SKPTKMBKU 1".. liMu 



773 



Meads of Gram froimi DiffeFeM Fields 



The Backlot Buzzer 



I'.V .1. H. DOXAJIEV 



Dopt wag Ihcir tails and folkx smile when Ihey 

 express their pleasure; but whatever induced the 

 bee to stand on its head and wiggle its wings f 



Wants Definite Figures on Honey-selling 



A mattfr that is often neglected in the bee-jour- 

 nals is tlie matter of putting up and wholesale sell- 

 ing of extracted honey. Let us have facts and 

 figures. 



Let's start with an amount of honey, say ten or 

 twenty cases (1200 or 2400 lbs.). Suppose one 

 buys at the market price direct from the producer. 

 It is worth just as much if the producer is the bot- 

 tler also. It is necessary to pay freight on honey. 

 buy glassware from any of the supply catalogs, pay 

 freight and breakage on glass, and to heat, strain, 

 and clarify honey. Take into consideration the labor 

 at a fair amount, and the depreciation of equipment. 

 Next will be labels and cases if glass is ordered in 

 crates, .applying labels, cleaning glass, and filling 

 glass. Now comes the selling part. Either advertis- 

 ing or soliciting orders will be demanded. Deliver- 

 ing or freight should also be taken into account. 



Will some one be so kind as to give us information 

 on all these lines? 



It seems we are too much on production and not 

 enough on uniform price and distribution. 



XKT WEIGHT liAW O. K. 



I observe that an effort is being made to have 

 sections weighed in with the honey as a comparison 

 to the wrapping around haras. Pleaee take into 

 consideration that the wrapping weighs perhaps .3 or 

 4 ounces to a ten or twelve pound ham, while the 

 section weighs 1 ounce to every 10 or more ounces. 

 I am in favor of the net-weight law a-s it stands, 

 requiring the producer to mark the exact net weight 

 on each section or other package. Give the consum- 



er a right to know how much he is buying. It is 

 only fair. We all like to know what and how much 

 we are getting. If the producer can see no other 

 way to get pay for that ounce of wood, let him ask 

 a cent or two more for his honey per pound. They 

 don't complain if you explain the matter. 



Akron, N. Y. William Vollmer. 



Cotton Cushions All Right, but the Bees 

 were Too Old 



Prom our experience with cotton cushions we find, 

 first, they act as a heat-retainer ; second, they aro a 

 moisture absorbent; third, they are clean and light 

 in weight. Our combs are dry, and free from mil- 

 dew wliere bee.s have died. The same dry condition 

 is found in hives where bees are alive. We use an 

 all-over deep casing, the same as Mr. Martine speaks 

 of in the March 15th issue. In the month of Jan- 

 ■aary, when there was an outside temperature of 19 

 degrees, we found that wo had a temperature of 72 

 degrees on top of the cushion. 



But in spite of all these perfect conditions our 

 loss has reached 50 per cent. Some of the old- 

 timers may wonder why this is so. Which has the 

 greater vitality — a horse 25 years old or one 5 ? 

 Knowing what a poor year 1914 was, we have tlu' 

 story in a nutshell. Old beos to the extent of 60 

 per cent, when going into winter quarters, are be- 

 yond wintering. 



Our queens stop laying in September. We started 

 to feed up. We fed some 1000 or 1200 lbs. of syr- 

 up, but, no use. There was nothing doing. Our 

 bees started brood-rearing the middle of January. 



11. G. Quirin agrees with us as to the cause of 

 the loss. He uses the tenement hive, or four-hive 

 winter case. 

 Bellevue, O., April 10. N. B. Querin. 



Net-weight Law in Florida 



Florida beekeepers should notice that all packages 

 sold or for sale must have net contents of same 

 stated in weight, measure, or numerical count, con- 

 spicuously, legibly, and correctly, on the outside of 

 the package. This law was passed by the Florida 

 legislature in 1913. 



Apopka, Fla. Fred E. Marden. 



Tartar Emetic for Ants 



1 was troubled very much with ants in my honey 

 department. I was advised to get ten cents' worth 

 of tartar emetic and scatter it lightly in the honey- 

 house or put it into small dishes, adding a little 

 water. In three days not one ant was left. 



Concsus, N. Y., Aug. 18. D. W. Trbscott. 



Belligerent Bees 



At one time I thought I had tame bees, but a 

 recent swarm certainly disproved this idea. It set- 

 teld on a Norway spruce tree about 30 feet aloft. I 

 took a ladder, set it up, and fixed myself with bee- 

 hat, gloves, etc., and thought I was in good shape. 



I began sawing off the limb: then the fun com- 

 menced. The bees went after me by the hundreds, 

 my gloves were covered '.vith bees stinging for all 

 ihcy were worth, and my hands felt as though they 

 had no gloves at all. 



I thought of the Backlot Buzzer and took courage. 

 T got the limb down, but it had few bees on it. 

 Then they discovered my cotton socks. I never was 

 a dancer, htit I could have danced that time without 



