420 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



miles, so the ruiinin,i;' expenses were I2V2 

 cents per mile. 



TAvelve and a half or even ten cents a 

 mile may look appalling to the average 

 beekeeper, simply because he has never 

 figured the cost of keeping a horse. Even 

 if it were tnie that the mileage cost of 

 traveling or hauling by auto truck exceeded 

 many times that of doing the same work 

 with horse power, it does not necessarily 

 prove that the horse is the more economical 

 means of transportation for the beekeeper. 

 Time is money, and no one will deny the 

 fact that the auto saves time. Mr. Cox was 

 able to save at least three hours a trip in 

 hauling his fruit to market. If we value his 

 time at 25 cents an hour (and if he is much 

 of a farmer he will be insulted at such a 

 low valuation) he saved 75 cents' worth of 

 time a trip — enough to pay operating ex- 

 penses and repairs. 



Beekeepers seem to be either disinclined 

 or unable to get hired help. The time that 

 the apiarist can expend among the bees 

 largely determines the size of his income. 



So the profit of an automobile should be 

 estimated from the extra hours it will en- 

 able the beekeeper to be among the bees 

 doing profitable work. 



I should like to see the cost of running 

 autos discussed further in the columns of 

 Gleanings. I think Mr. A. W. Smith, 

 pages 122-12.3, Feb. 1, was rather fortunate 

 in getting an extra good car at an extreme- 

 ly low price. The average beekeeper may 

 not be able to duplicate his results. I wish 

 he had told how he fixed his Ford so that 

 he could carry loads of hives, and how 

 heavy loads he was able to take safely at a 

 trip. May we not have more articles and 

 photos dealing with the auto for the bee- 

 keeper? Let us have oi"iginal cost, period 

 of usefulness, cost of running, method of 

 building cari-ying body, time saved, etc. 



The auto is, I believe, destined more than 

 any thing else to make beekeeping an 

 industry for the specialist. Surely it will 

 enable us to follow Hutchinson's advice to 

 " keep more bees." 



Swedesboro, N. J. 



A GRANULATED DEPOSIT OF HONEY- DEW 



BY ALVIN L. HEIM 



Honey-dew^ is deposited on olive leaves by 

 the black scale, which causes fruit and 

 branches to grow sticky when it is warm. 



I think the granulation of the honey-dew 

 was caused bv a rain some time ago. The 

 deposits dissolved, and the consequent evap- 

 oration of the waterdrops left the deposit 

 as shown. The bees worked on it during 

 the early summer last year, but not much 

 aftei- the blue curl began yielding nectar. 



The honey crop in the alfalfa and carpet - 

 aiass regions, of this state last year was 

 very poor, and the market in honey is even 

 poorer. The outlook is " blue." 



Fairoaks, Cal. 



The Irresistible Call 



BV GRATE ALLEN 



Crystallized lKiney<lew on olivy leaves 



The year with his ancient enticings 



Is tempting the summer to come: 

 The trees are in leaf and the lilac in l)loom, 



And the hees are beginninK to hum. 



Spring's dafTodils down in the corner 



In tarnished gold wither and waste, 



And the purple-blue iris is tlaunting her flag 

 To signal the summer to haste. 



She might have resisted the blossoms 



Or singing of birds in the trees, 

 But she'll come — oh! she'll come on a wind from 

 the south 



When she hears the old hum of the beesl 



