1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



219 



packing his honey in double-tier 24-11). cases, 

 using a thin board between each tier, the 

 cases were piled one above another, in such 

 a way as not to fall down. Tlie sections, as 

 a matter of course, were placed parallel witli 

 the rails. Mr. Moore said he had received 

 small shipments of comb honey badly brok- 

 en down. The tiers of cases were piled one 

 on top of another to the height of an ordi- 

 nary man, and were piled by themselves. 

 When the car was bumped into, the pile 

 toppled over, and down went the honey. 

 Mr. Moore urged another point, and that 

 was: Do not put poor sections in the crate 

 with good honey. You will lose more than 

 you gain. 



We next listened to well-written essay on 

 the subject of bee-forage, by 8. F. Newman. 

 I wish to say right here, that this essay was 

 one of the most scholarly that was ever pre- 

 pared and read at a bee-convention. Mr. 

 Newman introduced the subject by a very 

 neat prelude about the bee-keeping of to- 

 day and that of Mrgil's time, and said we 

 had not made so vei-y much improvement 

 since then ; in proof of which he cited some 

 very beautiful translations from \'irgil — 

 translations that were evidently his own. I 

 have read A'irgil and one or two more of 

 the Latin poets, and I think I can appreciate 

 somewhat when I hear a good translation. 

 If one of these had been rendered in the 

 class-room, the professor would, I am sure, 

 have given it a very '' tall " compliment. 

 Coming more directly into tlie subject of 

 bee-forage, Mr. Newman cited an instance 

 where his bees at home were doing almost 

 nothing, while those a few miles out w^ere 

 working very heavily on peavine clover. 

 From the latter apiary he produced a large 

 crop of honey, and "had it on sale in the 

 groceries. I have seen and tasted samples 

 of it, and know it was fine, and that the 

 crop was large. ^Ir. Newman recommend- 

 ed that, when a basswood is cut down, we set 

 out another. He would induce farmers to 

 set out mammoth peavine clover and buck- 

 wheat, and sweet clover along the creeks. 

 It can be made to take the place of ragweed, 

 if we think so. Mr. Newman, in his 

 essay, made allusion to \'irgirs method of 

 watering bees. This brought out the fact 

 that one of the members — I think it was Dr. 

 Bessie— soaks rotten wood in water, and 

 places it accessible to bees. On the matter 

 of alsike clover, all were not agreed as to its 

 value to farmers. Mr. Eaton said that the 

 farmers did not like it for stock, although 

 others testified that their farmers do. 

 While I am aoout it. I wish to say that that 

 ingenious little story about artihcial eggs 

 that would hatch chickens that had no 

 feathers, originated with Mr. S. F. Newman. 

 You will remember that it was copied 

 through the press, north and south. His 

 object was to counteract, by a jiiece of 

 pleasantry, the manufactured-comb-honey 

 yarn by bringing up another parallel case, 

 so obviously ridiculous, preposterous, and 

 impossible, the gullible public would begin 

 to doubt whether artilicial eggs or comb 

 honey were any thing more tiian a myth; 

 and the story had a wonderful effect, al- 

 though there are some old fogies who will 



continually persist in thinking that arti- 

 licial eggs" have been made, so perfect that 

 chickens would hatch from them without 

 feathers. 



A good deal was said for and against 

 sweet clover. 



As to alsike. some said their farmers w^ould 

 not use it again, and others testified to the 

 contrary. Come to sift the matter down, it 

 seemed that a good deal depended upon the 

 soil. 



Along about this stage of the proceedings, 

 your humble servant introduced the sub- 

 ject of thick top-bars. It will be unneces- 

 sary to repeat the same here, as there has 

 already been considerable said in regard ta 

 the matter in these columns. In my paper 

 I alluded to the fact that honey-boards 

 might possibly be displaced entirely by 

 heavy top-bars; and I was astonished to find 

 how many of the bee-keepers of Ohio have 

 never used honey-boards, and would not 

 use them. A vote was then taken, and I 

 think only about 20 per cent had used 

 honey-boards, the rest either using heavier 

 top-bars or else putting up with burr- comb 

 attachments. 



OUT APIARIES. 



This subject was discussed by Mr. -I. IJ. 

 Hains, of J>edford, O. lie did nut think 

 it necessary to have an assistant to keep in 

 attendance. lie ran for extracted honey ; 

 and what little swarming there was, families 

 were rewarded for the hiving by gifts of 

 honey at various times. No attention was 

 given to the bees until the swarming-time. 

 Then he goes with the wagon and takes 

 along as many empty combs as he can carry 

 back in a load of others filled. AVhile in the 

 apiary the tilled combs are takf^n out and 

 replaced by the empty ones. He returns 

 home and does all his extracting where he 

 has conveniences. If there is any robbing 

 to be done, it will take place under his 

 supervision, and not in an out-apiary w^here 

 members of the farmer's family might re- 

 ceive a good deal of annoyance. 



To reduce swarming to a minimum he 

 prevents the rearing of drone brood by 

 every possible means. He gives thern 

 plenty of shade and ample entrance. 



CELLAR WINTERING. 



This was discussed by Frank A. Eaton. 

 After having tried the outdoor and indoor 

 methods he prefers the latter, because it 

 gives him a chance to use the best and 

 the cheapest hives— the single-walled ones. 

 A good many about him were unsuccessful 

 in wintering. When he came to ascertain 

 the cause he found the cellar was too Jight, 

 and there were a good many ap])les and 

 potatoes in the cellar, besides decaying 

 vegetables. A cellar should be dark, and 

 should have nothing but the bees, and, if 

 practicable, they should be shut off by 

 themselves. A vote was taken, and it was 

 found that 17 wintered indoors and 32 out- 

 do(us. 



The (^)uestion-I5ox Was here introduced. 

 "What is the best vvay to get propolis off 

 the handsV Some "ne suggested alcohol : 

 others benzint-. '• Which are better— tight 

 or loose bottoni-boardsV Dr. Miller prompt- 



