1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1267 



BEE-KEEPING IN ALASKA; PREVENTING HONEY 

 FROM CANDYING IN THAT COLD CLIMATE. 



I find that setting a can of honey for a number 

 of houis in hot water prevents it from candying, 

 the length of time depending, of course, on the 

 heat of the water; and as the general public does 

 not kno« emmgh to follow instructions concern- 

 ing heating, it stands nie in hand to do the heat- 

 ing before I sell. 



Now, suppose I can rent a heated room from 

 the heating-plant — will that be as good? and how 

 long should I keep it in a room of a given heat.? 

 Would 120 degrees for 24 hours be too much or 

 better than 12 hours at 140 or 6 hours at 160.' 

 Any heating I have done so far has, if any thing, 

 improved the honey; but I am wary of making 

 an experiment on a big scale where there is so 

 much at stake. I have had honey here two win- 

 ters without candying, and during one of the 

 winters we had the mercury down to 65 below 

 zero for three days, 50 for one month, 40 for two 

 months, and zero to 20 above for the rest of the 

 season. How is that for high .? 



Fairbanks, Alaska. Wm. Lawsov. 



[We should say, "How is that for loiv ? " 

 Well, we can't beat it in any portion of Uncle 

 Sam's domain south of Canada. As to the heat- 

 ed room, if you can maintain a temperature of 

 120 F. for 24 hours, or 140 for 12 hours you 

 might be able to liquefy the honey; but if it 

 were candied solid, and there were a large bulk 

 of it, the portion in the center might still be in 

 a more or less solid state. Generally speaking 

 we would advise melting a smaller quantity in a 

 smaller vessel, and for a shorter time. 



But say, friend Lawson, we should like to hear 

 more about your Alaska bee-keeping. How do 

 J ou winter in so cold a climate.? What are 

 your honey sources, etc.? — Ed.] 



A PLAN FOR FINDING BLACK QUEENS. 



I have four colonies of Italians and nine of 

 black bees which I wish to Italianize next season. 

 I have so much trouble to find black queens that 

 I wish to know if the following plan would 

 work. Form nuclei of the Italians about 

 swarming time, then set a nucleus over each 

 black swarm with wire cloth between for a cou- 

 ple of days. Then set the old hive to one side 

 and put the nucleus in its place till all field bees 

 have left the old swarm. Then I can easily find 

 the black queen and destroy her and unite the 

 young bees and brood with the nucleus. Would 

 the old black bees be likely to kill the Italian 

 queens? Would it distuib them very much if 

 done during a honey a harvest ? 



Sodus, N. Y. Mrs. Wesley Grinneli. 



[The plan that you speak of would work, only 

 we would advise that you cage the Italian queen 

 at the time of uniting with the black bees. A 

 much simpler plan of finding such queens is to 

 use perforated zinc. If you own an Alley trap 

 or entrance-guard, put it over the entrance, shake 

 all the bees in front; or, better yet, move the old 

 hive off its stand and put an empty one in its 

 place with perforated zinc or entrance-guard over 

 the entrance. Now shake all the bees in front, 

 putting the combs in the new hive on the old 

 stand, and, last of all, dump the bees out of the 



old hive. The bees will rush into the new hive; 

 and by closely watching you v^iil shortly be 

 able to see the queen in her vain endeavor to 

 pass the metal. She may now be picked off and 

 killed. Indeed, it is not even necessary to watih 

 for the queen. Shake the bees in front of the 

 hive, and then come back in the course of fifteen 

 or twenty minutes. Most of the bees will have 

 gone inside. The few that remain outside can 

 be driven in with smoke, after which the queen 

 can be easily located. — Ed.] 



DO YOUNG BEES KILL THE OLD ONES WHEN 

 THEY CAN NO LONGER WORK? 



I have been observing some things about bees 

 which indicate that they "make way" with the 

 old folks when they consider them past useful- 

 ness — i. e., the workers. Do they? I don't 

 think I ever read anv thing of the kind. 



Cincinnatus, N. Y. Emmet B. Kibbe. 



[Young bees never kill off the old ones unless 

 they are structurally defective in some way. 

 After a good heavy honey-flow there will be many 

 bees that have so frayed out their wings by hard 

 toil that they are no longer able to fly. These, 

 the other bees will carry away and drop; and, 

 being unable to fly, they can not crawl back. 

 In this there is not the slightest trace of grati- 

 tude, but, instead, we have an illustration of the 

 principle of the "survival of the fittest." Old 

 bees in the hive that are able to go to the field 

 may remain so long as they can gather nectar. — 

 Ed.] 



cloth covers for extractors not liked. 



On page 1596, 1907, I notice an illustration of 

 a co'-uer for a honey-extractor. I am sorry to see 

 you pass it by so lightly in your footnote, with 

 the suggestion that a cloth top is "just as good," 

 and that most bee-keepers use them. What I wish 

 to say is, that such a co\er as illustrated is almost 

 a necessity, and a much-needed improvement, 

 and, when properly made and closely fitted, is 

 worth $2.50 to any one who owns an extractor, 

 and it need not cost to exceed one dollar in the 

 making of the machine 



Not all have mouse-proof houses for machines^ 

 and I have found, in leaving a cloth over the ma- 

 chine over night, as many as four dead mice in 

 my extractor. The mice readily gnaw holes 

 through the cloth. 



The cover illustrated, as well as an extractor, 

 being capable of holding five or ten gallons be- 

 low the reel, is a practical necessity. Of course, 

 the producers can have these extras made after 

 they get the machine, but at a great additional 

 expense. I am simply disgusted with cloths and 

 rubbers sent with machines. 



Brighton, Col. Walter Martin. 



[We should be pleased to hear from others on 

 this point. If there is a demand for a mouse- 

 proof cover it can be furnished. — Ed.] 



extra-yellow ITALIANS. 



I am sorry for the bad reports we read of the 

 goldens. I find one on p. 988, Aug. 15. I find 

 them the gentlest bees of all. My experience is 

 that blacks are cross, hybrids crosser, Cyprians 



