GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
Nov- 
126 
Oct. 27 ih sure enough we have larva? well supplied 
with its milky l'ood, ami are so far along in the work 
of rearing bees entirely in an artificial temperature. 
Oct. iSlh—Just before going to press — Four of the live 
hives have eggs and brood and every thing seems 
thriftv except the number of bees (perhaps 200 daily) 
that lly against the glass and fall on the ground with 
distended bodies, and die. We should very much like 
to know how many dead bees were found in Mr. Bid- 
well's hot beds in the spring. In our next we hone to 
be able to tell you of perfect young bees reared en- 
tirely on artificial supplies. 
Gleanings in Bee Culture, 
Published monthly. 
remark that he could “sec no reason why an Api- 
ary exactly square, is not quite as good and 
convenient as one hexagonal in shape,” and 
that “bees build their combs hexagonal for 
very good reasons” “which, however, 
would Ire very poor arguments for having an 
Apiary in that shape.” 
If we grant that (i feet, or any other distance 
for that matter, is as close as iiives should he 
placed, can we not get them much nearer on 
the plan mentioned, than if placed in the form 
of a square ? Is not economy of steps as im- 
portant to us, as is economy of wax and labor 
I to the bees? 
_A-_ X. ROOT <3c CO., 
EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS 
~ME D I N A, OHIO. 
Terms : 75e. Per Annum. 
[Including Postage .] 
For Club Bates see Last Page. 
NXEIDITsTAA, NOV. X, 1874. 
AVe have unfortunately mislaid Seth Hoag- 
iand’s circular in regard to the N. A. B. Con- 
vention at Pittsburgh, on the 11th 12th and 
13th, but think that to secure the benefit of the 
half fare rates granted on most of the R. R’s, it 
is necessary to write first to Mr. II. at Mercer, 
Pa. ' 
AVe have just rec’d the semi-monthly' German 
Biencti Zeitwng for the year 1874. At present it 
is of just about as much value to us as a 
work on astronomy to Blue Eyes we have 
a “big time" looking at the pictures. If the 
Germans use hives and implements as well 
made as the plates that represent them, per- 
haps their American cousins can with profit 
learn more than one lesson from them. 
— m <>^> — — 
K IND read er. If you are in any way interested in 
X$ees ox* Honey, 
we will with pleasure send vou a sample copy of our 
Monthly “GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE." Simp- 
ly write your address plainly on a postal card and 
address ' A. I. ROOT & CO., Medina, Ohio. 
[Any Periodical diving this one insertion and sending 
us /narked copy will receive Gleanings one year.] 
As we are paying considerable money for 
the insertion of above advertisement in various 
papers, of course we shall consider it a favor 
to have you give us the names of bee-keepers 
who you think might wish to take it. Don’t 
send any stamps; simply put their address 
plainly on a postal card. 
While we are much obliged to the Ed. of B . 
K. M. for his pleasant mention of our Litho- 
graph, we can hardly forgive him for not look- 
ing at it closely enough to discover that it 
really is a Hexagonal Apiary, having the 
whole number of hives arranged so that each 
one is the center of six others, at equal distan- 
ces from it and from each other. Had he been 
in the habit of extracting honey each season, 
carrying the combs into the extracting house 
and then back to the hives, he certainly could 
not have failed to note that the nearer the hives 
were located to this room, the less would be 
the labor; and lienee would not have made the 
“FJLYING 15EES UNDER GLASS.” 
^TrTRIEND NOV ICE:— I sec in Oct. Gleanings that 
1*1'] J you allude to Mr. Bidwell’s experiments in win- 
—ki tering bees : also make some criticisms in refer- 
ence thereto. Will you please allow me space in 
Nov. Gleanings, for an explanation. 
At the spring session of the Michigan Bee-Keeper’s 
Association, held at Kalamazoo, iii May last, I was, 
in absence of our Secretary Mr. Frank Benton, elected 
Sec. 2)?*o /cm, and took charge of all papers presented 
at that meeting. In making out the report of the pro- 
ceedings for B. K. M. (which was condensed as much 
as possible consistent with perspicuity of statement), 
we purposely refrained from making any extended 
remarks in reference to Mr. Bidwell’s paper, inasmuch 
as the paper itself, was to be published. Being re- 
quested by their several authors to return the original 
manuscript to them, we copied the different papers 
and forwarded the same to Mr. King from time to 
time for publication. Owing to ill health, which al- 
most, entirely precluded mental labor on our part 
during the summer, we deferred sending a copy of 
Mr. indwell’s paper until about 'the tenth of August, 
for the .Sept. No., supposing it seasonable at that time; 
not even dreaming that any one wished to try the “ex- 
periment” of placing bees under glass, ivith the mer- 
cury indicating 100° in the shade. 
Now about suppressing Mr. Bidwell’s 1*. O. address. 
Mr. Bidwell is extensively engaged in horticultural 
as well as apistieal pursuits, ami being corresponding 
See. of the bouth Haven Homological Society, lias very 
little time (and possibly— inclination) for answering 
inquiries relative to bee culture. He lias repeatedly 
stated that lie intended to write nothing more about 
bees, having had “his say” on that subject. We there- 
fore did not feel at liberty to give his address, and so 
withheld it. But in view of wliat has been said, we'll 
simply say that he resides only a short distance from 
the writer, and receives his mail at South Haven, 
Michigan. 
We are well acquainted with Mr. B. and know him 
to be perfectly reliable and trustworthy. Moreover 
we are conversant with his experiments, and feel con- 
fident that the value of this method lias not been 
overrated. For the benefit of Cleaning’s readers, 
we submit the following in reference thereto. 
The “hot-beds” alluded to in Mr. B’s paper, were 
excavations in dry sandy soil (about t wo feet in depth) 
sloping gently to* the south. Boxes made of 1% inch 
plank, and some 15 inches in width, were set over 
these and banked up with earth. Each “bed” was 
covered by four sash, .’>x6 feet, and straw was scattered 
over the ’bottom of the pit to keep the bees from 
alighting on the earth. Tlie sun was the sole source 
of heat. 
The bees were all put into a house cellar in Nov., 
but becoming uneasy in Jan., were carried out and 
placed in these “hot-beds” fora fly. Many of them 
were left there until a “cold snap” in March, when 
they were returned to the cellar, as the “beds” were 
not’ made sufficiently tight to exclude a great degree 
of cold. Mr. 1>. llew 1G stocks at once in a single be«l, 
assetTorth in bis paper, and encountered no difficul- 
ty in having all bees return to their respective hives- 
And Anally, his bees that llew under glass, all came 
through to May in good condition, and have stored a 
large amount of surplus honey the present season. 
Heiuikbt A. Bruch, South Haven, Mich. 
FKIEN1) NOVICE; — Yours of 3rd, at hand. I had u 
temperature as high as 85 to HO when the bees flew. 
I think the bees all returned to iheir proper hives 
that, returned at all. I had only one tier of hives. 
('li! yes, you could have seen them go out and 
