1874. 
GLEANINGS IN BEB CULTURE. 
It 
to decide to what particular circumstance the 
credit belongs. Strong colonies would doubt- 
less get along well prepared In that way, but 
we have so many times seen the evil results of 
depriving weak stocks of the benedt of the di- 
rect rays of the. sun, that we think consider- 
able caution should bo used In deciding to 
adopt such methods as applicable to our North- 
ern winters generally. 
1'KIEND NOVIOE I mo not an expert in Bee- 
keeping. and T don’t know that I win write anythin,/ 
•hat Will be very Interesting. I have kept a tow 
stocks ol been lor eight years in the old box hive, I 
thought all that bees wanted, was a hire and a super 
and they would do the balance of the work themselves, 
for six years J didn’t get enough honey to pav for the 
nulla I used to make their hives; I got hold "of a Bee 
.Journal and read It. and soon found I was In the dark 
In bee-keeping. 1 have hcou using the American hive 
tor two years, the first year 1 got from three stocks 
Blacks) 61 lbs. ol surplus and no, Increase, lu 1873 I 
look 135 lbs. surplus, and made four new swarms. 
Bought two stocks Italians Inst full and have now ti 
stocks all toll . Am going to Italianize all my Blaoks 
Mu* HprinK, they nrc all in good condition’. I have 
none with lees than 4 c^ards of brood, one extra wtoek 
lias 9 cards brood that will areragcfixlO Inches square. 
Wintered on summer stands— got extractor catoula- 
nngoii taking, well I’ll say non lbs. this seasoD If fa- 
I orahle; for fear of being too tedious I will mitt for 
this time. Long life aitd sucooss to Novice and 
’Hopei 0 G V*1 34t h, 1874. W ’ KW “ H * W - 
Km- the Simplicity hive (Lftngelroth) what sized 
blocka would you use provided the entrance wan the 
sunn- as In Lungstroth hire? I think of trying one 
each wav, the bottom-board could project a little n*> 
In the old lorm of Langstroth. 
Would It not he better for me to adopt the old L. 
lame as a beginner, and for Nucleus hives have 
frames just One half the 64ze? 1 ask you bocausc it 
seems the most natural to mv mind, easily transferred 
etc. How deep Is a Simplicity hive (exact) when 
v 
’"tiiiltlCHlH : 
Bolivar, N. Y. Apr. 25Hi,i874 
Blocks for the L. hive should be miule so as 
[ojust close It, when both are turned with 
longest side toward the entrance. Dimensions 
given in Mr. L.’s book are %x4x5%x7. In 
using double width hives, With entrance at. 
side of combs, entrance blocks must be used of 
considerable length, especially with the L. 
Vaine. Where division boards arc used, there 
is a decided advantage In the latter, for a re- 
adjustment. of this board, in no way interferes 
with the entrance, as it does with the ordinary 
L. hive. We cannot see that the L. frame is 
more especially suited for beginners than some 
others. Simplicity (Langstroth) is just 10 inch- 
es deep when cover is raised. 
look very discouraging for 
i ' w „ or8c th an ever since I have kept hoes had rve 
d Oil a ground March lllth, and there has hem, b ut 
J", "1„°“ Which they have worked on it to any ex- 
it font 111 ?’ w l " v r eo'd- every day, snow now over 
, ! , !?op, snowed all day to-day, and blows like fun 
u Examined two or three hives lust wbek, they 
Have?nat P S e u hrooding, not even an egg to be seen. 
«• , !,?, 1 f ht .°^ s Hut ol 37, saw a man the other day 
nil bu rnt ! ’ st .V" 1 °, f 5*1 another, 6 out of 13; have 
unt Heard from others lately. 
sille.wf!! *Jv f,° sending Queen eggs, it seems to lie con- 
i,l»ht l vni , ttl lur, \ V lU 1 think it can he done safely, 
A h >™V* ag" I bought 30 Italian Queens, from Si. 
es bjSfj ' . ' they were sent 111 at a time. In small box- 
tile OunmL’ 1 IVame 4 orb inches square; alter taking 
"i tin. , ” "l 1 11 nomber ol the bees collected lu one 
iss me ,o e ? 1,1 " h , tch a Queen had laid eggs on the 
passage, and reared a Queen. 
ImisImhSoS 1 ** "°f l,<ixt, s he made of thin boards or 
Wiirniv ' li- 1 !" 1 enough bees used to keep eggs 
a- If It cost move than "Sets, for eggs tram 
«2?„ Qooen customers could well afford it . 
that lor earlys'warms? * h0VoU "* ° ,,C " ru “' 1 1 ‘ 8 
2 7ul- -Cool, lot§ of enow yet. 
‘•iCiWr® " •“ 
uwuipvtue, N. y. Bkn.iamin Finch. 
Bnc-ti a plan might be made to answer, (in 
tact we attempted it last season) bnt, so many 
bees will be required that, with the brood to 
sustain them on a long Journey, ’twould be 
rather bulky by mail. As the Queen in such a 
case must generally be a hybrid, would it not 
be better to put in laying Queen after we have 
everything ready, and charge a dollar? 
vtw LSsTn 1 < i’i!'i" tl a W,M swarm, and another a 
i.»n th V Ci f r .? n 241,1 of March, on a 
JjT,* ijll’Jiailan Nuclei less than one year ago. 
men. not verv Il i‘i Un “with Queens-most of 
rioiJ stron K an ‘i 5 common stocks. Just 
7 common stocks. I wrote you I lost my 
t C „ e i-’| 8 CX0<! 1’ 1 "'but I used, and sold" only one * 
_ r j™ 1 Asking great pains for purity ; l breed from 
of lnbSr ‘Irtii 8 "' 1 C0 V M (five the best testimonials 
8<>on have more Queens but who 
lavimr "Hrid e ?nn 1 °r“ me ? ? f ',V <, " r8 g 1 mU8t have them 
laying and sell for one dollar. Some of them are 
dark, shall I reject them ? 
,. th<1 , flrst beginner In Italians and vumatile 
hut sir there Is a perfect furor of excite- 
AhhoeiVl 5 ' t "r CC " B .7? C ' B - Hahskv, M. I). 
Abbeville, \ ermlllon Parish, I.a. April 37th, 1874. 
Dnlese the Queens are quite dark, we should 
assuredly use them, if we were satisfied t.hev 
"' e l rt '_f r,im a good mother. The most profit- 
able Queens are often rather dark in color, but 
we should be suspicions of a mother, that gave 
many dark colored Queens. 
Friend II. asks “who will buy them?” now 
cannot we “kill two birds with one stone” by 
giving the following: 
n,o CO- " F ' ca9 c <m receipt of this send 
me word whether you have any of those “One dollar 
tin 1 w 8nl . on <-' Immediately for a Queenlesg 
stock belonging to a friend. I got two of vou last 
S r „e,2" thhi Mend of mine also 
. th< i m ver y mllch , will you pie aft F 
an* turned with I *1 wi r . „. *■*?** f®. 11 me ^he earlient time you am semi 
Bosov. 
I moved my Apian tills last winter about two miles 
Iu,,?. n,| f ? r r nu; . r l* la i e ’ a 1 * 1 , 1 P«t >’■ up on the hexagon 
plan eight feet apart, and have lost one third of my 
colonies by my bees gradually quitting or losing their 
lilves, mid entering others. 1 almost dully seeDaden 
worker-bees, seeking to enter hives that are closed. 
I would Uko to know what the matter Is, and 
what to do. V ours truly, Jno. J. Jones. 
( ulleoka, Tcnn. 
If your liives are eight feet apart, we feel sure 
tin: arrangement can have nothing to do with 
your trouble. Bees are many times kept suc- 
cessfully, in strait rows, as close as two or 
three feet apart, although this is perhaps not 
advisable. The haxagoual plan as we have 
given it, gives six feet distance from center to 
center, and we have never seen any trouble 
from bees mistaking their liives, nor have we 
ever before heard of a complaint, although 
many such are now in use. As this shape 
very materially lessens the labor of the Apia- 
rist, our friend should be quite sure lie is not 
mistaking the cause of the trouble, before he 
draws a conclusion. 
Our hives are all painted one color— white, 
and we prefer this color because dark colors 
are apt to become too hot if the sun should 
chance to strike them in very hot weather. 
We believe friend J. that experienced Bee-keep- 
er’s can give you ample testimony that 0 feet 
apart is perfectly safe. Most Bee-keepers are 
aware, that stocks when first set out on a new 
location, sometimes get badly mixed up, even 
