146 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



May 



rating how the man Gillespie, the one Avho 

 claimed a patent on all two story hives, is 

 obtaining money from those using the metal 

 corners, claiming that he hgis a patent on 

 them. 



On i^age ISO of the A. B. J.,a correspon- 

 dent intimates that I jnit Mitchell in the 

 Immbugs and swindles, because he charges 

 SIO. for a right to use his hive. I fear my 

 fiiend forgets himself ; it was because Mitch- 

 ell received money for which he returned 

 no equivalent, and demanded money from 

 those who used a sheet of duck over the 

 frames, claiming he had a patent on it, and 

 such like work. The editor of the ^1. B. J. 

 will tell you the same, I think, even if he 

 for:Tot to say as much, in a note at the end 

 of the communication. 



BEWARE OF LAND PIRATES WHO 

 DEMAND MONEY, ON THE GROUND 

 THAT YOUR HIVES ARE AN IN- 

 FRINGEMENT ON THEIR PATENTS. 

 I confess it is a hard matter for me to deal 

 with this class of peojile in a christian like 

 way, and, if I am too severe, and an excuse 

 is needed, I hope the outrageous falsehoods 

 tliat they tell, may be taken into consider- 

 ation. I give below the letter I have alluded 

 to above. 



You M-ill find pnclosed 75 cents, for which please 

 poDcl me 100 metal corners for bee hives. I would 

 like to try them, if wo can be allowed to nse them 

 here. A "great" bee man who claims the patent 

 rifrht for them, one Gillespie, has been here lately, 

 pnd sold the right for this (Johnson) Co. We do not 

 wish to infringe on his rights; but if we can use 

 thom, we will probably want more, as my husband 

 IS a carpenter, and makes a good manv hives. 



Mrs. S. B. Dobtks. 



Coliimbus, Mo., March 35th, 1878. 



At one place, these fellows claim they 

 lave a patent that covers all two story hives, 

 i'iid get their 5 or '$10.; at the next, they 

 claim a patent on the sheets of cloth used 

 over the frames ; again, on a cloth cushion; 

 and now, the notorious Gillepsie has the 

 lirazen imjuidence to claim the metal corn- 

 ers. It is he who collected large sums of 

 money from all who used two story hives, 

 claiming that his common sense hive cov- 

 ered all. (See page 138, Vol. IV.) The com- 

 mon sense, the adjustable, the cottage, and 

 fu^veral others, are being "run," just now, 

 on this same i)lan, and we are constantly re- 

 ceiving letters asking us, if the agents can 

 enforce their claims. The whole story is 

 s'lch utter nonsense, that one wonders peo- 

 ple will hand over their money, on a claim 

 so ridiculous; but the fear of law suits, 

 which they always threaten, is so great, that, 

 many hand over the money, without even 

 sto]i''>ing to question. The papers and print- 

 ed ('ocuments which they show, purporting 

 to come from the patent office, are the most 

 barefaced frauds. The . J. _B. /., by giving 

 iilace to their strings of false statements, as 

 in the item last mentioned, is lending itself 

 to their nefarious work. If the editor is do- 

 ing this through ignorance, I can think it 

 scarcely less excusable. It is his business 

 to keep posted. If their patents are valid, 

 let them prosecute me ; for I am probably 

 tlic greatest infringer. As a matter of 

 course, they will try to injure me in every 

 way possible, but I will freely forgive this, 

 if I can in any way, be the means of stop- 



ping them from robbing the innocent and 

 unoffending people. 



There is one thing more, and as it is not a 

 very pleasant matter. I would rather let it 

 alone entirely ; but I think it best to speak 

 plainly, and have a fair understanding. In 

 1872, J.P.Parker, of Alamo, Tenn., sent 

 J. W. Winder, §30. for two imported queens, 

 according to his advertisement. The money 

 was acknowledged, and the queens prom- 

 ised at different times, but after a year or 

 more, friend P. demanded either his money 

 or queens, and threatened to have him ]mb- 

 lished, if he did not send it. Mr. W. replied, 

 if he made a fuss about it, he would never 

 ])ay him a copper, which threat he has faith- 

 fully carried out. A few weeks ago, Mr. 

 Winder sent me an advertisement. I wrote 

 back the reason why I could not accept it. 

 He rei)lied that he was much surprised that 

 I should bring up a matter of so many years 

 ago, that he had been unfortunate and lost 

 his property, and that the way of the world 

 was to give a man a push, when.once down. 

 Perhaps he is right, but how about the S30. 

 that friend Parker sent him in good faith ? 

 Is it not hard to save money to send off for 

 queens that you need badly, and then be de- 

 layed and annoyed in this way, tinally losing 

 it altogether ? 'Mr. Winder is not the only 

 offender of this kind, and it may be a com- 

 mon thing for a man to fail to pay his debts ; 

 but so long as you choose me to conduct this 

 journal — by your patronage— no one shall 

 have space as an advertiser who refuses to 

 pay an honest debt ; and if he fails through 

 bad management, he must take the conse- 

 quences. I do not think it right that inno- 

 cent people should suffer because other peo- 

 ple are careless, any more than can be 

 avoided; and if you will keep out of debt, 

 you will never become bankrupt. I know 

 many of you will call this course very harsh 

 and hard, but if Mr. AVinder will do his best 

 to pay friend Parker, I will pay half of the 

 S30. myself. 



KEPOKT FROM TEXAS. 



I HOW BEGINNERS GET ALONG. 



! ^!p5»XEASE hurry up the last bill of goods ordered, 

 ■ fer^ especially the comb fdn., as I have used up the 

 ! ^J 10 lbs. sent. I like it flrstrate. It is now full of 

 brood, and I need more to build up my young 

 I swarms, and those that 1 have divided. My first 

 ! natural swarm came out March 16th. My plan of 

 dividing is as follows: 1 hare a large musquito bar 

 made about eight or ten feet square; drive four good 

 I smooth slakes Into the gi-ound, and leave them 7 or 8 

 feet high; put my bar over them, smoke my hive, 

 I carry it under, and go to work. Then I am not an- 

 I noyed by robbers, which are pretty bad at this sea- 

 son. (It is a good place to transfer). I look for the 

 i old queen ard lea%-e her with about ^a of the bees, 

 I and half of the frames in the old hive; place the new 

 hive where the old one sat, and the old one on a new 

 I stand; put two frames of comb fdn. in each hive, 

 \ and division board. In 6 days, (if they are black bees) 

 ] open the swarm with no queen, cut out the (lueen 

 cells, leave them two days, then look over my Ital- 

 ians, find a queen cell, and insert it. After this, I 

 ' open them every few days, and spread the fn'mcs, 

 I and fill up, and, in a short time, 1 have all my hives 

 full of frames and bees. 1 have been busy for sev- 

 eral days, opening hives and cutting out queen cells 

 from these that I do not want to swaim. Several 

 j swarms are working now in bo.vcs, with S frames 

 1 full of brood. 



If any of the readers of Gleanings can make a 



