1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



129 



In good seasons, and away from the coast, 

 sage honey, if of good body when taken from 

 the hives, will remain in the liquid state for 

 years; but if it is not thick at first it will candy. 

 Even bean honey, if heavy in body, will remain 

 in the liquid state for months; but if it is thin at 

 first it will candy in a few weeks. 



ABSORBENT CUSHIONS. 



Here in California absorbents would be of 

 benefit; for if a cover or cloth is lifted during 

 December the under surface will be covered with 

 great drops of water, and the combs will be wet. 

 1 have many times found combs affected by this 

 dampness; and as I have five chaff hives on hand 

 I intend to test the effect of proper absorbents 

 and will report the results later. A limited up- 

 ward ventilation leaves colonies in rather better 

 condition here. 



EXTRACTING -SUPERS GIVEN FIRST TO COMB- 

 HONEY COLONIES. 



Dr. Miller is right in what he says on p. 1441, 

 Dec. 1. Several years ago he asked in Glean- 

 ings why it would not be well to put extracting- 

 supers on comb-honey colonies at first to get the 

 bees started above, and then, when the bees were 

 well at work in them, to remove them and put on 

 the sections. I wrote him at the time that this 

 had been my practice for years. By this plan 

 my light-amber honey is put into the extracted 

 form, and the colonies are left in the proper con- 

 dition for comb-honey supers, because the good 

 forces of bees spread out more evenly over all the 

 sections for the white-honey flow. Furthermore, 

 by putting on all these extracting-supers of work- 

 er comb, the queen fills a part of these combs 

 with brood, and this means that in the lower 

 story the combs are filled with brood to the 

 top-bars, so that the colonies are in much better 

 condition to occupy the sections. 



I often replace these extracting-supers with 

 two 32-section Danzenbaker supers, and the 

 bees occupy the whole, so that in three to five 

 days I can add a third Danzenbaker super, put- 

 ting it on next to the brood-chamber. I can con- 

 tinue this tiering-up as the colony requires the 

 room, always putting the empty one next to the 

 brood. In this way the sections are much more 

 evenly filled out through the whole super. I put 

 on the extra supers when the last ones given are 

 about one-fourth to one-third drawn out, in order 

 to avoid crowding the queen too much. 



I have experimented extensively by raising the 

 extracting-super first put on, placing the comb- 

 honey super underneath; but I found this an ex- 

 pensive plan because it resulted in a loss of part 

 of the crop. The trouble is that the bees cluster 

 only in this extracting-super; and on this account 

 I now remove the extracting-super entirely, and 

 I give the extra brood which it contains to weak- 

 er colonies that are run for extracted honey. 



There is another advantage in this plan of tier- 

 ing before mentioned, and that is that the lower 

 super of sections is never capped next to the 

 brood; and this, of course, results in whiter cap- 

 pings. The last super taken off must, of course, 

 be capped next to the brood; but by this time 

 the brood is crowded down so that the combs 

 may contain sufficient stores for winter. 



I do not allow bees to cluster out during the 

 honey-flow except during times of excessive heat. 



as this idleness causes too much of a loss of sur- 

 plus honey. 



To get the most out of an apiary, the producer 

 must know the condition of each individual col- 

 ony. One can not always judge by outside ap- 

 pearances as to the strength; many times I have 

 found a colony inactive, and with but few bees 

 at the entrance; but the raising of the cover 

 showed the hive boiling over with bees that were 

 crowding out with honey. Such- apparently in- 

 active colonies are the ones that do the work too. 



Our honey-flows require my constant attention 

 to see that all colonies ace properly supered. I 

 could double my crops if I could attend person- 

 ally to every individual colony in all my apiaries. 



Ventura, Cal. 



««» 



WHY NEW HONEY-CANS SHOULD 

 BE WASHED. 



How to Dry the Inside of a Five -gallon 

 Can; a Reply to R. A. Burnett. 



BY ALLEN LATHAM. 



On page 29 the assertion is made by Mr. R. 

 A. Burnett that " Water should never reach the 

 inside of a tin package that is to contain honey 

 . . . A can should be simply shaken, and any 

 matter that may be loose in that way may be re- 

 moved, and then the honey put in." May I ask 

 Mr. Burnett how the dirt which is not loose is 

 gotten rid of? Is tin plate so immaculately 

 clean that it never needs washing? The men 

 who make the tin cans may not be Immaculately 

 clean. 



With all due respect for the judgment of Mr. 

 Burnett in other matters, I think he is in serious 

 error here. Let him or any one else who doubts 

 me try this simple experiment: Select a new can 

 which has never been washed. Pour boiling wa- 

 ter into it and thoroughly rinse it. Pour this 

 water out and note its turbidity. Try to make 

 a suds in this water. Note its hardness. Mr. 

 Burnett may like to eat honey from such a can, 

 but not I. 



These cans are made by men the vast majority 

 of whom chew tobacco. These cans have all 

 their seams wiped with a vile brush wet with a 

 solution of zinc chloride (a poisonous salt). They 

 are all made from tin which, though for the most 

 part largely handled by machinery, is frequently 

 touched by men with grimy hands — hands be- 

 fouled'with dirt distasteful to eye and taste. 

 With all justice to these workers, does Mr. Bur- 

 nett think that one of them would wash off the 

 spot if he by chance spat tobacco juice upon the 

 inner surface of a tin can, when that inner sur- 

 face was only the side of a sheet of tin? 



It is all nonsense, this idea that a tin can is not 

 safely washed. Even if it were not dried, and 

 were immediately filled with honey, no harm 

 could come. If the honey were well ripened it 

 would take care of a teaspoonful of clean water 

 left in the can. But it is a simple matter to dry 

 such a can. 



Some seven years ago I moved from Massa- 

 chusetts, and left some bees on the old place. I 

 also left 14 five-gallon cans there to take care of 

 the honey produced. The tenants complained 

 about the bees, and 1 removed the same, leaving 

 the cans till I should need them. These earn? 



