tS74 
GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
ness, but do not we implore you, intimate that 
we have been so shiftless as to fail to mail 
( ii.KANiNOS as heretofore. Should Novice get 
sick, you can depend upon it that P. G. or 
some one else will mail something, if it be no 
more than a printed postal card informing you 
what’s the matter. In other words we pledge 
ourselves to let you hear something from us 
the first of every month. 
if you wish to “stir up” Novice, ask him on 
a “postal” if any Gleanings was sent out for 
Oct. or April as the case might be, “cause why” 
you didn’t get any. That they are promptly 
printed we are sure of but to avoid making a 
single mistake in mailing, wc find more diffi- 
cult for wc occasionally do blunder; but by 
far the greatest source of mischief is the fail- 
ure of subscribers to give the Counties. If you 
don’t get every paper at the usual time, don’t 
fail to drop a postal, and we will with pleasure 
make it right no matter who is to blame, but 
please don’t ask any more “if wc printed any.” 
I thought some of trying Bidwell’s plan of winter- 
ing. Fora beginner, have had excellent success du- 
ring Hie summer— increasing from 4 stocks (purchased 
"!' A. tfrlnun) to 12 Simplicities. Most of them contain 
hut 8 frames.' Purchased 20, so they have built me 
some BO combs. Took very little lioiiev (ext’d) as mv 
aim was increase. Am fearful for winter, but will 
"lake all necessary provision for the safety of the 
valued little fellows. 
(Jko. O. Scott, Dubuque, Iowa. Oct. 14tli, 1874. 
\\ e are glad to know that Independence, 
Iowa, can boast of pretty girls, as well as the 
rest of the world. We were made aware of 
the fact by a Stereoscopic view of his Apiary, 
sent us by E. A. Sheldon. In going into an 
Apiary we always see the girls first if there 
■ ire any — those in the view may be all married 
women for aught we know but that don’t 
make a particle of difference; they have as 
good a right to lie pretty as any body else. 
And now we think of it bee-keeper’s wives are 
generally remarkably pretty women, that is 
when they are not afraid of the bees, if they are, 
" c never see them — as we were saying wc al- 
ways see tlie ladies first and the bee hives next, 
*“? n if there’s a proprietor we generally make 
ms acquaintance. In the above picture the 
“haps that take our eye are the ones in their 
shin sleeves. A bee-keeper certainly wants 
his coat off when among the bees. The old 
gentleman reading his paper in his arm chair, 
as well as others scattered among the hives 
throughout the Apiary seem perfectly uncon- 
scious that bees can sting, and we presume 
d ieutl Sheldon has so cared for them that such 
tears are entirely unnecessary. We see extra 
at ldth hives as well a.s hives of only half the 
' Hlinary width, the latter presumably for 
,iii‘i'n rearing, and the small trees planted so 
ls 0 bullish a partial shade, give a very 
cu tty effect to the whole Apiary. As our 
“k'lul uses the extractor we venture to say 
• ;.*i . Ils labors would be considerably lessened 
his hives were grouped at more regular dis- 
auces; also we would want the grass kept 
little more in front of the hives. I-Iow- 
1 ii, it lie gets a large yield of honey as it is, 
fieri) aps it is just as well. 
I K! "au'inth of the sun’s rays prcvei 
■in-in ‘i u Iffi* combs in tlie cold franic 
n r i,.,,. y so 1 should say the cold frame Is i 
1 have been looking fur. 
•JOS. A. Savage, Cincinnati, o. Oct. 2 
m 
We think it will without doubt. Our house 
keeps everything as dry js it well can be, and 
damp or mouldy combs dry out in the warm 
sun and become sweet with the greatest facili- 
ty. Our only trouble at present is to have the 
bees get back into their hives. Very likely 
Mr. Bidwell’s plan of having the sash only il or 
4 feet from the ground would insure the bees 
all getting back better, but that, they should 
all find their own hives seems to us very im- 
! probable. 
What is your advice in case bees have uo pollen i:i 
their hives ? Will feeding Rye Hour during winter 
wlien they fly out be sufficient ? 
W. F. Coats, Columbus, Ind. 
Wc hardly know that we have any advice to 
offer at present. Bees will not work on the 
meal in the winter unless we have weather 
! quite warm and pleasant ; such as we usually 
have here in March or April. Wc have known 
them however, to work on meal briskly in 
Feb., but seasons permitting much of it are 
unusual. If wc could make the plan mention- 
ed last mouth, of getting them to carry in 
meal under glass, work, we would be all right. 
There are plenty of days during March and 
Apri I which furnish ample sunshine, if wc 
could only’ keep off the cold winds. Our bees 
will pay no attention to the meal under the 
glass at present. We have written Mr. Pal- 
mer for further particulars of his experiment. 
DEAR NOVICE : I wintered 32 hives, lost one In 
winter and the rest were all in condition to become 
strong stocks by tlie end of May. In April we had 
one day they could fly out in full liberty, the rest were 
so cold that it was only at mid-day that some ventured 
to come out; no bees could get n't the meal until tlie 
hrst ol May and iu tlie whole they did not store five 
ounces per hive. The Queens were so enclosed that 
they laid eggs from I to (1 iu a single cell; in the lirst 
week of May the lirst pollen was seen, then we bait 
four very line days; honey and pollen were brought 
iu at a bright rate and the Queens spread iu :i to 4 
combs. Pollen was brought in until whole combs 
were titled with it. To-day, one mouth later, my bees 
are worse than two months ago; the old bees are* gone, 
the young bees are more than needed for the brood 
work, and honey is so scarce that I am feeding every 
day. Instead of being strofcg by the first of June they 
are nearly all weak. 
in three of my hives Iliad inserted empty combs, 
the Queens lilted them and I at once gave three cheers 
lor tlie new idea hives, but alas, to-dav several whole 
combs are deserted ; young larva are dried up and the 
Queens, remain on one side playing their old April 
tricks of laying :1 to 8 eggs in a single cell. Instead of 
pushing the combs apart aud inserting empty combs 1 
now contract them, -with division hoard in place etc. 
With strong stocks and ordinary seasons we know 
very well what to do, hut in a season like this one, we 
certainly need all our brains and they need he sound. 
I have two straw hives of Elizabeth's time and those 
stand best in numbers in flight and weight. I have 
some fears that we bother too much with our bees, it 
may tic that we would he better off if we prepared the 
hives at the commencement of tlie season with good 
worker combs and let the Queens manage their own 
affairs. I have lost this far tl stocks and have 4 very 
weak ones on hand. What 1 want to know is this, 
has mi y one tried setting his stocks in ids bee house in 
April, wanning H to summer temperature and stimu- 
lating by daily feeding, and other care, ami how did 
they litre ? I shall try it next year. What we need is 
brood iu early April, the more the better. On this 
depends all. 1 intend to make three or four New Idea 
litres in August and shall insert a division ill the mid- 
dle and have a laying Queen in each side, in October 
shall kill one Queen, and winter the rest; If this is not 
well then 1 go hark to “Elizabeth’s time.” 
Joseph Duefelek, Wequlook, Wis. 
Tour experience chimes with our own ex- 
actly friend D. if something cannot he done 
to enable us to rear brood iu March and April 
even during bad weather, we certainly cannot 
accomplish the best results possible. 
