294 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



GIEAWJMGS in SEE CULTOBS. 



.A-- I- E,OOT, 

 EDITOa AN1> PUBLISHER, 

 MEDINA, OHIO. 



TEK.ns: 91.00 PEK YEAR, POST-PAIl>. 



B3hold, I g-ive unto you power to tread on ser- 

 pents and scorpions, and over all the power of the 

 enerav: and nothinar shall by any means hurt you.— 

 Luke 10: 19. 



-♦*•- 



If your bees arc getting no honey, look out for 

 robbing; if they are getting honey, look thankful. 



Ouu own apiary now comprises 241 colonies. The 

 best yield of honey from any one is Ul 1 lb. sections. 



■ na a^i ^ — ■ 



The CJevdand lyadyr says, "Bees can no longer be 

 sent by mail. 'Only reason giveri by the Government 

 is— because." _ 



We are now sending queens by return express, 

 with so few failures, that it is really refreshing. 

 Hj'brids, 50c; untested queens, $IM; tested, f:i.0O 

 and i'3.00. 



-ia» « ai ^ 



Our friend, Charles Kevill, of San Bernardino, 

 Cal., remarks very quietly, in a ixistscript, that his 

 bees arc doing very well so far; he has taken out 

 t>r:nt!i four tonsof honey. 



The last floor of the factory is being laid, as we go 

 to press. A .50 horse power steam engine is already 

 deposited in the basement, and T hope it will "push" 

 things next j'^ear, so wo shall not need any "Growl- 

 ery." 



^11^ 9f^» ^/^ 



Friend Nellis has withdrawn his ad. of Cyprian 

 queens, because they are no different from Italians, 

 unless it be that they are crosser. He Avrites that 

 he has received about 30 orders for them. But pre- 

 fers not to till them, as he considers them of no 

 practical value. 



Some queen cells were to hatch on Sunday, but 

 the hive was not opened until Monday morning, 

 when 5 queens were found parading about on the 

 combs. The 4 extra ones were put at once into col- 

 onies where queens had been sold, and not one of 

 them was molested. So, you see, nothing was lost 

 by suspending work on the Sabbath. 



.1 1^ ^ -fr^» ^ <y 



"Wilt.," the clerk of the apiary, has .iust im- 

 proved the bottle queen cage, so that no pins are 

 needed, and the bottle can be taken out to be refill- 

 ed, without removing the wire cloth. "Bessie," the 

 <iueen clerk, has devised a way of fastening the 

 cages together, with tacks and straw board, making 

 a much neater package. Seven queens are just be- 

 ing "rigged" for a trip to California. 



: « ♦ — • ' 



Messrs. Bingham & Hetherington have sent us 

 a sample of their new extracting knives. They are 

 beautifully finished and, doubtless, do the work 

 nicely ; we have had no opportiinity of trying it, as 

 it is not our season for extracting. The knife is so 

 much heavier than anything we have ever used, that 

 it seems as if it would be unhandy ; but it may be 

 just the thing for uncapping. Tho blade is so thick, 

 that it can not well be used for any other purpose. 



Because I have declined an article on the adulter- 

 tion of honey, it has been intimated that I did it 

 from selfish motives. I do not believe in "writing 

 up" or "down," a thing, nor have I much faith in 

 petitions to Congress, or Legislation ; but I do be- 

 lieve in letting- people exercise their own good com- 

 mon sense, and letting demand and supply regulate 

 disputed questions. I have never bought or sold a 

 lb. of glucose in my life ; but I have sold a great 

 many tuns of grape sugar for feeding bees, to incite 

 brood rearing. Grape sugar cannot be mixed with 

 honey, either in the hive or out of it, by any way 

 that i know of, on account of its propensity to sol- 

 idify, and separate. My profits are a quarter of a 

 cent a pound. 



In regard to what shall or shall not be published 

 in Gleanings, it seems to me you have chosen me 

 to be the one to decide ; I am always glad of sug- 

 gestions, but inasmuch as we have, all the time, a 

 great deal more yoocl matter than can possibly be 

 used, I do not see hovr I can always accommodate all 

 of you. 



IMPKOVEl?IENTS IN FOUNDATION. 



J/^ SAMPLE of friend Nellis' new fdn. is to-day, 

 S^ Aug. 28th, just at hand. The novelty in its 

 — ^j construction is in having the bottom of the 

 cells perfectly flat, like the tin honey comb made by 

 Mr. Quinby, many years ago. It occurred to me 

 many years ago, that it could easily be made in this 

 manner, but I thought then, and can but think still, 

 that the fiat bottom, instead of the natural shape, 

 will cause the bees greater labor, and a greater Ciin- 

 sumption of wax. Again, the comb with the wires 

 rolled in it is advertised at 80c per lb.; the sample be- 

 fore me weighs 5 feet to the lb., and this would give 

 16 cents, as the price of a square foot. In July, we 

 made fdn. for brood combs, as thin as 8 feet to the 

 lb.; but our customers complained of sagging so 

 much in the extreme hot weather, that we raised the 

 rolls and made it 5 and 6 fee.t to the lb. Again: now, 

 just hnld your breath a minute; eight feet to the 

 lb., at .55c., would be 7c. per square foot — nUv, cents 

 less than the fdn. with the wire in it. An L. frame 

 ^olds just about a square foot. Now the object of 

 the wires, is to keep the fdn. from sagging, and also 

 to prevent the comb from breaking out. If you are 

 going to have the comb so it cannot be shaken out 

 or break down in shipping bees, etc., you want these 

 wires securely fastened to the top and bottom bar 

 of the frame. This cannot bo done with the fdn. 

 having wires in it, without much trouble and ex- 

 pense; but if we pierce the top and bottmi bars of 

 the frames and weave the wire back and forth, we 

 shall have a most substantial job, and g-irls and chil- 

 dren can do the work at a very small expense. The 

 wires rolled into the fdn. are on a curve, sd that 

 some bulging is possible after all; but they mav be 

 put in the frame, as straight as a fiddle string. How 

 shall we fasten our thin fdn. to th3 stretched wires/ 

 Simply lay the sheets in the sun, until they are soft 

 enough, and la.v them on the wires with a sheet of 

 paper over and under them, and with boards be- 

 tween, just pile them up. This will hold them secure 

 enough to bear shipping by mail, express or freight. 

 Do you say it is a bother to bore so many holes in 

 file tup and bottom bars? Below I give .vou a cat of 

 a frame filled with wires, and also of a whe?! for 

 pricking the holes in the wood. 



staying fdn. with wires. 

 Friend Nellis uses tho wires about 1 inch apart, 

 but it hardlv seems as if so many were needed. If 

 you wish to' try it on a few frames, you can pierce 

 the holes rapidly with darning needles driven into a 

 stout stick, with their points projecting just enough 

 to pierce vour frame stuff. Drive it down on them, 

 and the holes are all made at once. The wire used 

 is the finest kind of hair iron wire. To put it \n the 

 frame, cut off 1 >'r, feet, draw it through the centre 

 of the frame first, and then weave each end each 

 way. The fdn. may now fill the frame entirely, lap- 

 ping on the comb guide just enough to hold. 



