140 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15 



Just as we go to press I have only room 

 to mention the appearance of the Lone Star 

 Apiarist, Vol. I. No. 1, published by the 

 Lone Star Publishing Co. , Floresville, Tex- 

 as, and edited by Louis Scholl. Mr. S. is 

 one of the young- men I met in Texas. He 

 is a whole-souled good fellow, a progressive 

 and up-to-date bee-keeper, who has got the 

 making of a good editor. We extend our 

 heartiest welcome, and wish them every 

 success. The paper presents a very cred- 

 itable appearance. 



APICULTURE NOW RECOGNIZED BY THE 

 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. 



Our readers will be pleased to know that 

 the United States government has given 

 apiculture an actual recognition by creating 

 a special commission, that of Apicultural 

 Investigator in the Department ot Agricul- 

 ture. The nran who has been advanced to 

 this position is Prof. Frank Benton, who 

 formerly was Assistant Entomologist in the 

 Division of Entomology. This position he 

 held from 1896 to August 1, 1901, when the 

 new commission was created. 



Prof. Benton has been doing some good 

 work in the vigorous way in which he re- 

 plies to these comb-honey canards that have 

 been published in various papers. I have 

 taken pains to ask the editors of all papers 

 giving circulation to these lies to write to 

 the Department of Agriculture, adding that 

 there was a man in the employ of the De- 

 partment who made apiculture his special- 

 ty, and who could give full information, and 

 it is evident the suggestion in some cases 

 has been heeded. 



No one can really estimate the good this 

 new commission has done us already. 



PROPORTION OF ACID TO WATER IN WAX- 

 REFINING. 



A CORRESPONDENT has stated that I said 

 somewhere in Gleanings (he does not say 

 where) that the proportion of acid to water 

 in refining wax was anywhere from 5 to 25 

 per cent. I do not see what I could have 

 been thinking about, for that is very wide 

 of the mark. The A B C of Bee Culture 

 (and I wrote the item) says 1 per cent, and 

 that is about right. It is our daily practice 

 in refining the commercial product as we 

 buy it, to use half a gallon of raw acid to 

 two barrels (60 gallons) of water. This 

 would be a little less than 1 per cent of 

 acid to water. If the wax is very dark we 

 make a slight increase. Very light wax 

 would require less than half a gallon. In 

 refining commercial wax, anywhere from Yz 

 to 1^2 per cent of acid may be used ; but in the 

 handling of old dark combs, especially 

 slumgum, it will be necessary to increase 

 the amount to perhaps 2 per cent; but in 

 that case it would be better to render the 

 wax again in clean water so as to get out 

 the slight traces of acid or acid smell. The 

 ^ or one per cent solution of acid never 

 leaves any trace, so far as we can discover, 

 in the wax. 



THOSE bees under THE MACHINE-SHOP. 



I HAVE seen bees in many different cel- 

 lars; I have read a good deal about winter- 

 ing; but I think I never knew what perfect 

 indoor or cellar wintering was before. Those 

 250 — now practically 300 — colonies under 

 the machine-shop in a compartment done off 

 by themselves are doing finely. The cellar 

 floor is dry; the air is sweet, and the bees 

 can scarcely be disturbed by turning on a 

 strong electric light. This morning I stay- 

 ed in the cellar five minutes before a single 

 bee flew out. Then one vigorous thrifty 

 fellow struck for the light, apparently just 

 as healthy and strong as any bee in the 

 height of the honey- flow. True, there are 

 some dead bees, but the number is small. 



The temperatuie this winter has not va- 

 ried as much as last, and that may have 

 had a great deal to do with the splendid 

 results. This morning, Feb. 11, the mer- 

 cury stood exactly at 45. It goes down to 

 40, and up as high as 50. The weather 

 has been snug and cold outside, and there- 

 fore it has been possible for us to control 

 the temperature; but with good fresh air I 

 should not expect to see many dead bees 

 with even a temperature of 60. 



THE scramble WESTWARD; A FEW WORDS 



OF caution; THE BEE-KEEPING HOG; 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE WEST. 



In my general write-ups among our 

 friends of the craft on our southe? n and 

 western borders I have tried to tell the 

 exact truth, the bad as well as the good 

 things. Recently I have been informed that 

 bee-keepers are rushing into Idaho from 

 the mere reference that I made to the fact 

 that it is a splendid country. One man 

 has not only located there in a locality al- 

 ready overstocked with bees, but has 

 brought hundreds of colonies from the East 

 -with foul brood; and when upbraided by a 

 fellow bee-keeper for his folly he simpl3' 

 laughed and said, "The foul brood I 

 brought will soon clean out the fence-corner 

 apiaries, and then I'll have room enough." 

 I can not think of language strong enough 

 to condemn such a — such a — well, yes, a 

 hog as that. He would like to have all the 

 territory to himself, even if he brings ca- 

 lamity upon his brother, who has a prior 

 right to the field. I assume, of course, that, 

 while there is one man such as I have de- 

 scribed, there are hundreds of others who 

 are fair and honorable. 



But let me put in a word of caution. Do 

 not rush into a field with a lot of bees unnl 

 you have first written to learn something 

 about the conditions. If j'ou will write me 

 I will give you the address of some bee- 

 keepers in the vicinity. Learn all you can 

 by writing, then go yourself in person, but 

 without bees. Look the field all over, and 

 when you decide on your local it}', go into 

 some place where there are no bees, or buy 

 out some one who is in the field. I should 

 be exceedingly sorry to know that my writ- 

 ings result in a foolish scramble into local- 

 ities already overcrowded. 



