398 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1 



nila rope. And, again, these old cells have co- 

 coons imbedded in them. The cappings of 

 brood-combs are almost entirely fibrous, with 

 very little wax. But, you ask, why is it that 

 bees can cut through the cappings of comb 

 honey which are pure wax ? In the first place, 

 the mouth parts of the bee are especially form- 

 ed for the working and handling of wax, a 

 substance that is totally different from the 

 skin of fruit. And, again, you will observe 

 that the surface of comb honey is rough and 

 uneven with slight excrescences, or what we 

 might call minute mountains, hills, and val- 

 leys. These the bees can easily grab hold of 

 and pull up. That is to say, they can tear, but 

 they can not cut. Unless the wax has an ir- 

 regular surface, the bees can not do any thing 

 with it except under a temperature of from 90 

 to 100 degrees, and that is the inside tempera- 

 ture of the hive. It must be so soft that they 

 can work it just as we work dough in the 

 hands. 



Reference has been made to the fact that 

 bees will gnaw through enamel cloth. But I 

 never yet saw any such cloth that had holes 

 in it unless the enamel was cracked or rotten, 

 leaving an edge which the bees could get hold 

 of and pull, or the cloth itself were exposed so 

 thev could grab the fiber on the back. The 

 surface of fruit is of a smooth semi-oily char- 

 acter. There is nothing for a bee to get hold 

 of ; but if the skin has minute rotten spots in- 

 visible to us but which the bees can see, or the 

 skin is turned up anywhere so the bee can get 

 hold of it with its mandibles it will tear it up ; 

 then it can go on and enlarge the opening to 

 any size. Some have said that bees have the 

 power, physiologically, to cut ; but we are 

 very sure of this : They have no conscientious 

 scruples ; for they will wade into the preserves 

 of the housewife wherever they can in a dearth 

 of honey. Whatever they can do, right or 

 wrong, they will do it. The fact that no good 

 proof has ever yet been advanced to show that 

 bees cofi cut through sound fruit, goes a very 

 long way to show that they can not do it, — 

 Ed ] 



extracting from parti,y filled sec- 

 TIONS. 

 Please tell me how to extract partly filled 

 sections. I have a No. 5 Novice extractor, 

 and should like to know if there is any way to 

 extract nice pieces of comb honey from old- 

 fashioned box hives and partly filled sections. 

 Florence L. Townsend. 

 Zana, Texas, Feb. 11. 



[If the sections to which you refer are the 

 common 4^ square, put them into a wide 

 frame, and then extract as you would com- 

 mon brood-frames. But this involves consid- 

 erable work. Comb-honey producers, as a 

 rule, do not fuss to put their partly filled sec- 

 tions in an ordinary honey-extractor. A far 

 better way is to set them into supers, then 

 pile the supers up on one or more empty hives 

 a few rods from the apiary. 



The entrance to the hive should be effected by 

 means of a very small opening, large enough 

 to admit only one or two bees at a time. On 



the principle of slow robbing described in our 

 A B C of Bee Culture the bees will clean these 

 sections out far cheaper than you can fuss to 

 do it with the extractor, and possibly enable 

 them, if your apiary is small, to complete oth- 

 er sections already on the hives. 



It has been recommended of late to put all 

 such supers containing partly filled sections in 

 the cellar, leaving the outside-cellar door open. 

 Every one of the supers should be uncovered 

 or left so that the bees can get at them freely. 

 The bees will soon find their way to the cellar, 

 and then there will be a big uproar of rob- 

 bing. But as soon as the honey has all been 

 taken away, the robbing subsides, and all is 

 quiet. I have never tried it ; but Dr. Miller, 

 who has, assures me it works all right. While 

 I think the plan can be followed by expert 

 bee-keepers, the one of stacking supers up in 

 a hive with a small entrance is the one recom- 

 mended for beginners. — Ed.] 



HONEY PROSPECTS ; ANOTHER VIEW OF THE 

 SITUATION IN CALIFORNIA. 

 As the exact truth is better for all parties 

 concerned, I wish to say that friend Mendel- 

 son may find that the few bees left in South- 

 ern California can more than supply local 

 markets (page 194). Central California nev- 

 er had more bees nor better prospects, I 

 think, for this time of the year. Where can 

 we place, say, two train loads of extracted 

 honey next fall ? The annual report from 

 Philadelphia is expected, showing that the 

 market is ruined by commission men, but we 

 must send honey somewhere. However, our 

 continued rains are not going to make this a 

 red-letter year from cause stated by Mr. M. 

 W. A. H. GiLSTRAP. 



Grayson, Cal., March 11. 



REMOVING COMB HONEY FROM DOVETAILED 

 SUPERS. 



1. Will you kindly tell me how to remove 

 the sections from the super (in a Dovetailed 

 hive) when they are full of honey ? We have 

 had great difiiculty in removing it because 

 they were stuck together. 



2. What is the best time of day to get the 

 honey ? 



3. Is it necessary to cover the hive in win- 

 ter? B. A. Jennings. 



Southport, Conn., Mar. 4. 



[1. There ought to be no diflSculty on this 

 point if you are using the modern Dovetailed- 

 hive supers, with super springs. With a 

 screw-driver, loosen up the first fence or the 

 first row of sections. Draw this out gently, 

 and then all the rest will be free. 



2. Along about the middle of the day, say 

 after ten o'clock and before two, when bees 

 are flying thickest. 



3. The hives should either be protected by 

 winter cases or else be put in the cellar. — Ed.] 



QUALITY OF RED-CLOVER HONEY. 



Long-tongued bees are all right. I believe 

 we can breed bees to a great improvement in 

 this line ; but, really, did any of you ever eat 



