GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
August . 
Gleanings in Bee Culture, 
Published Monthly, 
I. ROOT Sc CO., 
EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS 
MED INA^ OHIO. 
Terms : 75e. Per Annum. 
For Club llates see Last Page. 
Is^EETDXTsT -A-, A.ITG-- 1, 1874. 
A. B. J . and JB. A'. 3/. , were on our table promptly, 
and the World a few days afterward. All good. N. B. 
J. y at present writing has not put in an appearance. 
Warranted Queens for 1.50, we think fall as cheap 
as the dollar Queens without warrant, and our old 
friend Alley has agreed to the former rate for the sea- 
son. See Advertise ment. 
“Blasted Hopes” and doleful visages, have for the 
past few Meeks been giving way to “Reports Encour- 
aging” and bright anticipations of long “Rolls of Hon- 
or;” but we’re too small to chronicle all of the latter. 
A beautiful EXPERIMENT— Give a natural swarm 
a hive full of empty combs, and extract the honey as 
often as the combs are filled. The nice part of it is, 
that they frequently give you $10.01) worth of honey in 
a M eek after hiving. 
We with pleasure notice that C. O. Perrine has 
commenced settliug up his old debts in a manner quite 
satisfactory. As lie has perhaps bought more honey 
than any other dealer in America, we shall be quite 
happy to hear he has regained confidence by an hon- 
orable settlement of all old accounts. 
Cannot some of our subscribers advertise bees for 
sale ? We have many inquiries, but cannot direct 
them M'lierc to send. Adam Grimm’s notice would do 
very well for those in that vicinity, but ’tis expensive 
and risky sending so far. Who Will furnish Italian 
colonics at a moderate price in the Southern and 
Middle states ? ^ ^ ^ 
OuK Agricultural exchanges although lull of valuable 
matter, contain little on bees beside extracts from the 
Bee Journals. The Rural New Yorker contains an 
excellent plea, from a dealer In Groceries and 
Provisions, for pure honey, and prices within the 
reach of tne masses. Had they given his address in 
full M e might have shown him that laborers were al- 
ready in the field. 
- — ^ » > » ^ — 
Kind Cncle Samuel now carries merchandise of all 
kinds, as well as seeds and plants, for eight cents per 
lb., and 4 lbs. may be sent in one package, instead of 
12 oz. as formerly. In fact we could send a Simplicity 
hive by mail now, if any one should desire; the post- 
age M ould be just about as much as the hive, viz, 90c 
each, and they would have to be sent in about six 
pieces. But half the amount mentioned on our price 
list for postage on the articles we advertised, need be 
sent for postage hereafter, with the exception of seeds, 
which remain as hereto fore.^ ^ 
Ouk enterprising friend Muth, of Cincinnati, sends 
us a sample of his 50c honey knives which we really 
think will prove “as good as any” for uncapping at 
least. It certainly cannot boast of much pretentions 
to beauty in its “get up,” but it has a fine steel blade 
very thin, and sharp, ready for use, and it is fixed very 
firmly in its plain wooden handle. For the business 
of uncapping only, we do not see how it can be im- 
proved ; but for other work, such as transferring etc., 
the long slender blade and peculiar handle of those 
we furnish, M’ill be, we think in some respects, prefer- 
able. We wish Mr. M. a large trade in them, as u r c do 
every one, u r ho aims to cheapen Apiarian supplies. 
The Qulnby Smoker, lias become almost indispens- 
able to us. ’Tis true It bothered by going out at first 
but since we gathered a supply of “punk” we have 
gone our way rejoicing. This can be gathered in any 
forest containing maple stumps or logs; ’tis a species 
of fungus that grows out of them somewhat like mush- 
rooms. Carry along a heavy hammer, for they arc 
hard to break off ; u*hen they are first gathered they 
are to be chopped in pieces small enough to go into 
the smoker readily, and dried thoroughly, in an oven 
or other M'lse. This substance burns longer than any 
thing else with which wo are acquainted and never 
goes out Mdiere it can have even a very small supply 
of air. Who Mill put some In the market, nicely 
prepared ? 
^ » — — 
After a Queen liatehes, she usually leaves the cap 
hinged to the cell like a door, and it often springs shut 
after she has passed out. Now' the bees sometimes 
wait this cover down again, and the Apiarist looks at 
his cell in disappointment, for several days perhaps, 
M’aiting for his Queen to hatch, while she is crawling 
about the hive as unconcerned as can be. We men- 
tion this because several blunders have been caused 
thereby, one of which M’c were a party to, in tact u’e 
assisted in persecuting a princess, as an interloper, 
all because her cell seemed to be unhatched. Alter 
she had flown away lroin such rude treatment ami 
was hopelessly lost, ’twas found that the innocent- 
looking cell M’as only a hollow fraud udth the afore- 
said door shut. 
— — 0»**«s*> — 
Any colonies not having a “hive full” of bees should 
be fed at once, if honey has ceased coming in, to keep 
brood rearing under full headway that M’e may have 
plenty of bees fpr wintering. Never lose sight of the 
fact that whenever brood-rearing is stopped, if it be 
for ten days only, it will produce its effect, it may be 
months hence, perhaps while we are getting them 
through a snow-storm in April, but the gap will come 
M’hcrc bees too old, and brood too young, blocks pro- 
gress for the time being. Give them all they can use 
without filling the combs so as to crowd the Queen; 
this can only be determined by examination, say, once 
in three days. Use sugar syrup, and should you thus 
give them their winter supply It M'lll be in the best 
shape possible, and just as they naturally have it. 
Sending Queens by mail, Mrs. Tapper thinks to 
be wrong, as there have been rulings by the assistant 
P. M. G. to that effect. If such of our readers as are 
interested in the matter, will read Vick’s Floral 
Guide No. 8, they can see that this is not the only 
case in which the aesurdity of some of these “rulings” 
has caused them to be ignored by every one, unless it 
be occasionally some 1*. M. who imagines it a duty to 
show his authority by hindering the progress of a 
luirmlcss and innocent branch of agricultural Indus- 
try. We can send queen- safely to Texas now, for 
one cent providing no u' riling Is put In the package; 
if sent by express the charge would be a dollar or two. 
Are M’e to understand a dozen bees put up in a stout 
metal cage arc to be an exception to 1 1 other kinds 
of produce and merchandise i-’ lV.luij the new law 
that took effect J illy lst,mcink I ienhi ;e may in- 
clude queens. We hope ..o. 
