1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



87 



fitting door from the main cellar, and dark- 

 ened by a porch over its windows, or with a 

 repository like yours underground, there can 

 be very little trouble. I have no sub-earth 

 ventilator. It is a great satisfaction to look 

 up under those hives without bottom- 

 boards, and see the clusters of bees hanging 

 down, part of them below the frames, in 

 that quiet, dormant sort of repose, or 

 Clarke's hibernation ; and it is no less a sat- 

 isfaction to think that I can maintain the 

 temperature that keeps them in this condi- 

 tion. ERNE.ST. 



Ernest replies as above in regard to the 

 warm winter. Shutting bees in their hives 

 in a cellar or bee-house is not always pro- 

 ductive of bad results. See my answer to 

 friend L. C. Root. 



PBIZE HONEY. 



HOW TO KEEP DIFFERENT SOURCES SEPARATE. 



In the preparation of extracted honey for compe- 

 tition at exhibitions, it will doubtless be considered 

 pardonable to go to some extra trouble in prepara- 

 tion. Where the prize is given on honey from dif- 

 ferent sources, such as on clover, linden, and this- 

 tle, respectively, we must aim at keeping the honey 

 gathered from these separate places at different 

 times, separate from each other. I take a colony 

 just booming with bees, and am careful that they 

 have only nice light comb. It may be thought that 

 the color of the honey will not be affected by being 

 stored in dark comb; but it is highly probable it 

 will, and therefore should be avoided. Now, if I 

 want clover separate I extract all uncapped honey 

 from the lower combs, and empty the upper ones. 

 If it is a strong colony, and the honey-flow good, 

 there will be unmixed honey from whatever source 

 the flow may have come. Now, instead of extract- 

 ing this honey I leave it in the hive to within a few 

 days of the time I leave for the exhibition, and 

 then extract it carefully and seal the honey in jars. 

 The best of clear flint glass should be used to show 

 to the best advantage as to color, and for the same 

 reason It should not be put in too large vessels, as 

 the color will not show to the best advantage. 

 As to placing, try to place it in a position so the 

 light will be thrown right through it. This, too, 

 gives the judge a favorable impression. The ad- 

 vantage to be gained by leaving honey on the hive 

 is, that you secure it in the ripest condition. This 

 gives you a point in specific gravity. It will not 

 be affected as to color; and as to flavor, no one will 

 admit that honey for some time oft' the hive and out 

 of the comb is better flavored than that just taken 

 from the hive. 



I have had a very fair measure of success in ex- 

 hibiting, and I attribute it to the above. Of course, 

 in a poor honey-flow the bees will gather from 

 doubtful sources, and a really good article for ex- 

 hibition need not be expected. 



EXTRACTORS, REVERSIBLE AND NONREVERSIBLE; 

 IN FAVOR OF THE STANLEY. 



I see on page 956 you wish to hear from those who 

 have used extractors swinging four or more combs 

 at once. As I know you are a man pleased to ar- 

 rive at facts, even should they bear against your 

 opinion, I shall give you my experience. I pur- 

 chased a four-frame reversible (the Stanley). At 

 tbe time, I was afraid jt would be harder op the 



combs; yet I thought it easier to work, and more 

 rapid. I have now used it two seasons and a part of 

 a third, and I find the reversible machine is not as 

 hard on combs as the non-reversible. I find a 

 marked difference in favor of the former. I can do 

 far more rapid work with the reversible, and can 

 with less labor take the honey out cleaner. 



I reverse just as the machine has almost stopped. 

 Of course, it is harder to work, yet not very much 

 harder, when one has acquired the knack of run- 

 ning it. I find the extractor bulky, and it will not 

 go through an ordinary door. All things considered, 

 I prefer the reversible extractor, but it requires 

 more strength. R. F. Holtermann. 



Romney, Ont, Jan. 14, 1890. 



Your plan is a good one, friend II.; and, 

 if I am correct, well-ripened honey is not so 

 liable to candy, after being extracted, as 

 honey taken before it was fully capped over. 

 Years ago I used to cut chunks of honey out 

 of the combs when we wanted some for the 

 table ; and that taken out of the hives very 

 late, say in October, would often stand on a 

 a plate during very severe freezing weather, 

 without a trace of candying. The honey 

 that ran out of the comb would be clear 

 and crystalline, even when so thick the plate 

 could be turned over without spilling. Now, 

 I do not mean to say this will alwaj s be the 

 case, but I think that the perfect ripening 

 of the honey has a good deal to do with the 

 prevention of candying. — Many thanks for 

 the fine compliment you pay us in your re- 

 port of the Stanley extractor. 



UNUSUAL WAKM WEATHER. 



CANDIED HONEY BETTER THAN THE LIQUID; BEE- 

 KEEPING AND OTHER BUSINESS. 



December and January, up to this time, have 

 been almost as pleasant as May. Peach trees are 

 in bloom, grass is growing, snakes are crawling, 

 butterflies are seen, frogs are croaking; and yes- 

 terday, Sunday, 12th inst., my bees were carrying in 

 pollen from two sources— one from alder, and I do 

 not know what the other is from. Is this not al- 

 most enough to make us believe that the earth has 

 gone southward several thousand miles? 



I have 16 colonies of bees in nice condition. It 

 was, however, a struggle between life and death 

 with them all summer, in consequence of wet 

 weather; but late in the fall they filled their hives 

 full of honey from aster, a part of which we took 

 out. This is all candied, and is almost as white as 

 lard. Nice candied honey is tbe most delicious 

 thing I ever put into my mouth. I know a Metho- 

 dist preacher who always shouts, and praises God 

 after eating honey; not, as he says, because it is 

 honey, but because the good Lord was so good as to 

 make the bee to gather the honey, which man can 

 not do. When 1 eat candied honey I feel much like 

 that preacher. Man makes the hive, and the Lord 

 makes the honey in a liquid state so the bees can 

 gather it, and then he completes the work by can- 

 dying the honey. Many are asking for recipes to 

 keep honey from candying; but I would rather 

 have a recipe to make it candy. 



I have been much interested in (JleaijingS ap4 

 the Bec-Kccpn'f< Bcviiir on the subject of " What 

 can a man best follow in connection with bee cul- 

 tureV" Now, I am ope of those little bee-keepers 



