272 



GLEANIN^GS IN^ BEE CULTUEE. 



Oct. 



seem to be unnoticed by the bees. I do not 

 think it will pay to attempt to cviltivate 

 them for honey ; better move your bees to 

 where they grow naturally, when you liave 

 determined by moving a single hive first, as 

 a test, whether they are yielding honey in 

 paying quantities. 



Where the asters and golden rod abound 

 largely, it may be best to defer feeding un- 

 til these plants have ceased to yield honey; 

 say the last of Sept. 



There are 2398 of j^ou this 28th day sf Oct. 



Agravating : To have sold a hybrid queen, and 

 then can not find t he "Ja-fl e." 



The yellow Italians, are making every thing roar, 

 on the fall asters which have just come out ; and, by 

 the way, some of them are making- things lively 

 around the houses where the women are canning 

 peaches. 



Our neighbors Dean, and Blakeslee, have been 

 feeding extracted honey to get their unfinished sec- 

 tion boxes ready for market. The liquid honey costs 

 10c. by the barrel, and the sections bring 25c. To 

 "cipher" out this matter, I put a one-story hive on 

 a pair of scales, removed all the combs ))ut the 5 

 containg brood, and put in their place :M sections, 

 put on an upper story, and set a pan ei^ntaining ^'4 

 lbs, of thick liquid honey riuht over them, spreading 

 on cheese cloth to prevent drowning. In four days 

 the honey was out of the pan; and how much do 

 you suppose the si-iles had ^one down V None to be 

 perceived, but tiiev liavc now lieen two days at woi-k 

 sealing the honey; and have lost i.t lb. The sections 

 contained comb built out full length, but most of 

 the honey v/as found in the 5 brood combs, and the 

 queen very much cramped for room. 



> ^ ♦ 



Latest intelligence "from the seat of war;—" The 

 candy slab- inside of an L frame, was all taken out by 

 a moderate colony in less than 2 weeks, so that not a 

 crumb of candy was to be found anywhere. A large 



amount of brood was started, and the plan of feed- 

 ing seems to possess all the good qualities of liquid 

 food, with no trouble whatever, except hanging the 

 frame in the hive. The grape sugar has been receiv- 

 ed, and it not only looks very much like the candy, 

 but our bees work on it just as it comes from the 

 factory, without any admixture of honey at all. The 

 Italians take it much faster than the hybrids, and 

 what seems to me astonishing, is that lumps laid in 

 front of the hives, will be all used up rigkt in the 

 middle of the day, without a robber coming near. I 

 presume it is because the blacks and hybrids are too 

 lazy to bring water to moisten it with. Some col- 

 onies have taken a lb. a day from a lump laid over 

 the frames under the quilt, 



I have not yet tried mixing flour with it, but have 

 visions of rye Hour at I'jC, mixed with grape sugar 

 at 'dV2, making a candy for— perhaps we had better 

 hold on until we are sure it is good for wintering. I 

 will giv'e the matter a thorough test just as fast as 

 I can. 



FBICi: LIST OP QUEENS. 



Imported queens will be f 6.00, If I select the best 

 to flU your order, or f 5.00, if I select the poorest. 

 What I mean by best, is those which are largest and 

 lightest in color, that produce the largest and yel- 

 lowest bees, and are the most prolilic layers. It 

 takes a long time to test a queen for honey gather- 

 ing, and therefore it would be nothing strange. If 

 those sent out at the lesser price, are really most 

 valuable. 



Tested Queens reared from Imported mothers hav- 

 ing all the above good qualities, $3. ; with pai't of the 

 above good qualities, S^3.50, and the poorest, that I 

 feel sure are not hyl)i-ids, *1.50. Now I am going to 

 try to have the abo\ e satisfactory, and if they are 

 n(")t, you are to send them back, inside of 40 days and 

 get your money or aiiotlu r ([iieen, as you choose. 



Voung queens just eonunencing to lay, will be sold 

 for $1. , if you come and get them ; if you want them 

 sent by mail, send us 10c, for cage and postage. 



Queens that have been tested and "found want- 

 ing," will be sold for .50c. I also reserve the privilege 

 of sending out any kind of a queen that I do not like, 

 as a 50c. queen. I have made the above conditions 

 that I may be enabled to "pick out" queens to 

 order, without doing any of you an injustice. The 

 dollar queens, are always taken just as they come. 

 If any of you can furnish them cheaper, I will rejoice 

 with the rest. 



A SECTION BOX FILLED WITH HONEY. 

 Some of you have asked so many questions in regard to the Section Boxes of honey, I thought I would 

 give j^ou a i-eal good picture of one ; have I not succeeded ? You can ha\'e the frame as a model to work from, 

 and you may show the honey to your bees telling them you wish the honey built cleai- up to the wood, like 

 this one. They are ^% square, 2 inches thick, and weigh just 1 lb., and when you can produce packages like 

 the above, you can sit in your apiary and work as independent as good honest folks like we are (?) ought to 

 be, while customers inquire for and hunt us up, just for the privilege of taking all we can raise, at 35c. per 

 lb. Several tons of such honey could now be sold in the city of Cleveland alone, at the above price. From 

 3 to 5c. per lb. on a crop of honey, is quite an item ; the bees will put it in the right shape just as well as any. 



