1901 



GI.HANLNGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



431 



figure how many bees ought to be in such a 

 colony. And give proof, if you have any, 

 that the bees destroy' any eggs in such a col- 

 ony. [Yes, while it is true that the destruc- 

 tion of eggs in the spring may not be particu- 

 larly germain to the question at issue, yet I 

 introduced it to show that eggs do disappear 

 at certain times, and why not at others? Then 

 how do you know, doctor, that those combs 

 that are filled solid with brood (by "filled" 

 I mean two-thirds full) may not have had 

 some cells filled with eggs more than once? 

 You will remember that brood does not all 

 hatch in the same day. As a rule it will con- 

 tinue hatching out young bees for a week. I 

 can not escape the conclusion that, even dur- 

 ing the height of the season, some eggs are 

 laid which do not produce bees. At your next 

 opportunity, weigh the heaviest swarm of bees 

 just as it is taken from the tree. Confine 

 them in a box for a day, and then weigh the 

 swarm ; or, better still, weigh all the bees in 

 a two or three story colony occupying and 

 covering 2i frames. If you can find a case 

 where there will be more than 9 lbs. of bees 

 (45,000 in number) I will buy you the best 

 plug hat you can find in Marengo. This is 

 not a bet, because I have nothing to gain, and 

 I do not believe you have either. The real 

 issue is whether a large colony of bees of 

 three stories can have 40,000 to 50,000 or 90,- 

 000 to 100,000. I should doubt very much 

 whether you could get 90,000 bees in a two- 

 story hive, half the combs filled with brood 

 and the other half with honey. If you can, 

 go to the store and get your plug hat and send 

 the bill to me. — Ed.] 



^icKmjw^gs 



V/AOM OUfl NEIGHBORS FIELDS. 



Bees, buds, and blossoms 



Are the order of the day ; 

 Heaven's clime seems prophesied 



In this month of May. 



A writer in the Atistralian Bee Bulletin 

 says, " I have a call for granulated honey, and 

 would have more if I encouraged it, but liquid 

 honey is less trouble to me. If you want hon- 

 ey to granulate, leave the cover off during 

 wet weather for a day or two." 

 \U 



It is greatly to be regretted that Mr. Will 

 Ward Mitchell, who assumed the editorship 

 of the Progressive Bee-Keeper lately, was 

 compelled to relinquish the work almost im- 

 mediately, on account of failing eye-sight. 

 If the good wishes of his friends avail, he 

 will soon recover from what all consider the 

 summit of misfortune — a failure of sight. 

 May his " lines " fall in pleasant places. 



\it 



That honey from pennyroyal, to which the 

 senior editor refers on page 407, is here, but 

 he is not ; hence I take occasion to say a word 



about it. It is light amber in color, and is 

 practically invisible when spread on bread and 

 butter. There is nothing about the flavor to 

 suggest the pennyroyal of the North. To me 

 the flavor is just like that of birch candy, 

 which I consider a good recommendation. I 

 shall use it while the present supply lasts. 

 vi/ 

 Relative to the Caucasian bee in its native 

 land, Mr. Fr. Greiner makes the following 

 translation from the Leipziger Bienenzeitung: 



The Mohammedan inhabitants of Caucasia not only 

 love good horses but also honey, and the wealthier 

 portion of them are often extensively engaged in bee- 

 keeping, some of them owning from 100 to 400 skeps 

 of bees. As might be expected, the hives used by 

 these people differ greatly from ours. The beekeep- 

 ers make them themselves in the winter season from 

 willow, basket fashion, daubed inside and out with 

 clay. 



As simple as are the hives, so is the management of 

 the apiary, although migratory bee-keeping is the or- 

 der. In the spring the colonies are moved on heavy 

 wagons drawn by ox-teams toward the river, where 

 the bees find the first pasture. A little later, and be- 

 fore swarming again, they are moved to the bounti- 

 fully blooming heath (.'•tepre). There are no trees or 

 forests in these regions, and so the bee-ketper makes 

 some kind of boxes out of bark, and places them 

 about for the young swarms to light on. The bees 

 are then easily dumped out and hived in the regular 

 hive. 



Practically the Caucasian bee does yiot sting except 

 in sheer desperation or self-defense; consequently 

 the bees are easily handled, and no piotection is need- 

 ed or used by the Tartar bee-keeper. 



After swarming, the bees are moved for the third 

 time, and this time into the mountains. Here most 

 of these skeps become so crowded that more room 

 must be given, which is done by digging a hole under 

 each hive (all colonies are placed directly on the 

 ground, without any floor-board under them). As 

 soon as the fall flow ceases, all the heaviest colonies 

 are brimstoned, and then the honey is sold in the city. 

 Of course, this honey is cheap, yet quite an income is 

 secured from its sale, and bee-keeping is considered a 

 lucrative business. 



GAZETTE APICOLE. 

 This journal, a French exchange, gives the 

 following recipe for making caramels, which 

 it pronounces " incomparable." Rose water, 

 15 grams ; powdered sugar, 100 grams ; fine 

 honey, 200 grams. Mix and boil, stirring con- 

 stantly, until a drop of the compound, when 

 cooled, is hard and fragile. Pour out on a 

 buttered or oiled marble slab, and shape the 

 mixtvire into suitable pieces by means of a 

 teaspoon. 



To protect combs from the moth-miller, put 

 them in a perfectly tight box in which are one 

 or two bottles of sulphide of carbon. Stop 

 the bottles loosely with cotton or paper, so as 

 to allow a slight leakage of the drug. The 

 eggs will hatch as usual, but the larvse will 

 die immediately. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 

 In the issue for April 25, Mr. York has ren- 

 dered us a great service in giving us a portrait 

 of Mr. G. Kandratieff, editor of what is prob- 

 ably the only Russian bee-journal. Also quite 

 a sketch of his remarkable life is given as a 

 soldier, musician, and writer. More than any 

 other man he has been the means of introduc- 

 ing modern apiculture into that very conser- 

 vative country, Russia. He uses and re com- 



