648 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



It will interest your lady readers, and 

 perhaps a few bachelors, to learn how the 

 cooking is done in Cuba. American stoves 

 are almost unknown in the rural districts. 

 A cast-iron utensil called a "fagafone" is 

 used, with charcoal for fuel. There are va- 

 rious sizes, and used according to the size 

 of the family. 



As shown in the photo, Mrs. Moe uses 

 two, and this seems sufficient for a large 

 family, or, say, for five or six persons. 



J'une/;'^., 



-Tcco. 



2.(f^ T(Xc^ TcLco juL' (A/no kcruo 



ft, 



* 



o^r'^-evti. rvfJrif-e/t' /mrt^ . See. rrte. 

 /la- uAe. ^Acrr r^fx/ie/ryi^ - 



The lady readers will look for an oven; but 

 the Cubans never bake bread. Every little 

 town has its bakery, and bread is not very 

 expensive. Rice and beans are the staple 

 articles of food, with potatoes; then there 

 are sweet potatoes, molongas, and yuccas, 

 all tubers, and palatable. 



Until oil is cheaper and stoves more com- 

 inon the fagafone will hold its position in 

 the Cuban kitchen. More will be said 

 about Mr. Moe's apiary in the next Ram- 

 ble. 



THE PECULIAR SEASON. 



Thin Honey and Artificial Evaporation ; Some Com- 

 ments on American Bee Journal Editorials. 



BY S. T. PETTIT. 



Mr. Root : — In compliance with your wish 

 for reports of honey crop to date (page 553), 

 I will say that the weather conditions here 

 appear to be closely related to the condi- 

 tions in all the northern and eastern por- 

 tions of the United States as described by 

 yourself; but there seems to be this differ- 

 ence: The clovers here contain lots of hon- 

 ey; and whenever the bees get a chance at 

 them they rush the nectar at a great rate 



(I am speaking of my own locality); but 

 the rain and the high humidity of the air 

 cause the nectar to be verj' thin; and, ow- 

 ing to that great humidity of the atmos- 

 phere, the bees can not ripen their honey 

 sufficiently to cap it. The comb-cells, both 

 in extracting-supers and sections, are only 

 partly filled; and thus in many cases the 

 queen is crowded out, and the bees get dis- 

 gusted, and swarm without finishing a sec- 

 tion. Then when given in the brood-cham- 

 ber, either starters or combs and their own 

 unfinished sections. Just as soon as the 

 bi-ood -chamber is filled, and it doesn't take 

 them long, they swarm again, leaving very 

 few eggs or little brood, as the combs are 

 nearly full of thin honey, too thin to finish 

 the sections with, or to cap. I have thought 

 of extracting the thin stuff, and, later on, 

 feed back for comb honey; but I fear the 

 comb honej' thus produced would be ill-fla- 

 vored, and possibly the whole thing might 

 sour before feeding back, so I could not risk 

 that. Of course, if one had combs in abun- 

 dance they could be given the bees as stor- 

 age, awaiting a change in weather condi- 

 tions. 



It may be that some one will suggest that 

 I use my evaporator, figured in your excel- 

 lent ABC book for many years. This 

 prompts me to say that, for several years 

 after I hit upon that evaporator (the cut in 

 Gleanings is quite imperfect), the air gen- 

 erally was quite dry, and the evaporating 

 went on nicely; but in a damp season or 

 damp spell of weather the honey took up 

 moisture from the air, and became thinner 

 instead of thicker. So for a good many 

 years I have depended upon the bees to do 

 the evaporating; but, poor things I they 

 seem to feel beaten this season. 



No evaporator here this season, except it 

 be assisted by artificial heat, can be of any 

 use. The safe way is to depend upon the 

 bees and lots of supers filled with drawn 

 combs. The conditions will surely change 

 before winter. 



We are all interested in finding the queen. 

 In looking for her I first take out a comb 

 near the center; and in the forenoon I work 

 toward the east, and in the afternoon I work 

 toward the west. Working thus I feel prettj' 

 sure of catching her on the first half of 

 combs lifted out, and I don't have to chase 

 her clear across the hive. 



On page 544 you ask, "But why should 

 bees put wax in the bottoms of the cells?" 

 First, to polish them; and, second, to store 

 it as they do other things of value. Many 

 old queen -cells are cut down and thus 

 stored. 



On page 435, Amer. Bee Jotirnal, under 

 the caption " Do not leave the sections on too 

 long," the editor tells us how to get the sec- 

 tions all finished; but if I had to follow the 

 directions I should never take comb honey. 

 This pulling the supers to pieces during 

 the honey-flow is just awful. I pity the 

 poor bees and their good owner. Now, if 

 the colonies are strong my best wishes 

 would say, "Just try my system; VIS^ tli§ 



