442 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



July 15 



Sittings 



By J. E. Crane, Mlddlebury, Vt. 



The steam uncapping-knife appears to 

 be one of those improvements that do not 

 need to be improved upon before it becomes 

 practical. See page 185, March 15. 



On page 224, April 1, is a map of Texas 

 with more than a dozen other States just 

 thrown right into it. But isn't it a whop- 

 per, a regular Jumbo? It produces some 

 big men, too, to say nothing of large bee- 

 keepers. 



<^ 



My congratulations to L. F. Howden with 

 his motorcycle, p. 187, Mar. 15. There must 

 be quite a difference between going ten miles 

 in fifteen or twenty minutes, and plodding 

 for two hours, as we do with our slow horse 

 to a yard ten miles away. 



I notice on p. 243, April 15, Prof. Waugh 

 is quoted on spraying. He was for several 

 years professor of horticulture at the Ver- 

 mont Agricultural College, and certainly is 

 good authority on fruits, and has always 

 been the friend of the bees. 

 4^ 



I have always been surprised at the large 

 numbers of colonies reported to the square 

 mile in Germany. Explanation given in a 

 Straw on page 172 will help us out. An 

 average of 2.86 colonies to the mile isn't so 

 great — guess we can match it here in places. 



That Stray Straw, with note on keeping 

 honey in a warm place, can not be too often 

 repeated until we all know enough to keep 

 comb honey in a warm place. Honey will 

 not only not granulate in such places, but 

 " resist the elTects of changing temperatures 

 better." It will also improve in flavor in- 

 stead of deteriorating. 

 4y 



That is a capital idea, Mr. Editor, p. 242, 

 of having all hives ten frame, and then 

 change the capacity by the depth of frame. 

 After more than forty years' experience I 

 am satisfied that the ten-frame can not be 

 improved upon for the average location. If 

 I were starting anew I would use a ten- 

 frame hive, using a division-board, and re- 

 ducing to seven or eight for winter. 



Another article is by E. R. Root, on the 

 agency of bees in fertilizing plants by the 

 mingling of pollen. Too much can not be 

 said in praise of this article with its illumi- 

 nating illustrations. Well says Dr. Fletch- 

 er, "A study of the devices provided by na- 

 ture to insure cross-fertilization forms one 

 of the most charming branches of the whole 

 study of botany." If this article is a fair 



sample of the forthcoming edition of the A 

 B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture, it may well 

 stand at the head of all "bee-books," as, 

 indeed, I have for some time regarded the 

 last edition. 



F. Greiner objects, page 181, Mar. 15th is- 

 sue, to paying 25 cents for 4 oz. of honey by 

 travelers. I think it is no higher than other 

 items of the bills of fare on dining-cars. I 

 recently ordered at a large hotel a small 

 l)iece of fish, surely not over a third or half 

 a pound, and the price charged was 50 cents. 

 The cost to the house could not have been 

 over six or eight cents. Oh! I forgot. There 

 was, perhaps, one or two ounces of bread 

 with it. 



-^ 



Several scientific articles appeared in the 

 April numbers of Gleanings that call for 

 notice as of more than usual interest, espe- 

 cially those discussing the pollination of ap- 

 ple and other blossoms. First, that by Prof. 

 C. L. Lewis and C. C. Vincent, on the polli- 

 nation of apple-blossms, so fully illustrated 

 that any farmer's boy of fair ability can en- 

 gage in the fascinating pursuit of producing 

 new varieties of fruits. I can not tell how 

 much I should have enjoyed such an article 

 when I was young or after I learned that 

 different varieties of corn would cross when 

 planted near each other. 



I fear there may be some disappointment 

 in working the theory of preventing honey 

 from granulating by sunlight. Our own ex- 

 perience has led us to believe that sunlight 

 helps to hasten granulation. We had oc- 

 casion some time ago to open a case of 24 

 pound bottles of honey that had been put 

 up some three or four years; and while some 

 showed considerable granulation, most of 

 them showed very little. I feel sure if they 

 had been exposed to the light they would 

 have been all solid. We prefer to bring clo- 

 ver honey to 160°, raspberry honey to not 

 over 150°, bottle at once, and pack in cases 

 with corrugated-pajjer fillers, and let it cool 

 very slowly. Not only will frequent changes 

 of temperature hasten granulation, but I be- 

 lieve a sudden change much worse than a 

 slow change of temperature. 



Mr. Edward Diener, page 249, discusses 

 the retail problem interestingly, and also 

 refers to the economic problem that is trou- 1 

 bling the country so seriously while every- I 

 body is pointing the finger at some one else 

 as the cause. Especially are the trusts blam- 

 ed, and yet sugar is cheaper than before the 

 sugar trusts were in existence. Kerosene is 

 much less tlian before the Standard Oil Co. 

 Tin cans that would cost $45.00 per 1000 be- 

 fore the manufacturers went into the trust 

 we have bought of that "trust" for $29.50. 

 Fifty years ago, farm laborers worked thir- 

 teen or fourteen hours, while now they think 

 themselves abused if asked to work more 

 than ten hours. The same reduction is 

 found in other pursuits, while the laborer 



