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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



THE PREVENTION OF SWARMING IN RUNNING FOR 

 EXTRACTED HONEY. 



In this issue we have two quite notable arti- 

 cles, one by W. Z. Hutchinson and the other by 

 E. D. Townsend, on the production of extracted 

 honey, giving methods in connection therewith 

 for the prevention of swarming. We tested mod- 

 ifications of these in our own yards some years 

 ago, and we found them eminently successful. 

 The drawing of the brood from the lower story, 

 and putting it into another upper story, gives the 

 queen more laying room and breaks up very 

 largely the tendency to swarm, for the time be- 

 ing. Of course, the swarming problem is com- 

 paratively simple in the production of extracted 

 honey; but there are some methods that are 

 more satisfactory than others, and among the 

 former may be named those advocated by the 

 writers above. 



THE APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE. 



Nothing will be done by the present Congress 

 with regard to the above-named reserve, as pro- 

 posed by its advocates. Judge J. J. Jenkins, 

 chairman of the House Committee having the 

 matter in charge, reported that, so far as he and 

 his committee could see, to create such a reserve 

 was not a function of the United States govern- 

 ment unless it could be shown that it would have 

 a beneficial effect on navigable rivers whose 

 sources lie in the mountains intended to be re- 

 served. This will hardly kill the project, be- 

 cause one of the objects of the proposed reserve 

 is to protect the flow of the rivers by keeping 

 back floods and letting down water during dry 

 spells. It is the most gigantic enterprise ever 

 proposed by any government, as it would eventu- 

 ally cost 1000 million dollars, and stretch for 

 1500 miles, from Maine to Georgia or Alabama. 

 Nearly 1000 commercial organizations reported 

 in its favor, and the general attitude of Congress 

 is favorable; but it is too large an enterprise to 

 be setded offhand. It would be a grand bee- 

 keepers' reserve. vv. k. m. 



SOUTHERN BEE CULTURE. 



Mr. J. J. Wilder, the aggressive and enter- 

 prising apiculturist of Cordele, Ga. , has recently 

 entered the lists of bee authors and publishers by 

 the introduction of a new book on bees and bee- 

 keeping with the title of " Southern Bee Culture," 

 published by The A. I. Root Co. There was a 

 distinct need of such a book, for in recent years 

 we have had no work dealing specifically with 

 bee-keeping as it is practiced in the great and 

 beautiful southland we know as Dixie. We are 

 of the opinion this new work will fill all require- 

 ments, as it is written by a Southern man of great 

 experience and practical knowledge; besides, he 

 has added, to his own observations, communica- 

 tions from well-known Southern bee-keepers, 

 such as Mr. Louis H. Scholl, of Texas; Mrs. 

 Mary L. Hawley, of Oklahoma; Messrs. Worth- 

 ington and Smith, of Mississippi; Messrs. Craw- 

 ford and Dawson, of Louisiana; Messrs. Bearden 

 and Forehand, of Alabama; Messrs. Chatham 

 and Simpson, of South Carolina; Mr. C. C. 

 Ramsey, of North Carolina; Mr. T. S. Hall, of 

 North Georgia, and Messrs. Hirheny and Tuck- 



er, of Florida. In this way the book covers a 

 wide field with accurate information as to the 

 bee-keeping possibilities. 



Over a great portion of this territory the bee- 

 keeping resources are imperfectly developed or 

 not at all. There are still far too many bee- 

 keepers in the South who use "gums" — not 

 hives. These have the merit of being cheap, but 

 they get "cheap" results. Mr. Wilder address- 

 es himself to this class, and the instruction he 

 gives is plain and practical. He eschews all su- 

 perfluities, and deals largely with the practical. 

 His aim is, evidently, to advise the beginner; but 

 many others will find the book readable and in- 

 structive — more particularly those who would 

 like to move to a new location in the South. 



The pages are about the size of these, and 

 there are 150. The price is 50 cents in paper 

 covers, which we think is reasonable, for the 

 book is well printed on good paper, and fairly 

 well supplied with suitable illustrations. \v. k. m. 



EXTRACTED-HONEY PACKAGES; PREVENTING 

 LEAKAGE AROUND THE CAPS. 



At the last convention of the Northern Mich- 

 igan Bee-keepers' Association, held at Mancelo- 

 na, April 8 and 9, a very interesting discussion 

 took place on the general subject of putting up 

 extracted honey. In answer to the question, 

 " How can honey be prevented from oozing out 

 around the screw-caps of pint-cans.'" the follow- 

 ing plan was given: 



Fill the cans with honey, and place them in 

 water heated to 160°. While they are still hot, 

 put on the caps and turn them down as far as 

 possible, being careful meanwhile to have every 

 thing level, so that the honey may not wet the 

 rubbers. After the cans are cool, the caps may 

 be turned down a little more; and if the rubbers 

 during this time have been kept dry there will be 

 no leakage. 



In Northern Michigan, considerable honey is 

 put up in tumblers, and there were several plans 

 given for making the caps tight. One member 

 advised brushing the insides of the caps with 

 melted paraffine and then applying them to the 

 tumblers which had meanwhile been filled and 

 cooled. With this plan no paper is used. 



Another used paper disks cut about half an 

 inch larger in diameter than the top of the tum- 

 bler. These were dipped in hot paraffine, instant- 

 ly applied to the tumblers, and crowded down 

 over the tops with hot caps. Parchment paper 

 was used. Ordinary paraffined paper would not 

 do, since it must be wet with hot paraffine at the 

 time it is put on. 



Mr. C. F. Smith, of Sheboygan, uses no par- 

 affine at all, and still has no leakage. He pro- 

 cures a special crinkled paper like that used as a 

 lining for sugar-barrels, and the disks made of 

 this are crowded on the tops of the tumblers un- 

 der tightly fitting caps. With this plan, and, in 

 fact, with any similar plan, it is important that 

 the tumblers be uniform in size, so that there 

 may be no variation in the fitting of the caps. 



Corrugated paper should be used under and 

 over the jars in the crate, and the cover of the 

 crate should then press lighdy on the corrugated 

 paper in order to prevent any possible loosening 

 of the caps during shipment. 



