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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



643 



1 will do it this way: If they will topple over 

 w ith a space of 1 'z inches, what will they do with 

 a tiiree-inch space? I am not a convert to the 

 use of full sheets in seetions, and use a half-inch 

 starter, top and bottom. I have used many thou- 

 sands this way, and have never detected any tipsy 

 freaks in the lower starters. In a cool time the 

 bees will invariably begin at the bottom, and in 

 the T super they start earlier than in one with 

 slats. I think they will fill the T super earlier 

 than the others. The T super is warmer. In 

 building up from the bottom the bees start with 

 an extremely broad base, and usually are the full 

 width of the section, or 1 j^ inches thick when 

 not half way up. They make some drone comb 

 with a perfect union wherever the two parts meet. 

 This building from befow, in all cases that I 

 have seen, is caused by lack of heat in the upper 

 part of the super, while the sections or frames are 

 warm close to the cluster. Give me two starters 

 and T supers. I could give some fine samples of 

 up-building. 



Corona, Cal. H. M. J.^meson. 



[We would inquire whether this building of 

 the bottom starter first is not unusual. Is it true 

 that the T super is warmer than the other styles.'' 

 We can see no reson why it should be. It does, 

 however, permit the sections to stand closer to 

 the brood-nest, and this may account for the bees 

 favoring the bottom starter. — Ed.] 



TESTING PURITY OF BEESWAX. 



While this pure-food law discussion is on in 

 Gleanings as regards buying honey and not 

 knowing whether it is pure or not, how about 

 beeswax.' I buy more or less each year, and have 

 read all I can find in Gleanings, and will say I 

 believe I can tell adulterated honey before I could 

 beeswax. And after I have bought it and remold- 

 ed it, how can I come back on the man of whom 

 I have purchased h? He would say, "That's not 

 the wax I sold you." I don't know that I have 

 ever had any impure wax; but there is no telling 

 when I shall get it. S. A. Palmer. 



Liberty Center, O. 



[There ought to be no trouble if you keep a 

 small sample of every lot of wax you buy, as we 

 do. If you ever receive any complaints about 

 adulteration, have these samples analyzed; and if 

 you find one or more of them adulterated, hold 

 these parties w'ho sent them responsible, which 

 you can do under the national law. In buying 

 wax, look out for grease, as that is the most com- 

 mon adulterant. Avoid the purchase of cakes of 

 uniform color and size, and submit all samples 

 that do not show the proper fracture or break 

 test to the alcohol and water test. The specific 

 gravity of the mixture is made just dense enough 

 to allow a sample of pure beeswax to sink. Any 

 w-ax containing paraffine, ceresine, or grease, will 

 rise to the surface. — Ed.] 



HONEY AND SUGAR FROM SUGAR-MILLS; HOW 

 SHALL IT BE LABELED.' 



Since the pure-food law has gone into effect 

 I don't quite understand the ruling on labeling 

 honey. The honey I sell (which is a very small 

 quantity) is sold just as it is extracted from the 

 hives. The bees are never fed, but there are sev- 



eral sugar-houses within a few miles of my bees. 

 How shoidd my honey be labeled so as not to 

 cause me any trouble with the pure-food law.' 

 New Iberia, La. R. Sonnemann. 



[Under the circumstances we would consider it 

 advisable for you to submit several samples of 

 your honey to the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, Bureau of Chemistry, with an ex- 

 planation of the conditions surrounding you. It 

 may be that your bees do not gather any of this 

 sweet; or it is possible that they appropriate so 

 little of It that it would not show in an analyti- 

 cal test. If the government chemist advises you 

 that the honey does not come up to the United 

 States standard you will have to label it for just 

 what it is — honey flavored with New Orleans 

 molasses. Such honey ought to have a good mar- 

 ket with the large baking establishments. If you 

 sell it, sell it for just what it is; and we think 

 they will take it off your hands at a fair price. It 

 ought to make first-class cakes and cookies. — Ed.] 



A good honey-flow on the island. 



Our new Italians seem to be good workers. 

 To-day, April 20, we extracted 100 lbs. from our 

 island apiary; considerable from two and three 

 frame nuclei. Even the twin nuclei have some 

 combs full. It came from saw palmetto. 



Osprey, Fla. I. T. Shumard. 



[Since the above was put in type we have re- 

 ceived the following:] 



Mr. Root: — We have extracted 130 gallons of 

 honey this week. From your little friend 



Osprey, Fla., April 24. Clara Shumard. 



more about the honey-flow in FLORIDA. 



AJ?-. Root: — All your chickens are doing finely. 

 Their appetites are good. Eggs, 20 cts. We 

 are having a big honey-flow. My colony on 

 scales is averaging 8 or 9 lbs. a day— 44 '4 lbs. in 

 five days. I am a busy man now. 



Bradentown, Fla., Apr. 27. E. B. Rood. 



sweet clover. 



I want to say to you that I am a lover of sweet 

 clover. I am interested in it, not only for bees 

 but for hay and for stock of all kinds. It is bet- 

 ter for milk and butter than any thing else I can 

 find. My wife says it is better than all other 

 clovers. G. W. Mourn. 



Burrton, Kansas. 



A FEW BEE-KEEPERS WHO STILL SULPHUR-PIT 

 THEIR BEES. 



Although the time has come when hundreds 

 have found bee-keeping profitable, yet I am sorry 

 to say there are quite a number still living in this 

 beautiful State of Oregon who subject their bees 

 to the sulphur-pit. E. j. Johnson. 



Hillsboro, Oregon. 



SWARM TRAVELS 80 MILES. 



I notice lately some inquiry in regard to the 

 distance swarms travel. I remember seeing in 

 Gleanings some twenty years ago a report of a 

 swarm being traced in a desert in Colorado or 

 Arizona, nearly 80 miles. They rested two 

 nights and went on the next day. 



New Hampton, N. Y. E. D. Howell. 



