• DELVoTED 

 •■fo'BE.E.S> 



•.-.NDHoNEY 

 «i\nD HOMEL 



•1NTE.FIEST.S 



'ublishedWTHfAll^OoYCO. ■ , 

 $i°°P[RYtAR.'^'\@"nEDlNA-0HlO- 



Vol. XXX. 



NOV. I, 1902. 



No. 21 





Floor-boards have rotted as much dur- 

 ing- the past season as in ten ordinary sea- 

 sons. So much wet. 



That electric railway for out-apia- 

 ries, p. 857, seems to be a fine thing. Won- 

 der what I could buy one for. 



October 15 I saw bees working- on red 

 clover. [Red clover is a honey-plant that 

 hang's on pretty late. I too have seen bees 

 working on it up to time of frost. — Ed.] 



The coming winter must do a lot of 

 killing-out if there is to be no clover next 

 year. At present the ground is beautifully 

 carpeted with a luxuriant growth. [Same 

 here, and, in fact, the same condition is re- 

 ported throughout the rain-belt. — Ed.] 



Rambler reports, p. 861, that he smoked 

 his first cigar without the least nausea. 

 Now the question is, what was that cigar 

 made of? or else what is Rambler made of? 

 In any case, A. I. Root might offer him a 

 smoker to swear off. [But Rambler says 

 he did swear off. — Ed.] 



"Honey is capped whiter," is a claim 

 made for forced swarms, p. 864, and it is 

 made in such a way as to be understood as 

 meaning whiter than with natural swarms. 

 It is capped whiter than in a hive with 

 black combs, but no whiter than in a hive 

 with a natural swarm. 



Rambler's slate, page 860, speaks of 

 "honey, white, thin, tart," and a few words 

 further along about "extracted honey only 

 27 cts. per gal., 2 cts. per lb." That last 

 makes 13^2 pounds to the gallon ; and if 

 "thin" honey weighs that, what does 

 thick honey weigh in that "locality"? 



Phacklia, introduced from California 

 into Germany, seems to be constantly grow- 

 ing in favor. Its praises are sung in all 



the bee journals, as a forage and honey 

 plant, and also for plowing under green. 

 Sown in early September it blooms about 

 Oct. 20, rather late to benefit the bees. It 

 can not endure German winters, but the 

 self-sown seed comes up in the spring. 

 [See what Cowan says of it in this issue. — 

 Ed.] 



G. M. Doolittle gives, p. 847, the full- 

 est expose, I think, I ever saw of the vari- 

 ous causes of having combs in sections built 

 to separators. As I read it over, it occur- 

 red to me that for years I had had no trou- 

 ble of that kind to speak of, whereas for- 

 merly it was unpleasantly common. I think 

 the secret of it is bottom starters. With a 

 bottom starter present, the bees fasten the 

 two starters together about the first thing, 

 and then there's no chance for the section 

 to be swung over to the separator. 



Shook swarms are being pretty thor- 

 oughly shaken up just now ; and while 

 the shaking is going on it would be well if 

 the question covild be settled as to whether 

 it is best or not to have a frame of brood 

 given to the swarm. Will the bees often 

 desert without it? I used to give such a 

 frame and then take it away a few days 

 later, as almost invariably the bees started 

 queen-cells on it. It is just possible, how- 

 ever, that if it had been left there would 

 have been no swanning notwithstanding 

 the queen-cells. 



A BLEND of honey, as favored on p. 855, 

 if kept the same from year to year, is cer- 

 tainly' better than to change abruptly from 

 clover to basswood or something else; but if 

 3'ou had to change from one kind to another 

 3'Ou"d have to change the blend as well. 

 No doubt, however, the change in the blend 

 would not be so noticeable as the other. [If 

 one buys honey every 3'ear, and buj's a lit- 

 tle more than he actually produces, as we 

 do, it is quite an easy matter to keep the 

 regulation blend. If you every year buy a 

 little alfalfa and mix it with your white 

 clover and cucumber, even if your clover did 

 fail you, or your cucumber, the alfalfa fla- 

 vor being so pronounced and pleasant will 

 still pass muster with your old customers, 

 especially if they know you. — Ed.] 



