1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



755 



At the noon hour, July 8 (note the date) , 

 I read Stray Straws. At sunset, same date, 

 I took my gun and went out to watch for a 

 skunk that I had seen prowling around the 

 apiary the evening before. I sat on a box 

 not more than five minutes when I return- 

 ed to the house for my coat. After reach- 

 ing the apiary this time I stayed not more 

 than ten minutes, because I was uncom- 

 fortably cold. There have been but two 

 nights since April (we had desert winds and 

 a week of very warm weather in April) 

 when one did not need a coat after sundown 

 and before sunrise. I have had occasion to 

 ride at night in midsummer, but have nev- 

 er been out when I did not need a coat. 



I am only about six miles from the Mexi- 

 can line, and presume the climate here will 

 compare favorably with the climate in 

 which the "New Mexico Chap" lives. 

 When we compare the foregoing with the 

 sweltering summer nights of the East it 

 seems to me nothing more need be added to 

 convince the most dyed-in-the-wool advo- 

 cates of ventilation that it will not do in all 

 localities. We in California might say with 

 as much propriety that the bee-keepers in 

 the East ought to leave their bees out all 

 winter without any protection, for we do so 

 here. 



ARE HONEY AND FOUL BKOOD EVER IN THE 

 SAME CELL? 



In answer to my question, "Did any one 

 ever see foul brood and honey in the same 

 cell?" W. A. H. and .1. G. Gilstrap, pages 

 •412 and 419, both say they have. Is it not 

 possible that the foul matter might have 

 been in a cell by itself, and, in the process 

 of uncapping, the honey and foul matter 

 were drawn together, making it appear as 

 though they were both in the same cell? I 

 am sure I should not relish the honey I eat 

 every day if I knew or even thought those 

 little housekeepers were so slovenly in pre- 

 paring their food, for I can not conceive of 

 any thing more vile; and if they would mix 

 nectar with that foul stuff they would not 

 hesitate to mix it with any other unclean 

 matter. My observations have led me to 

 believe bees are very cleanly in their habits 

 when environment jiermits. I notice that, 

 before nectar or eggs are deposited in the 

 cells, they are cleaned out and polished un- 

 til they shine like the proverbial colored 

 gentleman's heel. The eight colonies or 

 eighty frames referred to in my article are 

 now in use, and are marked with a cross on 

 the top-bars. I notice them every time I 

 extract. Xow, will you kindly note care- 

 fully the manner in which they were ob- 

 tained? The year 1905 was a good one. The 

 bees were brushed on to foundation in the 

 height of the honey-flow — not a drawn cell 

 below the queen-excluder in which to store 

 honey, so that, if any was stored, it had to 

 go above among the foul brood; but not one 

 particle was ever put into a cell until it was 

 either cleaned out or torn down, and a new 

 one built. Some of those combs have been 

 used in the brood-nest, and'l am as sure as 

 we ever can be of any thing that I have not 



a cell of foul brood in any of my apiaries. 

 I have not seen any foul brood for some 

 time, but in "harking back" I can not re- 

 member ever seeing foul brood capped after 

 it had arrived at the stage of semi-liquid or 

 matter substance. The cappings all disap- 

 pear, but I do not call to mind at just what 

 stage; but it is my impression it is before it 

 arrives at this watery state. 



I hope there is no one who reads this ar- 

 ticle who will think I am posing as a critic, 

 for if he does he will be greatly mistaken; 

 but I do not think that contributors should 

 be only pawns in the game when things 

 are written; for, though absolutely true for 

 some localities, it would lead to disaster in 

 others. 



Jamul, Cal., Oct. 2. 



[What our correspondent says illustrates 

 most forcibly the effect of locality on man- 

 agement. We spent some days in South- 

 ern California in 1901, and one of the things 

 that impressed us was the rapid drop in 

 temperature after the sun went down. We 

 are quite prepared to believe that what 

 would be good practice in Ohio or Illinois 

 might be very bad in California. 



We have been told before that for some 

 localities a lead pigment alone is not as 

 good a combination as lead and zinc com- 

 bined. Southern California seems to be 

 one of those localities. — Ed.] 



PERFECT CONTROL OF BEES WITH ECON- 

 OMY OF LABOR. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



Continued from last issue. 



In a former article we outlined certain 

 correct methods of applying scientifiL prin- 

 ciples for the control of bees in a location 

 where the main harvest comes from clover 

 and basswood or other early-blooming 

 flowers. While the principles themselves 

 are equally effective in every location, the 

 method of applying them must be governed 

 solely and entirely by location, and time 

 and duration of the honey-flow. A little 

 carelessness at this jioint will render the 

 system less effective; however, the methods 

 rnay be modified to suit every existing con- 

 dition resulting from changes in the time 

 of the honey-flow as we find it in widely dis- 

 tributed areas. For instance, in a location 

 having a light flow early in the season, the 

 main harvest coming from buckwheat, 

 heartsease, or other late-blooming flowers, 

 it is highly desirable to work for increase 

 early in the season, and enter the main har- 

 vest with twice or three times as many col- 

 onies as were started with in the spring, and 

 have them fairly boiling over with bees in 

 time for buckwheat. 



In the case we mentioned above we would 

 open the side entrance to Xo. 1, so as to get 

 the bees accustomed to using this entrance 

 for a few days before making the first shift. 

 This will hold part of the field bees in No. 1 



