70 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



*Mar. 



thing; but I have little hope that anything 

 would prove as durable in this respect, as 

 the slate itself. Are any of our subscribers 

 near slate quarries? if so, will they please 

 work the matter up, or give us the address 

 of the proper parties? 



IN THE NICK OF TllflS:. 



MANY people have a habit of locking- the stable 

 after the horse has been stolen, and no doubt 

 , many bee-keepers try to save small or weak 



stocks in the spring-, and try to patch them up, when 

 it's too late. Now, they did not do it in the "nick of 

 time." As early as the middle of Sept. every winter, 

 stock should be put in shape. W^e mean by this, 

 that a colony should have plenty of honey and just 

 as many combs as they can well cover, and no more. 

 Don't be afraid to crowd them a little, for as the 

 weather becomes cold they will find ample room. In 

 this condition a colony will keep their hives warm, 

 expel the moisture, and no frost will be found in the 

 hive, even in the coldest weather, in well packed 

 hives. 



The next "nick of time" will be the first day in 

 spring that is warm enoug-h to handle them with 

 safety. Now is the time to save weak stocks; crowd 

 them onto as few combs as possible with division 

 board, and tuck them up warm. In this condition, 

 brooding will go on quite rapidly and the stocks will 

 soon begin to increase in numbers. 



But if such weak stocks are left in a large hive 

 containing double the number of combs they can 

 cover, they are cold and can't raise brood fast 

 enough to keep their numbers good, and dwindling 

 is the result. Any stock that is worth the saving, 

 can, every time, be built up into a good populous 

 stock ready for business by the time white clover 

 blooms. We do not much fancy the robbing of good 

 stocks of their brood to build up a lot of weak ones, 

 except it might be to save valuable queens, &c. 



I find, every spring, that I can put the A'ery best 

 stocks I have on about 5 combs until nearly the end 

 of April. By that time they will be crowded from 

 top to bottom. Ni)w I spread the combs but not 

 sooner, and by fruit blossom time they are very pop- 

 ulous and ready tor action. 



Since 1 have adopted the plan above described, I 

 have no trouble, either in winter or spring, with my 

 bees; two per cent will cover the loss of re76 and '77. 



J. Butler. 



Jackson, Mich., Jan. 31st, 1878. 



EXTRACTED VERSUS COITIB HONEY. 



ALSO SOMETHING AEOUT LONG ONE STORY HIVES. 



f> WAS much interested in Doolittle's explanation 

 of how he got 666 lbs. of honey from one hive. 

 — I It seems to me, notwithstanding yoiu- opinion to 

 the contrary, this experiment of his, has completelj- 

 solved the hive question. Here, with a one story, 

 simple frame hive, altho' it icofi a hnig idea anc, 566 

 lbs. of honey was obtained, which, if sold at 10c per 

 lb., would bring 156.60; while if his average of comb 

 honey had been 200 lbs. from each hi\'e instead of 166, 

 at 20c per lb. it would have brought him but S!40.00. 

 Besides, as he worked only two hives for extracted 

 honey and 55 for comb, it is not all probable that he 

 had the best honey makers in the hives from which 

 he extracted. Be that as it may, it is evident he lost 

 some $15.00 or more per hive by working for comb 

 honey; this amount on 55 colonies would amount to 

 the snug little sum of 1975.00. These figures of 

 course are only approximate, not having Doolittle's 

 repfirt at hand, to make verbatim extracts from. 



Again, all agree that extracted honey can be pro- 

 duced with less than one-half the labor, and certain- 

 ly with one-half the cost in hives, honey boxes and 

 fixtures. Besides, extracted honey can be sold for 

 more than 10 cts. per lb., while it is extremely diffi- 

 cult to get 20 cts. per lb. for comb honey. 



Hence, I conclude it will not pay to raise comb 

 honey; or rather it will pay better to produce ex- 

 tracted honey. You speak of his "long idea" hive as 

 though it were going back to antiquated notions, 

 and mention another party who actuailv uot a few 

 lbs. innie from a two story hive; and von Very iustly 

 conclude, therefore, that the shape of the hive had 

 nothing to do with his success. True enough; and 

 here is the important point; if as much honey, or a 



little less, can be obtained from a simple one story 

 hive, why be bothered with manipulating a compli- 

 cated and costly two story one? I think a longer 

 frame, like the Langstroth for instance, would be 

 better for such a hive than the little, square Gallup, 

 because we would get about as much comb in 20 such 

 fi-ames, as in the 132 Doolittle used, and thus save 

 nearly two-fifths of its length. 



Now, I want to tell you my plan of using chaff. I 

 think I discount your chaff cushions for the sides of 

 the hives. In order to do this, I must first tell you 

 of my hive. My frames are 10x13 inches inside and 

 hang across the hive, which is 16i/4 inches wide. I 

 make four frames two inches wide and large enough, 

 when hung in the hive, to fill the sides and touch the 

 bottom. One side of these frames is covered with 

 any thin wood, such as picture backing or lath, and 

 the other side, after packing it full of chaff, is cov- 

 ered with wire cloth, just such as people use for door 

 and window screens. This wire keeps the chaff in 

 and at the same time permits the escape of the mois- 

 ture from the bees. They are used in this way: the 

 top bar of two of them is rabbeted the same as the 

 sides of the hive; these two are hung, one in the 

 front end of the hive which one has an entrance slot 

 cut in its boltom bar, and the other is hung in the 

 rear, far enough back for the frames to hang be- 

 tween. Enough frames are now hung in to winter 

 the bees on, and the other chaff frames hung one on 

 each side. Then a chaff cushion is placed on top and 

 the bees are chaff bound completely, bottom except- 

 ed. These frames I can make for less money than 

 you advertise your chaff cushions at, they can't be 

 eaten by either bees or mice and ought to last indefi- 

 nitely. Of course this is for one story hives. 



I have two experimental colonies which I am try- 

 ing to winter exclusively on glucose. I looked at 

 them tc-day; they seem to be doing nicely so far. 

 A. W. Foreman, M. D. 



White Hall, Ills., Feb. 4th, 1878. 



Pertaining to Bee Cnltiire. 



[We respectfully solicit the aid of our friends in 

 conducting this department, and would consider it a 

 favor to have them send us all circulars that have a 

 deceptive appearance. The greatest care will be at 

 all times maintained to prevent injustice being done 

 any one.] 



I^UR industrious friend Mitchell has just 

 %M issued quite a pretty little circular, and 

 ^^^ if he would moderate his statements a 

 little it might be the means of doing some 

 good. A while ago, he estimated each colo- 

 ny should produce $100.00, but he now gets 

 it much better, although it should come 

 down a great deal yet. We extract as fol- 

 lows : 



Bees handled and worked as they ought to.be and 

 as we direct, every such colony will give its keeper 

 annually at the lowest estimate, .$40.00 cash, or 100 

 colonies will give the keeper f4000.CO, and in very 

 many sections they will double that. 



Do you see how mistaken you were last 

 month, friend Martin? and again : 



There are purchasers in New York City who are 

 advertising for extracted white clover and basswood 

 honey, and are buying all they can get for which they 

 are paying 22 cents a pound cash, and they like it cul 

 the hetter if it is cMulied. 



Well, really ! this is better news yet. Un- 

 fortunately the address of this house was 

 not given. We presume it is furnished his 

 pupils who pay §5.00 for two hours school- 

 ing. I infer from the next that lie has gone 

 way past spring dwindling. 



Along in the month of February 1 he j'oung bees 

 will be hatching out by thousands. Then is the time 

 to aid your bees to increase in number. This you do 

 by removing one of the adjusting boards a little, and 

 frames, so as to be able to set one of the ^empty 



