GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1919 



T 



C 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane 



^^^^^^^^ 



HAT ac- 

 count of 

 alumin u m 



combs by E. E. 



Eoot, page 10, is 



fine. Now, it 



may be true that 



bees will breed 



and store honey 



in such combs; 



but one thing is certain, when such combs 



get clogged with old hard pollen and other 



refuse we cannot scrap them into beeswax, 



which we find very convenient to do in the 



case of all-wax combs. 



Perhaps a word or two about bees flying 

 late in the season will be in order. I do 

 not think brood has anything to do with it, 

 as the brood is usually all hatched in this 

 section by Sept. 25 and so could not in any 

 way influence the flight of bees two months 

 later. If the temperature is low all thru 

 November as a year ago, bees will fly spar- 

 ingly on some of the warmest days, as was 

 the case in the fall of 1917. But if the 

 weather is cool thru late October and till 

 the latter part of November, and then there 

 comes a warm, sunny day, with the ther- 

 mometer up to 60 degrees in the shade, bees 

 will fly a great deal, as was thei case this 



year of 1918. 



* * * 



That article by J. F. Kight is of much 

 scientific interest, as showing the possi- 

 bility of curing American foul brood in the 

 early stages of this disease. However, its 

 practical value does not seem large, as 

 probably not one beekeeper in a hundred 

 would discover this disease until past cure. 

 I tried curing a few colonies of this dis- 

 ease more than 40 years ago by cutting out 

 the very few cells I found, but without suc- 

 cess. It was a rule of Moses Quinby years 

 ago to destroy any colony in which even one 

 cell of diseased brood was found. 



* * * 



I have received from O. F. Fuller of 

 Blackstone, Mass., a beautiful sample of 

 clethra honey. It is of fine color and 

 quality. He informs me that some beekeep- 

 ers have received from this source as much 

 as 300 pounds from a single colony. This 

 plant thrives from Maine to Florida near 

 the seacoast. Another species that grows 

 into a tree is found in the Central States 

 and still another on the Pacific coast. 

 « « * 



The possibilities of pound packages, as 

 given on pages 12 and 13, certainly seem 

 great. The prophecy of yesterday becomes 

 the realit}^ of today. A dozen years ago 

 flying machines were little more than a 

 dream; today they are a reality as truly as 

 automobiles. We anticipate great things 

 from this source, in the near future. 



* * * 



That hive illustrated on page 18 is a sky- 

 scraper, sure, for we can see where the up- 



1 



%J 



per story touch- 

 es the sky at 

 the t p f the 

 picture. Well, 

 if beekeepers do 

 not produce 

 more honey this 

 year than ever 

 before, it will 

 not be the fault 

 of Gleanings in Bee Culture in trying to in- 

 duce them to do so. Such pictures are a 

 healthy stimulus. * » * 



I was reading in an old book some time 

 ago of a wonderful remedy for many kinds 

 of the troubles from which mankind suf- 

 fers. It might almost be called a panacea. 

 It should be in every family and neighbor- 

 hood. It is especially valuable where two 

 or more beekeepers are trying to cover the 

 same territory. It is easily remembered: 

 "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

 [You have quoted the best authority on 

 earth. But out in California and Australia 

 they are looking about for some law-made 

 assistance in "such cases thereto pertain- 

 ing- ' ' You may recall also something about 

 trusting the Lord but at the same time 

 keeping one's powder dry. Isn't it time for 

 a little powder, possibly? — Editor.] 

 » * * 



"Can Bees Hear? Who Knows?" page 

 23, January Gleanings. Yes, sir, bees can 

 hear; else why do they use different sounds, 

 one for anger, one for joy, another for a 

 call, and, perhaps, many we do not under- 

 stand? If honey is coming in freely, we do 

 not need to open a hive to find it out, for 

 we can tell by the sounds that come to us 



from the a^^iary. 



* « * 



Dr. Miller, I believe, is the first to give 

 the correct temperature for the cellar win- 

 tering of bees (see page 24). He says: 

 ' ' Find out at what temperature bees are 

 ouietest bv your thermometer in your cel- 

 lar, and then try to hold it there, keeping 

 in mind that Mrs. Demuth says a lower 

 temperature is needed towards spring. ' ' 



* * * 



My experience has been that for bees 

 wintered outdoors there is much less dan- 

 ger of starvation when on seven or eight 

 combs than when wintered on ten combs. 

 They need much more honey in the larger 

 hive to make them safe. If wintered in the 

 cellar, the same rule will hardly apply (see 

 page 24). ^ ^ ^ 



December, 1918, was much milder than a 

 year ago, tlie thermometer scarcely getting 

 down to 10 degrees, while in December, 

 1917, there were several mornings when it 

 registered from 12 to 25 degrees below zero. 



* * * 



"It has always been my father's rule," 

 says C. 'Donnell, page 19, ' ' never to mind 

 how much honey he gets, but how well the 

 bees are supplied with it for their long win- 

 ter rest. ' ' A good rule. 



