426 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 1 



will rust out in a little while if thus kept. 

 Oil prevents it. and does not evaporate. 

 Naples, N. Y. 



[We desire to indorse in the main the 

 statement made by our correspondent, es- 

 pecially when he says he prefers a paint 

 that will powder or chalk rather than one 

 that will scale off from the wood. A pure 

 lead, after it has been on for two or more 

 years, is liable to powder, while a lead-zinc 

 paint will scale. In most localities a pure 

 white lead will give better results than one 

 containing a percentage of zinc. The major- 

 ity of the I'eady-mixed paints contain some 

 zinc. The purpose of the latter is not to 

 adulterate or cheapen, but to give a harder 

 and glossier finish; but in localities subject 

 to a hot burning sun in summer preceded by 

 a large amount of huniidity, the zinc paints 

 should be avoided. While they give a hard 

 surface, that very hardness causes the paint 

 to flake off in scales; then when the wood is 

 repainted it has a smallpox appearance. 

 But that is not all. The paint that did not 

 flake off will, after the repainting, sooner or 

 later come off, taking with it the top coat. 

 On the other hand, if a pure lead paint be 

 used, when the surface becomes old it will 

 chalk off, or powder; but on a fresh appli- 

 cation of another lead coat this powder will 

 unite with the oil, serving to strengthen the 

 paint, making the surface smooth, and as 

 good as it was on the first coat. 



The first coat of any paint should be put 

 on very thin, as Mr. Greiner recommends. 

 The surface of the wood should be dry and 

 clean; the second coat should be put on 

 thicker, of course. In buying lead paints, 

 make the seller put up a guarantee to refund 

 the pay if the paint flakes off in scales at the 

 end of three or four years Another thing, 

 do not try to buy a cheap lead. The nation- 

 al pure-food law does not apply to any thing 

 but food and drugs, and the dealer may sell 

 you adulterated paints without fear of prose- 

 cution, hence make him put up a guarantee. 



As Mr. Greiner states, we have painted 

 hives while the bees were in them. The 

 alighting-boards are usually painted at night. 

 The paint will set enough before morning to 

 cause no inconvenience on the part of the 

 bees. 



This article is seasonable, because in the 

 spring, when it is too chilly to do other work- 

 in the apiary, one can paint ail his hives — 

 both occupied and unoccupied. 



We agree with our correspondent that it is 

 economy to use paint; for the high price of 

 lumber, which is constantly going up, makes 

 it more necessary than ever to preserve it. 

 Then if any one wishes to sell any colonies, 

 or his whole yard, nice bright painted stock 

 will bring a far better price than that which 

 is unpainted. 



Paint made of Portlandcement and oil has 

 been suggested several times in our columns. 

 See p. 280, Feb, 15, 1906; also p. 715, May 15, 

 1907. From tests that we have made, we 

 have concluded that such preparations are 

 worth investigating. — Ed.] 



Eleaiiinji$froiTiDurrorei9[|5(clianjK 



W^KJ^ORRisokfi: 



f^EDINA.OwO. 



We acknowledge the receipt of an excel- 

 lent annual report of work d ne at the agri- 

 cultural experiment station on the island of 

 Tortola, one of the Virgin Isles, West Indies. 

 It contains some excellent views of the island, 

 and is well gotten up. Tortola is excellent 

 for bee-keeping, and has the reputation of 

 being very healthy. It is easily reached via 

 St. Thomas, Danish West Indies. The price 

 of this report is six cents. 



A NKW WORK ON BEE IIISTOKY. 



We have received a small book contain'ng 

 a brilliant contribution to the history of bees 

 and bee-keeping from the earliest days down 

 to the present time by the editor of Pfaher 

 Bieninzi'itung . Mr. Ph Reidenbach. This 

 was originally given at the golden jubilee 

 celebration of the Pfalzer Bee-keepers' As- 

 sociation last summer. The author shows a 

 very comprehensive grasp of the whole his- 

 tory of bee-keeping, in addition to which he 

 wields a facile pen. The brochure is adorn- 

 ed with portraits of Georg Pictorius (1041 

 A. D.), Freiherr von Ehrenfels, Mehring, 

 Dzierzon, Berlepsch, and Leuchart The 

 work comprises only 44 pages; but the author 

 has managed to compress within the space 

 allotted to him a mass of valuable informa- 

 tion which required much research to dis- 

 cover. Copies may be obtained from the 

 office of the above journal at Rehborn 

 (Pfalz), Germany. The price is one mark. 



A SWISS APIARY. 



On the next page the reader's attention 

 is directed to the characteristic view of an 

 apiary in Switzerland, a country to which 

 all modern bee keepers look with veneration 

 as the classic land of bee-keeping— the home 

 and nativity of Huber, the prince of bee- 

 keepers. Switzerland, certainly, is a land of 

 science. No other country is so sincere in 

 its affection for the cause of truth. Of 

 course, it is a small country in area and pop- 

 ulation; but in ideas it is not small, and it 

 has given to the world a host of illustrious 

 men. At present it is a hotbed of advanced 

 ideas on bee-keeping, led on by such men as 

 Kramer and Goldi; and the Swiss never 

 seem to lack illustrious men to lead them 

 forward A few years ago they had Ber- 

 trand and Dr. von Planta. It would be a 

 grand thing if feverish America would catch 

 on and hold fast to the scientific spirit which 

 characterizes the Swiss people in all their 

 actions. 



