192 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar 1 



frame of honey in the center of the brood- 

 nest, prepared as before. Then in five or six 

 days more the brood in the frames first 

 ' thrown ' to the outside will have largely 

 hatched, and these, being on the outside, 

 will be more slowly filled than those in the 

 center, so that a very great gain can now be 

 made by again reversing the brood-nest, which 

 is now accordingly done. The brood is now 

 hatching quite rapidly, and another frame of 

 honey, prepared as at first, can be given two 

 or threi days later, for in these frames of pre- 

 pared honey lies the greatest secret of success- 

 ful brood-rearing, early in the season. In 

 about a week more we go over these colonies 

 again, this time putting in two frames of pre- 

 pared honey unless the hard maple and willow 

 are now yielding honey sufiicient to cause 

 great activity, in which case frames of empty 

 comb will answer our purpose just as well." 



" But by this time you must have brood in 

 all the combs but the last put in." 



" Yes ; where only an eight or nine frame 

 hive is used, this will conclude the stimulating 

 process ; for as soon as our frames are full of 

 brood we have accomplished our object, only 

 that we see to it that there are sufficient stores 

 in sight so that the bees do not slacken in 

 brood-rearing and allow the combs to become 

 bare of brood before the apple blooms, which 

 they will rarely do if they have sufficient stores, 

 and no long-drawn-out cold or stormy time 

 occurs." 



' ' With the stimulating process over, what 

 next ? " 



" As soon as sufficient bees have hatched so 

 that they can protect the brood without its be- 

 ing so warmly tucked up, the surplus arrange- 

 ment is to be put on, so that your dish will be 

 right side up to catch the honey when the ap- 

 ple-blossoms secrete it." 



' ' I am pleased to have had this chat with 

 you, and will say good-by." 



" Good-by ; and may you be prospered by 

 having good weather through apple-bloom 

 this year ; for if you are not, all labor in 

 building the colonies up to meet it will be in 

 vain." 



Just as I had said good-by, along came a 

 letter from one styling himself "Illinois," 

 with these questions, which I will answer here 

 at his request. 



" Will the divided colony, or the colony in 

 the box hive, swarm when transferred by the 

 Heddon short method ? What I have refer- 

 ence to is this : Will the remaining bees in 

 the box hive cast a swarm before the 21 days 

 are up? " 



" No, not if the box hive is moved to a new 

 stand, as it is intended it should be." 



" Is it best to use medium brood or light 

 brood foundation when using wired frames ? ' ' 



" I have always used the light brood when 

 using wired frames, as such costs less in pro- 

 portion to the surface filled, and is just as 

 good where wired frames are used." 



" Should extracted honey be put in 60-pound 

 cans direct from the extractor ? ' ' 



" I should say no. It should be allowed to 

 stand a week or more to clarify, in large 

 tanks, when the clear thick honey should be 



drawn from the bottom of the tank into the 

 cans. If any hold different views, the readers 

 of Gleanings would be pleased to hear from 

 them." 



ENCOURAGING RAINS IN CALIFORNIA. 



All Southern California is rejoicing over the 

 splendid rains for the past three months. 

 Here at Riverside we have now had 10 inches; 

 and as the rule is for us to get as much after 

 Feb. 1st as we do before that date, it is not at 

 all improbable that we shall have as fine bee- 

 pasturage as we did in the summer of 1895, 

 when I averaged 100 lbs. comb honey to the 

 colony. The way our rains have come this 

 ■winter insures a pretty fair crop, I think, even 

 if we should not get any more. The 10 inches 

 we have been blessed with has almost entirely 

 come in a gentle fall that stayed where it fell, 

 and the ground, even on the hill and moun- 

 tain sides, is so thoroughly soaked that bee- 

 men are most hopeful. The good year referred 

 to was preceded by 1(ii*g inches. In the past 

 three years of failure there has been a total 

 rainfall for all the time of only 17! inches, 

 and now it seems quite probable that we shall 

 get as much this winter as during those three 

 years. At any rate the amount we have had 

 up to this 7th day of February, and the way 

 in which it has come, give us great encour- 

 agement for the season soon to commence. 

 G. K. Hubbard. 



Riverside, Cal., Feb. 7. 



BEET vs. CANE SUGAR, 



Now something else — Gleanings, page 44, 

 regarding beet sugar. I am informed that a 

 great deal of sulphuric acid is made from py- 

 rites from Spain, and that arsenic is a com- 

 ponent to quite an extent, and is not eliminat- 

 ed in the manufacture. This was the cause 

 of the poisoning by beer which caused such a 

 stir in Britain a short time ago. You can easi- 

 ly see how such a state of affairs could make 

 trouble in beet sugar. I think your father's 

 ioformation is faulty, still I may not quite 

 comprehend its drift It by no means follows 

 that, because two substances are alike chemi- 

 cally, they are alike in properties. Take, for 

 instance, cane sugar and milk sugar, just alike 

 chemically, but quite different in many char- 

 acteristics ; or try to use oil turpentine for oil 

 lemon, both identical in chemical composition. 

 Or call to mind the characteristics of the red, 

 black, white, and flaky forms of phosphorus, 

 and a late statement says that arsenic and 

 phosphorus are identical. It is constantly as- 

 serted that jelly-making and fruit-preserving 

 can not be successfully carried on with beet 

 sugar. Personally I dislike beet sugar, and 

 so far have readily distinguished it. The su- 

 gar made at the Rocky Ford plant is nearer to 

 cane sugar than any other I have seen, in 



