1870 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



3C2 



It is quite customary to print lliittering testimonials 

 from advertisers, but we cauiiot remember to have seen a 

 letter in print from any who gave the other side of the 

 story. We have had some personal experience in wast- 

 ing our money in paying for ads. that never gave us any 

 return wliatever, and yet these same papers would per- 

 suade that their columns were the very best mediums in 

 the world. Now we do desire to have those who send us 

 money for advertising, feel that they have received a full 

 equivalent ; and if such investments do not pay, we wish 

 to have it underslood, that we may use our pages for 

 something that docs pay all parlies interested. Mr. Hed- 

 (lon and Mr. Beektell, both complain that they have 

 made no sales from advertising bees. Although there are 

 two good reasons for this— other parties offered them 

 lower, and few like to risk purchasing in the fall — we 

 should like to have a full expression from our advertisers ; 

 if every thing is not satisfactory, let us know it by all 



ABOUT GLEANINGS FOR 1877. 



It will probably be of the same size it now is, and 

 the price just Sl.OO ; it will, we suppose contain the 

 usual amount of blunders, but mixed with them, we 

 are going to try to have much that is good. For the 

 benefit of the brothers and sisters who use spectacles. 

 we have purchased the whitest of paper for it, and 

 we are going to print it wich the blackest of ink. To 

 make every thing plain, we would like to have it 

 crammed full of pictures, bnt good pictures cost an 

 awful lot of money— why you would be surprise:! to 

 learn that friend Rice's apiary cost us but a few cents 

 less than §10,00, and the one in this >fo. almost as 

 much, had not friend Muth paiil over one-tiiird of it 

 himself. We can but feel that we haye never deserved 

 these kindnesses, from such whole-souled generous 

 friends scattered about. I hope that every one who 

 contributes to Gleanings, or who sends a dollar 

 towards its support, will be free to submit their opin- 

 ions in the way of suggestions, that we may know 

 just when wc are pleasing you. And now before say- 

 ing good bye, we wish to add that you can not fliin/c 

 how much it pleases us to get tokens of apjiroval in 

 the shape of letters with dollars in "em. 



FRAMES BUT 6 INCHES DEEP. 



SEE that in the Nov. number you have printed 

 my article from the A.B.J, entitled -The Best 



"'Hive for all Purposes;" and it is for the puiposeof 

 noting some of your criticisms that I am now writing. 



And first I claim it as high praise when you admit 

 its adaptability for box hoi\ey. I take it that box 

 honey is what most of us are striving for, and when 

 we have got a hive that is best adapted to that pur- 

 pose we ought to study how to attain other points, 

 without destroying this one vital point. But I go far- 

 ther ; I claim that this hive is every way the equal of 

 any other hive for the extractor, and when you want 

 to work rapidly the large frames are not to be com- 

 pared to those low ones. I think I am safe in the as- 

 sertion that I can get the bees off two combs from my 

 frames in less time than it would take to get them 

 from one of the Langstroth construction. 



Why ? Because 1 have no bottom for a bee to get 

 under and bother me, in my Irame, and because I can 

 uncap the cells more rapidly in a narrow comb than a 

 wide one, 1 have no dillicully in handling the tender- 

 cst comb in ih'- hottest weather. 



But jour chief objection is that "great losses in 

 winteiing have resulted where such hives have been 

 largely in use." I admit that INIr. Bingham has had 

 heavy losses, but I cannot a'dmit that the fault was 

 with his hives, for the reason that the great majority 

 of those who use his hives, in this vicinity, have suc- 

 ceeded as well as those who use any and all other 



kinds, and in many cases better. Indeed, the worst 

 cleaned out bee men around here arc those who use 

 the old box hives. 



My practice is to lift half the frames to the top oi 

 the other hall— this makes the hive 12 Inches dceit 

 then move the whole back to the middle of the bot- 

 tom board, and put in an extra set of front and rear 

 boards, leaving a space of three inches which I fill 

 with very dry saw dust or wheat bran, and cover the 

 bees with a box of bran with a doth bottom. Have 

 the bran say ;5 inches deep, and leave this packing till 

 the time to put on boxes, (as my hives are placed on 

 the ground I use no bottom i)acking), say in June. 

 With this packing the bees put their brood in the out- 

 er combs almost as freely as in the interior ones. 



As all the lumber I use in packing goes without fur- 

 ther work on it into new hives, I have no waste, ami 

 no useless lumber to store away. 



You ask if the combs are not very often fastened lo 

 the bottom board V I answer, never. 



Did you ever see the combs in the old-fashioned lwi\ 



hives ? It is the same in this low hive. 



Ji i.n;s ToMi.iNsoN. 

 Allegan, Mich., Nov., 1876. 



This low frame hts a very special interest to 

 us ; last spring wc inentioneil an experiment tn 

 determine if a hive could not be made of Uni- 

 versal section boxes and nothini? more — pil- 

 ing them up as the colony increased, and re- 

 moving for sale as fast as any were capped 

 and suitable. Such a hive would be very 

 cheap, and about as simple as a pile of bricks. 

 We regret now that we did not carry the ex- 

 periment farther, especially as we found later 

 in the season, that such sections could be 

 handled beautifully, when thus piled up 2, or 

 even 3 high. There is a trouble in having the 

 brood sections as far apart as those for sur- 

 plus, but doubtless this can be remedied, if 

 bees will breed profitably in combs but in- 

 ches in depth. 



^VINTERING, STARTERS FOR COMB 

 MONEY, ETC. 



•^r? T would make you smile to see oui' loiiir rows of hives 

 'I all packed and tucked up with llieir winter hoods on. 

 all ready to receive old Boreas : and you can bet all 

 your old boots that none of them will starve for want of 

 honey. We have taken extra pains in putlini; them up 

 this fall, for we noticeil that the loss of bees has been very 

 great, owmg we think, to the queen stopping brood very 

 early, and so much chilly weather during September and 

 a greater part of October. We also noticed a few davs 

 ago, when the weather was very wnrni and the bees Hy- 

 ing very briskly, that a gre:vt many aliirliteil on the fonccx 

 and boards all over the apiiry, and many of them seemi'd 

 to be quite dumpish. We shall watch them closely. 



The p.ast season has not been an extra one for hoiii'v, 

 but after footing l)r. and Cr. we find our income from thi- 

 apiary will be §750.00 for comb honey, nearly all sold at 

 20c., besides the increase, 20 colonics. We have now in 

 winter quarters S3 swarms. Since wi^ have wintered in 

 chaff boxes we arc not all the time worrying about tln' 

 temperature, sudden changes of weitber etc., and tiny 

 are always ready for a lly whenever the weather is suii- 

 able. But mark this; we have a row of hives facin.' 

 north, and close up to a \\x\\\ hoard fcncj; the sun nev.-r 

 shines on tliesy hives from Octob '!■ u-i'il .\pril, an! Ill' 

 weither must be remarkably warm in the win;e.' \'< 

 arouse the bees to lly nuich, while? those standin- in tli-, 

 sun will bo flying briskly. Yet the»e northern stocks are 

 always strongest in the sjn-ing. 



