1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



37 



SIFTINGS. 



By J. E. Crane, Middlebury, Vt. 



One who has the time can not do better 

 than follow Mr. Doolittle's method of reading 

 bee-papers, page 659, Nov. 1. 

 -^ 



Page 591, Oct. 1, Mr. Foster suggests the 

 use of scales in the packing room, which is 

 a decidedly good thing. I have found a light 

 spring scale for weighing mail a very good 

 thing for this purpose, and very inexpensive. 



On page 587, Oct. 1, it is stated that when 

 there is enough honey-dew to impair the 

 flavor the honey must be labeled "honey- 

 dew." Now, 30 per cent honey-dew would 

 certainly impair the flavor, even if the rest 

 were the choicest clover honey; but would 

 it not be misbranding to label such " honey- 

 dew " when 70 per cent of it is genuine 

 honey?" [Yes, m a sense; but the ruling 

 requires putting under the lower grade. — 

 Ed.] 



carbolic acid in spraying mixtures. 



On p. 587, Oct. 1, mention is made of the 

 use of carbolic acid in spraying mixtures to 

 keep bees from being poisoned. Can any 

 one tell the proportion of carbolic acid used? 

 I should think that, if enough were used to 

 drive the bees away, the blossoms would be 

 injured. Our Vermont law provides that "a 

 person who sprays fruit-trees when in bloom 

 with a solution containing less than three 

 pounds of unslacked lime to fifty gallons of 

 the solution shall be fined not more than 

 $40.00 nor less $10.00." Would not the lime 

 in solution be safer for the fruit-grower as 

 well as the bee-keeper? [See p. 778, Dec. 

 15.— Ed.] 



distances bees fly. 

 Some interesting views on bee-flights are 

 given by prominent bee-keepers on p. 587, 

 Oct. 1. Now, while it is probably true that 

 bees often fly long distances, it would seem 

 to me equally true that the bulk of the hon- 

 ey is gathered from near-by sources. A 

 neighbor was telling me, not long ago, how 

 in a yard of bees located near the east shore 

 of Lake Champlain he secured surplus hon- 

 ey from only one of two hives, although the 

 rest of the colonies were just as strong. The 

 only solution was, that the bees from these 

 two colonies flew across the lake, where 

 there was considerable basswood, while the 

 rest of the bees did not. 



FULL SHEETS OF FOUNDATION IN SECTIONS. 



On page 604 Dr. Miller goes for F. Greiner 

 for objecting to light foundation in sections, 

 and the doctor sums up his reasons by say- 

 ing that it is his belief that "using full 

 sheets of foundation is of such advantage to 

 the producer that it overbalances several 

 times any disadvantage to the consumer, 

 and hence full sheets of foundation may be 



used without any violation of the golden 

 rule." Good! Now, if there is anywhere in 

 the United States a dealer who will pay 

 more for honey in comb built wholly by the 

 bees than he will for that which is built of 

 light foundation, let's hear from him. [Our 

 columns are open for reports of this sort. — 

 Ed.] 



Mr. Holtermann, page 592, Oct. 1, makes 

 the somewhat startling statement that half 

 of the honey produced in Canada could be 

 sold locally; and, what is more, he is prob- 

 ably correct. At the recent meeting in Al- 

 bany of the New York bee-keepers this sub- 

 ject was taken up and similar conclusions 

 reached. By the way, that was a pretty in- 

 teresting convention. Those New York 

 Staters seem to know which side of their 

 bread is buttered, or, rather, how to butter 

 their own bread. And Prohibitionists seem- 

 ed at the New York convention about as 

 plentiful as bee-keepers. At any rate. Dr. 

 Miller or Pres. York, of the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association, would have felt quite 

 at home; and, besides all this, it was quite a 

 comfort to me when I got home not to have 

 my wife tell me that I smelled of tobacco 

 smoke. 



On page 526, Sept. 1, Wesley Foster says, 

 "When a market is developed for cases 

 without glass that will pay as well as for 

 those with glass we shall be effecting a big 

 saving for the producer." Well, how are 

 you going to develop a market until you 

 put up your honey without glass? There 

 are some rather enterprising bee-keepers in 

 Ontario; and, if you will believe it, they have 

 been putting up honey this year in cases 

 without glass and sending to the city dealer 

 right in competition with glass-front cases, 

 and here is what one dealer says of them: 

 "We like them very much, and thus far what 

 honey we have received in them has arrived 

 in excellent condition. They are a great im- 

 provement on the wooden glass-front box, 

 and we think that, in due time, they will be 

 used entirely for shipping purposes." 



It doesn't look as though it would be diffi- 

 cult to develop a market there for honey in 

 cases without glass. Of course, the case 

 with which this commission man was So well 

 pleased was our improved paper case that 

 we have had the privilege of introducing the 

 past season. 



I was in Boston some ten days ago and 

 called on one of the largest dealers in honey 

 in that city. He did not recognize me; and 

 as he had both paper cases of honey and 

 wooden cases with glass fronts containing 

 some beautiful white honey, 1 asked him 

 how he liked the paper cases. He said he 

 Kked them well. I objected to them on the 

 ground that they did not show off honey like 

 the wood-and-glass cases. He replied that 

 it was true; but he said that the honey arriv- 

 ed in so much better condition that it more 

 than made up for lack of attractiveness. He 

 said further that they had found broken 

 combs in about every tenth case of wood. 



