1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



563 



hand out literature showing the desirabiUty 

 of honey as a food, with a surer chance of 

 such Uterature being read than could the 

 grocer, as any circular from a store would be 

 looked upon "only as another advertising cir- 

 cular, and be destroyed without being read. 

 Ronk, Pa. 



WHEN IS HONEY RIPE? 



The Number of Extracting-combs per Colony ; 



a Discussion of Some of Mr. Alexander's 



Plans. 



BY F. B. CAVAXAGH. 



In the comparison between the Alexan- 

 der and the La throp system, page 484, some 

 important points were overlooked — first, of 

 what a '"set"' of combs consists. Both par- 

 ties use the ten-frame L. hive, I believe. 

 Mr. Alexander, however, used ten combs to 

 the super; Lathrop only eight, I suspect. 

 Now, when it comes to ripening honey it is 

 a very simple matter to figure out a differ- 

 ence of one-fourth more comb surface per 

 super in a ten-comb super than in an eight- 

 comb super of equal width. Also the cells 

 are nearly one-fifth deeper in the eight- 

 comb sujier than in the ten-comb. Of 

 course, the honey will ripen quicker; but 

 there are still other things which I have 

 observed from experience. With reference 

 to specific gravity of honey, let me call at- 

 tention to the fact that sj^eciflc gravity and 

 ripeness are two different qualities. The 

 former refers to its thickness, density, or. 

 technically, the amount of water a given 

 quantity will displace. Ripeness is the 

 change (chemical or organic, I know not 

 what to call it) that takes place when honey 

 has been stored in a warm place. 



Now, honey may be thickened on the 

 hive in one week, but not ripened. Alex- 

 ander tells us that he doesn't throw thin 

 honey out, and I believe him, because I 

 know what a great difference there is in lo- 

 cality. Possilaly Alexander's bees fly so 

 many miles that they in some manner get 

 rid of the surplus water en route to the 

 hives. 



Now as to locality, I have seen honey in 

 Wisconsin, not far from Mr. I^athrop's lo- 

 cation, which would extract thick and 

 heavy with practically no capping. Again, 

 I have seen it in another State where the 

 capped honey was not thick, and had to be 

 thickened more perfectly after extracting. 



Now, lest I get myself into too deep water, 

 perhaps I should qualify here by saying 

 that thick honey, too newly gathered to be 

 ripe, will ripen perfectly in seated contain- 

 ers in a warm temperature. Thin honey, I 

 do not believe, will ripen much until the 

 water is removed. I used to think the dry 

 atmosphere caused a difference in thickness 

 of honey on hives, but have seen both the 

 cases referred to above occur during a pro- 

 tracted drouth. It must be some other 

 cause. 



Now, the season of the vear for clover 



finds the bees in a different mood from that 

 of buckwheat bloom. In June the hive is 

 full of brood, feverishly expanding, and 

 naturally in a swarming mood. The con- 

 ditions in a rush of thin clover nectar are 

 different from that of a slower flow of buck- 

 wheat. Bees curtail their brood-rearing, 

 contract the cluster, and think le^s of 

 swarming as autumn approaches. 



Let me sum up the variance between the 

 conditions making the super plan feasilile 

 or not. Ten combs of about li\,-inch thick- 

 ness, and a total of X more comb surfai e; 

 a tendency of the bees to quiet down late in 

 the season; thick nectar as gathered; prop- 

 er facilities for keeping a high temperature 

 for ripening by the use of dark-painted 

 metal houses and open tanks. Conditions 

 where two or more supers must be used: 

 eight combs of about l><-inch thickness in 

 each super, and less comb surface with 

 deeper cells; thin nectar 'coming with a 

 rush; bees with much brood and swarming 

 inclination; no ripening facilities. Now 

 let me add oue more big one, and that is 

 the difference between getting rid of an ex- 

 cess of flavor or aroma which will later be 

 baked out any way, and of letting the 

 clover aroma escape. Why, I wouldn't 

 think of putting clover honey into a tank 

 to sweat out all its fine flavor; but a baker's 

 grade of buckwheat is bound to be aromatic 

 enough any way. Giving due weight to 

 the difference in conditions, put it on rec- 

 ord that methods for producing buckwheat 

 baker's honey will not give a choice clover 

 table honey. 



Now, about requeening, for it was the last 

 item which prompted this reply. I must 

 say that it was '"never this way before," 

 when I ran bees in Michigan and Wiscon- 

 sin; but here, with our light clover flows 

 and heavy fall flow, our colonies simply 

 will not requeen themselves. Queens live 

 on until almost gray-headed, and the colo- 

 ny dwindles. If superseding occurs at ail 

 it is liable to be in a dearth of honey, 

 and result is poor queens. Recjueen them- 

 selves ? Not here. I grafted several hun- 

 dred cells in June, and am taking care of 

 this matter carefully. We also clij) queens, 

 and almost invariably find them living on 

 past their usefulness, if not molested. Lo- 

 cation makes the difference. 



Hebron, Ind., Aug. 4. 



Queen Piped when Bees were Taken Away. 



Some time ago I had a natural swarm from a col- 

 ony with a clipped queen that was about one year 

 old. The swarm returned, and so I shook the swarm 

 but failed to find the queen. I removed all ihe 

 brood to a new location with some adhering bees, 

 and, as I found afterward, the laying queen. I ex- 

 amined this brood shortly afterward: and as I open- 

 ed the hive I distinctly heard the queen piping. I 

 lifted one frame of brood and caught her in the act 

 of piping with trembling wings. I looked closely, 

 and she did It again until I placed her with the 

 shaken swarm on the old stand. Then she stopped. 



Cabot, Pa. W. F. Ebert. 



[It Is possible that the piping of the queen was 

 due to changed conditions: but we have our doubts 

 about It. It would be our opinion that it is due to 

 some other cause. — Ed.1 



