190V 



(^LI-ANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



39 



might be well to gi\e one comb to one colony 

 and see if there were any bad effects. Meanwhile 

 keep all of the other combs, etc , away from any 

 robbing bees. 



3 If you do not give too many combs to one 

 colony the bees will clean them out, even though 

 there were dead bees in the cells. — Ed.] 



A MODIFIED ALEXANDER STRAINER. 



The illustration shows the honey-strainer that 

 I have used for 3 years. A rack should be made 

 of two sticks long enough to reach across the top 

 of the honey tank or can. Cut notches in these 

 sticks near each end, then nail two sticks between 

 them the right distance apart so the strainer will 

 tit in between, as shown. 



-^-i^f^i ^'-i 5t^._: ~-:::^ - 



To clean the strainer, put a bee-escape board 

 with the escape left out over a colony; then put 

 on an empty hive-body and set the strainer over 

 night. It will be cleaned in fine shape by morn- 

 ing. 



In lighting a smoker some are bothered by the 

 match going out dropped in the cup. I take 

 enough soft wood to cover the grate and then 

 drop in a lighted match. I then add some hard 

 wood, leaving the cover open while I adjust my 

 veil. With this plan, the bellows should not be 

 touched. I can't remember having it fail. I 

 can see that greasy waste should light quick, but 

 I have never tried it, as, in the country, wood is 

 easier to get. Irving Kenyon. 



Camillus, N. Y., Sept. 28. 



SHALLOW SUPERS PREFERRED. 



I notice in your editorial, page 1244, Oct 15, 

 that you are trying and recommending the shal- 

 low extracting-supers. After using thousands of 

 the deep supers in extracting in Southern and 

 Central California I think I can get better results 

 from the shallow super. I use a plain frame 5^ 

 deep. 



I start my comb-honey hives, in the spring, 

 with a shallow extracting-super, as we have a 

 light How before the main honey-flow in this part 

 of California. I can also grade my honey better, 

 for I believe in ripe honey. 



Paicines, Cal., Nov. 3. G. W. Moore. 



[The shallow extracting-supers are very handy 

 for getting bees into the habit of going above 

 with their surplus; then after the seasoi is well 

 on, comb-honey supers can be 

 substituted. This plan gives 

 us both comb and extracted 

 honey. — Ed.] 



CABBAGE PALMETTO YIELDS 

 HONEY THAT SOURS QUICK- 

 LY; SAW PALMETTO HONEY 

 EXCELLENT. 



Cabbage- palmetto honey, 

 s;a'ed and unsealed, will foam 

 as though fermentation were 

 in progress ; that taken from' 

 the combs unsealed will ftr- 

 ment enough to deprive it of 

 all honey flavor, but the sealed 

 only foams. Thin and acrid, 

 and amber in color, it will 

 flow bubbling from the cells 

 behind the knife, and it is not 

 a rare thing to see gas bubbles 

 under the cappings of the scal- 

 ed cells. Whether the colo- 

 nies are strong or weak, it is 

 always the same, when the bees work on the cab- 

 bage trees, as the common palm tree of Florida is 

 called. The name comes from the fact that the 

 bud in the head at the top of the tree is eaten in 

 lieu of cabbage. 



The saw-palmetto bloom is decidedly different 

 in the nectar it yields. Saw-palmetto honey, 

 even unsealed, may be called a good honey; and 

 it is, too. When ripened it is a honey that makes 

 a name for itself when enough care is taken by 

 the producer to have it unmixed with other nec- 

 tars. 



I write from personal experience on the east 

 coast of Florida, on the 28th paralell of latitude. 



L. K. Smith. 



BEET SUGAR FOR FEEDING BEES IN SWEDEN. 



Referring to Dr. Miller's request about sugar, 

 I will say that here in Sweden beet sugar is pro- 

 duced to meet the needs of the country, and lit- 

 tle or no cane sugar is imported. We have thus 

 no sugar to feed our bees but beet, and the bees 

 do well on this. I feed every autumn about 

 1000 pounds to 60 or 70 colonies. I pay about 

 8 cents a pound for sugar, and get about 17 cents 

 for extracted honey. J. Enclund. 



Kulla, Hjelstaby, Sweden, Nov. 13. 



CONDITIONS IN OKLAHOMA. 



I have read nearly every thing in the ABC 

 book, and have seen several copies of your journal; 

 and in all of this reading I have not seen the word 

 Oklahoma in print — not even in the advertising 

 columns. This, together with the fact that my 

 neighbors tell me that honey bees can not be 

 raised here, is very discouraging to a beginner. 

 They tell me that bees have been tried repeatedly 

 here; and in Harper Co., Kan., just north of us, 

 every trial was a failure. It is said that the high 

 winds blow the bees so that they can't get back; 

 that the open winters induce the bees to fly al- 



