NOVKMKICK, I'JIO 



G T. E A N T N O S IN B E E C FT L T U K E 



723 



A^o. 



C 



ur 



LL readers of 

 leanings 

 will be glad 

 to know that E. 

 R. Boot has re- 

 covered from a 

 serious trouble, 

 after passing 

 thru "the valley 

 and shadow of 

 death/' Long may he live. 



The annual meeting of the Vermont Bee- 

 keepers ' Association was held on Sept. 24 

 at the large and convenient home of G. F. 

 Hendee in the town of Pittsford. The at- 

 tendance was good. The hospitality of Mr. 

 Hendee was unbounded. The topics dis- 

 cussed were of much practical value. Mr. 

 Selser of Philadelphia was present and add- 

 ed much to the interest of the occasion. The 

 larger crops of honey during the last few 

 years, and the higher prices obtained for it, 

 have very decidedly increased the interest 

 in beekeeping in this section. A goodly 

 number of women were present. 



* * * 



The necessity for the use of brown sugar 

 by many beekeepers raises a new problem. 

 How can we make the bees take it? I 

 prepared syrup enough for one yard, two 

 pounds of brown sugar to one of water, the 

 same as I have prepared syrup from white 

 sugar. I sui^posed the bees would under- 

 stand that white sugar was scarce and that 

 they must use this new kind of syrup. But, 

 "no, sir"; they refused, or took it so slowly 

 that the ground would freeze long before I 

 could finish feeding, and many colonies were 

 starving. What should I do"? There was 

 no time to lose. Well, this is what I did. 

 Having been able to secure some light sugar, 

 I mixed this with the dark, and then added 

 one pound of honey to each ten pounds of 

 syrup. I put in also a little more water in 

 order to make the syrup somewhat thinner, 

 as bees will take a thin syrup better than 

 a thick one. Then my troubles seemed to 



be over. 



* * * 



In that interesting account of field meet- 

 ings by E. E. Root, pages 643 to 647, we are 

 told that B. F. Kindig "showed that the 

 beekeepers of Michigan in the fight on bee 

 diseases had many times been treating for 

 American when they really had European 

 foul brood. He went on to state that there 

 is a malignant stage of European that 

 looks very much like the American type." 

 This is quite as true of Vermont as Michi- 

 gan. I have about come to the conclusion 

 that the same treatment should be meted out 

 to it that we give to American foul brood. 



« 4f- * 



When one reads thru a bee journal he is 

 struck with the numerous troubles of bee- 

 keepers, especially in wintering; and he is 

 ready to ask why bees could not have been 

 made like ants, freezing up in the fall, 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane 



1 



LJ 



thawing out in 

 the spring, and 

 then going to 

 work. How 

 niiu-h honey it 

 would save. Then 

 to go farther, 

 wliy should we 

 be vexed with 

 insects that de- 

 stroy our fruits and grain? Why the thou- 

 sand and one things that make life a con- 

 stant struggle? Is it not that we may be- 

 come strong and develop into the highest 

 manhood and womanhood? Were it other- 

 wise, should we not become shiftless and 

 weak and as non-resistant as the grownup 

 babes of Paradise, about whom we read in 

 an old-fashioned book. 



* * « 



Something new is that Standard Honey 

 Grader, advertised on a cover page of the 

 October issue of Gleanings. Its value is too 

 apparent to need discussing. If it can be 

 had at a price that the average beekeeper 

 can afford, there need be no misunderstand- 

 ings in the future about the grade of honey 



bought and sold. 



* * * 



The illustration and description of Root 's 

 bee-cellar, page 637, makes us almost envi- 

 ous. Think of being able to place several 

 hundred hives in a clean dry cellar of even 

 temperature, away from frost and snow and 

 cold rain and sleet, for four or five months. 

 Isn't it great? But I am consoled when 

 further on the writer says, ' ' If you are win- 

 tering well outdoors, do not change over to 

 cellar wintering, even tho you might there- 

 by save a half of your stores. ' ' Thank you, 

 our bees winter very well outdoors. 



* * « 



That house-apiary described by H. W. 

 Scott of Barre, Vt., is one of the best I have 

 seen. After inspecting several house-apiaries 

 and nearly breaking my back in trying to 

 get into some of the hives, I had come to 

 have a rather unfavorable opinion of them. 

 In some places such houses seem almost a 

 necessity, and it is a comfort to know that 

 they can be made a success. 



* * * 



Dr. Miller says, page 658, that bees do 

 not always clean up extracting combs when 

 placed on top of a hive above an empty 

 super. Well, they do not always do it here; 

 but, as a rule, they do. By the way, I have 

 had a number of inquiries as to how to get 

 bees to take honey out of unfinished sec- 

 tions. Of course, if any honey is sealed, it 

 should be uncapped, then placed above the 

 brood-chamber and empty super, and laid 

 down flat. If the honey is first placed in a 

 damp place so as to absorb some water, the 

 bees will be still more willing to remove it. 



* * * 



Most of the beekeepers I consulted at our 

 state meeting reported one-half to three- 

 fourths as much surplus honey as last year. 



