1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1447 



on a cold morning. Where do you find the ice? 

 Cover over your tub and see the difference. 

 Nothing is better than a warm tight top to a hive. 

 I shall not remove a cover or loosen one before 

 May 1. 



I can tell from the entrance whether a colony 

 is queenless. The loads of pollen indicate pros- 

 perity, and the exact condition can be read at a 

 glance. 



The only way to keep bees is to keep them at 

 the front. Let other matters take the side track. 



Bellevue, Neb. A. H. Hood. 



SOME EXPERIMENTS TO SHOW THAT BEES ARE 



ATTRACTED BY THE NECTAR RATHER THAN 



BY THE COLOR OF FLOWERS. 



On p. 1189, under head of "Are Bees Attract- 

 ed by the Color of Flowers or by the Nectar.? " 

 the idea is expressed by Mr. Buttel-Reepen that 

 bees are attracted by the color. I made observa- 

 tions and found that bees went to cosmos from 

 white to red, to African marigold, to the differ- 

 ent colors, from light yellow to dark brownish 

 red; to cannas, all colors; to dahlias, also to all 

 colors ranging from white to dark red. At dahl- 

 ias, however, bees often hesitated, coming from 

 the simpler kinds to those filled up more like cactus 

 dahlias. I have also seen bees going from yellow 

 flowers of one kind to yellow flowers of another 

 kind, but did not touch; for instance, from yel- 

 low dahlia they flew to the fall sunflower, and 

 flanked off when about one to two inches near the 

 flower. 



Bees have not hesitated at all or very little when 

 going from one flower of a certain color to the 

 flower of another color of the same kind of flower. 



Brooklyn, N. Y. Otto Reiner. 



PROPOLIS MIXED WITH WAX. 



I have to contend with a great deal of propolis 

 here when extracting. I scrape it off the frame 

 before uncapping, and it goes right in with the 

 cappings and through the solar extractor. I 

 wish to know if it mixes with the wax and thus 

 renders one liable to the penalty of adulteration 

 under the new law; and if so, how can it possi- 

 bly be avoided where there is much propolis.? 



Arizona. 



[If the wax from the solar ran out in a very 

 small stream, or in drops, it would chill before 

 any propolis could have a chance to settle. Un- 

 der such conditions, therefore, or when, for any 

 reason, the propolis is mixed with the wax, the 

 whole mass should be heated just above the melt- 

 ing-point of the wax, and cooled slowly, so that 

 the propolis may settle. — Ed.] 



LIGHT ITALIANS GENTLE. 



Every now and then I see you are not in favor 

 of the light-colored bees. People that see my 

 bees and what I am doing with them are surpris- 

 ed. A good many say they can't do what I do. 

 I have bees that I handle with my sleeves rolled 

 up, and bareheaded. D. E. Best. 



Best, Pa. 



[Not all strains of yellow Italians are cross by 

 any means; but it has been our experience and 



observation that most of them are. Not only 

 that, but some of them are short-lived, and poor 

 honey-gatherers. The trouble is, the rage for 

 color is apt to overlook some other desirable 

 qualities. — Ed.] 



AN entrance- CONTRACTOR THAT CAN NOT 

 BLOW AWAY. 



I use a bottom-board with %^-inch cleats on the 

 front, tapering down to ^ at the back of the 

 board, making an entrance ^4 by the width of 

 the hive. This size is used on good colonies for 

 June, July, and August, and also for the winter 

 months while in cellar. When I wish to con- 

 tract the entrance I use a notched stick held in 

 position in front of the hive by a super spring. 

 This is fitted between two small blocks y\X ?4 X 

 2)4, fastened to the hive with two screws which 

 hold the spring firmly. This entrance-block is 

 cut out on one edge Y^K^yi, on the other edge 

 >^X8. This is similar to the plan of E. H. 



^JVr/?A JVC£' Bl. OCK 



^A??S^4A^ 



c:£\ 



Clare, p. 235, although I use one spring and one- 

 block which will stay in position. Neither wind 

 nor chickens can remove it. 



A }i entrance suits me well in summer, and 

 for cellar wintering; and in fall or spring it can 

 be changed in an instant without hunting for en- 

 trance-blocks. A. Tien. 



Falmouth, Mich. 



[The contractor here shown is simple and good. 

 The ordinary hive super-springs would answer 

 very well to hold the contractor in place. But 

 such things would interfere with putting on Al- 

 ley traps should their use be deemed necessary at 

 any time. — Ed.] 



