634 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aim. 



I have tried yet. I can winter bees better in this 

 hive than in any chaff hive ever made; in fact, for 

 wintering bees outdoors I would rather buy the 

 above hive than use chaff hives furnished free. I 

 use a single brood-chamber of soft pine, unpainted, 

 for wintering, which is inclosed in another hive one 

 inch larger, or. rather, with an inch air-space be- 

 tween, which gives me a double-walled hive with 

 one inch of dead air space all around. My bees are 

 always strong in spring, and breed up early. This 

 and the Heddon hive are the hives of the future. 

 Clarion, Pa., July 13, 1889. J. T. Fletcher. 



PURE ITALIAN DRONES ; IS THE DRONE ONLY THE 

 SON OF HIS MOTHER OR NOT ? 



Is the question settled beyond dispute, that a 

 queen of pure Italian pedigree, but mismated, pro- 

 duces b> brid drones, or is if still open to positive 

 proof? I know that several well-known breeders 

 hold they are hybrids, but that's not proof. I am 

 interested in the mother, for the other day I found 

 a young Italian queen, without wings, layiDg, of 

 course, nothing but drone eggs, and the drones 

 were the brightest of any in the yard. Now, if 

 those drones were good, why should they not be 

 equally so if the queen could have Mown and been 

 mismated? H. F. Hart. 



Avery, La., July fi, 1889. 



It is commonly supposed that the drone is 

 the son of its mother only ; but G. M. 1 too- 

 little and one or two others have ventured 

 to question this statement. Our experience 

 and observation, however, have rather tend- 

 ed to sustain the statement of Dzierzon and 

 Berlepsch, that the drone has only one par- 

 ent. Here is a chance for careful experi- 

 menting. 



THE FOOD COMMISSIONER SEEKS INFORMATION IN 

 REGARD TO ALLEGED ADULTERATED HONEY. 



Mr. A, I. Root:— Cleveland papers charge that 

 parties are manufacturing an entirely artificial 

 honey-comb from paraftine, then filling it with glu- 

 cose, and selling it for pure honey, although there 

 is no part of it the product of the bee, or, at least, 

 not more than to give it flavor. I have looked the 

 markets through somewhat in this city, and talked 

 with men who seem to be conversant with bee mat- 

 ters, and I can not find, thus far, any foundation for 

 the articles in papers. It is claimed here, however 

 that bees are sometimes fed glucose or cane sugar, 

 and an inferior article of honey is produced, also 

 that glucose syrup is added to strained honey. I 

 am anxious to lend any assistance in my power to 

 the consumers and producers of honey, and write 

 you for information. Do you think that honey 

 made from or by bees fed on tugar or glucose 

 could be called adulterated? and do you know 

 whether there is any truth in the charge made in 

 the Cleveland press? Can it be done successfully? 

 and have you any means of knowing if strained 

 honey is being adulterated with glucose? and if so, 

 who is doing it? The whole subject is new to me, 

 and any thing that you may say will confer a favor 

 on all honest producers. F. A. Derthick, 



Food Commissioner of Ohio. 

 • Columbus, July 13, 1889. 



Upon receipt of the above we replied as 

 follows : 



Mr. F. A. Derthich: — As we notice you are the 

 Ohio Dairy and Food Commissioner, we take plea- 

 sure in answering your kind letter of the 13th inst. 



We inclose you hall a dozen cards, offering $1000 for 

 samples of manufacmred comb honey. These cards 

 will give you the whole status of the thing in a nut- 

 shell. This offer has been out uow for two years; 

 and although we have distributed thousands of 

 them, and although the same has been published in 

 a number of newspapers, no one has even taken 

 the pains to write us that he could fulfill the condi- 

 tions of the proposal. We also send you a sample 

 copy of our journal, "Gleanings in Bee Cul- 

 ture. " Please read the article on page 543. 



In regard to feeding glucose to bees, we would 

 say it (■«)!, be done, but it would not pay to do so, 

 because it would cost more to get the bees to put 

 the stuff into their nice combs than the bogus arti- 

 cle would bring afterward on the market, even if 

 sold at the price of A No. 1 honey. Liquid or ex- 

 tracted honey may be adulterated, but usually 

 there is not enough money in it to do it. When 

 good pure California honey can be bought for 4 or 

 5 cts. per pound by the carload, it is not at all likely 

 that dealers would go to the trouble of adulterating 

 it with glucose, an article which costs nearly or 

 quite as much per pound. Notwithstanding these 

 newspaper stories to the contrary, you will see that 

 plain common sense, and the application of a little 

 arithmetic, show that very little honey is adulterat- 

 ed. We should be glad to have you use your in- 

 fluence in removing the ban of suspicion from hon- 

 ey. 



THAT TESTED QUEEN. 



The first queen (tested Italian), received from you 

 May 14, was accepted May 15; introduced to a two- 

 frame nucleus of young blacks. She got down to 

 work in short order, and to-day $10.00 would not 

 buy her. She has t n frames full of mostly capped 

 brood, and the colony is large enough to swarm. 

 They are always working, while the others lie idly 

 about. The last two queens received from you 

 came in fine order. I introduced by dropping into 

 full colonies immediately after catching the old 

 queen. I can always tell by the way the bees act 

 whether all is well. One came out and flew around 

 four times, and doubtless would have been flying 

 yet, but I caught her and clipped a wing, and that 

 settled it. This has been 



BY FAR THE BEST SEASON 



we have had for some time, and honey has been 

 produced by the ton. Just here harvest is about 

 over, and drones are scratching, but the Italians 

 are very busy. In the timber, however, 



FIRE WEED 



is at the best, and bees are very busy. Oregon is 

 slow to adopt modern appliances, and but few en- 

 thusiasts are to be found; but as the State fills up 

 we shall be able to give better reports. 

 Portland, Or., July 11, 1889. E. J. Ladd. 



JAPANESE INFERIOR TO SILVERHULL BUCKWHEAT 

 FOR HONEY. 



Well, Uncle Amos, I have just come in from the 

 buckwheat. It is in full bloom, and there are ten 

 to one more bees on the silverhull than on the Jap- 

 anese. It was so last year on my place; but the 

 Japanese was so boomed through Gleanings I 

 thought I would hold still for a while; but when 

 the same thing occurs again with the two kinds 

 side by side, on the same kind of ground, I wonder- 

 ed if the booming had not been a little strong, in 

 order to sell the stuff. The Japanese stands up 

 some better and gives longer, larger grain, and will 



