1876. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



270 



IS OUR OCCUPATIONAL UNHEAL,TIIY 

 ONE ? 



l^pJjHIS hiis been a good season for this section of the 

 31 country. Last fall I had 1!» stocks, wintered a part 

 in the cellar, the balance on summer stands well 

 packed in hay, blankets, quilts etc., the front as well a? 

 the rest of the hive, and the entrance covered with hay. 

 For strong stocks it is less trouble than carrying in and 

 out the cellar. I lost one in the cellar and one on the 

 summer stand, they were starved. Then 7 dwindled 

 down in the spring so I had only 11 in May. They have 

 increased to 19 aaain mostly by natural swarming. I 

 could have increased more but I did not care to. I tried 

 Butler's plan and like it. When a swarm came off, I put 

 it in a hive nearly filled with brood and combs, and mov- 

 ed th3 surplus boxes or frames from the old hive to the 

 new one ; then in a day or two I put a swarm in the old 

 hive and ga\'e them boxes to liiiish. I did five or six so, 

 and I think it is a gaod way to m.ake honey. 



I have sol.l 5110.00 worth of honey this summer, ex- 

 tracted and co'.nh, at 20c. and 30c. retail, wholesale at 17c. 

 and 25c. in frames or small boxes. Mj bees are in better 

 conditiDii than last fall. I don't think I shall feed any 

 this fall. I have been sick for so ne weeks now, a pain in 

 the head, and unable to stoop or labor. I am afraid 

 working in the hot sun Vv'ith the bees has made my head 

 bad. I Winder if it shortened the lives of Quinby, 

 Grimm, Hamlin and others. Do you know of a modern 

 bee-keeper who has lived to 70 ? I am nov/ G5. 

 D. Wi.VFiELD, Hubbard, Ohio, Sept. 28th, 1876. 



It has bcca several times sug<;ested that be- 

 ing stung so much was injurious to the 

 health, but never before so far as we remem- 

 ber, that tlie pursuit W3.s deleterious in other 

 respects. So far as the hot sun is concerned, 

 there is no ueccessity at all for it. If your 

 bees are shaded as they should be during the 

 hottest months, y^a will not need to stand in 

 the sun, and the stooping can be obviated by 

 raising the hives a little. If you are not iu a 

 particular hurry, you can get a comfortable 

 old chair and sit down at it ; we often do this 

 when tired, and if onr implements are arrang- 

 ed conveniently, it is not so very tedious 

 after all. We believe that it has been pretty 

 well demonstrated of late that even the stings 

 have no worse effect on the system, than 

 would so many slight bums. For an old 

 gentleman, tlie house apiary would be very 

 nice. The gentlemen you have mentioned, all 

 lived to rather more than the average years, 

 and iiad 3Ir. Grimm remained in his apiary, 

 instead of talking the cares of a bank, it is 

 thought he might have lived still longer. We 

 have great nitmbers of instances where in- 

 valids have recovered and become tougli and 

 strong, by going to work with bees in the 

 open air. In my own case, I find it almost 

 impossible to work in-doors more than a coup- 

 le of hours at a time, especially at severe men- 

 tal work, yet I can work among the bees, and 

 be "happy all day long", without so much as 

 ever thinking of one hand being less efficient 

 than the other. The right hand that seems 

 almDsl useless with a pen or pencil, never 

 ihinks of weariness, when manipulating 

 frames and hives. And v.'ho can tell, but one 

 who has had actual experience, of the ditler- 

 oa-je one f^els when coming to the dinner 

 table ? After a forenoon of indoor v.'ork, Ave 

 are crippled, pinched an<l blue; but after the 

 outdoor work, joyous, lieart}-, aud ready to 



devour almost the plates, knives, forks and 

 all. Of course bee-keeping is not the only 

 employment that brings this, but it seems 

 to us there are few more healthful employ- 

 ments, all things considered. 



We would advise having bees enough, to 

 keep one busy; and the man who can aud 

 does take all the care of 100 colonies, we 

 think will be pret;y sure to be— just take a 

 look at friend Doolittle in our photo Medley, 

 and you will get the idea. 



HONEY lar FANCY SHAPED COMBS, ETC. 



1(^ EGARDING the storing of honey in fancy shapes, 

 f^\]i I use 1)^ inch pine plank cut the size of my S2C- 

 tions, 5x6, then cut the desired shape, stick in a 

 "starter" and slip them in among the sections. Heart 

 shape is as good as any and especially appropriate at 

 wedding suppers. If put on in the height of white clover 

 bloom, they will be ftUed wonderfully perfect and white. 

 For a good jjb always place the point of the heart up- 

 ward. I always save every particle of clean white comb 

 for my supers, and do not expect to use any next season 

 without comb or found itions, as I am thoroughly con- 

 vinced that it pays "wondrous well". I consider the 

 foundation a great acquisition. 



You recommend zinc or tin points for holding the sides 

 in my glass honey boxes ; a good suggestion, but is'nt my 

 present plan a better one ? I use nothing whatever to 

 hold them together but four pieces of paper one inch 

 square fastened with prepared glue across the comers of 

 the sides above and below. I frequently place a pirtiy 

 filled section with empty ones, on a colony to induce them 

 to start, but never thought of leaving the bees on. 1 

 place my boxes and sections directly on th j frames c n in.y 

 "Boss" hive. If the frames come to the top of the hive, 

 the sections and boxes are easily loosened by using a fine 

 wire 20 or 21. inches long tied to a couple of sticks for 

 hand holds. It can readily be drawn under the boxes. 

 Try it. I'd like to have you see my "Boss"' hive. 



Have had ready sale at home for all our honey, at 2.5e. 

 in see 'ions or glass boxes. I sell boxes and all at 25c. per 

 lb, and pay the same for boxes etc. when returned. How 

 is your thick comb race coming on ? I have some "j}4 in. 



thick. J. M. GOEMLET. 



Carey, Ohio, Sept. 18th, 1876. 



The cutting out of these fancy hearts, ovals, 

 circles, crosses etc., will be fine work for the 

 boys on their scroll saws ; and as scroll saw- 

 ing has become one of the fine arts, we sup- 

 pose there will be no trouble in having any 

 number of them in readiness at a moderate 

 price, before another season. 



The idea of cutting the whole set of boxes 



loose at once, certainly deserves considering, 



but will it not kill more or less bees? Have 



as yet received no samples of the thick combs. 



— ^^^- •^♦^^^ 



HIVES USED BY OTTR LEADING BEE' 

 KEEPERS. 



Continued from Sept. Xo. 



W^E believe the principal hive iu use la 

 California, is the Langstroth ; but 

 those used by Mr. Harbison are mostly if not 

 all, what is called the Harbison hive. Tlie 

 frames instead of being suspended, arc held 

 up, and at an exact distance from eacli other, 

 by one of the uprights being prolonged and 

 resting in a mLir'.ise in the bottom board. 



