410 



GLEAKIKGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



IS IT AN A B C BOOK, OR CYCIiOP^DIA, 



ETC.? 



FTER scndiiis- for a specimen of Gleanings, 

 liist spring', I resolvccl to keep bees. I at on(;e 

 subscribed for your l)ee journal, and boug'ht 

 .Vour A B C books, as fast as they were publistied: 

 but, while I have been a close student of both, and 

 the bees too, I have found it necessary, once in a 

 while, to interrojratc you about something which a 

 beffinner sho\il(l, but would not, knf)w. You are 

 rijfht about froiim' on er the ground so frequently in 

 Or.KANiNGs for the sake of beginners, since the old 

 fellows would not only get their "dander up," but 

 would have a right to do so. So the bestthat wecan 

 do, 1 think, is to write you when we have to, and in- 

 close viostal t)r postage for reply. This I am always 

 willing to do, and have done so. 



Well, I now want a little lift; please find card in- 

 closed, and I will put my questions in a shape that a 

 few words on the card will give me the desired light. 

 On examining my bees now, I find as far as I have 

 gone, that they are literally devoid of any brood 

 sealed or unsealed. They may have eggs, but it was 

 getting dusk, and I could not be certain about that. 

 An old bee-keeper tells me that it is the case also 

 with his bees, and that all such swarms will die this 

 winter; upon actual weight, one colony has37'4 lbs., 

 and the other 60 lbs. of honey, bees hot included. 

 Every Cf)mb (in brood chamber) is at least ^i to -U 

 full, and some entirely full and sealed. A few 

 combs have a margin of 154 to 3'4 inches of empty 

 comb along the lower edge. One or two have prob- 

 ably mie-half of one side full of bee bread. Now 

 will they eat sufficient honey before cold weather 

 to atrord them the empty comb requisite? And will 

 it answer their purpose, situated as it will be, on 

 the lower extremities, or miist I hunt up some emp- 

 ty combs to put in the center? 



I am putting home made chaff cushions in the 

 sides and top, and have good warm hives. How 

 many pounds would you leave to each colonj'? 



Hugo, 111., Oct. 3S, 'T8. Dr. A. C. Williams. 



P. S.— Your ABC books deserve a better name 

 than that you have given them. While they are 

 really ABC books, they are also more. Every pro- 

 fession, study, subject, or science, sooner or 'later, 

 has a cvelopa-dia; we doctors have our cyclopiedias 

 of medicine, and it is sn with other litei-ature. The 

 cyelopaMliaof any branch of literature is the high- 

 est authority on that particular branch. All of 

 these ;n-e tit reasons why your ABC book should be 

 entitled "Encyclop:edla of Apiculture," or "Cyclo- 

 prt'dia of Bee Keeping; Vol. 1; Vol. II, &c." I am 

 not "picking flaws," but say what I do more in the 

 way of praise. Well, I so refer to mine, and when 

 asking them of a neighbor, who may have borrowed 

 them, I ask for my "cycloprt?dia." You may think 

 more of mo, or perchance less, when I tell you I 

 ha\e bought a lot, planted it with vines, and am go- 

 ing to keep liees right. I expect, bye and bve, to 

 lia\e the tlnest of bees, as I have now of grapes. 

 The grapes are "Lady Brighton," and 35 or 30 other 

 sorts. A. C. W. 



If you send a stamp for rettini postage, 

 yon will have to nse an envelope, making 

 the whole cost you (ic; while, if you use a 

 ]»ostal for your inquiries, it will cost you but 

 one cent. If, by expending one cent' of my 

 money, I can save you 5 cents of your mon- 

 ey, I tliink I had better stand it, so you need 

 not, any of you, send any stamps when ask- 

 ing (piestions. Put them plaiidy on a postal, 

 and ]»itch right into your subject. 



Vour bees are all right, and if your friend 

 who is an old bee-keeper had always been in 

 the habit of examining his hives in the fall, 

 as he seems to be doing now. he would not 

 have told you they would die this winter. 

 There is seldom any brood to be found in 

 Oct. andXov., and it is hard to Hnd the 

 (lueens, at this season. Take honey from 

 the ()() lb. Qolony, which has too much, and 

 give to the other, of com-se; this is one great 

 imrpose of movable combs. If the figures 

 you give ai-e honey only, both have decided- 

 ly too much. I would rather have 20 lbs. of 



honey in the hive than more, if I was sure 

 they 'would all be looked after in the spring ; 

 they can warm up this amount more easily 

 than a larger quantity. The bees will tix 

 the honey just as they want it, and I would 

 by no means think of putting empty combs 

 ill the center. Yotu' bees are all right, un- 

 less you have given them too large a brood 

 nest. See remarks on wintering in 8ept. 

 and Oct. I^o's. 



You will see, by examining the front cov- 

 er, that the A B C book is called a cyclopae- 

 dia. The objection I had to giving it this 

 title first, is that cyclopa?dias are usually the 

 work of veterans in any science. Tliis book 

 is compiled mainly froin the experience of 

 thousands of beginners, is put in plain, sim- 

 ple language, and is changed and remodeled 

 almost every day, to suit the new develop- 

 ments that are constantly coming up. I 

 wish to 'have you consider it the ABC of 

 the science, and to feel that it is your A B (3, 

 and the result of the summing up of the ex- 

 perience of the multitudes. 



m 



99 



This department was suggested by one of the 

 clerks, as an opposition to the "Growlery." Itbink 

 I shall venture to give names in full here. 



Al 



B C, part first, and Aug. No. of Gleanings 

 are received, with which I am well pleased. 

 We have kept a few bees for 10 years, and af- 

 ter readingyour books I sat down and cried, to think 

 what ignorance had cost us. No Italians— no noth- 

 ing—that compares with the times in bee-keeping. 

 Indian Falls, N. Y., Oct. 10, 'V8. Eliza G. M. 



I have been trying to find something ap- 

 propiate for this department, and as a wo- 

 man is pretty sure to smile, and to some 

 l)uri)ose too, after she has had a cry, I 

 thought this might be just the letter. Dry 

 your tears, friend Eliza, and be of good 

 cheer. You can have all these tilings in 

 time, and almost without money too, if you 

 are patient and willing to work.' Acknowl- 

 edged ignorance is the heginning of wisdom. 



Why, yes! Friend Novice, if you like, fix your 

 smoker mir wav. You see, that other half of m,ine 

 burned himself se\-erely, and then commenced his 

 tramp "aro\uid the stairway." 



Now we are iiualitied to suggest that, if you will 

 rit^et a small tin hinge on one side of j'our cover and 

 can, and piit a catch on th(? other side like that on a 

 tin spectacle case, a slight blow either removes or 

 replaces the cover. I guess I will not try for a pat- 

 ent, as there's so much smulqj contention that we 

 might get our ears bo.xed, Jennie Leete. 



West Araboy, N. Y., Nov. 8, 18T8. ■ 



Why friend Jennie, if you and your sister 

 Mollie (away off somewhere, I can not re- 

 member where now), do not sto]) making 

 such bright suggestions (by the help of your 

 ''other halves"" of course)^ I shall stop walk- 

 ing around the stairway, entirely. Like a 

 si)ectacle case! Who tirst thought of thatV 

 Y^ou or he? Because, you know, I want to 

 send the lucky one. Gleanings for next 

 year, and I think I can afford to throw in a 

 pictiu'e of myself and JJlue Eyes, besides. I 

 suppose I ought to do better, but I hav'n't 

 scarcely a speck of money left, except post- 

 age stamps, and — we willall give you a vote 

 of thanks ; won't that do? 



