ISS 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



iiUG. 



miliar shape of his liive he could not get them out 

 or in. Hut with the quilt, all is possible. 



I will report what success I liave, also the construc- 

 tion of hive, if successful ; if not, it would be waste of 

 time and paper. 



Well, Mr. Novice, having got on so (ar, I will speak 

 of another matter that will interest G. W. (Tates, as 

 well as yourself, and others. But do not go too strong 

 on the floating apiary, as our friend Ivlum has that 

 ■. abject o:; the biain, and a little encouragement 

 might cause him to make the attempt, and ruin him- 

 self. 



Well, to go back, Mr. Colvin told me that he had ex- 

 changed his hive, and right to make (at the rate of 

 815 per hive,) for six colonies of bees in log gums, in 

 the neighborhood of Houston, this state. Had alto- 

 gether 300 stands. Had chartered a car through to 

 Michigan for SiOO, was going to shi]) them home, 

 and had ready sale for them at S>.00 per stand. 



Let's see ; well, you ligure it. The jjoint we are 

 most interested in is the shipping part, and as he in- 

 tends to ship a load back this fall, in his box hive, to 

 winter, there may be danger of his getting away with 

 us fellows. AVell, if he cannot learn from us, per- 

 haps we can learn from him. We shall see. 



J. M. Hii.L. 



Dennison, Texas, July 11, 187G. 



FOUNDATIONS. 



'^■gR|NCLOSED find {5.00 for which please send comb 

 j°[j^ | foundations oH pure wax. and I would like to 



have the bottoms of the cells as thin as you can 



possibly make them. I want to use some of them for 

 guides in boxes, and lanless they can be made thin 

 they will not do at all. 



The foundations you sent me two or three weeks 

 ago, are much too thick. If you eat a piece of honey 

 that has been put into them, you have your mouth full 

 of w.ax. 



Those you sent, I should judge from the smell, were 

 part paraffine, and I used them in the frames in every 

 shape I could think of, but every one of them would 

 stretch out so that the cells looked like oblong drone 

 cells. 



You sent me a pound last winter, made from yellow 

 wax, that were tliin and nice, and liave worked all 

 right. None of them have stretched out. I think I 

 should prefer them made of yellow wax. if you make 

 such. Laying them in the sun for a few days will 

 bleach them white enough for all purposes. 



O. J. Hetuerington. 



East Saginaw, Mich., July 14th, 1876. 



It is very singular to say the least, that we 

 have so many conflicting reports, and wishes 

 in regard to the fdn. We have so many times, 

 in our apiary, satisfied ourselves that it made 

 uo difference whether the wax sheets were 

 thick or thin, that we find it hard to under- 

 stand the statements of the few who have 

 written like the above. So many that first 

 wanted them thin have changed tlieir opinion, 

 we have of late purposely made them thicker ; 

 if made as thin as the natui-al comb, it would 

 be quite impossible to handle them, and near- 

 ly all now agree that enough wax should be 

 used to nearly make the complete comb, and 

 that it matters little whether it be given tliem 

 in the walls, or in the bottom of the cells. 

 There is no room for argument ; every l)ee- 

 keeper in the land, if he has not already, will 

 very soon test it for himself. We think you 

 at fault friend H. on the parafUne, as it is con- 



sidered entirely destitute of either taste or 

 smell. It seems the yellow is going to an- 

 swer every purpose (even for comb honey) but 

 as it is not nearly as pretty to look at or hand- 

 le, as an article of merchandise, we suppose 

 we shall sell the wliitc mostly, at least for 

 the present. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUBE. 



Published ITIoiitlily, 



EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR 



MEDINA, OHIO. 



Terms : Sl.OO l?er A.iiiixiiii. 



[Including Postage.] 

 For Club Bates see Last Page. 



IVTEIDinsr^A., J\.TJC3^. 1, 187'6. 



Foe if ye love them that love you, wluit reward have 

 ye? Do not even the publicans tlie same r Mat., 5:16. 



Please speak kindly in your criticisms of each other. 

 Remember it is but human to err. 



No one has as yet reported even fa\or;ibl.\' in reu'ard to 

 rubber gloves. 



Selling bees that are infected with foul brood, with- 

 out giving the purchaser du3 notice, subjects the o!Te:ider 

 to severe i)enalty by Ia^v. 



Those who have i)araliine fdn. that they camiot use, 

 will find the material just as good or even better tliau 

 wax, for waxinir iionev barrels or kegs. 



World and Magazine both came to hand too late for 

 our usual notices. The account of Mr. Mehrings discovery- 

 of the foundations, in ISoS), in the latter, is of rare interest. 



^VE keej) forgettitig to say that the sticks for our sec- 

 tion boxes make grand building blocks for the children. 

 A ."0 cent package contains ISO pieces, and with them the 

 children can build an edifice tall enough to walk under. 



It seems our bee-keepers have been somewhat blamed 

 for the very meager show of implements at the Centen- 

 nial. Our apiarists of sterling worth, are not generally 

 fond of over much show or display, yet when invited in a 

 friendly way to comi^are the products of their industry, 

 we believe they are seldom behind. Nor are they back- 

 ward in meeting all neccessary expenses, but in anything 

 approaching a ruse to secure their time or money with 

 out equivalent, we would feel pretty ^ure they would be 

 found missing. 



OUR SOLUTIOIf or THE FEET)IN(; PROBLEM. 



Give them combs filled and sealed clear to the bottom 

 with honey, or sugar either as you may find the cheapest. 

 When they have consumed it all, they have a nice comb 

 ready to be filled with brood, instead of an inconvenient 

 feeder to be disposed of. This is the only plan of feeding 

 we have c\ev disco\-ered that will not keej) the bees at 

 home, when they should be off in the fields : as their fee<l 

 IS just as, and where wanted, they are imder no 

 necessity of "tinkaring" with it at all. Miny of on 

 colonics have filled -tO combs, and sealed them from top to 

 bottom. If you cannot get such combs filled yet this fall, 

 you can have frames of fdn. built out and in readiness for 

 next season. 



OcK friends who send for larvw for iiueen I'caring, espoc- 



