BEE CULTUKE 



Published by The A. I. Root Company, Medina, Ohio 



E. R. ROOT, Editor A. L. BOYDEN, Advertising Mgr. 



H. H. ROOT, Asst. Ed. J. T. CALVERT, BUSINESS MQR. 



A. I. ROOT, Editor of Home Department 



Vol. XXXVI. 



FEBRUARY 15, 1908. 



No. 4 



Simv^wMzs I 



is/- Dr. CCfilLLER 



If Jay and the "other" two dogs experi- 

 ment any more as on page 145, please print 

 conclusions only in copy of Gleanings sent 

 to me. Circumstantial details are too hard 

 on suspender buttons "in this locality." 



One of the weakest points in the produc- 

 tion of comb honey in Quebec has been the 

 production of combs attached only to the 

 bottom and sides of the sections, p. 153. How 

 under the sun do they keep the bees from at- 

 taching them at the top? 



The editor of Canadian Bee Journal hav- 

 ing objected that comb honey was unwhole- 

 some because the wax had to be melted in 

 the stomach, D. Anguish comes at him in this 

 wise: "For my part, I think that is where 

 the unhealthy part comes in with your cus- 

 tomers — heating them vip so hot as to melt 

 the wax." 



A PAIR OF FOWLS Valued at $2000 were on 

 exhibition at the Chicago show. An ordi- 

 nary queen bee sells for about the same as a 

 pair of ordinary fowls. If a queen of great 

 value were rated at $2000 the idea would be 

 hooted. But why should there not be the 

 same difference between the common and 

 the best in bees as in fowls? 



G. M. DooLiTTLE, p. 143, grudgingly admits 

 that drones help keep up heat in a hive from 

 which a swarm has issued, when the work- 

 ers are few. Friend Doolittle, wouldn't 

 drones help just as much to keep up the 

 heat "when the workers are few" in a weak 

 colony in the spring, or at any other time? 

 Oh ! ' ' workers are better for that, ' ' are they ? 

 Then why not after swarming? 



As POSTSCRIPT to hot-air liquefying, p. 145, 

 which I suppose is valuable because of its 

 slowness, let me advise those with only a 



small quantity to liquefy, to set it on the 

 reservoir of the cook-stove, where it may 

 take three or four days to liquefy, but can 

 never be overheated. [Yes, the reservoir on 

 the back of the stove is the handiest place; 

 but, unfortunately, only a very small quan- 

 tity of honey can be reliquefied there.— Ed.] 



"Labeling the weight," p 141. Does 

 that Nebraska law really demand putting 

 the weight on a section of honey? Does it 

 not refer to packages already put up? If a 

 grocer weighs a pound of coffee, and wraps 

 it up, is he obliged to label it? Does a sec- 

 tion of honey come under the head of "pack- 

 age of food," if not previously wrapped 

 up? [We do not see any thing in the exact 

 wording of the law. page 141, that warrants 

 your conclusion. When the law is not spe- 

 cific it is wise to err on the safe side — Ed,] 



What good reason is there for having 

 more than J in. space between bottom-bars? 

 [We suppose you mean J inch on a vertical 

 line between the bottom-bars. Such close 

 spacing would be decidedly objectionable if 

 used in sectional hives; for it is desirable to 

 have bottom-bars narrow enough so that one 

 can look up between the combs when the 

 brood-chamber is lifted up. With wide bot- 

 tom-bars leaving only J-inch space it would 

 be difficult to arrive at any conclusion as to 

 the condition of that particular sectional 

 brood-nest. — Ed. ] 



"With the system of lifting up the part- 

 ly full super and placing the empty one 

 under, one has to be very careful or too 

 much room will be given. In this case the 

 sections will be light weight, and poorly at- 

 tached to the wood, so they will not stand 

 shipment as they should," Review, 13. Be- 

 fore using bottom-starters I had trouble with 

 sections that would not stand shipment; with 

 bottom-starters I can not see how such a 

 thing is possible. One of the first things the 

 bees do is to fasten the two starters together, 

 and, so far as concerns the comb breaking 

 out of the sections, they would ship in per- 

 fect safety when less than half filled. 



C. P. Dadant, American Bee Journal, 15, 

 objects to the attempt to have two queens 

 working in a hive, risking the life of one or 



