1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



993 



very prolific, but we somewhat doubt wheth- 

 er it will give us as many bushels to the acre 

 as the pole lima beans. 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



THE STANLEY EXTRACTOR DEPENDED. 



I do not consider Mr. Coe qualified to pass a cor- 

 rect verdict on the Stanley extractor (see page 957), 

 as the one he refers to was made by Mr. Stanley, 

 who never gave proper care to their manufacture. 

 Mr. Coe got from him a machine whose baskets did 

 not fit his frames; and in ordering new baskets, 

 months later, from me, he put them (probably) on 

 the same arms as the first ones, and did not get the 

 nicety of adjustment that is necessary, or else has 

 a very weak operator. A nicely adjusted, well- 

 made machine, is easily run, easily reversed, and is 

 appreciated by those who have tons of honey to ex- 

 tract. I inclose a card from Mr. A , who used 



three machines the past season, one in each apiary. 



E. R. NewCOMb. 

 Pleasant Valley, N. Y., Dec. 3, 1889. 



The inclosed is the card referred to. We 

 withhold the name, as requested by the 

 writer. 



E. R. Newcomb :— The extractors I bought of you 

 are all I could ask for in a honey-extractor. I have 

 extracted tons of hooey the past season, and they 

 have worked well; but for certain reasons I would 

 rather not have my name go before the public. 



We are glad to get this ; and may we not 

 hear from others who have used the Stan- 

 ley? Let the truth be what it may. We 

 shall be just as pleased to get testimony fa- 

 voring the Stanley as our own extractor. 



THE HONEY THAT WILL NOT CANDY. 



Have you any extracted on hand that is not yet 

 candied? The heating of it is a small matter; but 

 if it is not yet candied, it is an indication that it will 

 not granulate so readily as what we have had. We 

 have never before had so much trouble with honey 

 becoming candied, and simply because we have 

 been using the linden honey almost entirely. I 

 have had several lots of California extracted from 

 New York, but none that has been real nice. 



Allegheny, Pa., Nov. 15, 1889. M. H. Tweed. 



Friend T., you call attention to some- 

 thing we had not particularly thought about 

 before, only I had observed that honey once 

 candied is, as a rule, much more liable to 

 candy again — that is, if it is not sealed 

 from the air, like canned fruit. There have 

 been quite a few complaints this present 

 season, that honey candies unusually quick. 



WINTERING BEES IN A FR01T-CEDLAR. 



Can you tell me whether bees will winter as well 

 in a cellar with apples and potatoes, as in one with 

 bees only, other things being equal? 



Roseburg, Mich, Nov. 20, 1889. J. Mitchell. 



Friend M., my impression is that a cellar 

 that is right for apples would be rather cold 

 for bees ; but some may perhaps prefer to 

 have their bees as near the freezing-point as 

 apples will bear. 1 think, however, that 



most bee-keepers decide that a temperature 

 just right to keep potatoes to the best ad- 

 vantage would be about right for bees. 

 Those who advocate keeping the bees at 

 from 45 to 50 would want the cellar rather 

 warmer than is best for either apples or po- 

 tatoes. Potatoes would be more likely to 

 sprout, and the apples more likely to rot. 

 Apples do very well when kept just at the 

 freezing-point, and a little below does not 

 seem to harm them. I do not think that 

 the odor from apples or potatoes would do 

 any harm, unless they were rotting. Of 

 course, in that case we should not want 

 them too near the bees. Potatoes and ap- 

 ples also need a certain degree of dampness. 

 This was formerly thought to be detrimen- 

 tal ; but I believe late decisions have left 

 the matter somewhat undecided. 



TOILERS OF THE SKY. 



How gladsome are the songs that greet 

 Our ear from forest, field, and street! 

 The songs of toilers as they fly, 

 The myriad toilers of the sky. 



We do not know the words of song 

 The singers sing that haste along; 

 But yet we know they're songs of praise. 

 And Jesus knows what each one says. 



Lord, how minute thy love and care 

 For thy creation everywhere ! 

 The smallest gnat the eye can see 

 Is toiling on and praising thee. 



And shall the sons of Adam's race 

 Be dumb before that blessed face 

 Who, from the stable to the cross, 

 Hath lived and loved and died for us? 

 St. Mary's, Ontario, Can. F. M. Master. 



WINTERING ON HONEY-DEW; WHEN WE CAN AND 

 WHEN WE CAN NOT. 



The discussion of Question 148 in the Nov. 15th 

 Gleanings was very interesting to me, as I have 

 had considerable experience with honey-dew. In 

 looking over my diary I find that my bees have 

 gathered no honey-dew since August, 1884, until 

 the present season. During the season of 1884 they 

 gathered about 20 pounds of honey-dew to the hive. 

 I also remember taking all the honey-dew from 

 every hive except one, and this one colony was the 

 only one that died. Nine-tenths of the bee-keepers' 

 bees around here died that same winter. I find 

 also in my diary that the winter of 1884 was a very 

 severe one. The bees were confined to their hives 

 75 days without a chance to fly. They were in from 

 the 9th of January until the 26th of March. Twenty 

 days during this time the thermometer was below 

 zero. Bro. Root, I suppose if you had been here 

 you would have given a few colonies honey-dew 

 the following winter, to see if it was that which 

 really killed the bees. It would not have killed 

 them the following winter, I know, because 35 days 

 was the longest time that they were confined to 

 their hives, being from the 4th of January to the 

 9th of February, with only six days below zero. 

 This would make all the difference in the world. 

 My bees have not been confined to their hives 75 

 days in succession in any one winter since. Last 

 winter 59 was the longest, or from the 5th of Janu- 

 ary until the 6th of March, with only two days be- 



