204 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Aug. 



so terrible after all, as has been the case with 

 many other obstacles to rural industry. 



HOBJEY KNIVES. TEMPEKAXr'RE FOR 

 A¥II«TEKING, &c. 



SOME QUESTIONS FROM A WOMAN BEE-KEEPEB. 



^ AM a beginner in bee-keeping, had but 7 colonies 

 III the '28th of April last, in old miserable hives— 

 i— 'I have increased to 19, shall have several more. I 

 put all the new swarms in L. hives and they are doing 

 finely; some have fdled the 10 frames and arc storing 

 box honey from wliite clover which is abundant. 



Send me the best honey knife you have, the one you 

 like best. 



What ought the temperature of the room to be for 

 wintering bees most successfully? Wliat work can I 

 get on the subject of wintering? What is the trouble ? 

 In our cold climate, would a dry room— well ventila- 

 ted—where the mercury never goes below 40^, (with- 

 out artiflcial heat) bo a good place? Would I need 

 chaff cushions on top of frames in such a room ? If I 

 put wire cloth over portico is that all the ventilation 

 they need? Shall I put the caps on in such a room in 

 winter? 



There are no bee-keepers here, not a movable frame 

 hive In this county save mine, which I sent out of the 

 State to get. Mrs. A. B. Smedley. 



Cresco, Iowa, July 2d, 1877. 



We much prefer a straight bladed knife, and 

 if we had one with a curved point, should cer- 

 tainly want a straight one also, for a multi 

 tude of purposes in working among the hives. 

 Where attachments of comb are made where 

 not wanted, against the side of the hives for 

 instance, the sharp rounded point of the flat 

 blade, is just what is wanted. Mr. Quinby 

 made the first curved point knife we ever saw 

 or heard of, and those we ofler are made after 

 his pattern. 



About 40° is considered the best tempera- 

 ture for in-door M'intering. We know of no 

 work on wintering that is up to the times, but 

 we shall endeavor to give all the latest devel- 

 opments, before it is time to prepare for win- 

 tering. Much in regard to wintering is still 

 unexplained ; it is not cold weather alone, or 

 at least not severe cold weather, for they die 

 in the same way in the Southern states ; and 

 the great losses, are mainly in March or April, 

 after severe weather is past. Your dry room 

 should be kept perfectly dark, as well as ven- 

 tilated and frost proof. We would remove 

 the covers for in-door wintering, but would 

 leave the sheet of duck over the frames. The 

 full entrance will be ventilation enough, un- 

 less the colony is very populous. With the 

 excellent success that has attended chaff cush- 

 ions, we would advise using them whether the 

 bees are in-doors or out. In the house apiary, 

 which seldom or never goes below a freezing 

 temperature, they have proved a very decided 

 advantage indeed. 



SMAL.Ii STEAM ENGINES, VERSl S FOOT 

 FOWER, Ac. 



^np|\ EAR NOVICE :— I liave just been lying on top of 

 Mfr a row of bee hives under tlie shed, reading 

 4^^^ Gleanings and watching for swarms, bees fly- 

 ing thick around me. It takes several pairs tf eyes to 

 watch all the bees we have here. I want a little more 

 light in regard to that l}i liorse power engine that 

 I'riend Martin tells of, to run a foot power saw. 

 "We uns'' may want something of the kind down 

 here anotlier year. Novice can't you add buzz saw 

 engines to your price list? I>on't ex))ect you to send 

 them by mail of course. Will friend Martin please 

 tell us where he got his, and what it cost ? is there 

 any more there, and all about it ? 



Bees are doing well here, from one to live swarms 

 per day. Will. M. Kellogg. 



Bee ilanche. Miss. River, June 25lh, 1877. 



Here's "what I know about engines." I purchased 

 mine of S. C. Forsaith & Co.. Manchester, N. H., price 

 $180.00. It is an upright boiler, rated at 1>2 horse 

 powei', occupies only about 18x24 inches floor space, 

 and runs at the lively rate of about 200 revolutions 

 per minute. You may talk ftbout your foot powers, I 

 wouldn't trade my little engine for all the foot powers 

 in the U. S. I'nless a man has the strength of a Her- 

 cules he will break down on the continuous treading 

 of a foot power, while the engine takes all tiie leg la- 

 bor away from you, and your saw mill sings all day 

 on two scuttles of coal and a few cinders, or siflings 

 from the grate. Witli the work we now have to do 

 we couldn't possibly get along without the engine, 

 and advise every bee-keeper with a hundred swarms 

 or more, to get one ; of course it will take some time 

 to learn to run it and understand all its kinks. We 

 notice a book advertised in last No. of the Agricultu- 

 rist that will just lill the bill for an amateur engineer. 

 We notice several engines advertised in the Scientific 

 American; The Eureka for 8150, the Little Giant S15C, 

 and the Domestic for §175. An engine of this size can 

 be put to many uses on a farm, and is a very handy 

 machine to have round even if you don't keep bees. 



NOW ABOUT COJIB FOUNDATION. 



We sent our wax to Mr. Nellis, had it worked 

 up and have since purcliaeed more, and we can not 

 say enough in its praise; the bees readily build it out 

 and the queen scon tills it with eggs. Without hesi- 

 tation we vote it a success for brood combs, while for 

 surplus honey we have not given it sufficient trial, 

 but liave some in process of filling out in section 

 frames. 



KIPENING HONEY. 



On page 180, Gleanings, we notice friend Doalit- 

 tle's interesting letter, in relation to tlie above sulj- 

 ject, and it induces us to relate a little ol our experi- 

 ence from experiment. We noticed last fall that the 

 honey cairied out in cans by our peddler, candied 

 very soon, and we thought it was owing to the con- 

 tinuous agitation it received. To test tlie Iheoiy by 

 experiment, I made a small churn of a quart Iruit can 

 and fixed it so as to run from our engine belt while 

 we were at our usual work and the result was just as 

 we expected ; the honey soon turned to a milky white- 

 ness with a tliick white foam, and after being set 

 away did not become clear again, but candied solid. 

 We are trying farther experiments with different 

 qualities of honey and think if any one wants candied 

 honey on short notice, we can supply it, even if we 

 have to churn it. This seems to corroborate Mr. Doo- 

 little's theory. This may also explain why some 

 honey candies sooner than another quality, perhaps 

 some swarms churn tlieir honey more than others. 

 Whenever we experiment with honey we frequently 

 think of the Scriptural mention of "the land that 

 flows with milk antl honey." Now is it not possible 

 that among the lost arts there was a combination of 

 these products for the use of man ? 



Our bees have been doing well but recent heavy 

 rains have dampened tlieir ardor somewliat. 



We fasten fdn. in frames in the following manner; 

 the under side of top bar is without groove or guide, 

 rub a piece of wax over this surface and then press 

 the edge of the fdn. down flat upon it with your table 

 leaf press, and then turn the fdn. down the way it 

 should hang in the frame. Ours sticks every time; 

 rubbing the wax on first gives it a foot hold. 



J. H. Maktin, Hartford, N. Y., July 4th, '77. 



Your little steam engines are all right, but 

 my friends you need a foot power saw all the 

 same. Although we have saws running by 

 power constantly, we tlnd one of the Barnes 

 saws so handy that we can hardly get along 

 without it. If we want to cut off a piece of 

 lath, it does the work true, exactly square, 

 and so much smoother than any thing that 

 can be done with a hand saw, that we some- 

 times meditate taking all the latter out of the 

 shop. It is true, that many of the hands would 

 not learn how to use the machine at all, unless 

 told how, over and over again. For making 

 packing boxes, crating odd shaped articles, 

 and for a great variety of odd job work, the 

 foot power saw is cheaper and quicker than 

 steam, unless an extra saw is kept constantly 

 running. 



Thank you friend Kellogg, and I will at 

 once take measures to examine into, and per- 



