January, 19 3 8 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



?^ 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



miles to it, over an entirely barren country. 

 Partridge-pea honey is not ' ' always dark 

 red, of strong taste, and altogether undesir- 

 able as a table honey," as stated by Prof. 

 Baldwin in Gleanings for October. He evi- 

 dently gets his honey niLxed. I do not know 

 what the dark-red honey comes from, tho I 

 get some of it; but I do know that partridge- 

 pea honey is a very light amber from the 

 high -bush variety, and a little darker from 

 the low bush. It is also of good flavor when 

 thoroly ripened. 



During September there will be little 

 done, tho the bees should find enough to 

 keep themselves. In October we always have 

 a fall flow from many varieties of flowers, 

 the names of which I cannot ascertain. 

 The "whiteweed" is, perhaps, the most 

 valuable, for, if conditions are favorable, it 

 will yield not only an abundance of winter 

 stores but a surplus of white honey as well. 

 The prospects of a crop from this source 

 were never better than in 1916, and by 

 October 12 the yard sounded as it does at 

 the height of an orange flow; then came 

 three cold days followed by a week of rain, 

 and the bloom Avas over. We got enough 

 for winter and no more. 



Apopka, Fla. HAREY HEWITT. 



Annual School for Beekeepers, Dalton, 



Massachusetts 



The opening day of the beekeepers ' school 

 last summer was a stormy one; but as the 

 program for that day consisted of indoor 

 work, the storm was almost forgotten. It 

 was apparent to all that Dr. Gates was an 

 expert. Altho the first day was devoted to 

 1)eginners, there were many old beekeepers 

 present who also learned a number of profit- 

 able kinks. 



The first thing taken up was the subject 

 of hive construction and inside furniture. 

 This brought out a great deal of discussion, 

 and numerous ways of cutting foundation 



were shown. 0. M. Musgrove, of Pittsfield, 

 INIass., brought a miter-box into play 

 and showed his method of cutting a good 

 many layers of foundation at one stroke of 

 the saw. His saw was an old one with the 

 teeth filed in such a way that it left a good 

 smooth cut. 



Dr. Gates has a good and rapid method 

 of wiring frames. A spool of wire is placed 

 on a block in an upright position, the wire 

 being drawn against a nail to take out all 

 the curves and prevent it from kinking and 

 snarling; in fact, it can be laid down on the 

 table like a piece of string. A vise is fas- 

 tened to a long table, while the block holding 

 the wire is fastened by a clamp* 49 inches 

 away from the vise. A frame is placed up- 

 side down in the vise, and is so placed that 

 it will be held at the center of the top-bar; 

 the wire is started thru the second hole from 

 the top, passed thru the opposite hole, up to 

 the top one, then to the opposite hole to- 

 ward the wire, where it is now fastened to 

 the end-bar. The wire is cut off close to the 

 spool, the spool being such a distance away 

 that, when the wire is cut in this manner, it 

 leaves enough to finish wiring the frame. 



In placing the staples in the brood-frames. 

 Dr. Gates uses a block similar to the one 

 usually sent out by manufacturers; but the 

 slot which guides the staples is cut in a line 

 oblique to the one we commonly see and 

 thus the end-bar is prevented from splitting. 



The second day the beekeepers met at the 

 home of Harry E. Hume, and "The Swarm- 

 ing of Bees" was the first topic on the pro- 

 gram. Dr. Gates waved his magic swarm- 

 box in the air, and, sure enough, a swarm 

 appeared feven on that cloudy day); but it 

 was down the road at the home of another 

 beekeeper, where Mr. Gates soon gave us 

 a fine demonstration on "how to handle a 

 swarm.' ' 



The rest of the day was spent at Mr. 

 Hume 's apiary, where we were shown some 

 fine comb honey and the method of produc- 

 ing it. The subject of ' ' queen-rearing ' ' was 



Dr. Gates illustrating methods of putting up hon- 

 ey for market. 



An apiary is the best place to teach bee culture. 



