30 
GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
Mabci*. 
Gleanings in Bee Culture, 
PublUhcri Monthly, 
A. I. ROOT &c CO., 
EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS. 
MEDINA, OH 10. 
Terms: 75c. Per Annum. 
For Club Rates see Second Pane. 
3VI-A.Pl- 1, leT-^k. 
Mil. Muth, sends us ft sample honey Label in blue 
and gold with a Lnngstroth Bee Hive thereon that is 
rather neater than any thing we have seen heretofore. 
IVe can furnish GLEANINGS with the A. B. J. for 
$2. *25 ; with Mrs. Tapper's Journal, for the same ; with 
Bee Keeper's Mag. $1.50, or all four of the above for 
$4.00. Terms, invariably cash in advance. 
J ITST as we feared, and ’tis the Prairie Farmer that 
' has copied from the A. B, J. the article on the Wortli- 
lessness of the Italians. 
They have our thanks however for the aid they 
have given toward establishing a Standard Frame, by 
giving our article on the subject. 
In Mrs. Tapper's Journal for Dec. page “287 we read : 
“Three thousand and six hundred workers will fill a 
quart measure.” By careful count we find One thous- 
and nine hundred ami eighty eight clean, dry dead 
bees till a quart measure, and judging therefrom we 
think one thousand live Italians would have to be 
squeezed some to get into a quart measure ; at our es- 
timate of $1.00 per quart, ten bees are worth just one 
cent, so you can see just how expensive ’tis to use a 
hive that smashes the little innocents. 
E. Kretchmer A Co., Coburg Iowa, write ns they in- 
tend rearing 1000 $1 Queens the coming season, all 
from Imported Queen mothers; also that they sell a 
hive thoroughly painted for $1.00, without frames, idl 
of which would be pleusant news were it not that Mr. 
K’s. Circular, like his book gives one a very unfavora- 
ble opinion of the man. He seems now even more un- 
scrupidous than of old, in copying the ideas of others 
as his own, and goes so far as to even make extracts 
in such a way as to entirely change and subvert t ic wri- 
ters original meaning. In regard to his business hab- 
its we know nothing further than that he does not 
scruple to receive money for “rights” to devices, 
knowing they are utterly worthless for the purpose 
intended. 
It were no more than just to our correspondents to 
inform them, while thanking them for their favors, 
that it is utterly impossible to publish one fourth part 
of the good articles sent us for publication. For inst- 
ance : we have now on hand at least a dozen on win- 
tering, worthy of a place but matter of more impor- 
tance at this season, demnnds we dismiss the subject 
again until fall. In one of our former circulars we off- 
ered to pay for new, valuable matter, and we do so 
yet, but it should be borne in mind that unless the 
writer has had the care of a considerable number of 
colonies, the chances are much against his article be- 
ing considered one we can afford to pay for. No apol- 
ogy need ever be made for w riting */* on Bee-culturo; 
‘tis our business to carefully read and weigh the con- 
tents of each letter. Questions of a general nature we 
prefer to answer through these pages, all others with 
very few exceptions will receive prompt answers, to 
the best of our ability, l>y return mail. Where a sub- 
ject has been discussed at length in the back number* 
we cannot do more, than refer to such numbers- 
Mu. Kino, in speaking of the decease of Agassiz re- 
marks; “lie repudiated the repulsive Darwinian doc- 
trine of development, w ith all the force of his impul- 
sive nature.” We hope w'e shall be excused for won- 
dering if Mr. King too, has not read Darwin ; it is not 
our province here to discuss his theory, but ’tis hi* 
due to state that Darwin's experiments with bees, to 
determine in what manner their combs are built (see 
Origin of species, page *21U to 224,) were perhaps more 
thorough, than any similar ones ever made by our 
modern bee-keepers. No Apiarist can fail to see that 
every line of what he writes on bees was the result on- 
ly of careful and patient observation. 
It may be well to state here that we first saw the 
book after having written our criticism on Agassiz’ 
“Life in the Bee Hive” in our June No. of last year; 
it was then handed ns by a friend, remarking that our 
account of comb building strangely agreed with Dar- 
wdu’s observations on the subject. 
How much of Agassiz’ Life in the Bee Hive was real 
observation, and how much guess work, Mr. K. knows 
full well. “Truth is mighty etc.,” and should not be 
smothered, even out of respect to the memory ot 
those departed. ^ 
WE find to day, Feb. 9th, three more colonies dead. 
Two of them obviously died as did the two former 
ones, from lack of bee9 ; the other presents to us a 
case not easy of solution. It had been one ot our 
most active colonies of hybrids, and in fact the hive 
was christened the “Bobber Chief” on account ot 
their propensity to hustle out all hands at the faintest, 
intimation of any such disturbance. 
After their journey to the swamp, (they had been a 
populous tw'o story hive) we found a large amount ol 
dead bees on the bottom board, and a week or two la- 
ter when they were fed, another heap of dead bee* 
was brushed off; and on lifting them to go into win- 
ter quarters still another heap remained on the bot- 
tom board. An examination showed they had still 
kept dying until the last of them perished among 
clean combs of scaled sugar syrup, no trace of dysen- 
tery, and the bees were dry and clean. We cun think 
of nothing ami ss’unless the bees w'ere too old, but till* 
seems very unsatisfactory, for some brood was reared 
In the fall w’e feel sure, we cannot now recollect how 
much, nor how late. It hardly seems proper to call 
this a disease w hen the bees seem so perfectly healthy. 
Mr. Wilkin and some others mention similar cases. 
All the rest of our colonies with a few exception* 
seem to be wintering finely. 
1*. s. We measured three quarts of dead bees al- 
though every dead bee w r as carefully removed from 
the hive when housed Nov. *22nd. 
Feb. 1(3 WE have just purchased two loads of 
coarse, fermenting manure at the livery stables ; plac- 
ed three hives on their summer stands with the en- 
irmces turned southward, directly under the grape 
vine trellisses; placed about (> inches of manure under 
each, then protected the hives from being discolored 
etc., by standing cheap shingles all around them and 
on top, then covered tne whole hive except the en- 
trance at the south. As the hives are but <> feet apart 
we make a win row as it were of manure over each row 
Whlvcs. The idea is to use manure enough to prevt n . 
the hive being exposed to a freezing temperature ut 
any time, on the plan of a mild hot bed. The simplic- 
ity hives again. Know their great advantage over the 
others with their projections ; but a very small amount 
comparitively, being needed to cover the former, botn 
of shingles and manure. 
