^u 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CVLTURE. 



Ore. 



brood and enabling them to pass the winter jierlectly 

 withonC being liable to dwindling in spring. There is- 

 very little market for honey hi England, but iTjc for 

 extracted and 3&for comb can generally be obtainecT. 



J. P. J. 

 Percy House, Tottenham N., London, Aug, 29, 76, 



Very glad indeed are we, to learn that our 

 Eiiglisb coHsins are able to give such reports. 

 We would not have the hives more than feet 

 from centre to centre, and even if painted all 

 of the same color, think there will be no dan- 

 ger at all of loss of yonng queens. Bees going 

 into adjoining hives during the busy season, 

 will we think occasion no trouble, and we are 

 inclined to think it less frequent than our 

 friend imagines. We have noticed the same, 

 when the yield of honey was such as to al- 

 most craze the bees with the abundance. We 

 favor painting the hives white in our clime, 

 because they do not get so heated up by the 

 .sun as when some dark shade. For shade, we 

 much prefer the concord grajx; vine on ac- 

 count of the facility with which they can be 

 grown so as to aSbrd a perfect protection du- 

 ring the middle of the day. Evergreens 

 might do as well, if carefully pruned, but it 

 would require a much longer time to grow 

 them. The dimensions of frames are quite 

 similar to our L. frame, but we believe the bar 

 across half way down, has been pretty gener- 

 ally discarded among our people. The queen 

 gets on one side, and seems averse to crossing 

 over. The price mentioned for honey, in your 

 money, friend .J., seems encouraging to apiar- 

 ists, to say the least. We use sawdust to 

 keep down weeds; salt and gravel would be 

 nice, but we think, rather expensive. 



Mast reports seem to indicate that bees, as a rule, wi!S 

 not store comb honej' \ThiIe queenless. If the colony is 

 very strong, all liands will harsg about idly, arid only 

 commence work wiieu the qireere begins to lay, and then- 

 they work with a rush. Beware lio-w yoii. lea.ve a strong' 

 colony qneenress during tl^e honey season. 



Tei'iiis s Sl.OO Per A.nmxiii. 



[Including PosUuje.'] 

 For Club Bates see Last Page. 



i^ElDllSr^^, OCT. 1, ISTS. 



Yea, thoiisch I walk through the valley of the shadow of 

 death, I will fear no evil : for thon art with me ; thy rod 

 and thy staff they comfort me.— Psalms, 23 : 4. 

 >t mf mm> — 



Ake your bees ready for winter? If not, would it 

 not be prudent to get about it at once ? 



Paintikg bottom boards mq find to answer quite well 

 for preventing their being covered with wax and propolis. 

 Some that have been in use two years, are almost as nice 

 and clean as when first given the bees. 



OUK bees arc to be wintered on their summer 

 stands; not a bee is to be bothered by| being lugged 

 about, and if they die, it will not be of horac-sickness. 

 The greater part will have only the chaff cushioas 

 pressed closely down on the frames; some will have 

 chaff on all four sides, some on three slde.^, and soniO 

 on only one side. A dozen or more, will be entirely 

 surrounded v.'ith ch.iff, bottom board and all. 



Eees are again to-day— Sept. 2otli, — gathermg honey 

 from the red dovei\ This is sIio«ni by their loads of dark 

 green polJen-, vThich- so far as we can Jeant, coraes fi-om no 

 other blMsom. A visit to the fields showed them busy av 

 could be, pushing their tongues clear down to the base of 

 the pet lis, and then ixicking the adlrering polien, wliile- 

 on tbe whi?. 



*a> i -» ^ l c ^ 



If the c>iaf? paekmg is really going to Ije r?eeded during 

 the summer time as we'I as winter, the house apiiry 

 seems to Ije the cheapest and readiest way m which it caii 

 be applied; and the coiweraence it adToitls foi' putting 

 .aii^' number of section frames, either at the side or on top 

 of the hh'e, without the bother of enlargiTtg tire hives as- 

 we are- compelled to do out dooi-s, is certainly a great ad- 

 vantage. It seems as if onrs must winter safely, iu 

 the way it is- itow filled with bees blanketed \Tith chitf 

 pillows. 



"We would reommend using a siagTe thickness C' J 

 cloth over the fiames before puttfug on the chafi 

 cushions; this will present killing- bees that might 

 not get out of the way when pressing the cushion 

 down, and will also keep the cushions from being 

 soilci with propolis. And if the sheet of cloth useil 

 is dnck, there will be little danger of the bees biting,' 

 holes through. Holes in the cushions will make more 

 trouble than do those in the quilts, for chaff will silt 

 out where the batting would not, and chaff seatteretf 

 about in a bee hive would not be very pleasant. As 

 we have said before, duck or canvas is the only ma- 

 terial we have found that the bees would not I'ito 

 through. 



• Honey boxes are at a discount in oar vicinity; we are 

 told the city of Cleveland is overstccked with nice honey- 

 in boxes, but that they cannot get enough of the small 

 sections. No glass is wanted aljout them, but th-j lighter 

 the wooden frame, the better they sell. One dealer re- 

 marked that he did not care whether they were ;d! 

 straight or of an even thickness or not, and if some cf 

 them contain only % lb, all the better, for there was al- 

 ways somebody who wanted the cheapest one. If they 

 were onI,y so they could be bandied without any daubing 

 or dripping, they would always sell. The Universal sec- 

 tions, seem to pleise invariably •, even those that are only 

 partially sealed orer, as the price is only a few cents, are 

 taken off our hands without a word, at a uniform price of 

 25c. per lb. 



— Mia I B I ii^ 



As to whether people will prefer to pay 25c. for cumb 

 honey rather than 15 for extracted, time alone can deter- 

 mine ; but it is pretty certain that nice looking comb 

 honey can naver h.ave the ripe rich flavor of well ripened 

 extracjed ; for the ripening process, is so far as we c;iu 

 discover, sure to spoil the beauty of the comb. If you 

 want some real genuine honey, entirely free f .-om the r.iw 

 taste of both comb and extracted neic honey, take a 

 frame that has been in the hive two or three months, and 

 whether you get basswood or clover honey, you will find 

 the llivor as much ahead of that taken out in June and 

 July, as cm well be imagined. If you have some hives 

 that are too full for winter, just extract a few somL' warm 

 day and see what >jou think about it. It may prove slow- 

 er work than in July, but the quxlity of the honey will 

 I repny you. 



