50 
“ NOVICE’S ” GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
then I can arrange the combs ready to be 
placed on the stand at once.’’ 
“Yes. I have thought of that; our “Sim- 
plicity” hives could be carriedin that man- 
tier very well, but as most of the hives 
are the old style Langstroth, ’twould be 
rather laborious. Again, we could not 
slide the former back on their stands as 
we have them arranged its well as the lat- 
ter. If one was ‘big and strong’ and ‘felt 
so’ aM the time during this hot weather, 
the combs might be placed in an extra 
hive after the bees were removed, taken 
in and extracted, then placed on the 
stand of the next, moving that backward 
as we have mentioned. 
This would make less steps and would 
expedite work considerably, but would 
necessitate carrying an empty hive, or 
rather one story without cover (covers 
should be loose for this purpose), in doors 
and out continually. 
I presume friend Blakeslee’s railroad 
would solve a part of the difficulty; but 
I can hardly fancy I should, like the idea 
at all of having extractor, barrel imple- 
ments, etc., perambulating about among 
the hives.” 
“Nor i, either, Mr. N. Our bee house, 
as it is now, since we have two doors, 
painted, etc., is nice and convenient, and 
I wouldn't want to be pushed about in a 
car, no how.”* 
And now, fellow bee-keepers, having 
shown you just the quandary we are in 
at present, we should very much like to 
hear from each and all of you on the sub- 
ject; give your plans and ideas, that we 
may compare notes. 
If the “railroad” solves a part of the 
difficulty, Adair’s “Lung Idea' hive would 
solve the other part, but only at the ex- 
pense of having double the amount of 
cover and bottom board for the same ca- 
pacity as for a two-story hive, and being 
obliged to carry all the hive or none in- 
doors to winter, and having no place 
to keep our extra combs secure unless 
they are all kept in the hive the year 
round. 
“Ik (!.” remarks that “extracting hon- 
ey by the ton is a laborious operation any 
way we can fix it,” but we know it can be 
so managed that many useless steps may 
be saved and much heavy lifting avoided. 
I I must be done at a season when labor 
commands the highest price; few can be 
hired to work thus among bees at all, there- 
fore it is of the utmost importance that 
we economise in the ways we have named. 
We think in our own apiary, as it is now 
arranged, two tons of honey can be got 
ready for shipment with as little labor as 
was required three years ago for one. 
Our barrels are made for us by a cooper 
who keeps bees, and so knows how they 
should be made. They hold about forty- 
four gallons or about four hundred and 
sixty or seventy pounds, and cost us 
about $2 each, transportation extra; they 
are strong enough to ship safely anywhere 
when waxed. 
Several have written ns that the beeswax 
may be half resin and answer equally 
well, as it can be purchased for about five 
cents per pound in quantities. 
1’. S. — Mrs. N. thinks we had better ad- 
vise our friends not to go off and leave 
the resin and wax while melting, for it 
might “boil oyer," aud also, when on the 
hot stove, it might take fire, besides the 
mixture might get on divers household 
utensils and fabrics from which it is loth 
to quit its hold, unless some one like Nov- 
ice, who has studied chemistry in his ear- 
lier years, should happen to be around to 
inform the "distracted feminines" that 
benzine dissolves the waxes and resins as 
readily as hot water dissolves sugar. Not 
that tee have had any such trouble — oh, 
no— but then considerable trouble might 
happen in getting (he “pesky stuff ’ off the 
stove before it takes fire and burns up the 
culinary department. 
1’. S. No. 2.— Novice, thinking it ought 
to have a good “bile,” so that so much 
wouldn't stick to the barrels, left it and 
sauntered off to look at the grape vines; 
after lie had concluded that it would take 
them until the middle of July to recover 
from the effects of last winter’s severity 
.sufficiently to present a good appearance 
for the photographs, his attention was 
called by the cries of the women and 
dense clouds of black smoke rolling qui- 
etly over the “simplicity” bee hives. Of 
course his “chemistry” made everything 
all right, but Mrs. N. thinks practical ex- 
perience would give a more vivid impres- 
sion of the “stickativencss” of equal 
parts of resin and wax than anything the 
books tell about. 
1 m uss that the man who “raises moth 
worms” does it for the same reason that 
I try to make all the weed seeds in my 
garden sprout and grow (by stirring the 
ground occasionally during warm weather 
whenever there is no crop on it) in order 
lo get them large enough to sec them, so 
that 1 may have the pleasure of killing 
them. Am I right? 
When a swarm of bees have already 
enough honey to keep them till flowers 
bloom, how much honey or syrup 
should be fed daily to stimulate them to 
breed during March and April? Is it 
necessary to feed daily? 
Joseph Sinton, Itiiaca, N. Y. 
If eggs of the moth retain vitality dur- 
ing the winter as seeds of weeds do, your 
plan would answer, but we think they do 
not, and that they only survive the winter 
that arc in the combs with live bees. 
Will Prof. Cook tell us if we are correct? 
Our “Editorial Corps” are divided in 
opinion as to whether feeding is of any 
benefit to stimulate brood rearing when 
a colony has plenty of stores. Novice 
says that when you want brood you must 
have pollen, that daily feeding is only a 
bother to both bees and owner. 
