■1U8 



(iLEAXINUS IN BEK CULTUllE 



July 1 



Conversations with 

 Doolittle 



At Borodino 



EXTRACTED VERSUS COMB HONEY. 



"Which is the more profitable to produce 

 — extracted or comb honey?" 



"That is a question which probably will 

 never be settled to the satisfaction of all, be- 

 cause of the dilferent opinions of dilferent 

 individuals. One man will declare that he 

 can produce three times as much extracted 

 as comb honey, while another will be equal- 

 ly sure that he can secure nearly if not fully 

 as much section honey as extracted. As a 

 rule, both will say, when questioned, that 

 the other does not know how to produce the 

 one kind to the best advantage; and both 

 may be practical honey-producers, and prove 

 the excellence of their methods by ])roduc- 

 ing large crojis of the kind they are interest- 

 ed in. Probably the truth lies somewhere 

 between the two extremes. A great deal, 

 undoubtedly, lies in the locality, or, proper- 

 ly speaking, the environment. Very much 

 depends on the character of the honey-flow, 

 and fully as much on the method and the 

 man. The lufrn has very much to do with 

 this matter, but in all probability the char- 

 acter of the honey-flow has more. There 

 are great differences as regards the secretion 

 of nectar. With only a light flow, especial- 

 ly when in connection with cool weather, 

 bees will store honey in empty combs when 

 they will do little or nothing by way of draw- 

 ing out foundation in sections or building 

 comb therein. If the nectar-flow increases 

 and the weather gets hot, the dilTerence 

 grows less and less until at a certain point. 

 I think the best methods will secure at least 

 three-fourths as much section honey as ex- 

 tracted." 



"Then you think that, under any condi- 

 tion, more extracted honey can be produced 

 than section honey: and vhy, then, is not 

 extracted honey the better?" 



" If only for family use, it probably would 

 be; but when it couaes to producing honey 

 for market, the average price of section hon- 

 ey is neaily double that of extracted. Of 

 course, dark section honey sells for less than 

 white; but the dark extracted sells jiropor- 

 tionally less than white extracted, or very 

 nearly so." 



"Do you think that the average locality 

 will give only one-fourth more extracted 

 than section honey?" 



"The generally accepted proportion of 

 twice as much extracted as section is i)rob- 

 ably more nearly correct. However, if the 

 extracted is so well ripened that it will weigh 

 fully twelve pounds to the gallon, the three- 

 fourths estimate will not be very far out of 

 the way." 



" But a man can care for a given number 

 of colonies when worked for extracted hon- 

 ey more easily than he can for section, can 

 he not?" 



" Probably the advantage would be with 

 those run for extracted. C'ertainly this 

 would be the case during years past; but 

 with our present light reganling the swarm- 

 ing proposition there would not be so much 

 dilTerence. Till a few years ago the trouble 

 in working for comb honey, especially in 

 out-apiaries, was the swarming. When 

 working for extracted, with proper manage- 

 ment scarcely a swarm will issue. But now, 

 with a little extra manipulation, swarming 

 is brought to a minimum, if not entirely 

 done away with. 



"But this manipulation is saved when 

 working for extracted honey, so we can 

 score one there. Jiut how is it about the 

 marketing? " 



"That depends. If it is to be shipped far 

 away to a distant city to be sold on commis- 

 sion or otherwise, the extracted honey would 

 have the advantage, as this does not require 

 the cleaning of sections nor the careful grad- 

 ing which is required with comb hon- 

 ey. Then where the extracted is sold in 

 barrels the cost is less than for crates, and 

 the danger from breakage is practically 

 nothing, while there is considerable risk 

 with the section honey." 



"But sujipose we sell it at home, and in 

 small packages." 



"If put into small i)ackages and sold at 

 retail, the labor and expense of packages 

 bring the price nearly up to that of section 

 honey, as such can be sold in the home 

 market without any expense for packages, 

 which is not so easy for extracted. If one 

 is in a neighborhood where peo]ile will pay 

 nearly if not quite as much for extracted, 

 then the extracted honey would be the 

 kind to produce." 



" What would be your advice as to which 

 would be better for me? " 



"That, I think, is a question each one 

 must decide for himself. If I were to answer 

 this last question from my own standpoint 

 I should say produce section honey, as I 

 have iiroduced very little extracted honey 

 during the i)ast twenty years. But there 

 are many places where only a definite 

 amount of honey will be used in any event, 

 and in such a place you can sell just as many 

 pounds of comb honey as you can of extract- 

 ed. You will note that, when producing 

 extracted honey at the rate of two i)ounds 

 to one of comb, and selling it at half as much 

 a pound, according to general quotations, 

 you must sell twice as many pounds to re- 

 ceive the same returns." 



QUEENS DO NOT PIPE WITH THEIR WINGS. 



On page 297. May 1. F. Dundas Todd speaks of the 

 sound of a virgin in tlie first part of April. I took 

 three frames of tirood from a hive of Italians to 

 make some increase. On Ajjril 2:?, on looking over 

 the new hive 1 he.ird the sound of a virgin, and, on 

 turning the frame. I saw the civieen. She would 

 run about two inches and then pipe, working her 

 head up and down, but her wings were not moving. 



I-exington, Ky., May 7. Kobert Charters. 



[As to how this pi|)ing is done Is a mooted ques- 

 tion. That the wings probably do not make the 

 noise is possibly true. That they do not vibrate 

 when that noise Is made Is not always true.— Ed.] 



