1877 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



105 



objectionable. Is it not the olVoring of this 3rt ciay 

 honey lor sale, that has brought pxtractcd honey into 

 Uisreputc.' My ;id day honey woulri not need an ex- 

 tractor lor emptying the combs, turning such as would 

 bear it on their side and giving a Jorli would throw 

 all out. I have seen honey offered for r,ale, which 1 

 supposed was some of this 3d day sttifl", that looked 

 iike honey and water Imperfectly mixed. 



liKiAR, Ontario, Canada. 

 I'. S.— I frequently see that pcoi)le say they let their 

 liees out to have a dy, on warm days in winter. How 

 is this done ? If I were to attempt it, my bees would 

 alight on the snow, and never rise again. 



Thank you friend "B." for showing up our 

 apparent inconsistency. If you use a small 

 single story lilvc many of the patented ones, 

 ■> our bees will have every cell tilled in 3 days 

 iuringagood season, and what then are you 

 to do if you do not extract ? Again, there are 

 localities, and seasons when the honey seems 

 thick and nice, almost as soon as gathered, 

 and l^rof. Cook is among those who say they 

 tind no trouble with honey extracted before it 

 is sealed. During a dry season, wo can ex- 

 tract every 3 days, and get fair honey, but du- 

 ring a wet season like the two last, it may 

 take 10 days or more to have it ripened so the 

 hees can cap it. Now right here comes in the 

 importance of having hives that cau be piled 

 up 3 or even 3 stories high. If the honey 

 above is not ripe we cau raise it up, and put 

 •in empty story uuder it, and thus give ample 

 room, and ample time for capping either comb 

 r extracted honey. Lifting a whole story 

 liid putting a new one under it, is very <|uick- 

 y done, even if a body be ever .so busy. 



\Vc should uot think of taking bees out iu 

 ],e wiuter, unless the weather was so warm 

 iiey W'Ould be sure to return safely, and not 

 •ve'n then, unless they were very uneasy. 



I think I will be able to sell a number of extractors. 

 The parties I sold to last season are well pleased with 

 iiiem. Chaeles Pool. 



(/arthage. Mo., Jan. *7tli, 187". 



KASTENING BEES IN THEIR HIVES, ITALIANS, 

 WHITE COMB HONEY, ETC. 

 I must tell you about some of my chaff hives. I 

 Slacked several last fall, as Townly and you advised. 

 >«ome of them are weak in bees and stores, and one 

 has the dysentery. I tried to lasten them up because 

 Uiey all tried to fly out, but that didn't do any good, 

 '.!'r you might as well try to fasten up rat?. They 

 Nvould gnaw holes in the quilt and get into the straw. 

 !'iobably thisis not a good test. I think the idea of 

 iiafl' packing is all foolery. I will never try it again. 

 use 10 different styles of hives, frames and boxes. 

 i liiink the extractor don't pay, when I get -ilc. for 

 honej'. box comb, 6 lb. boxes. One thing about Ital- 

 ians; I have found out, they fill the cells loo full of 

 hdney, and it gives lt.!-^fdark color, is not that so ? 



Hardin Haines. 



Vermont, 111., March 7th, 1877. 



We are not at all astonished that you think 



■'lutfall foolery, and that extracting don't pay, 



:!id we shall expect you to call the entire 



•:'siu<^S3 a hurabng very soon if you persist in 



istcning j-our bees in their hives to cure them 



r the dyseutery. Perhaps a few more kinds 



;' hives, might help the matter, especially in 



■'•■• hands of a beginner. Wc have ncv-v ;•-■. 



yet seen any symptoms of dysentery among 

 bees in the chaff hives, but very likely bad 

 stores might produce it. If bees try to go out 

 of hives placed out doors, we should let them 

 get out by all means even if they did die. We 

 think of no circumstances where we should 

 undertake to imprison tliem, unless they 

 were to be moved, and then we would fasten 

 them in just as short a time as possible. You 

 may be right in regard to Italians producing 

 comb honey that has a darker appearance than 

 that produced by the blacks. The latter 

 sometimes cap the honey when the cells are 

 not (iwite filled to the extreme top, and the 

 capping having nothing directly under it, 

 looks very white, while the comb honey made 

 by the Italians, being tilled with honey clear 

 up against the caps, will have a solid leady 

 appearance. It seems rather hard to blame 

 the Italians for giving full measure as far as 

 they go, just because the imperfect work of 

 their dark cousins looks whiter. Will have 

 to give you credit for first mentioning this 

 matter friend H., even if you have sadly abused 

 your siclf bees and then laid it to the chaff. 



FASTENING BEES IN THEIR HIVES, AND A "CORN- 

 CRIB- HOUSE- APIARY." 



I have put all my bees in a room in my barn, and in- 

 tend to keep them there the year round. The ques- 

 tion is, shall I leave the entrance to the hives open so 

 they can get out doors, or keep them fastened in dur- 

 ing cold weather. J. Woodbury. 



Huntington, Mass. Jan, 10 1877. 



If you were very sure to be on hand to let 

 your bees out whenever it was warm enough, 

 it might do to fasten them in, but judging 

 from the way most people do, we should say 

 do uot fastan them in at all. You can if you 

 choose, close the entrance so but one bee can 

 pass, and this will probably answer all prac- 

 tical purposes as well as closing them entirely. 

 Be very careful that they do not get out into 

 the barn and get tangled in webs and on the 

 windows, or you may lose a great many in a 

 very little while. At present we are much in- 

 clined to think a house apiary should be open 

 like a barn or corn-crib, having the hives well 

 packed with chaff, but the room perfectly open 

 aud w^ell ventilated. This would do away 

 with all dampness in wiuter, and would keep 

 it cool and slmdy in summer. Who will try 

 one ? 



You have, we think, now hit the nail squarely on 

 the head; and if Disston cannot furnish a splendid 

 saw, and then astonish the natives by his printed il- 

 lustrations, we are no judge of the matter. However, 

 if you have unfortunately lost the proper pito7i. of the 

 teeth, you want Holly to assist you in finding it. 



D. P. Lane. 



Koshkonong, Rock Co., Wis., Jan. 1, 1877. 



Bee business is playing out with some here, but I 

 think I will try to hold on to it a v/hile longer. I had last 

 fall about ICO stands, and sold over 3500 worth of 

 honey, and kept some for my family and bees. It has 

 paid me better than any other business I ever engaged 

 In. I bought 2") stands in L. liives for which I paid 

 SKO. I would like to have 500 at that price. 



P. J. Afflkck. 



Cerryvi'Jr, Clark Co.. Va,, Jan. 27, 1S77. 



