608 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 







'¥ 



ib 





mobkison's no-drone theory of non- 

 swarmimg. 



Some part of friend Morrison's theoretical 

 speech (Gleanings, page 526) may be all right; 

 but we must inform him, as well as the bee- 

 keepers of our land, that his theory on non- 

 swarming won't work in this part of the coun- 

 try. We don't wish to be understood as simply 

 taking Mr. Morrison to task — not at all; but 

 we mean to make this paper a medium through 

 which the general bee-keeping interests will 

 have protection; and when any thing is ad- 

 vanced that we are satisfied will not prove for 

 the general public good, we will point it out. 

 When this same theory was put forth by some 

 one, in some of the bee-papers, in the year 1SS4, 

 we set apart three colonies to test the matter. 

 One Cyprian, one black, and one Italian colony 

 were placed on full sheets of Dadant's founda- 

 tion, and not allowed to raise a single drone; 

 and just as soon as the conditions were right, 

 here came the swarms just the same; they did 

 not only swarm, but they second-swarmed. In 

 latter years we have further tested this matter; 

 and our experience is that it will not prevent 

 swarming. It might turn out that excessive 

 swarming would be kept down by the no-drone 

 theory, but we doubt it. Bee-keepers that fol- 

 low out Mr. Morrison's theory, on the non- 

 swarming term, will, in our opinion, lose their 

 time. Mr. Morrison asks the question: 



" But what do we wish to copy Nature for? 

 Our entire system of bee culture is the most un- 

 natural thing out. People who wish to follow 

 Nature's way had better let their bees go wild." 

 — Editoral comment i7i the Southland Queen. 



To B. Taylor, largely, are we indebted for 

 the advancement and advocacy of the idea of 

 drawn combs in the comb-honey super. The 

 fact that he had invented and offered to the 

 public a comb-leveler greatly detracted from 

 the rapid embracing of his theory with those to 

 whom he was a stranger, but with those alone. 

 Any one knowing the man must have faith in 

 him and liis theories, anyway until the com- 

 plete explosion of the latter. And, let me 

 whisper, he is now getting old enough to pro- 

 tect his speculations (children of his brain), and 

 not ruthlessly throw them on the market be- 

 fore they can stand alone, straightway to be be- 

 headed. In short, the cunning which cometh 

 alone with years of experience, he possesseth. 

 It has long been a recognized fact that more 

 extracted honey can be produced than comb be- 

 cause of the bees being furnished with drawn 

 combs. With this established, what should 

 have been of easier deduction than that the 

 same convenience would increase the produc- 

 tion of comb honey proportionately ? Verily, 

 there are three degrees of intelligence— instruc- 

 tion, instinct, and inspiration. In treating of 

 this subject, E. E. Root, in Gleanings, has the 



following: 



******** 



Away back in the school -readers, a certain 

 young lady graduate, in lauding her education- 

 al attainments to the skies, concluded her per- 

 formance with, "The only wonder is that one 

 head can contain it all." This is the reverse of 

 the position I occupy on this subject. The only 

 wonder, with me, is that we have been so ob- 

 tuse while these facts glared right before our 



very eyes. As the unfinished sections left over 

 would be but a drop in the bucket, the general 

 use of drawn comb in the sections would create 

 a demand in that line; having discovered 

 which, E. R. — rootlike — begins rooting around 

 to fill said want, and tells us, "In the near 

 future, from present indications, a foundation 

 will be made having all walls and bases natural 

 thicknesses, the walls being %, ^4 inch, or 

 deeper." Now, don't all with one accord shout, 

 "Told you so," but do your harvests with a 

 quiet eye, and try experimenting on a small 

 scale and small expense. Remember the lesson 

 of to-day's hard times is, limited expenditure. 

 Haven't we been ridiculously slow in absorbing 

 the principle the comb-leveler proclaimed? 

 But now we are going to make up for lost time 

 in the production of a walled foundation. How- 

 ever, the said foundation will scarcely dim the 

 future prospects of the comb leveler, as it will 

 pay for itself in euRbling us to utilize material 

 at hand. Aside from this consideration, how 

 could you, E. R., make such an assertion, or, 

 rather, prediction? Is it possible you are jeal- 

 ous, and seek to dim the luster of the fame of 

 your dearest friends, Hutchinson and Ram- 

 bler, both having prophesied that, there being 

 no room or need for improvements in bee-keep- 

 ing, none need be exnected in the near future? — 

 Somnambulist in Progressive Bee keeiJer. 



C. J. H., Net). — We know of no clover that is 

 better for general sowing along the roadsides 

 than alsike. It grows readily, and is ornamen- 

 tal. Sweet clover is also good, but many peo- 

 ple do not like the looks of it. Crimson clover, 

 as you suggest, might grow, but it is easily win- 

 ter-killed, and requires more favoring condi- 

 tions than alsike. The latter will grow on yel- 

 low clay soil, as I know by experience. Next to 

 alsike would be white Dutch. 



D. if., OMo.— There have been various ma- 

 chines devised for evaporating thin honey; and 

 while some few bee-keepers have made them 

 work successfully, and are using them now to a 

 certain extent, the great majority find it cheap- 

 er and more satisfactory in every way to let the 

 bees do the evaporating for them. Beginners 

 in any case had better let evaporating-machines 

 alone until they have acquired experience. Un- 

 der " Extracted Honey," in our A B C of Bee 

 Culture, are described the various machine 

 evaporators. The most common way, however, 

 when the evaporating is done artificially, is to 

 extract the thin honey, or after it is partially 

 ripened, and set it in shallow pans or crocks. 

 Cover each with cheese-cloth tied around at the 

 top, and let them stand in a hot room during 

 the hottest days of summer, between two open 

 windows. Another machine that is sometimes 

 used is the Boardman solar wax-extractor. As 

 to quality, such evaporated honey generally 

 does not equal that ripened by the bees. 



