1902 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



947 



EATING BOILED HONEY. 



People who can not eat honey raw can do 

 so by bring-ing it slowly to a boil, then 

 cooling-. I mention this because I never 

 saw it mentioned in a bee journal, and I am 

 one who has suffered a g-ood deal by exper- 

 imenting- in trying- to eat honey. 



I accidentallj^ found I could eat boiled 

 honey, and I eat as much as two large ta- 

 blespoonfuls at a meal. I am so glad that 

 I wanted others to know of it. 



Louis Lamkin. 



Sioux City, la., Sept. 22. 



[This fact is interesting and valuable. 

 We should like to hear from others who 

 have had difficulty in eating raw honey, 

 and whether or not bringing it to a boil 

 makes it assimilable to delicate stomachs. — 

 Ed.] 



yellow bees turning black, and why. 



I want to requeen a colony whose queen 

 was a nice yellow one, and raised bees that 

 were nearly all yellow, but which have 

 commenced to show considerable black; in 

 fact, some are nearly all black. I have 

 looked into the hive thinking they had prob- 

 ably superseded the old mother, but found 

 her there with her wings clipped as usual, 

 and could not find another, although she 

 might be there for all that. Before I put 

 in the new queen I shall certainly look 

 again to make sure. I hope you can give 

 me some explanation of this. 



W. H. Amiss. 



Washington, D. C, Sept. 18. 



[If the old queen is clipped, and her bees 

 heretofore have been yellow, without any 

 blacks among them, I should conclude that 

 she must have a daughter in the hive mis- 

 mated, which is the mother of those black 

 bees. It is not an uncommon thing, after a 

 queen has done duty for two years, to find 

 a young queen in the hive at the same time, 

 both laying side by side. I think you had 

 better look again, and see if you can not 

 find the second queen. — Ed.] 



STINGLESS bees; SOME OF THE CRUDE 



WAYS IN WHICH BEES WERE KEPT IN 



BRITISH HONDURAS. 



Bee-keeping here was known as far back 

 as the history of the colony, but, of course, 

 in a very crude way. The bees were not 

 thrown into boxes to build their combs, but 

 were kept in the logs in which they first 

 built, the honey being drawn at intervals 

 by probing into the log with a sharpened 

 stick. The interior of the native hive, or 

 log, consists of rows of galleries, the pillars 

 of these galleries being filled with honey 

 and pollen. They build cells in the center 

 of these galleries, which are used only for 

 breeding purposes. The yield of these 

 hives is hardly half a gallon per log. If 

 the hives are disturbed the bees pour out 

 from these galleries like an army of sol- 

 diers ready to defend their camp. After 

 close study and observation you find that 



the bees build in this form because it is 

 easy for defensive purposes, as they are 

 stingless. The bees are of various sizes 

 and colors, iind named as follows: 



1. The big bees which are of two colors, 

 yellow and gray. 



2. A big black bee which is about the size 

 of an Italian drone. The pollen-baskets 

 and honey-sacs of this bee can justly be 

 styled tremendous. The name of this bee 

 is unknown. 



3. A little black bee called the cymbra, 

 which is even smaller than a common house- 

 fly. These are hardy workers, and will 

 build in holes in brick walls or old lumber. 

 At the entrance to their hives they build a 

 shute of about three inches long and two 

 inches in circumference. 



4. A green bee which is called a "Mex- 

 ican," from its color. This bee builds in a 

 log. 



There are several other stingless bees, 

 but they are hardly worthy of mention. 



There is only one bee that stings — a red 

 one called akybra. It builds its combs in 

 trees, the cells being similar to those of the 

 Italian bee in shape. It is a savage when 

 disturbed, and people seldom bother it. 



Herbert Gahne. 



Belize, Central America, P^eb. 13. 



SWEET clover; HANDLES ON THE SIDES OF 

 THE HIVE. 



1. Dr. Gandy advises raising sweet clo- 

 ver for bees, and cutting it for hay. Can 

 the blossoms be left to mature the honey 

 crop, and the plant still be tender enough 

 for hay? 



2. Since the bees are sometimes crawling 

 all over the front of the hive, especially 

 when they are being divided, why are not 

 the handles placed in the sides of your 

 hives instead of the ends? 



Carrie E. Stewart. 

 Elkin, Pa,, Sept. 22. 



[1. Sweet clover, in order to make satis- 

 factory hay, should be cut when it is quite 

 young, or before it is in bloom. If the 

 plant is left until there is no honey in the 

 blossoms, and the blcssoms have gone to 

 seed, it will be too tough and woodj' to make 

 very good hay; but in the absence of any 

 thing else stock would possibly eat it. 



2. We furnish one pair of handles with 

 each hive. There is nothing to prevent any 

 one who receives them in the flat from nail- 

 ing the handles on the sides instead of the 

 front and rear if he so prefers. We prefer 

 the front, as it is harder to lift a hive with 

 the handles at the sides than to lift one by 

 the ends. — Ed.J 



the IMPORTANCE OF FEEDING TO GET THE 

 BEES KINDLY DISPOSED TO AN IN- 

 TRODUCED QUI':*N. 



Last week I received three queens from 

 Mr. York, which I introduced successfully 

 in the following way: I caught the queens 

 at the hives which I wished to requeen, 



