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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



June 1 



Bee-keeping Among The 

 Rockies 



By Wesi^ev Foster, Hotilder, Colo. 



THE SECTION-DAMPENER. 



The editor says, page 29;^, May 1, that he 

 would not think the water would pass 

 through more than one row of sections. The 

 fact is, the water runs clear through on to 

 the floor and dampens every groove if warm 

 w^ater is used. 



CONCERNING THE RETAILER. 



Mr. Diener, page 249, April 15, takes ex- 

 ception to some of my statements on page 

 105, Veh. 15. I do not think the retailer is 

 responsible for high prices altogether; but I 

 do think that the retail business is overdone, 

 which makes it necessary for him to make 

 a higher percentage of profit than if a larg- 

 er business were done. I certainly do not 

 think the retailer is making any more 

 money than he should; but the small amount 

 of business done makes it necessary to charge 

 a higher percentage of profit. 

 4?- 

 BEE-KEEPING ON THE "DIVIDE." 



We have all thought here in the West 

 that honey in quantities could be had only 

 in the irrigated valleys; but bees get consid- 

 erable nectar from the wild flowers on the 

 prairie. Some of the "dry" farmers are 

 keeping a few colonies, and are succeeding 

 with them. The bees on the "divide" be- 

 tween Denver and C'olorado Springs often 

 make as much honey as do thqge in the ir- 

 rigated districts. The divide has a heavier 

 rainfall than most parts of the West, and 

 the wild flowers are very abundant. Many 

 a mountain valley and apparently barren 

 field has surprised the bee-man who showed 

 faith by keeping bees in these districts that 

 are passed over by the general run of bee- 

 keepers. The honey gathered from the 

 Western wild flowers is darker than alfalfa, 

 but it finds ready sale among many peoi)le 

 who i)refer it to the alfalfa honey. 



AN EARLY Sl'RiNG. 



Spring came much earlier than usual this 

 year; and unless we have some cool weather 

 to discourage breeding, bees are going to 

 swarm much earlier than usual. The abun- 

 dance of wild flowers, dandelions, white clo- 

 ver, etc., will be quite a factor in early swarm- 

 ing. If we have abundant showers these 

 flowers will come out in i)rofusion, and the 

 stimulus given the bees will bringswarming 

 within a few days after alfalfa blooms. If 

 our bees get the swarming fever at the open- 

 ing of the alfalfa bloom we certainly shall 

 have a time controlling it. The outlook 

 now is that we shall have a swarming year. 

 There will be honey, no doubt; but if the 

 bees act the way they liave in some i)revious 

 years we bee-keepers will have a busy time 



persuading the bees to live in a sensible 

 number of hives. The wild flowers on the 

 mountains and along the edge of the foot- 

 hills have been more abundant than ever, so 

 far, and the bees in these places have swarm- 

 ed alreatly, some few being reported in Ai)ril. 



4>- 



LIQUEFYING CANDIED COMB HONEY. 



The test given in melting comb honey, 

 page 27S, May 1, is valuable to western bee- 

 keepers; but 1 think it would have come 

 out better if the temperature had been kept 

 between G5 and 75 degrees. This tempera- 

 ture would hardly discolor the honey. How- 

 ever, it would not melt any honey already 

 candied, but would largely prevent further 

 granulation. I melted some candied comb 

 honey, and the color was darkened. The 

 most noticeable feature was the toughness 

 of the comb. It was waxy, and not delicate 

 and crisp, as the comb was before melting. 

 The temperature was between 100 and 105 

 degrees. Most of the combs sagged a little; 

 a few melted down altogether. 



The ojjinion of all Easterners is that alfal- 

 fa honey is worse for candying than any 

 other honey. This may be true; but it is a 

 fact that lioney gathered entirely from al- 

 falfa, when weather conditions are favorable 

 for its thorough evaporation, is not liable to 

 candy for over a year. I have seen snow- 

 white alfalfa comb honey heavy in body 

 that did not granulate for two years. 



It is not difficult to tell the honey that 

 will granulate from that which will "stand 

 up " for a long time. 



Comb honey built during an intermittent 

 flow will candy quite soon. It is light am- 

 ber or amber in color, and is thinner in body 

 than honey gathered in a continuous flow. 

 Comb honey of a clear white transparency, 

 and heavy in body, may be safely stored 

 away for sale in the spring, as it will remain 

 clear if not subjected to great changes in 

 temperature. 



Bees Gather Honey from Common Field Peas, but 

 they do Not Get it from the Blossoms. 



I heard that bees worked only i)ii the stalks of the 

 lield peas where the blossoms drop off, so three 

 years ago I made some observations: and in every 

 case I found that not a bee worked on the blossom. 

 They were working at the point where it dropped 

 ofl, pod and all. A sweet substance is secreted 

 here, and the bees worked on this. I wondered if 

 there was any nectar inside the blossoms : so 1 

 pulled (julte a number aijart, and in every instance 

 I found that the little pod was just bathed in nec- 

 tar, although the bees did not notice It nor seem to 

 know how to get at it. 



Last summer I had near the house a small patch 

 of peas that was covered with bees from morning 

 till night, so I made some more observations. 

 Nearly all of them were working on the stalks as 

 usual: but here and there I saw a few Italians 

 pushing their toneues down into the blossoms, as 

 the blossoms are not closed the entire length on the 

 upper side. I intended to go back with some flour 

 and mark Ute bees that were working on the blos- 

 soms, and note the hive that they came from, in 

 order to raise some queens from this strain, but 

 neglected to do so. I believe if we could raise 

 bees that would work on the blossoms it would 

 make ciuite a dilference In the yield of honey here. 

 I have never noticed any pollen from the field peas. 



Fremont. Mo. Mrs. Ai.meda Ki.lis. 



