c 



LJ 



Janttarv, 1918 



DE. MILLEK, 

 p. 693, Sep- 

 t e m b c r , 

 quotes from tlio 

 British Bee Jour- 

 nal some state- 

 ments in regard 

 to the length of 

 the life of tlio 

 bee, and inquires, 



"Do we know positively anything about 

 it?" Yes, sir, doctor, we do. But we don't 

 know all we should like to. If we introduce 

 an Italian queen to a colony of black bees 

 in summer we shall find our black bees last 

 just about six weeks from the time the last 

 black bees hatched. But there is doubtless 

 a great difference in the length of their lives, 

 depending on the weather, the abundance of 

 nectar in flowers, and the distance they have 

 to fly, the wind, and perhaps other things. 



* * * 



E. G. Baldwin informs us, p. 786, Octo- 

 ber, that at last they have American foul 

 brood on the east coast of Florida, and con- 

 siders F. Dundas Todd's article ^in the 

 American Bee Journal as both ' ' timely and 

 refreshing. ' ' I consider his method of com- 

 bating this particular disease quite out of 

 date in this part of the world. I am not 

 denying that his scheme of cremation is a 

 sure remedy for every colony treated. So 

 is burning a barn to rid it of rats a sure 

 cure. But why all this waste? The editor 

 of the American Bee Journal advocates sav- 

 ing the hives, we are told; but why not save 

 the combs and render them into wax? 



Mr. Todd claims to be able to cremate 

 ten hives in an evening. These combs, if 

 worked up into wax, would be worth ten or 

 twelve dollars at the present price of wax. 

 If there is honey in the hives it can be sav- 

 ed. Combs that have been melted and boil- 

 ed for making wax can no more spread 

 contagion or disease than the ashes in the 

 pit in which the hives and combs have been 

 burned. Of course, if there is only a single 

 hive it might not pay; or if there is no place 

 where the wax-rendering can be done it 

 might not be wise to attempt it. 



* * * 



On page 855 the editor seems to think 

 that an opening in the upper and also in 

 the lower part of a hive does not give as 

 good ventilation as only one opening. I 

 believe, Mr. Editor, your reasoning is not 

 correct. I believe that the ventilation of a 

 hive is quite different from the action of a 

 pump. If bees at the entrance are fanning 

 so as to draw air out of the hive it matters 

 little whether any is forced in at the en- 

 trance or not if there is an opening above 

 where it can enter. It is not necessary that 

 a tube thru which water is forced should be 

 bent so that the inlet may be near the out- 

 let. It may be located at the opposite end 

 of the reservoir. Our own experience is 

 the same as Dr. Miller's, that bees keep cool 

 quite as well or better when given upward 

 ventilation or an opening above the bees. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



27 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane 



3 



lU 



The papaya- 

 tree illustrated 

 on page 866, No- 

 V e m b e r , is a 

 most interesting 

 plant. It is some- 

 times called a 

 melon - tree, 

 which makes it 

 more easily un- 

 derstood by those who have not seen it. It 

 grows upright, a single stem usually, the 

 leaves looking like gigantic watermelon 

 leaves, while the fruits look something like 

 a small greenish-yellow squash. When cut 

 in halves the flesh resembles a muskmelon, 

 containing a hollow cavity filled with a soft 

 pulpy juice and dark seeds, somewhat like 

 watermelon seeds, only smaller. These trees 

 grow wild along the coasts of southern 

 Florida, but the fruits are inferior to those 

 cultivated in the West Indies. fSee page 43. 

 —Ed.] ^ ^ 



* * * 



Dr. Miller, you state that I said, page 

 771, I ' ' don 't worry if my bees have sugar 

 and pollen." No, doctor, those were not 

 ray words. What I did say was that "we 

 get along very well by supplying any lack 

 of winter stores with sugar syrup." Usual- 

 ly our hives will have fifteen to twenty 

 pounds of honey by the middle of Septem- 

 ber. As they need thirty pounds or more 

 to winter we feed sugar syrup, which is 

 mostly consumed during the winter. So 

 you see we have no need of worrying, as 

 they get along nicely with warm weather 

 and plenty of pollen, even if they have to 

 use some sugar with their honey in the 

 spring. 



* ii ^ 



I was in Connecticut in September, and 

 found some of the best beekeepers of the 

 state were enthusiastic in their praise of the 

 section hive containing shallow frames 

 above and below. My son was recently in 

 the northern part of this state, and the 

 best beekeeper of that section was likewise 

 greatly pleased with the sectional hive. 

 With such hives I am sure shallow extract- 

 ing-frames would no longer be a nuisance, 

 first class or likewise; but really I don't like 

 two kinds of frames or sections in the same 



yard. 



* * * 



Those were unusually open-minded offi- 

 cials in the city of Huntington, Ind., who 

 were willing to let sweet clover grow in the 

 vacant city lots (page 752). I know of 

 a city where a beekeeper went to the ofii- 

 cials, asking that the sweet clover might be 

 cut in order to improve the looks of the 

 streets, not discovering his mistake unt'.l the 

 flow of honev was cut off. 



H. H. Root is quite right, page 779, Octo- 

 ber, in recommending friction-top pails for 

 feeders. We have used them for several 

 years and find them very satisfactory. 



