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GLEANINGS IN BEE CUL T"U R E 



February, 1918 



c 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane 



LJ 



EVERY apiary 

 should be an 

 experiment 

 station. That 

 which works 

 well in one 

 apiary or section 

 may not in an- 

 other. Paul's ad- 

 monition holds 



good in beekeeping: " Prove all things, 

 hold fast that which is good." 



* * * 



The past season, with all its drawbacks 

 to breeders of bees and queens, has some 

 things to its credit, for in the recital of 

 their troubles, we honey producers have 

 learned more of their business than we had 



ever dreamed. 



* * * 



On page 944, December, I mentioned see- 

 ing the combs of a colony of bees that I 

 thought had wintered in the open air on the 

 branch of a tree. Mr. Byard informs me 

 that they wintered under a platform. Some 

 small branches of bushes were mingled with 

 the combs and this doubtless led to my 

 wrong inference. The occurence, however, 

 remains an exceedingly interesting fact. 

 » * » 



J. W. Tinsley, page 12, favors painting 

 foundation with wax instead of wiring. O. 

 O. Poppleton used to treat his in this way, 

 but I noticed that, altho it seemed to help 

 somewhat, many of his combs were badly 

 sagged and out 'of shape. At present prices 

 for wax I believe it would be more expensive 



than wiring. 



* * * 



I approve most heartily of Dr. Miller's 

 view that wires are most helpful near the 

 top of the frame. (See page 29.) 



* * * 



That is a most sensible article by Harry 

 TIewett, on the ' ' Other Side to Florida Bee- 

 keeping. " One of the difficult things to do 

 is to give satisfactory answers to inquiries 

 in regard to good locations. I have several 

 inquiries in regard to good locations here in 

 New England, and I confess I do not know 

 enough to give answers that will be satis- 

 factory. Sometimes a few miles will make 

 all the difference in the world. 



* * » 



There is no mistake as to the value of the 

 Editor"s advice, page 26, that those who 

 make their own supplies should have a fac- 

 tory outfit for a sample. A bee inspector 

 sees the folly of working without one. 



* * * 



We were helped out on labor the past 

 season by Boy Scouts, and found them most 

 willing and helpful. One or two to wait on 

 an experienced man does very well. 



* * * 



J. L. Byer says, page 37, that he sold buck- 

 wheat honev in tins for 13i/^ cents and the 



1 



W^^^^^^^ 



u 



same grade of 

 honey is now 

 worth two cents 

 more, and i n - 

 quires, ' ' Where 

 is the limit?" 

 Forty years ago 

 the current price 

 for " strained 

 honey ' ' was 20 

 cents a pound, and in those days I sold ex- 

 tracted honey by the barrel at that price. 

 It would not surprise me if 20 cents was the 

 ruling price for white honey next autumn. 



* * * 



Wesley Foster informs us that next season 

 will see the passing of Colorado as a comb- 

 honey producing state, page 39. Doubtless 

 he is right, and what is true of Colorado is, 

 or will be, true of a large part of the coun- 

 try. But it will be well for comb-honey pro- 

 ducers to remember that there are many 

 persons who greatly prefer comb honey and 

 will prefer it to extracted at much higher 

 prices. [Probably all true, but should peo- 

 ple in these war times be buying luxurious 

 honey, and should we advise beekeepers to 

 produce more such? — Editor.] 



* * » 



Stephen T. Byington inquires on page 949 

 (December) as to the use of forest leaves for 

 packing bees for winter. There is nothing 

 better, if the leaves are well dried and in a 

 burlap bag. The only trouble with fresh 

 leaves is that they are apt to be a little 

 stiff and not lie down compactly. But they 

 improve with age, breaking up more or less 

 and becoming very warm. If we wish for 

 som.e woods mold in winter, we go to some 

 hollow where the wind has drifted the 

 leaves, scrape off the leaves and help our- 

 selves to the earth that a month of zero 

 weather has failed to freeze. This fact 

 shows the protective value of leaves, [many 

 beekeepers fail to pack with leaves who 

 might well do so. — Editor.] 



* X * 



I am much interested in the capping-melter 

 described and illustrated on page 936, De- 

 cember by our friend J. L. Byer. I tried 

 one out some years ago, but, like Byer, I 

 found it a " sticky and mussy job " to sep- 

 arate the wax from the honey. This simple 

 device would seem to obviate that trouble. 

 By the way, the printer appears to have 

 got the names of the spouts interchanged 

 in the illustration as the spout for wax is 

 labeled honey and the spout for honey is 

 labeled wax. [The engraver or Mr. Byer or 

 the Editor or somebody did make just that 



error. — Editor.] 



* * * 



Having a number of tin bee feeders to 

 mend while feeding our bees the past au- 

 tumn and no acid or rosin at hand, T thought 

 T would try beeswax in place of them and 

 was surprised to find that it worked as well 

 or better than the rosin. 



