  It is at least too bothersome for me to make the Harbison frames, as per Gleanings; I have made some very nice frame boxes, top and end pieces all 1½ inches wide, ends are 5 inches long and top and bottoms 6¼ inches long and nailed to end pieces, which are ¼ thick and top and bottom ? inch thick; outside sections are 1¾ wide with a groove to receive a glass 5×6. I place the pieces in a long bottomless box or frame, wedge them up together and nail them, and then fasten strips of stout paper across them. I forgot to say in the proper place, that for an entrance I cut a notch in each side of the bottom pieces ¼×2 inches. I leave the bottom pieces wide because it makes a better box and is more convenient, one box can be raised up and another placed under it without much danger of killing bees, use a wax guide in each frame. R. S. Becktell, New Buffalo, Mich. [As it is a little inconvenient to cut the notches in the Harbison frame with our circular saws, we think they may be omitted and the stout paper used as above. In making these light frames, perhaps it would be well to fix on a size that would allow of putting 4 or 6 inside our large frames. Quinby advises this with his new hive, and illustrates it in Am. Ag. for Feb.—Ed.] Almighty Father! We pray that thy blessing may accompany each separate number of our little Journal on its mission among the bee-keepers of our land. May each and every one of us bear our losses during the present and ensuing months, should such there be, with a proper spirit of resignation to events we cannot control. Give us also that cool, calm, and deliberate frame of mind, that best prepares us to look earnestly about, and see what means thou hast placed within our reach to avert a repetition of our past troubles during the spring months. Give us submission, without a spirit of idleness, and teach us to work while we pray. Enable your servant to deserve the great trust, that he has never until now felt has been accorded him. Give him that humility that will enable him to forget self and labor honestly for the benefit of his brother bee-keepers, and to deserve the confidence they repose in him. A. B. J., Magazine, and World, for Feb. were all on hand in fair time, and are all good. Kruschke Bros. are now supplied with Rapp and Esparcet seeds just imported; see advertisement. With pleasure we refer our friends wanting Queens or full colonies, to the advertis’t of J. Oatman & Co. Chinese Mustard seed seems difficult to find, but we shall have some in due time we think, even if it has to be imported. We shall have to refer all those inquiring for bees to our advertising columns. Everything we have for sale is in our price list. Summer Rape seed, American grown, by mail in cloth bags, per lb., 25c.; per express 15c. These will be our rates for the season. Photo’s for the Medley are still coming in, and as we wish to include all that will send them, we shall delay it perhaps a week after this number reaches you. Remember this is the last call, and that we wish to include every bee-keeper whose eye meets these pages. On page 104 of Vol. 2. Mr. Quinby says the Queen of Mr. Elwood’s colony that produced the great yield, came from us; yet in Mr. Elwood’s report page 19, current Vol., it does not so appear. Who is in error? We certainly wish no credit given the dollar Queens which they have not earned. We are happy to say Miss A. (P. G.) has recovered from the fever and is again at her accustomed post. We trust our friends will now have less cause to complain of the types and other small items, that have of late too often prevented things going with the promptness and accuracy that makes business a pleasure. It seems some of the other sex are determined to have the “last word” in regard to bee stings; a privilege we accord them with all the good will imaginable, after we have mentioned for the benefit of beginners, that no matter how distressing are the symptoms at first, they will very soon get inured to the poison, and finally, no swelling will ensue at all. This is the month for feeding the rye and oat meal, with most of our readers. Put in shallow boxes out of the wind, but in the sun as much as possible. Here is a chance for you to exercise your ingenuity in so arranging a glass sash, as to secure these conditions, and yet not trouble the bees by having them bump against the glass by mistake. If they don’t notice the meal, as some complain they will not, start them by giving a piece of comb honey laid in the midst of the meal; get a few bees on the comb from several hives until they have got a taste, if you cannot start them otherwise. When they begin on natural pollen they will take little notice of the meal. Equal parts of oats and rye ground fine seems to please our bees best. We are very sorry indeed to be obliged to say that we think “Money in the Apiary” by H. A. Burch, by no means worth the price (25c.) asked for it. The more so as our relations with Mr. B. of late have been of the most friendly nature, and he has uniformly spoken well of Gleanings. The book is entirely too small, containing only about one-fourth the matter of a single number of any one of our Bee Journals. King’s Bee-Keeper’s Text book, only costs 15c. more, and yet it is a work of 140 pages, condensed, and to the point, alphabetically indexed, etc. etc. Money in the Apiary contains less than 20 pages, less in size, and some of it unimportant matter at that. We advertised the work without seeing it which we regret, but it would be unkind, and do no good now to find fault with what is past; shall we not rather consider a remedy that will do justice all around? Our advice would be that Mr. Burch give his patrons four just such pamphlets, for the 25c. he has received, and make it a quarterly. If he will do this, we will give him a standing advertisement gratis. Feb. 24th.—All three of the hives, that we are wintering out-doors, have come through so far in good condition so far as bees are concerned, although they spot their hives and the ground badly. The hive bro’t from a distance worst of all; the one prepared with woolen by Miss A., next, and the Standard hive best of all. The latter stands just where, and just as it did when we left off extracting, has had no preparation nor tinkering, and is all in complete trim to extract again, so soon as its 20 combs are filled. Could we be sure of making a whole Apiary winter like this one, we should feel quite relieved, even if we were obliged to put two fair colonies into every hive to do it. The Queen has just commenced laying. We were agreeably surprised to find that almost every bee from these three safely regained their hives, while those in the forcing house, collect in masses on the glass, get nearly all of them into one hive, and seem in a fair way at present to become utterly demoralized, although they have reared quite a patch of brood during this month in some of the hives. Will others using the cold frames, please send us minute reports? Even though our own now looks discouraging, we are going to give it a careful test to the best of our ability, clear through. |
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