S64 



GLEANIKGS IK BEE CtJL'rUttE. 



KoV. 



I think I have growled enoug-h for this time, but, 

 one word more; you can just book me for another 

 order when 1 g-et time to send it. H. L. Jeffrey. 



Woodbury, Conn., Sept. 3, 1878. 



Pertaining 1:o Bee diltnre. 



[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.] 



M'RH. COTTOK seems now to have the 

 .liekl, iind I am very glad to say, she is 

 ' ahnost alone. It is sad to think that 

 the only one who demands showing tip, in 

 the bee bnsiiiess of our country, should be a 

 woman. But the fact that she is a woman 

 seems to be the secret of lier getting her ex- 

 travagant advertisenients into so many of 

 our leading i^apers. One of our subscribers 

 sends us the following, from the X. Y. 

 Christian Weekly, of Sept. 28th. 



HONEY BEES. 



NEW PRINCIPLES IN BEE-KEEPING. 



Every one who has a Farm or ftarden can now 

 keep Bees with profit. Bees kept on my plan are 

 more profit than anythlnjr connected with the farm 

 or garden. Every hive of bees kept will pay a profit 

 of Fifty Dollars. Address, 



MRS. LIZZIE E. COTTOX, 



West Gorham, Maine. 



In the same paper, the editors give her 

 advertisement the following notice. 



HONEY BEES. 



We call the special attention of our readers to the 

 advertisement of Mrs. Cotton in another column 

 under this head. Mrs. Cotton is one of our most 

 successful bee-keepers. 



From the letters received, it wotild seem 

 she has obtained space in a great many oth- 

 er papers in the same way. Below * are a 

 couple of samples. 



Is Mrs. L. E. C, West Gorham, Maine, who adver- 

 tised in late number of the Cnuiitrii (iriitJi'innn, re- 

 sponsible? By answering you will grcatl)- ol)ligo 

 Robert H. Belden. 



Norwalk, Conn., Oct. 11th, 1878. 



I also send an item of information, in the form of 

 Mrs. Cotton's advertisement, clipped from Farm 

 and Fireside. I hope you will never have any 

 trouble to raise the needed "stamps," but suggest, 

 should you lie likely to fall short at anj' time, that 

 you set your bees at work on her plan, and then you 

 surely will have all the funds required. 



Geo. W. Simmons. 



Newark, Del., Oct. 8th, 1878. 



You are right, my friend. If editors who 

 receive such advertisements, even though 

 they are not posted in bee culture, would re- 

 flect a little, it seems they should know such 

 advertisements are not honest ones. If ev- 

 ery hive of bees kept would, with her hive, 

 produce a profit of SoO., why in the world 

 does she not get a hundred hives, and get 

 richV The average \not\t of a hive of bees 

 hardly exceeds S5.00; in the hands of an ex- 

 pert, it may, perhaps, reach ^10.00, but even 

 then, it is the owner's care, and not the hive, 

 that i)roduces such a result. 



To test the matter, and to be siu-e she does 

 I not send an equivalent of any kind for mon- 

 ey sent her, we have been sending her mon- 

 ey, and writing her letters, almost ever 



since she began advertising. She replies 

 and excuses herself and makes promises 

 sometimes, but the i)romises are never kept, 

 and no goods, nor a cent of the money has 

 ever been returned. That the papers who 

 have published her notices may be fully sat- 

 isfied of her way of doing business, I give 

 the following from one of our back No's. 



I have every reason to fear that I am one of her 

 victims to the amount of $20.00 a^ ahc (tnrnn'tfulfiU- 

 Had I seen your article before semlinu- the money 1 

 should not have sent it, or had any lui-sim-ss trans- 

 action with her. 1 shall write her .again very soon, 

 and if she fails to do as she positively promised I 

 shall pronounce her a fraud, and hope she may be 

 published to the world, that others may not be de- 

 ceived, and loose by her as I undoubtedly shall. 



Mrs. a. K.Tuthili,. 



East Cleveland, Ohio, June 22d, 1877. 



The following very sensible remarks in 

 regard to flaming advertisements, are from 

 Mrs. Harrison in a recent No. of the Prairie 

 F((rmer. 



IT CANNOT BE DONE. 



In the Western Rural ot Sept. '2S is a communica- 

 tion from "Julius," of Cedar Rapids, la., extolling a 

 bee hive, patented by H. F. Poggenpahl, of Iowa 

 City. He says, "By using this hive a thousand 

 pounds of honey can be secured in a season, when 

 by using tlie common kind yon would hardly obtain 

 200." And "Julius" is so disinterested that he will 

 guarantee to refund the money to all purchasers of 

 farm rights for this hive, who are not satisfied. Oh 

 "Julius" Cii'sar '. what liberality: I have no fear of 

 experience'! apiarians being "taken in" by such of- 

 fers and ad\{'rtiscinents; only gudgeons will bite at 

 so bare a hook (confiding people, inexperienced bee- 

 keepers). But ought not a respectable journal to 

 be a little more careful about admitting to its col- 

 umns irresponsible communications, gotten up to 

 tally with advertisements? 



We have kept bees for many years, and (we think) 

 with good success; and have" never yet taken 200 

 pounds of box honey from a single swarm in a sea- 

 son, and never expect to. From thirty to forty 

 pounds per hive, of box honey, is a good average, 

 and very satisfactory; by extracting, considerably 

 more may be obtained. We have new swarms that 

 have given us over .50 pounds of choice box honey 

 the present season, but this is the exception, and 

 not the rule. 



Now, of this wonderful hive (the "Excelsior" I be- 

 lieve it is called), I know nothing; it may or may not 

 be a good hive. But let all remember that a swarm 

 of bees will store as much honey in a hollow log as 

 in any hive. The advantages of a movable frame 

 hive, are that it gives yo\i control of the bees, ena- 

 bles you to ascertain their condition, give brood, in- 

 troduce a queen, or transfer. For taking surplus 

 honey in good shape for the market, there is proba- 

 blv nothing better than the "prize box." We have 

 exhibited box honey at manv fairs, and borne away 

 the "blue." Mrs. L. II., Peoria, 111. 



—Prairie Farmer. Oct. lith. 



BEE BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY. 



CULTIVATION OF THE SPIDER PL.4LNT. 



f' HAVE several letters from parties wanting to 

 know more of this plant, either by letter or 

 —J through Gleanings. I choose the latter, by 

 your permission. 



As we have had but one year's experience with it, 

 I can not give you an infallible rule for cultivation, 

 but onlj' our method. Mr. Large took a common 

 corn marker, and fastened two temporary pieces 

 between the runners, making the drills about two 

 feet apart, then dropped the seed by hand. In some 

 places, the plants were too thick; these he trans- 

 planted, and they are in bloom to-day. Now, we 

 think the better" way would be to sow the seed in a 

 bod, as early as possible, and then transplant, set- 

 ting the plant 2 ft. by 6 ft. apart, and keeping the 

 ground clear and loose, to secure a quick, rank 

 growth. They grow from 4 to tj ft. high, in rich soil. 

 We have been trying to make an estimate of the 

 amount of honey one acre would produce. Ours 



