IL876 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



•249 



The sourw'ood, usually our main dejxiudance was almost 

 •.a failure. Bees are how working verj' ■stronsly on buck- 

 v.vheat, and two kinds of grass or weed. I do not know 

 what it is^ it commenced blooming abaut-thc first of July 

 •Tind will -conlEnue until frost. Bees relish it very much. 

 .Find enclosed a spisg of each. My combs are «ow all 

 trilled with brood aiad honey. I have v.o extractor. 



"What is a sectioH boi ? Please st p.d ms-ono, aiid a i^ece 

 of fouudatiion. I fcave Rev^er seen afiy of either. 



R. H. Aebott. 



P. S.— I hafl a swaRQ of beesrcsae off to-day, Aug. iSth, 

 leaving aM tke-eoEibs fiHed with brood and honey. They 

 •hctlled on top aiiother hive nearby- I found the queen, 

 ■CMged her&nd tied the ■cage to a teush, which tliey all soon 

 ■clustered round and I put tbem back ijito their c4d hive, 

 ■^Vhy did thej ieaxeS 



Leiioire Stataon, Ea-st Tei^n., Aug. lotli, 1S7C. 



The plants were nipped too short to analyze. We Reed 

 (leaves. One was a mint. All mints are valuable. Tell 

 .-•suljscribers to send good flowers, good leaves, height of 

 ailaut, aiid locality. 



We are having & spiendid fail for hoivey. Golden rod, 

 sand ether fal-i bloom yielding aaost Ijountifully. I feel 

 better. Caa afford to lose wMtc olover every year, if we 

 <"\n liava sueli a yield in Aug. Commenced Aug. lOth. 

 A. J. Coos:, Lansing, Mich. 



Will our friejids pk'ase remember lli-e direc- 

 tious for specimen plants? The swarm was 

 «impl5' a n<itural one, and came otF because 

 they had their hive full w-e suppose. Be sui'e 

 :xiid give tihem root®. 



I was wonderdug wfeat one o4 our little traps you would 

 gjitcli into siext, when here ■comes your notes of war on 

 lliesm.okers. We don"-t sympathiee with j-ou ewe &i* for 

 ■^'etting yonreyes daubed with tears nor for tlie stings 5'ou 

 j'^ot. Yes sir ! <ceil and gloves. We think you are wrong 

 when you say something is wrc«ig wiaen we kave to bts,r- 

 a'icsde against tl>e bees in that way. Suppose you have a 

 .st'ock of hybrids that you must look tkrough for queeii 

 cells, or for any otiier purpose,; I think it'a the better 

 way to have a veil handy, for a hybrid is like a mule, you 

 "can't soiaetimes most geEcrally tell" when he is going to 

 Siick. We have one of the Quinby smokeis a.ud would iiot 

 Snirt with it for twice its cost. Fiiend Cramer tkinks so 

 Enuch of it, too. that he wants at when I am uot using it. 



Novice, I'd a'dwse jom t^o look out for that Lloyd Z. 

 Jones. He is on his way to the Centennial and may stop 

 an to see you. and just as likeiy as ROt will have some <Sf 

 •xi'iose SO cent queens in his pocket. 



I would say to the friend who speaks of >3sing queens 

 in nitroducing, that I can put in 909 out of 100© queens 

 ;uid not lose ene of them. Bijtyou must understand your 

 Siusiness tho'. Will. M. Kellogcj. 



Oneida, 11!., I5ept. 5th, "fC. 



I have bmnted over Vol. 1 and watciied CJT^K/tNiN'<JS 

 <'.l()sei}', and can find no description of how to make a 

 smoker. If it is not <;oo old to tlic old subscribers give 

 some of us new hands a description, and also tell us 

 'i\ov7 to bleach wax, if it is not a secret, and oblige, 

 Geo. S. Graff, Omaha, Neb., Aug. 21st, '7C. 

 .rust at present we are better satisfied with 

 an ordiuarj' corn popper for a smolicr than 

 anything else we have ever used. The square 

 •ont? ail made of wire are l>est ; they only cost 

 ?~~. cents, and all you have to do is to put in 

 ;-ionie chips and then a coal of fire and then 

 swing all about your head until you have 

 ?;moke enough. Stand this at such a side of 

 the hive as to have the wind blovr the smoke 

 across the frames, and vou can v^'ork along 



happily. If they show tight, just give them a 

 couple of puffs with the breath while your 

 smoker is held over the hive, and they will go 

 down at once. The popper is better than the 

 sauce pan, because it will not let any lire or 

 sparks out, and because the ashes are easily 

 shaken out as fast as they accumulate. You 

 need not stoop to set it down, nor to take it 

 up, for the wooden handle i« just right to lean 

 against the hive, convenient to your hand. 

 We have no secrets in the world from our 

 readers, and trust never shall have ; we are 

 glad to be able to tell all we can learn. Wax 

 bleaching by the sun, is a slow process, and 

 will only pay where it is a business of itself- 

 Bleaching by chemicals in our hands has 

 proved a failure, if there is one among our 

 readers, who can succeed with it, we should 

 be glad to hear from him. Mr. E. Coble of 

 Coruersville, Tenn., recently sent us about 50 

 lbs of wax to work up, that was very nearly 

 as white as that from the wax bleachers. In 

 answer to an inquiry he says that it was only 

 wax from cappings without any bleaching 

 whatever. Now recent experiments look 

 I very much as if yellow wax would answer 

 I every purpose of the white, and that alter it is 

 I built out and capixfd, the comb honey is one 

 and the same thing, especially if the wax be 

 bright and clean. Will those who have had 

 exi)erienoe in the matter report ? 



I raised three queens from an Italian mother. Two o'f 

 them in stocks of bees covering not more than two Q, 

 frames, hatched in July, are iijce yellow queens. The 

 other was raised in parent hive, strong colony, hatched in 

 August,, and is very dark. Query— Why the differejice in 

 •color r / 



I ain 'ierymueh surprised at friend HKldon's letter. 

 How a man of such uitelligenoe and experience in bee- 

 keeiMug can discard ail the improvements made in bee- 

 culture, and return to the old fogy style of keeping bees 

 in boxes, is beyond my comprehension. His letter is 

 dated July 5tli, I suppose he had a real jolly time on the 

 Centennial 4th, and on the following day was somewhat 

 despondent, atsd sat down and wrote that letter. He 

 wrote another remarkable letter on July 5th, 75. See 

 Vol. Ill, No. 8. In that j-ear the 4th, was celebrated on 

 the 4th, I suppose on that occa.sion he was brimful of 

 patriosm and had to give vent to his pent up imagination. 



If my suppositions are wrong, will friend H. please teli 

 why a box hive is tetter ;hau a hive with movable frames, 

 and other improvements. I am a beginner and willing to 

 adopt the best way. If I am to be converted, facts, 

 "chiels that winna ding," must be presented showing 

 clearly that box hi\es are better than hives with movable 

 frames, and kindred K0Kscn.ce. Hurry v.p > give us 

 proof, or own up like a man. W. Giedwood. 



Alleghany City, Pa, Aug. 21. 1873. 



Queens raised in cool weather, are much 

 inclined to l>e dark, but we cannot learn that 

 they are on that account any the less valuable. 

 The grand-daughters of an imported mother, 

 are almost invariably much yellower than 

 cheir mothers or grandmothers. 



In regard to friend Heddou, a postscript 

 just at hand says, "His tales are amusing— if 

 they do not last too long— but not instructive." 

 Now friend H. cannot you give a report of 

 your system, very soon? 



I have been keeping bees 48 years, the first four 

 years in North Wales. I kept them in straw liives 



