844 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15 



ing-. A few pounds too much honey for win- 

 ter is just about rig-ht. [The trouble is, a 

 good many do not take into consideration 

 the matter of locality. Here in Ohio, for 

 example, outdoor bees would require less 

 than they do in Marengo, 111. ; and I sus- 

 pect that, for Northern Minnesota and Wis- 

 consin, they would require more. — Ed.] 



"All know, perhaps," says Georg-e 

 Shiber, p. 808, "that the queen would rath- 

 er lay in an old black comb than in one that 

 has no cocoons." Strang-e to say, all don't 

 know that, and everjr now and then some 

 one insists that old comb is not liked so well 

 by the bees. Not so often in this country, 

 however, of late, but across the water it is 

 sometimes g-iven as one reason for renewing 

 comb that is a few years old. [My experi- 

 ence and observation are the same as yours. 

 If any thing, I thought the queen prefei-red 

 to lay in foundation partly drawn out into 

 comb — perhaps because she does not have 

 to crowd herself down so deep into a small 

 hole as she does when laying in old comb. 

 Possibly what George Shiber had in mind 

 was that the bees prefer old comb, appar- 

 ently, for a winter brood-nest. That is 

 quite different from the other statement, 

 that the queen prefers old combs for laying'. 

 —Ed.] 



"There was no doubt about it — catnip 

 had been sown along the roadsides," p. 805. 

 No doubt, Mr. Editor; but your seeing it 

 there was no proof that any man had a 

 hand in sowing it. You'll find it here along- 

 the roadsides, but I doubt that a seed of it 

 was ever intentionally sown by any man, 

 bee-keeper or not. Do the birds sow it? 

 [Of course, I could not prove that the cat- 

 nip I saw along the roadsides at Humboldt 

 sprang from seeds that Dr. Gandy and his 

 men sowed ; but from the fact that there 

 were more catnip-plants along the wayside 

 around Dr. Gaudy's home than I had seen 

 along any other wayside in the country, I 

 was led to believe that he had actually in- 

 creased the number b}^ hand sowing. While 

 believing all this, I am still doubtful about 

 catnip ever being able to make a vei-y great 

 increase in the amount of honej' per colony. 

 It takes hundreds and hundreds of acres of 

 pasturage to make much showing in supers. 

 —Ed.] 



Some years ago I tried brushed swarms; 

 but, although better than natural swarms, 

 I was never very enthusiastic about them, 

 for still they are swarms after a fashion. 

 What I want rs to keep the whole force, 

 present and prospective, together, and with 

 brushed swarms the colony is depleted of 

 its future force. [From the number of re- 

 ports in this issue it would seem to me you 

 abandoned the brushed plan prematurely. 

 It is really surprising, the number who 

 have tried it and who are enthusiastic in 

 its praise. See our symposium elsewhere 

 in this issue. The plan of brushing 

 swarms practiced by Vernon Burt gives 

 him more of a working force — more bees — 

 than a natural swarm would. Just turn 



again to page 640, Aug. 1st Gleanings, 

 whei''e I described his method of forcing 

 swarms on the "shook" (?) plan. In the 

 multitude of counselors there is wisdom, 

 and in this case (reports in this issue) there 

 is too much of truth, apparently, to be turn- 

 ed down. I hope, therefore, that you will 

 try it again. — Ed.] 



After reading with interest what Dr. 

 Cross says about smokers, p. 813, I arise to 

 make a few remarks. Dr. Cross says that, 

 "without prepared fuel, or special fuel, any 

 make of smoker will not hold its fire if left 

 standing for any length of time." I don't 

 know just how inclusive or exclusive that 

 "prepared" or that '"special" is meant to 

 be; but with me any fuel that may be con- 

 sidered reasonbly fit for smoker fuel — such 

 as chips picked up from the woodpile, with- 

 out any preparation — will burn in a stand- 

 ing smoker till burned out. [Just so here. 

 Any fuel with us, unless it be positively wet, 

 will keepburning in any of our smokers, kept 

 right side up, providing, of course, it has 

 been well lighted. A p3or fuel may not ig- 

 nite, and consequently may cease to burn, 

 simply because there was not a bed oi live 

 coals. When a smoker has plenty of fire 

 in the bottom of it I never knew one of ours 

 to go out in the open air except for want of 

 fuel; but any smoker, if put into an inclos- 

 ed box where drafts are all shut off, maj' 

 go out. — Ed.] 



"One main fault with the Crane and Cor- 

 nell smokers is that the spring inside the 

 bellows is too strong for nice working-." 

 Correct. That stiff spring makes the hand 

 very tired if much smoking has to be done 

 in the course of a day. But if the spring 

 is too weak the bellows will not be opened 

 by it; for unless you keep squeezing the bel- 

 lows pretty hard it will slip out of your 

 fingers and fall to the ground. I'll tell you 

 what to do: Send to the manufacturers or 

 dealers for a smoker with a light spring. 

 If you insist upon it you can get it. Then 

 nail upon the three sides of each bellows- 

 board at the edges little cleats J+xIs inch 

 or larger, and see how nicely it works. 

 Don't trust to the groove cut in the bellows 

 with its smooth rounding edges. It's the 

 sharp edges of the cleat that count. Some 

 day the manufacturers will learn to put on 

 such cleats. [I believe, doctor, you are 

 exactly right, and it will not be my fault 

 if, in 1903, both of these features are not 

 incorporated in the new smokers made by 

 our company. — Ed.] 



"The Crane has the additional fault of 

 the valve, which I consider of no particular 

 benefit." Why, doctor! That valve gives 

 you the benefit of the full strength of direct 

 draft without having smoke sucked back 

 into the bellows, thus making the Crane 

 more economical than the Clark. 



"When well crusted with creosote it be- 

 comes a nuisance indeed." Right. 



"Its position and manner of fastening 

 make it a bad job at cleaning, and few peo- 

 ple would fool with it." I suppose you 



