Iit08 



GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTURE. 



433 



day by one man. Out of the 

 crop of 12,000 sections the past 

 season, I have had in propor- 

 tion fewer iruperfectly finished 

 than ever before. 



Our bees did very well the 

 past season. From a little over 

 •200 colonies I took 12.000 sec- 

 tions and 4 tons of extracted 

 honey. I did all the work and 

 manipulating myself, up to cas- 

 ing and extracting. I am 64 

 years yoiaig. 



Meridian, Idaho, Jan. 22. 



[We had quite forgotten the 

 fact that Mr.Yoderdescribeil this 

 same method of using sheets 

 of foundation cut to a scant 

 fit, nearly four years ago. In- 

 deed, his method is similar to 

 the one that we have been ad- 

 vocating of late, except that he 

 advises fastening on only thi'ee 

 sides, leaving the bottom un- 

 touched. We are inclined to 

 believe that he is right. 



The use of full sheets of foundation cut to 

 a fit, will, if the buckling difficulty can be 

 overcome, give a more nearly fancy grade of 

 honey than where a small starter is used, or 

 a full sheet leaving a bee-space all around it 

 except, of course, at the top. While Dr. 

 Miller's method of using two starters, one at 

 the top and one at the bottom, makes a good 

 fastening at the base, it still leaves a chance 

 for pop-holes and bee-spaces in the comb at 

 the sides. It occurs to us that it might be 

 possible for us to combine the Yoder and the 

 Miller method, using two starters both cut 

 a scant width of the section, but so as to 

 leave a small gap between when fastened in 

 the sections. Of course, it goes without say- 

 ing that a close fitting sheet of foundation in 

 a section while on the hive must be held 

 perfectly square, leaving no chance for the 

 foundation to buckle. — Kd.] 



tpr 



?1"«EV CO. 



tLO.nk OGDEH. UTAH 





HONEY 



EXHIBIT AT THE STATE FAIR IN SALT LAKE 

 CITY, UTAH, SEPT. 30 TO OCT. 5. 



we took orders for twice the amount on dis- 

 play, which we shipped down after the fair 

 closed. 



Ogden, Utah. 



THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE HONEY- 

 BEE. 



Pure Races should be Selected, since the 

 Good Points of tliH Crosses may Not be 

 Perpetuate d ; Not Desirable to Breed for 

 too many Points. 



BY C. F. BENDER. 



HONEY EXHIBITS AT FAIRS. 



A Successful Display at Salt Lake City. 



BY F. W^. RKDFIELD. 



At our exhibit at the State Fair in Salt 

 Lake City this year, Sept. 30 to 0(^t. 5, we 

 had 13 observation hives of bees, a large 

 assortment of goods at each end of our 

 space, besides a big display of honey. The 

 picuure does not du justice to the exhibit, as 

 so little of it can be seen. The comb-honey 

 house was lit up with electric lights, and 

 showed off to good advantage. The decora- 

 tions were in puiple and gold, the same col- 

 ors that we use on our labels for tins, ihe 

 space occupied was 30 by 15 feet, and our 

 display drew more people than any other on 

 the grounds. The walk was continually 

 packed with people admiring the honey, 

 over $50 worth of which was sold right there. 

 The rest went at the close of the fair, and 



I have had good results from careful breed- 

 ing, taking a good strain to begin with, and 

 1 see no reason why any painstaking person 

 could not do the same. There are a few, 

 even among the ranks of oee-keepers, who 

 argue that there is nothing in selection, ei- 

 ther natural or artificial — that the Creator 

 made bees with certain instincts which can 

 not be removed or changed. To such I have 

 little to say, except that it does not appear 

 that way to me. 



If we are to get any great results from 

 breeding we must decide what qualities we 

 are to breed for. We must select one race 

 of bees, and confine our efforts to that race 

 alone. A first cross may sometimes be bet- 

 ter than either race composing it; but such 

 results are not permanent, and can be made 

 so only by a long course of selection. 



The leather-colored Italians are, I think, 

 the best race to begin with. There are so 

 many things to be considered in deciding 

 among the different races that I can not give 

 my reasons here; but after a fair trial I must 

 give them the decided preference. They are 

 good to begin with, but we want them bet- 

 ter. We want them, 1. To store more hon- 

 ey; 2. To cap it whiter; 3. To swarm less; 

 4. To sting less; 5. We want to make them 



