GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



The National Net-weight Law Does Not 



Apply to Shipments inside of State 



Boundaries 



I wish a little information in regard to the net- 

 weiciht law in regard to honey. I sell my honey by 

 the case, nothing being said about weight, to a retail 

 grocer in my own state. Will it be necessary or 

 desirable to stamp the net weight on each section? 

 That is, ciui an inspector interfere with it unless 

 it is billed to another state? Suppose I were to send 

 a paokasce of honey to a person in another state as 

 a gift, would it have to be stamped? This seems to 

 me a strange law. It is all right for packages that 

 man fills and can put in a certain amount; but I 

 can't see why it should apply to honey any more 

 than to .apples, oranges, or eggs. 



Areola, N. C, April 28. R B. Hunter. 



[The national net-weight law does not apply to 

 local sales made within a state. You can sell honey 

 at your local grocery, or send it clear across the 

 state anywhere without marking the net weight on 

 the individual sections nor upon the case itself. In 

 a few states laws have been enacted that are in 

 conformity to the national law, but we do not know 

 of any state where it is required to put the net 

 weight upon sections of comb honey. 



You are right_ It ought not to be necessary to 

 mark the net weight upon the section of comb honey 

 where the weight varies so, any more than it should 

 be necessary to mark the net weight on each indi- 

 vidual hen's egg; but on all interstate shipments it 

 is absolutely necessary, to comply with the federal 

 law. 



If you send a case of honey across the state line 

 as a gift we don't know that the law would apply; 

 but we would advise you to mark the weight upon 

 each section, or, perhaps, better, mark the minimum 

 net weight, and then grade the sections according 

 to weight. — Eu.] 



The Variation in the Color of Italian Drones 

 from Different Queens 



Wliy will one Italian queen produce all yellow 

 drones and another one all black drones ? 



Which are the best drones to mate from — the yel- 

 low or the black? 



Which are the purest leather-colored stock — the 

 yellow or the black drones? 



I purchased two queens last summer, the first in 

 a full colony. This queen's drones are all yellow. 

 Her bees also show some yellow. 



The second queen I received was in a five-frame 

 nucleus. Tliis queen's drones are all black. Her 

 bees show a darker color than the above (or first) 

 queen. 



Young queens mated from these black drones pro- 

 duce dark-colored bees, some very dark, almost black. 



Jacoby, La., May 31. R. L. Lini'Sey. 



[Italians are not a fixed race. Some strains are 

 yellower than others. The yellower the bees, the 

 yellower will be the drones as a rule, although there 

 are exceptions to this. Drones of leather-colored 

 queens are generally dark ; while drones of goldens 

 are quite as yellow as the bees tliemselves. .In the 

 case to vvhioh you refer, you probably purchased a 

 queen of the golden order the first time, and the 

 second time a leather-colored queen. It is possible 

 that the second queen was not pure. If such were 

 the case, and you bought a tested, you should send 

 samples of the bees to the breeder, and ask for a 

 replacement. But bear this in mind, that the queens 

 of drones produced from leather-colored bees show 

 almost no yellow, and sometimes none at all; but 

 such drones (if the mother was pure) will produce 

 fine gentle Italians that will probably show two 

 dark yellow bands, and a third one somewhat indis- 



tinct, and very often not at all until the bees are 

 tilled with honey. The color of the drones is not as 

 uniform as the color of the workers. This means 

 that judging a queen by the color of her drones is 

 not always reliable. 



It is evident that the leather-colored Italians come 

 the nearest to being a fixed race. They are more 

 uniform in their general markings — that is to say, 

 they vary less as to the color of drones and workers. 

 They are generally good honey-gatherers, hardy, and 

 uniformly gentle. These Italians are raised on one 

 or both sides of the Alps, and through centuries in 

 a vigorous climate, in high altitudes, and are, there- 

 fore, a strong race. The extra yellow Italians are 

 raised in southern Italy or in Sicily. They will not 

 stand our northern winters, are irritable, but are 

 well adapted for a southern or a mild climate. — Ed.] 



Docs Honey-dew Granulate More Readily 

 than Ordina-ry Honey? 



Does honey-dew honey ever granulate? My bees 

 are bringing in a honey new to me. It granulates 

 before they can get the cells filled. It is not very 

 dark, and tastes very well. How can I get the 

 sugar out of my extracting-combs for the next hon- 

 ey-flow ? , 



Havana, Ala., May 29. J. S. Patton. 



[Strictly speaking, honey-dew honey is not honey, 

 and is not so regarded by the Bureau of Chemistry, 

 Washington, D. C. If, therefore, it is not pure 

 honey it might not granulate quite the same as ordi- 

 nary honey. So far as we know, honey-dew honey 

 does not granulate more readily or more quickly 

 than ordinary honey ; but that it does granulate 

 there can be no doubt. 



Of course, it may not be honey-dew honey that you 

 have. There are some kinds of honey that granulate 

 very rapidly, almost as soon as they are stored in 

 the combs. 



W'e would not advise you to have it taken out. If 

 the bees get plenty of water they will utilize it in 

 brood-rearing. It may be advisable for you to damp- 

 en the combs containing the granulated honey. If 

 you find the bees carrying the granules out of the 

 entrance of the hive wo would advise you to do this, 

 but hardly think they will carrj' it out. — Ed.] 



Mating before Mailing 



If I buy virgin queens and have them mated in 

 my yard, would they be just as strong and prolific 

 as queens mated before they are put in the mail? 

 How would you introduce them in a full hive dur- 

 ing the honey-flow? A Subscriber. 



Mineola, N. Y. 



[If you have them mated in your own yard they 

 would be just as strong and prolific and perhaps 

 more so, as if mated before having been sent through 

 the mail. There is this one decided disadvantage — 

 if they are mated in your own yard, they would 

 necessarily mate with whatever drones might be 

 present. In case you have black or hybrid bees your 

 queens would be pretty sure to be mismated. The 

 best plan for introducing virgin queens is the smoke 

 method, which we send with each virgin queen sent 

 out. Of course, in order to be sure of success the 

 old queen should always be removed. — Ed.] 



Wood Alcohol Dangerous 



.\. W. Smith, p. 291, April 1, advises the use of 

 wood alcohol in imbedding wires in foundation. 

 Would it not be well to warn the readers of Glk.\.v- 

 ixcs that wood alcohol is a dangerous poison? It 

 sometimes causes blindness, and the fumes are very 

 injurious to the eyes. 



Boston, Mass. ^ C. H. Howard. 



