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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



hing of other hives can be entirely overcome. 

 Indeed, one can do extracting at such times with- 

 out a robber appearing, even though it be during 

 a dearth of honey; but for the purpose of ex- 

 tracting, one should use honey diluted with wa- 

 ter. 



The scheme we had in mind, however, for 

 emptying out old combs containing odds and 

 ends of honey, and perhaps a sugar syrup which 

 can not be marketed, is on a plan somewhat mod- 

 ified from those described above. Our Mr. Mell 

 Pritchard, who has charge of our north yard, 

 had quite a lot of combs, some of them filled 

 with the sugar-and-honey mixture — a combina- 

 tion which, obviously, can not be used for the 

 market. He did not care to mess up the extract- 

 or, as he had only a few of them; and even if they 

 were extracted they would be wet; and when the 

 bees cleaned them up they would put some hon- 

 ey back into them again, and, besides, some of 

 the combs would be undesirable, fit only for the 

 melting-tank. He placed a number of these 

 about nightfall in front of the hives, one frame 

 in front of each entrance. A little later, after a 

 few bees had clustered on the combs, he put them 

 in hive-bodies and carried them about a quarter 

 of a mile from the apiary, and set them down. 

 The next morning those bees, filled with honey, 

 of course, flew homeward and deposited their 

 loads, and went back for more, and so until the 

 combs were completely emptied. 



But you may say that this operation involves 

 as much work as the use of the extractor. Per- 

 haps; but it has the merit of making a genuine 

 honey-flow so one can carry on some special 

 work in opening the hives which he may have in 

 mind. So far from making a general uproar it 

 makes absolute quiet in the yard, and takes care 

 of all the robbers. In this way Mr. Pritchard 

 emptied out quite a bunch of combs. Those that 

 were good he could use over again in feeding to 

 produce cells, and the others were consigned to 

 the scrap-pile, and melted up. 



But he had one other plan that worked very 

 well. He put a comb of honey in a shallow box 

 having a passageway connected with the entrance 

 of the hive. The object of covering the comb 

 was to keep away outside robbers, and at the 

 same time permit the inmates of the hive to rob 

 out the honey slowly. This comb feeder work- 

 ed very well, especially in the case of combs that 

 are imperfect, or which contain only a small 

 amount of honey. In fixing bees up for winter 

 it is not desirable to give combs containing only 

 a little honey. 



UNCAPPING-KNIVES; SHOULD THEY BE HOT OR 

 COLD FOR UNCAPPING.? 



We have been making some experiments in 

 testing hot and cold knives heated in hot (not 

 boiling) water, kept so in a pan over a small ker- 

 osene-stove. Where the honey is thick, and the 

 comb new, the hot knife is unquestionably better 

 than a cold one for taking ofl^ the cappings, for 

 the reason that the latter is (juite likely to break 

 down the cell walls of tender comb. When it 

 comes to old combs, a sharp keen-edged cold 

 knife will do very good work; but a hot blade, 

 not quite hot enough to melt the wax, will do 

 faster and better work. But the trouble is, the 



knife cools quickly, and then it must be exchang- 

 ed immediately for another one just out of the 

 hot water. This consumes time; and it is a 

 question whether, with old combs at least, some 

 of our producers would not think they could 

 work faster with a cold knife provided the edge 

 was very keen. We should like to get some ex- 

 pressions from our subscribers who have had con- 

 siderable experience in uncapping. 



THE TERRIBLE AFFLICTION THAT HAS COME TO 

 E. W. ALEXANDER. 



Our friends have probably noticed that Mr. 

 Alexander has not written very much of late. 

 This has been owing to his poor health. But 

 we did not suppose that there was any thing seri- 

 ous until the following letter came. 



We wrote Mr. Alexander, asking certain ques- 

 tions, and toward the close of his letter, which 

 was dictated, he writes: 



Friend Ernest: — This is the first letter I have tried to dictate in 

 a long time. I have been sick — oh, so sick ! — that I have been 

 able to walk only a few rods at a time around home. I returned 

 from the hospital on Friday, wheie I was attended by six of the 

 most eminent doctors and surgeons of this State. They all 

 agreed that my trouble was incurable ; that an operation might 

 prove fatal — it certainly could do me no good. They advised me 

 to go home, settle up my business, and live wholly for to-day. I 

 have not opened a hive of bees since they were taken from the 

 cellar last spring, and have been but very few times in the bee- 

 vard. E. W. Alexanhkr. 



Delanson, N. Y., July 29, 1908. 



We feel sure that all of our readers will be 

 very sorry to hear this. Mr. Alexander has been 

 a frequent and valued contributor, as many let- 

 ters that have come to this office testify. Only 

 three days ago Mr. Chalon Fowls, of Oberlin, 

 Ohio, a prominent producer of extracted honey, 

 remarked to H. H. Root, who was then visiting 

 him, that the Alexander strainer for extracted 

 honey was one of the best things he had ever 

 tried. As soon as he saw a description of it in 

 Gleanings he immediately had one made, and 

 found that it answered the purpose perfectly. 



There are several other useful devices as well 

 as methods of management that Mr. Alexander 

 has placed before our readers. While at times 

 he may not have seemed orthodox, yet it must be 

 remembered that he occupies a locality where 

 conditions are peculiar not to say remarkable. 

 Our friend is the only bee-keeper in the United 

 States who has ever been able to manage from 

 700 to 800 colonies all in one apiary. Others 

 have had as many as 500. While his location is 

 peculiarly favorable for the keeping of a large 

 number of bees in one place, yet the mere fact 

 that his neighbors, with practically the same en- 

 vironment, do not keep more than 200, would 

 seem to argue that there must be something in 

 his management. He has freely given us of his 

 ripe experience covering man)- years, and many 

 who are using his ideas will hold him in grateful 

 memory. 



We desire at this time to pay tribute to a real- 

 ly great bee-keeper before his career shall be 

 closed for ever. We say "great" because he is 

 great in many ways. He is a broad-minded, 

 large-hearted, lovable man, and many have been 

 the pleasant hours we have spent with him and 

 his family. To see and know the man has been 

 indeed a privilege. 



