1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



17 



FIG. 2. 



-POUDER METHOD OF LIQUEFYING GRANULATED HONEY, SHOWING THE POSITION OF 

 CANS AND GAS-BURNER IN THE OVEN. 



in a house-apiary. Second, work can be 

 done in any weather, wet or dry. Third, 

 there is no danger of honey melting down 

 caused by the heat. This is a most decided 

 advantage here in Texas. Fourth, the hives 

 need no painting, and will never rot; they 

 are practically everlasting. Fifth, there is 

 no danger of stock kno<"king over the hives 

 and being stung to death. Sixth, in case 

 thieves are troublesome it is not difficult to 

 prevent them from getting in. Seventh, the 

 bees do not consume quite as much honey in 

 winter as they do on separate stands out of 

 doors, the reason being, probably, that they 

 are less apt to fly out in cool weather, and 

 are, therefore, quieter. 



Now for the disadvantages. First, the 

 shade is too dense in the early morning. 

 The bees in the hives outside are working 

 about an hour before those in the building 

 begin. Mr. Alexander never spoke a truer 

 word than when he said that the early morn- 

 ing shade is detrimental to bees Second, 

 the bees outside gather the most honey. 

 Third, the hives outside can be manipulated 

 the quickest. Fourth, the expense of a 

 building of this kind is no small item. Fifth, 

 many bees get into the wronc hive, and there 

 is apt to be mixing up, which, if honey is not 



coming in, results in fighting. Young vir- 

 gins, also, may get into the wrong entrances 

 and kill the old queens. I have painted the 

 fronts of the hives different colors, but this 

 does not seem to remedy the trouble. The 

 building is not sheltered from the winds, and 

 sometimes when there is a stiff breeze from 

 the south the bees are blown on toward the 

 north end of the building, and thus get into 

 the wrong hives. I intend to move the api- 

 ary to the woods in a more quiet location 



Summing it all up, it is my belief that, if a 

 man has money to build a house- apiary, he 

 had better put it into more hives or better 

 queens or bees, or something else that is 

 needed. I think that the beginner especial- 

 ly can spend his money in better ways than 

 by putting up a building of this kind. 



Decatur, Texas. 



LIQUEFYING GRANULATED HON FY. 



BY WALTER S. POUDER. 



For vears I have depended upon the hot- 

 water tank for melting five-gallon cans of 

 granulated honey, but have found many in- 

 conveniences connected with the method, 

 and have been obliged to adopt a safer and 



