"10 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1 



perintendent of the station neglected no op- 

 portunity to make observations as to where 

 and how much the bees worked upon the sta- 

 tion flora. The owner of the apiary, Mr. 

 Smith, an honest Dane, gave intelligent study 

 in the same line. 



The hives were arranged in a semi-circle, in 

 a little clearing against the side of the canyon. 

 The hives were supported upon stakes driven 

 into the ground ; and when ants were trouble- 

 some these supports were smeared with axle- 

 grease, and no ants need apply. The hive has 

 its complement of double covers, quilts, and 

 stones, though the latter are of trifling size 

 compared to some of the heavy weights in 

 California. 



It is a matter of fact that bee-keepers never 

 consider how much time is taken to unload 

 the top of a hive. Rags, called quilts ; cover, 

 shade-board, stones, and all but the cover, are 

 useless — more of a job to take off and put on 

 the stuff than to examine the interior of the 

 hive. In spite of all this extra work, Mr. 

 Smith and many other bee-keepers worry 

 along and get there with good crops of honey. 

 The honey resources here are excellent ; and, 

 with the proviso of a good year, the yields 

 are large. 



Mr. Smith preferred the L. frame. This 

 preference was so strong that he changed over 

 a lot of Heddon hives in an apiary he pur- 

 chased ; and by nailing two divisible cham- 

 bers together, and cutting down a little, he 

 could use his beloved frame. It was a very 

 short-sighted piece of business, according to 

 my notion. 



Mr. Smith kept his bees near his residence; 

 and his bees, his poultry, his vrow, and his 

 baby were all under his eye. It is a cosy and 

 romantic location for an apiary and a forestry 

 station, and so near the ocean that it is some- 

 times easy to hear the waves dash against the 

 rock-ribbed shore. 



[In my hurried trip through California my 

 attention was called repeatedly to the euca- 

 lyptus. It is indeed a beautiful tree, growing 

 so rapidly as to be useful for shade in a few 

 years. The leaves are sometimes a deep 

 green, and then they are a light blue. I was 

 told that the blue was due to the younger 

 growth, and the green to the older giowth of 

 the tree. 



Everywhere I heard eucalyptus or gum tree 

 highly spoken of as a yielder of honey; and 

 in saying tree I mean to include quite a varie- 

 ty, as there appear to be several different spe- 

 cies. 



I was also told that those $2.50 alkali lands 

 would grow trees, and I do not know why 

 Rambler's suggestion would not be practica- 

 ble. Were it not that it takes a little time for 

 it to materialize, tree-planting would be be- 

 gun, and bee keepers would locate everywhere 

 on those cheap lands. But even as it is, a 

 splendid growth of trees can be secured in 

 five or six years ; and in ten years one would 

 have quite a little forest. 



I am glad to know that the government is 

 looking into this matter of forest-trees. At 

 the awful rate timber is being cut, it is highly 



important that a government forestry com- 

 mission be organized, so that some steps may 

 be taken to supply future generations with 

 timber that will be sorely needed. Hive lum- 

 ber, we know, for example, has been advanc- 

 ing very rapidly ; and the fearful fact is be- 

 coming more acd more apparent that in a few 

 years soft lumber will be either very expen- 

 sive, or, what may be worse, we may have 

 none to use at any price. 



Gleanings will be glad to assist in any 

 way in its power, and we take pleasure in sec- 

 onding Rambler's suggestion that Frank Ben- 

 ton, in Washington, do what he can to steer 

 the proposed forestry commission in the right 

 direction. Certainly we ought to encourage 

 the growth of those trees that will afford a 

 threefold use — timber, shade, and last, but 

 not least, honey. — Ed.] 



THE PRODUCTION OP WAX. 



Can it be Made Profitable ia Cuba ? 



BY HARRY HOWE. 



The price of honey here at present is about 

 2i cents per pound net, while the price of bees- 

 wax is about 27 cents. The prices are in 

 American money. As a matter of fact we are 

 paid in French and Spanish gold, but I have 

 reduced all figures to U. S. gold. Now, divid- 

 ing the price per pound of wax by the price 

 per pound of honey gives a basis on which to 

 figure. It is evident that we must get our 

 pound of wax without expending a greater 

 value in honey. This is very close to ten 

 pounds of honey, which may be used to get 

 the pound of wax. Authorities differ so much 

 as to the amount required that no one of them 

 can be regarded as reliable except under the 

 exact conditions under which that particular 

 test was made. 



The only way I see of getting estimates for 

 my location is to run one half of an entire 

 apiary for wax and the other half for honey. 

 This, I think, I can afford to do at present 

 prices. Where honey can be sold for five 

 cents, of course it would not pay, for it is 

 pretty certain that it would take more than 

 5i"'jj pounds to the pound of wax. 



Our conditions here are more favorable to 

 wax production than any other place I know 

 of. Our honey-flow is eight months long ; 

 and during about half of this the night tem- 

 perature is high enough to insure wax secre- 

 tion without excessive waste to keep up heat. 



During the four months in which the flow 

 is generally less than daily needs, although 

 there is some honey nearly every day, the 

 temperature is the highest of the year. Dur- 

 ing the heaviest of the honey-flow the night 

 temperature is too low for profitable wax pro- 

 duction. 



So far I have written of things about which 

 I know something. Now come the things of 

 which I want to know — how best to turn the 

 honey into wax. 



It is pretty evident that it can best be done 

 during the warmest weather. This will in- 



