54 
“ NOVICE’S ” GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
with the simple tool given ill March num- 
ber, no trouble will be experienced from 
the causes mentioned and we certainly, 
at this date, have no cause to change our jl 
decision. 
A FRIEND hands us a circular from N. 
C. Mitchell, 308 Race street, Cincinnati, 
O., from which we make the following ex- 
tracts : 
We guarantee all onr students who 
come to our apiary and remain with us 
eight days — long enough to take sixteen 
lessons in bee culture — can return to 
their homes and take from any good stand 
ot bees they have, from one to three hun- 
dred dollars’ worth of honey annually. 
There are some agents that can learn nil, 
or enough to commence business, in two 
days, but all had better remai" with us 
one week. No agent will be allowed to 
teach any one our mode of making arti- 
ficial comb without our consent. They 
may sell hives and rights and everything 
else, but they must keep our mode of 
comb-making to themselves. The one 
that sends their money to us first is the 
lucky one. 
Now if Mr. M. is equal to the task of 
managing an apiary of one hundred col- 
onies, why don’t he keep quiet and have 
an income of $30,000 all himself? We 
presume he could make them produce the 
highest figures, of course. If that would 
be too selfish and lie is willing to share 
his great discovery with the world, why 
does he charge forty dollars for just two 
days tuition? (Our readers could all 
learn in two days if any body else could). 
Our Agricultural Colleges are certainly 
behind the times. Again, Mr. 'M. and 
several other advertisers should remem- 
ber that there is no law by which any 
person can be prevented from teaching 
all they kuow il they choose. We don’t 
know about our foreign friends, but we 
think our American Ree Journals are 
anxious to give every valuable process 
to their readers as soon as known, and 
the subscription paid entitles them to all, 
even if we "have spent days, months, and 
hundreds of dollars, to accomplish it.’ 
When we look over the old numbers of the 
National lice Journal and notice the dis- 
coveries for artificial fertilization, etc., 
that would be sent for ten or twenty dol- 
lars and the queens that were to be given 
subscribers, we must confess to a feeling 
of doubt about who the “lucky” person 
will be. We have given Mr. M. the bene- 
fit of a free advertisement and propose to 
“help ’ all we can, if our readers will only 
send us all such circulars, emanating fi om 
anySouree whatever. 
FROM ONE OF OFK FEMININE NOV- 
ICES, 
‘'.P 1 AM only a beginner. I commenced 
with one colony in 1871, in box hives, 
had three swarms; first one decamped 
and third one froze : they were wintering 
on their summer stands. In 137'J I com- 
menced with two colonies, had three 
swarms, one of which lost their queen 
two days after hiving. 1 stopped them 
up (till they became reconciled, giving 
them two frames of comb with eggs, larvae 
and brood of all ages) a few days, and 
felt sure they would rear a queen ; did 
not examine them again till they begnn 
to decrease in number, when I found they 
had no queen, but one or more workers 
laying drone eggs. I examined them 
very carefully and know they had no 
queen. Now the query comes, why did 
they not rear a queen ; first, there was a 
failure in honey at the time; secondly, 
the laying workers might have prevented 
their rearing a queen. I have commenc- 
ed using the Quinby hive and think it 
about as good as any. 1 obtained sixty 
pounds of box honey the past senson ; 
will entirely' discard boxes in the future 
and use only an extension, or two story 
hive or both combined, so as to get the 
full benefit of the extractor. Owing to 
the bad luck, I have been forced to ex- 
periment with my bees this winter or 
lose my weak colonies. 1 commenced 
to winter them on their summer stands. 
Examined them December 24th and 
found my strongest colony in a box hive 
nearly all smothered and frozen for want 
of ventilation, the queen among the num- 
ber. I obtained a queen from a swarm 
found in the woods, which was also near- 
ly all frozen, being apparently' dead, but 
after careful warming two or three hours 
the queen revived with a few bees: they 
were introduced to the queenless hive; 
making probably a pint, of bees in all. 
They are now in the family room with 
another very weak colony that I have 
been feeding sinee that time. Moth 
are doing well February fith, and 
have commenced breeding. Noise does 
not disturb them in the least but the light 
does very considerably. 
They become restless and uneasy when 
too hot or too cold. When I commenced 
bee-keeping I hardly knew a queen from 
a drone; consequently failed to make it 
pay, not realizing one-fourth the amount 
which 1 might have done. This set me 
to thinking how 1 might succeed better; 
so I began to post, up in Apiculture. 1 
got Quinby’ s Bee Book, Dolman’s Rural 
World, North American lice Journal , A. 
F. Moon’s Forty Years’ Experience, and, 
lastly', Novice's "Gleanings,” which, 1 
hope, will be the best of them all, and 
think if (ills a very important place. We 
need some one to criticise and expose the 
various humbugs. I intend to get every- 
thing else that I can on apiculture, hop 
iug that by diligence and perseverance 1 
