1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



613 



son. Inaeed, the bees in some cases seem to be 

 more inclined to swarm with the attachments 

 than before. The donble dose of bees suddenly 

 poured into one colony sets them wild, and they 

 swarm anyhow. Hut perhaps— at least we hope 

 so— later reports will justify our earlier expec- 

 tations. 



The Amateur Bee-keeper, by J. W. Rouse, is 

 the name of a sprightly little work intended 

 especially for beginners. It has been issued 

 from the press for some time, but it has been 

 only recently that a copy came into our posses- 

 sion. It seems to be correct in method, and 

 reliable and orthodox in its teachings. It cov- 

 ers the whole range of practical apiculture, and 

 yet is sufficiently full so as not to be misleading. 

 It is published by the Leahy Manufacturing 

 Co.. Higginnsville, Mo. It can be obtained of 

 the publishers, or of us. Price by mail, 2.5 cts. 



Referring to the Weed artificial comb. Mr. 

 E. E. Hasty says, in the Bee-keepers'' Review: 

 ■' Gleanings pleads not g'uiity about the '^eed 

 comb. It looks like a bad case of blundering on my 

 part. I must investigate dates ii little (when bees 

 are not swarming^; and if the description was 

 promptly given, before people had largely learned 

 the thing from otlier sources, I will eat " humble 

 pie" as if I liked it. Humble pie is good for hasty 

 folks any way, but it doesn't taste good. 



We are all liable to err. and we will not lay 

 up any score against our friend, especially wheii 

 he acknowledges his error so gracefully. Would 

 that more " hasty folks " were of that kind! 



In our last issue we reported that the Cana- 

 dian Bee Journal office was destroyed by fire. 

 We have since learned, with regret, that the 

 entire plant of the Beeton Publishing Co.. of 

 which the Canadian Bee Journal and Cana- 

 dian Poultry Joiirnalwere a part, was burned. 

 The loss is estimated at $.5000. 



Later.— Since writing the above we are pleas- 

 ed to announce that the Goold, Shapley & Muir 

 Co., Limited, have purchased the Canadian 

 Bee Journal, and that R. F. Holtermann is to 

 be editor and manager. We are informed that 

 the journal will be '* issued monthly, enlarged, 

 and the appearance as well as the material will 

 be considerably improved.'' We extend our 

 hearty good will to the new owners. 



Although it is now the 2()th of July, honey 

 seems to be still coming, although the flow is 

 perceptibly easing up, as is evidenced by the 

 few robbers now poking around the exposed 

 tops of hives while being manipulated. The 

 reports for the North are still good, and so far 

 we have received only three adverse ones — two 

 from Illinois and one from Missouri. There is 

 no doubt now but that 189,3 will go on record as 

 the " great clover year," or, as we sincerely 

 hope, the beginning of a series of good years. 

 Basswood has yielded fairly in some localities; 

 but with most bee-keepers it is the " ofif year." 

 The reports from the South do not show any 

 thing out of the ordinary; in fact, on account 

 of dry weather the season has been rather poor. 



It would seem from Rambler's article, else- 

 where, that the big stories about large crops of 

 honey have a tendency to reduce the prices of 

 honey in California. This is no doubt true 

 everywhere. Perhaps the encouraging reports 

 that we have been inserting elsewhere, togeth- 

 er with our editorial notices of late, showing 

 that 189.3 is a phenomenal honey year, will have 

 a depressing effect on prices. We hope not, 

 because this year there will be very little en- 

 couragement to glucose-mixers; and because of 

 this when extracted honey seems to be scarce, 



the price does not go up according to usual law 

 of supply and demand; and when honey is 

 plentiful, the price remains largely the same. 

 We may expect a slight reduction in prices, but 

 the large yield will more than offset that. It 

 is the very small yields of from five to ten 

 pounds per colony that dishearten almost any 

 bee-keeper, no matter what the price is. The 

 very fine quality of honey this year will tend 

 greatly to keep prices up. 



Bulletin No. 96 from the Michigan Agri- 

 cultural Station, entitled "Honey Analysis," 

 by Prof. Cook, has been received. It treats of 

 the recent developments on the subject as 

 gleaned by Prof. Cook, and which were intro- 

 duced by him some months ago in our columns. 

 The conclusions arrived at are essentially the 

 same as there stated; viz., that chemists can 

 easily detect adulterations of honey with glu- 

 cose or cane sugar; that honey-dew honey can 

 probably be distinguished from glucosed honey; 

 that chemists can not distinguish between 

 sugar-syrup honey and honey from flowers. 

 Regarding this last proposition, we have to 

 say we received a letter I'ecently from Prof. 

 Wiley, to the effect that chemists do make the 

 distinction. Whether the knowledge of the 

 method by which it is done was obtained after 

 the preparation of this bulletin, we can not say. 

 The bulletin is sent out for free distribution to 

 residents of Michigan by applying to the Secre- 

 tary of the Agricultural College. 



the qualities that should go to make up 



A GOOD experimenter. 



The Michigan Experiment Apiary is boom- 

 ing, and there is promise that the bee-keepers 

 not only of Michigan, but of other States as 

 well, will gather much of value from the ex- 

 periments reported in the Bee-keepers' Review. 

 Brother Hutchinson has a good article on ex- 

 perimental apiculture in his last issue. There 

 is one paragraph that we wish especially to in- 

 dorse, and it reads as follows: 



It is not every bee-keeper who is "cut out" for an 

 experimenter. It needs a person of a judicial east 

 of mind— one who is perfectly willing, so to speak, 

 that an experiment sliall prove the truth. Too 

 many of us are inclined to make a decision first, and 

 then go to work and try to prove what we already 

 believe. This will not answer. An experimenter 

 ought to be wholly disinterested in the results— that 

 is, be willing that an experiment should prove either 

 side of the question. 



Too many experimenters, much to the disgust 

 of the careful and conscientious observer, and to 

 the very great hindrance of real progress, fig- 

 ure out in advance just how a certain thing 

 ought to work. Yes, they will twist their ex- 

 periments and then look at the results cross- 

 eyed. Now, we should expect and desire to see 

 in the candid experimenter one whose previous 

 conclusions would be sometimes modified. Such 

 a one who has never had occasion to change 

 his mind after a series of experiments, we should 

 consider not altogether a leliable guide: for no 

 one has ever yet been able to form correct con- 

 clusions before he has tried. Yes, indeed, too 

 many experiments turn out just as the experi- 

 menters want them to. From what we know 

 of our friend Mr, Taylor, of the Michigan Ex- 

 periment Station, we should not expect any 

 thing of this kind in him, 



DO SWARMS unite WITHOUT A QUKKN? 



The editor of the Revii iv made a visit to the 

 Michigan Experiment Apiary, He finds that 

 the apiarist, Mr, Taylor, will devote more or 

 less of the whole 3(XJ colonies to experimental 

 work. After speaking of the pleasant location 



