heddon's Bee Gardens, or 

 Bees and Hives. Now I will stake what little reputation 

 I may have, and give you any bends you may ask for, and 

 I can u'ive, that I will in future keep none but "jet 

 black" bees. Further that I will use no hives containing 

 frames, no honey extractors, no comb foundations, queen 

 nurseries, or any kindred nonseuce. Artificial swarms, 

 clipped queens, and the like, are also to be among the 

 things that used to be it "Heddon's Bee Gardens" vro- 

 vided I find sale for my present ajnaries, or bees and 

 hives. I will sell at low figures, and the hives are made 

 up more workmanlike than any I ever saw. The bees are 

 strong and free from all disease. The combs are straight, 

 and a small share drone cells. In fact the whole concern 

 has been "pruned" and toned up each year since I have 

 been the owner. 



Now, I never thought cf selling out my bees and hives 

 without the other fixtures, but if you accept my proposi- 

 tion, and the ad. brings me customers, I will do just what 

 I state above, and pay for the space besides. I will fur- 

 ther agree to present 10 colonies cf bees, to any apiarian 

 this side of the Eocky mountains who will clear more 

 cash pro rata from a similar amount of capital and labor 

 invested, than I do. I shall make bees a specialty, and 

 devote all my time to it, besides keeping a hired man, as I 

 novj do. Will you accept my proposition ? 



James Heddox. 

 P. S.— I forgot to say that I will do more than "ovnx up 

 like a man" if I fmd I am wrong, for I will pay you the 

 price of the advertisement I ask for, every time I find a 

 mistake and wish to take back into use, any of the imple- 

 ments or methods which I propose in this agxeement to 

 throw away. I will besides, make public statement of the 

 mistake. J. H., Dowagiac, Mich., .July 5th, 1S76. 



To bo sure we will accept the proposition, 

 and rejoice that at last the controversay is to 

 be settled bj- practical work, rather than by 

 talking. The advertisement will be found in 

 this number, and with the fall crops of honey 

 usually secured in j\Iich., the investment can 

 hardly fail to be a good one for any one who is 

 willing to work. At present we would re- 

 quest actual reports from those who keep the 

 common bees and box hives. Our own hive 

 of blacks, although quite populous, has given 

 us just about half the honey that our poorest 



Italian stock has of about equal strength, and 

 we were somewhat disappointed to tind them 

 more averse to starting in the sections, than 

 are the Italians. Neither are they anything 

 near as much disposed to build little bits of 

 comb at the ends of the frames, and in every 

 little cranny a? are the others. To be sure 

 one colony is not a fair test, and as we wish 

 friend H. to give an unbiased report, on his 

 side, we will try and be equally fair and frank 

 on the other. If you are going to "own up 

 like a man," friend H., you will have to com- 

 mence very soon, we imagine ; the fdn., for 

 instance. If the package of pure wax we have 

 just sent you does not bring some kind of an 

 admission, we fear wc shall have to doubt 

 vour candor. 



DEPOSITOilY OF 



B 



Isi'lii Ui^ai^ 



Or tetters fioni Xliose M'lio Have ITIade 

 Bee Culture a. Failure. 



F,EKHAPS yon remember my writing- you last fall 

 ' that ray prcspc-cis in regard to bee keeping were 

 , rather gloomy. 1 put them in the bee house early, 



according to your directions, but it was a wrong move 

 for they became tauly diseaseil as early as in the begin- 

 ning of December. 1 expected to have none left by 

 spring, but through the mild winter and carrying them 

 out to ^ive them a fly some ten or twelve times, I .>^ue- 

 ceeded in getting them ail through except one, but most 

 of them were very weak. As it has been a verj good 

 honey season 1 am again encoui-aged to invest more 

 in the business. S. M. 3Iohlek. 



Covington, Ohio, July 11th, 1870. 



In our Feb. No. we gave the letter referred 

 to in the "Blasted Hopes" department, but it 

 now transpires that our friend's troubles were 

 mostly borrowed ones, for if he got through 

 with the loss of only one colony, he certainly 

 did remarkably well. Are not many of our 

 gloomy forebodings entire!}' uuwarrented ': 

 We are really unable to find matter for Blast- 

 ed Hopes every month, but it may be because 

 our friends are averse to telling of iheir .'all- 

 ures, or perhaps the ones Avho fail do not take 

 Bee-journals. Should we chronicle ail the 

 losses occasioned by investing with traveling 

 patent hive men, we might keep a great part oT 

 the journal filled; but it would be unfair to 

 blame the bees for such losses. Perhaps we 

 may get along as well or better without the 

 troublesome lugging hives out and in doors. 



The last years Ajn-il fi-eeze finished my last stock, and I 

 also lost them same way year before, but my son sent me 

 in May, two light stocks from Peru, Indiana in your 

 friend Mitchel's famous patent moth proof, moth trap 

 hive, that needs t\v'o men to handle it, but I got them 

 home and on the first good day transferred them to 

 Simplicity hives. One had i and the other \}i frames of 

 brood purporting to be Italians, pure, but 1 call them 

 about half bloods, no better. About the middle of July I 

 divided, and succeeded in the operation so well I extract- 

 ed 100 lbs. of honey and went into winter with IS swai-ms, 

 ten of which I enclosed in boxes and the others put in a 

 warm chamber in the house, and cr.n-ied tliem up and 

 down a number of times as the weather changed. They 

 all did well, consuming less than half their stores. I 

 have taken ICO lbs. that was left, making :i50 altogether. 

 They dwindled some this spring, one gone entirely', and 

 two'lost their queens, but have raised others. Have now, 

 seventeen doing well ; if they fill those little boxes, I will 

 send for more. J. Ceesst. 



P. S.— The ilitchel jratcnt hive I keep on exhibition for 

 all callers to see ; they ai-e, as a curiosity, Avorth jiresen - 

 ins, if vou have a desire for one I sliould like to furnish 

 you. ' J. C Ho11:uh1, Ohio, May 27th, l-<7tJ. 



