34 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Jan. 15 



ing. For the benefit of some who might be 

 misled we will endeavor hereafter to use the 

 terms shaking and brushing, because it is 

 doubtless true that some would shake combs 

 containing raw nectar when they ought to 

 brush. 



THE MOTH-WORM AND ITS WORK; A DISAP- 

 PEARING PEST IN AMERICA. 



The half-tone reproduction on page 47 of 

 this issue is a splendid illustration or the work 

 of the wax-worm. These nasty creatures not 

 only soil up parts of the hive and the combs 

 with their webs, but leave their dirt scat- 

 tered all over every thing. What is more, they 

 seem to have the power to gnaw or furrow 

 into wood as a careful scrutiny of the illus- 

 tration will show. Very fortunately, how- 

 ever, the pest is fast becoming unknown in 

 the United States. The introduction of Ital- 

 ian bees, and even their crosses with the 

 black bees, is responsible for this. If we 

 could only speak as confidently of the elimi- 

 nation of the brood diseases, the American 

 bee-keeper would have but little to fear from 

 any thing but winter losses. 



recipe, either for candy or cakes. Do not 

 offer it unless it is first class, and something 

 that you yourself have tried. 



BEES AND NEIGHBORS. 



Every season after the honey-flow we 

 are called upon to give advice on how to 

 proceed in case of trouble over the alleged 

 trespass upon the property of an adjacent 

 neighbor. In some cases we advise the re- 

 moval of the bees; in others we recommend 

 keeping them where they are. In the latter 

 case we supply our bee-keeping friend with 

 literature which he places oefore his com- 

 plaining neighbor. We did this in the case 

 of a prominent bee-keeper whose name for 

 obvious reasons we withhold, and received 

 back a reply which shows that our dose of 

 literature convinced the complainant that he 

 had "no case," and apparently the matter 

 dropped. Of course, cases of this kind we 

 always refer to the General Manager of the 

 National Bee-keepers' Association. 



HONEY DOUGHNUTS. 



Very many are fond of doughnuts and 

 coffee; but when they become a little old 

 they are dry and hard. The suggestion has 

 been made to use a small percentage of hon- 

 ey to keep them moist. Who knows about 

 this, and who can give us a good recipe for 

 honey doughnuts? We know that honey 

 will keep nearly all kinds of baked cakes 

 soft almost indefinitely, the keeping quality 

 depending upon the amount of honey used. 

 Honey-jumbles, for example, twelve years 

 old, as we know by actual experience, are 

 as nice and fine eating as when they were 

 first made. Some years ago we went through 

 a baking establishment and were there told 

 that honey is used because it preserves va- 

 rious kinds of cakes, keeping them moist, 

 where a plain sugar would allow them to 

 dry up in a short time, rendering them un- 

 salable. 



In this connection we should like to get 

 reports from those who have a new honey 



ZINC queen-excluders; right AND WRONG 

 SIDE UP. 



W. E. BuRKiTT, Honorable Secretary of the 

 Wilts Bee-keepers' Association, of England, 

 offers in the British Bee Journal a suggestion 

 as to the manner of putting on perforated 

 zinc queen-excluders that we oelieve is 

 worthy of consideration. He says: 



ZINC QUEEN-EXCLUDERS. 



Are those who complain of excluder zinc hindering 

 the passage of the bees careful to lay it on right side up? 

 Years ago I saw this mentioned in the British Bee Jour- 

 nal, and found the necessity for it, as there is a slight 

 burr from punching on one side, and this should al- 

 ways be placed uppermost, as I suppose many bee- 

 keepers know. 



If there is any thing in this idea (and ap- 

 parently there is), manufacturers will prob- 

 ably see to it that the wood-bound zinc ex- 

 cluders have the zinc so placed that the burr 

 edge will be on the top side, for it is apparent 

 that it will be more difficult for the bees to 

 pass the metal loaded than when their sacs 

 are empty. For that reason the easier side 

 of ingress should be presented to the fielders. 



For a like reason the zinc excluder-guards 

 should have the burr edge on the inside. 



It is practically impossible, in the punch- 

 ing of the zinc, to avoid the burr edge en- 

 tirely. If the rough side be polished off in 

 a separate machine it will leave a feather 

 edge inside the slots that can not be remov- 

 ed, and this would be worse yet. Attempts 

 have been made to remove this burr; but die 

 and punch experts say that it is impossible 

 to eliminate it entirely, and for that reason 

 there has been introduced the wire-bar ex- 

 cluders, so that bees can readily pass either 

 way, because there is no right or wrong side. 



THE COVER DESIGN; BEE-KEEPERS OF ANCIENT 

 EGYPT. 



Were the ancient Egyptians the first bee- 

 keepers? Many are inclined to think they 

 were. If the apiaries of Old Egypt were 

 stocked with Apis fasiata (which seems to be 

 a purely African oee) they may have been. 

 The Egyptians being kindred to the tribes 

 inhabiting their "pathway of migration" 

 from a prehistoric home somewhere in West- 

 ern Asia may have led to the introduction of 

 this beautiful species of apis among these 

 peoples. Of course this would easily ac- 

 count for the very close resemblance of Holy 

 Land and Cyprian bees to Apis fasiata. Be 

 this as it may, the Egyptians early developed 

 the art of bee-keeping, and, as the paintings 

 upon the walls of their tombs and other edi- 

 fices show, they employed various methods 

 which, considering tne time, show great apt- 

 ness and intelligence. In explanation of tne 

 cover design we will say that the scene is a 

 peep into Pharaoh's bee-yard, showing the 

 Keeper studying the bees as they fly about 

 the hives. You will also notice that, chief 

 among the objects shown, is an image of 

 Thoth, their god of wisdom and learning. 



