“ NOVICE’S ” GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
63 
IIEAH.H OF OR At IV FHOH DlllIK 
ENT FIELDS. 
\V[f!J • 82.— Wa* being scarce I used my 
I *'] grafting wax (Downings receipt 3 of 
~ f ‘ - 1 beeswax, 3 of rosin, 2 of tallow,) for my 
barrels, which makes a tougher wax, less lia- 
ble to oraek and molts easier than wax alone. 
Mrs. Tupper was certainly wrong whon she 
said that tho extractor injured tho young 
bees, my little girl turned so fast as to throw 
some worms out, and yet tho bulnnco hatch- 
ed out quite satisfactory. You have left us 
“greenhorns” in a complete muddle about 
tho best way of extracting. It is well I had 
got through before your July No. eaino to 
hand or elso “P. G.” would havo scared mo 
out. Tho only advico I can give is to 
got your extractor as near the hivo as pos- 
sible and then 90 it. J. B. Townley, Rod 
Hill. Va. 
We don’t know why grafting wax' is not 
just the thing for barrels. We arc very 
glad that Mr. '1'. found no trouble from 
robbers in using his extractor close to 
the hive. We have this season had no 
day as yet that the yield of honey was 
great enough to induce them to behave so 
well. If each hive gave JO or -10 lbs. ol 
honey, as they should, Mr. T. would have 
to stop so often to carry in his honey that 
’twould be a bother; and if ho carried a 
barrel along, too, he would need Mr. 
Blakeslee’s “car and tent”. If his hives 
wore none of them more than twenty- 
four feet from his bee house door, as ours 
are, would he not think it cheapest to 
have his extractor a fixture, implements 
stationary, and carry in the combs and 
return them? 
No. 83.— I am going to ask a groat favor of 
you. hoping that you will take the time to 
grant it. My cellar is not right somehow to 
keep my bees in. They mould and get damp, 
although we call it a dry cellar, and I have 
made up my mind that if you would take the 
time and givo mo written instructions just 
how to build a bee house that would accom- 
modate 100 colonics and have it so that I can 
use it in the summer to extract honey in. 
I would repay you in somo manner sufficient- 
ly to satisfy you, I want descriptions or 
specifications vory minute and plain, so that 
a common carpenter and joiner couhi not err 
in building the same. I have undoubted con- 
fidence in you with regard to this building. 
We havo long, cold winters here. 
Martin 11. Adams, Port Ann, N. Y. 
It is H. pleasure for us to be p.ble to as- 
ms! our subscribers in any way, and the 
subscription paid for “Gleanings” entitles 
all, to all the information wo are able to 
give oil the subject of bee culture. Were 
we to build again, avc should make out a 
bill for lumber as follows. Sec plan of 
l lie hoc and honey bouse in April num- 
ber : 
.’>2 pieces for joists and studding, 2x12 
inches and 11)1 (ect. long. These are to 
be nailed together so as to form thirteen 
frames, 101 feet square. The ends may 
be simply lapped at the corners on all ex- 
cept the two frames that are at the ends 
of the building. These should bo let into 
each other so as to have the corner studs 
and outer floor joists flush with the out- 
side of the building. This makes our 
joists for tho floor and overhead and for 
the. studding only one foot apart ; but wo 
think this none too near when we consid- 
er tho barrels of honey that are to be 
rolled on the floor, and the necessity of 
holding our packing so it will not sift 
out. 
Mr. Washburn remarks that 11x12 stuff 
would do equally well for tho studding 
and overhead, and we think ho is right ; 
for when boarded tight on both sides such 
a frame is very strong. 
Your carpenter must manage, by somo 
means to nail a floor on the under side of 
of the joists as well as above to hold the 
sawdust packing between the two. We 
accomplished this by raising the lloor be- 
fore putting in the uprights, so that a 
workman could nail on the under side. 
About a dozen more pieces will be need- 
ed for the studding for the gable ends, and 
these should be got out as long as con- 
venient, for these at each side of the door 
had better reach up to the roof. 
The rafters, tweuty-six in number, may 
be 1 1x4 and of such length as will be de- 
termined by the pitch of your roof. Ours 
projects one foot from the eaves, aud the 
roof boards the same at the ends, so we 
have a one foot cornice all round. This, 
however, is more for taste than utility. 
With the aid of our photograph, any 
carpenter would be able to construct the 
building without further directions, we 
think. 
We have made our roof with rather a 
sharp pitch for convenience in storing the 
shelves and inner doors in the loft in sum- 
mer time. The floor is to be packed with 
sawdust when laid, but all the rest is sim- 
ply put in the loft and pushed over be- 
tween the studding until full. As it set- 
tles in drying, more can be pushed in every 
fall before storing the bees inside, for sev- 
eral years. 
As with extractors, each one must de- 
termine how much expense he can put in 
such a house, but we should always build, 
if possible, so that the house may he 
painted sometime, if not when built. We 
presume that a house could be built for 
$00 that would winter bees perfectly ; but 
in that case it would have to he rough 
and plain. Ours cost about $200 com- 
plete. Before you decide you cannot af- 
ford a house for wintering, reflect that in 
ease even as many stocks survive on 
their summer stands, we shall have to 
provide at least five pounds of food per 
stock extra every winter. 
No. 81.— Don’t make such swooping asser- 
tions about foeding as you havo lately. Ke- 
oicmbor you aro a “Novice, as of old.” Wit- 
ness tho loss of a stock in Juno, which, if it 
had boon fod, perhaps might have boon mak- 
ing part of tho tons of honey yielded by tho 
"Hexagonal Apiary.” It strikes mo that you 
havo boon running that “old windmill” at 
such a rate this spring, that tho poor bees 
have often had to exclaim, “Alt I ho is only 
aNovico ! for ho has not attended to us as ho 
onco did, and wo shall havo to givo up.” 
P. II. Gibbs, Guelph, Ont. 
Thank you, friend G., for frank criti- 
cisms. We are certainly still but "Nov- 
ices,” but not such cruel ones as to let 
any bees starve, we assure you, nor can 
we look back and see that neglect was 
the trouble, unless it was neglect in male- 
