JANU^RV, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



was not ••.eared near the toji-bar, without re- 

 alizing: that, altho the streteliin^ there iiad 

 escaped their observation, there was enough 

 to keep the bees from using it for brood. 

 [At tlie Des Moines convention, as mention- 

 ed elsewliere, tliere was some discussion 

 along the line of stiffening up foundation by 

 painting it with hot beeswax. This finally 

 turned to the point of whether it would be 

 cheaper to use more wires near the top and 

 fewer wires near the bottom than are ordi- 

 narily employed in horizontally wired 

 frames. Mr. C. P. Dadant readily agreed 

 with us that putting more wires at the top 

 would be a good thing. In our opinion it 

 would be a mistake to remove the wire near 

 the top-bar as suggested by Mr. Winkler. — 

 Ed.] 



In view of the fact that it is so common 

 for the popular magazines to boost glucose 

 and slight honey as a substitute for white 

 sugar, The Ladies' Home Journal for Decem- 

 ber is a conspicuous example of the right 

 sort. With, I think, a single exception, corn 

 syrup (glucose) is not given in any recipe, 

 while honey is given in fourteen recipes on 

 p. oP>, as also in three on p. 78, on which page 

 it is said: ' ' Honey, molasses, sugar, maple and 

 brown sugar — particularly the first two — 

 are the basis of many little-known sweet- 

 meats that will delight the children at 

 Christmastime." On p. 64 this statement 

 is made resulting from an interview with 

 Mr. Hoover and his assistant. Dr. Wilbur, 

 and Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. 

 Taylor: 



" Two important facts regarding sweets 

 have been the result. 



' ' First. — Human beings need sweets • — • 

 must have them; while those who are omit- 

 ting wines and liquors from their daily 

 menus will find additional sweets almost a 

 necessity. 



" Second. — We can eat all the candies we 

 want with a clear conscience if we eat those 

 made from things other than cane or beet 

 sugar; candies made from honey, molasses, 

 maple sugar, fruits, nuts, raisins, chocolate 

 are available and make delicious sweets." 



Speaking of " sending comb honey by 

 mail," p. 830, Allen Latham is the only one 

 I know who can do the trick every time. I 

 think the secret is in having a hig lot of 

 excelsior tightly wrapped. He once sent 

 me a section that came in perfect condition, 

 the bundle being eight or ten inches in diam- 

 eter. I sent back a section in the same 

 bundle, and it was smashed. He said I 

 didn 't tie it tightly enough. One man who 

 sent me a section said he wasn't going to 

 take any chances, and so he sent it in a 

 box of heavy boards. It came ' ' on the 

 run." No thickness of lumber will break 

 the jar as will the elastic excelsior. 



Young-fellow-beginner-to-keep-bees, I com- 

 mend you to sentence on page 831: " We 

 alwaj's carry some extra combs containing 



sealed stores to give the colonies in the 

 spring if they need it." And they almost 

 always will need it, especially if you have 

 eight-frame hives. Even if a colony can exist 

 to the honey-flow with no danger of starving, 

 if you give it a comb of fall honey saved 

 over, you have just swapped that comb for 

 an extracting-comb of light honey; for if 

 you had not given that fall honey, the bees 

 would have had to fill that amount of white 

 honey into the brood-chamber before storing 

 in the super. 



" The trend of the discussion seemed to 

 be in favor of a 4 x 5 plain section" among 

 Western New York beekeepers, p. 951. I 

 wonder whether that's local or whether 

 there's any such general trend. You might 

 tell us how The A. I. Eoot Co.'s sales of 

 4x5 plain compare with sales of 4'/4 x 1%. 

 I should expect at least two of the latter 

 to one of the former. At any rate, if 4 x 5 

 should be made standard, do you believe j'ou 

 could whip those Colorado fellows into line? 

 [About 20 per cent are 4 x 5. — Ed.] 



" Prof. Coleman advocated selecting our 

 best bees and breeding our own strain, ' ' 

 says P. C. Chadwick, p. 924, Decembe:-. Mr. 

 Chadwick doesn't concur, but thinks ten dol- 

 lars is well spent in getting an extra good 

 queen from some one who has bred up a good 

 strain, without waiting to build it up him- 

 self. Decidedly right; but after the queen 

 is bought, then the Coleman plan comes in 

 all right. 



M.-A. 0., p. 976, seems to have the amia- 

 ble desire to bring down trouble upon my 

 youthful head. No need, M.-A.-O. I've 

 trouble enough now, chasing around after 

 you among the ad's in the back of Glean- 

 ings to find out what worse thing you'll call 

 me than a " disputatious sonofagun," and 

 I want you to understand that I have my 

 opinion of any one indulging in such lan- 

 guage. 



Because of the war " it is apparent that 

 honey will form a larger part of our dietary 

 than ever before," p. 750. That gives me 

 another chance to speak my little piece, and 

 say that it will be a great thing for the 

 health of the nation if even a part of the 

 sugar now used can be replaced by honey. 



J. E. Wing advises (p. 920, Dec.) not to 

 have package bees arrive until bees start to 

 whiten the combs along the top-bars. Supers 

 should be given at that time, or earlier, and 

 in this region no such whitening occurs until 

 colonies are strong. I don 't know, but raise 

 the question whether it might not be better 

 to be about two weeks earlier. 



G. M. Doolittle says when a queen of 

 the right kind is found " she should be kept 

 as a breeder, e\en should she live to be five 

 vears old." — American Bee Journal, April, 

 p. 122. 



