224 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr 15 



has been using this " eice " for years, which is no 

 small recommendation. It may also be " invert- 

 ed and used above in spring, for tucking in wraps 

 and making all snug and comfortable." 



Air, water, food. Can't live five minutes 

 without air; not very long without water; much 

 longer without food. Air and water cost noth- 

 ing; food comes high; yet most of us suffer for 

 lack of air and water, and eat twice as much food 

 as is good for us. Funny, isn't it.^ [It is funny. 

 The whole science of healih depends upon the 

 right proportions of each of these items Our 

 journals and newspapers should warn their read- 

 ers, and while they are about it they should have 

 something to say about patent medicines. Some 

 of them do. — Ed ] 



Emmet B. Kippe refers to a Straw, page 1487, 

 Dec. 15, 1908, and says last summer 3 out of 9 

 (|ueens were found dead in their cages after hav- 

 ing been left over frames 3 da) s. That suggests 

 caution, but it surprises me. The Abbott plan 

 is to put the caged queen in the hive, leave her 

 there 2 days, and then remove the old queen and 

 let the bees at the candy. What killed Mr. Kib- 

 he's queens.' The bees could not get at them to 

 kill them, and with candy they could not starve 

 Were there escort bees in the cage, and did they 

 make the trouble.'' 



Wesley Foster, vou concede entirely too 

 much when you say, " There may be some lines 

 of work that require all one's thought." No 

 matter what the vocation, the man who gives it 

 his whole thought, day in and day out, is mak- 

 ing a bee-line for the dotty- house. The man 

 who wants to get the most out of his bees, to say 

 nothing of getting the most out of life, should 

 have something else to engage his mind, whether 

 it be fighting saloons or potato-bugs cultivating 

 children or chickens — something to relieve his 

 mind from the one steady strain, and all the bet- 

 ter if it be something to make the world brighter 

 and better. 



A new way of getting queen-cells in quantity 

 is given by Hans Pechaczek, Biene?:- Valer, 247. 

 Let the best queen fill a frame with eggs. When 

 the oldest larvx are a day old, cut the cells into 

 strips somewhat Alley fashion, only don't cut 

 through the septum. With a narrow chisel scrape 

 away between the strips, making sure to leave no 

 eggs or larv;t. Destroy eggs or larva in every 

 alternate cell in each strip. Put this frame flat- 

 wise over a strong colony having no queen or 

 open brood Let it be raised just enough above 

 the top-bars so that there shall be room to build 

 down queen-cells, not allowing the bees to get at 

 the upper side of comb. 



Knapp says, Leipz. Bztg., 14, that if a colony 

 is moved before or after Augus.t, many field bees 

 return to the old stand — in August, almost none. 

 I wonder how much is in that. [This seems 

 reasonable to us; for the inference is that, during 

 ihe month of August, the field-bees are worn out 

 and are conspicuous by their absence. Either 

 before or after that month they would be very 

 much in evidence, and, of course, if the colony 

 were moved it is these fielders who would go 

 back to the old location; but if, on the other 

 hand, as suggested, they are worn out by their 

 season's toil, and were no longer present, then it 

 is conceivable that a colony in which they had 



previously been active factors could be moved 

 anywhere, because it would consist largely of 

 young blood. This, however, is a matter that 

 would vary according to locality. — Ed.] 



The drink habit is shortening the lives of 

 thousands. The lack of the drink habit is short- 

 ening the lives of a much greater number. All 

 depends on the kind of drink. Very few bee- 

 keepers drink intoxicating liquors; but not one 

 in ten drinks all the water he ought. If you 

 would like to live a good while, get into the habit 

 of drinking, not merely coffee or other hot or 

 sweetened drinks, if, indeed, it is wise to drink 

 any of these, but cold water — lots of it. The 

 habit, mind. [Although you do not say so, we 

 are of the opinion that the drinking of water 

 should take place an hour after or half an hour 

 before meals rather than at meal times. We un- 

 derstand that the taking of a small quantity of 

 liquid at meal time is not particularly harmful, 

 but that the swallowing of three or four cups of 

 coffee, or an equal amount of water, while eating, 

 interferes very materially with digestion. Many 

 people drink only at meal times. It shouhl, 

 rather, be the other way. Are we not right, doc- 

 tor.?— Ed. ] 



The average value of a colony of bees in the 

 United States, according to Dr. Phillips' figures, 

 p. 189, is $2.48. As we know that thousands of 

 colonies are sold at two to four times that price, 

 in large portions of the country a colony must 

 be valued at much below $2.48 — perhaps h ilf 

 that. That seems astounding. It must be that 

 the real value is not appreciated. Possibly there 

 is error in the figures. If so, no doubt the c- n- 

 sus is at fault, and not Dr. Phillips. [It is prob- 

 able that the United States statistics relating to 

 the honey business are not altogether accurate — 

 at least in some of their details. Indeed, Dr. 

 Phillips himself, in referring to the honey and 

 wax crop of the United States, in the bulletin 

 from which we gleaned these facts, says: " In the 

 light of evidence previously given, it is obvious 

 that the census figures are entirely too small, and 

 are far from doing justice to the industry." If 

 the honey and wax figures are too small, t e val- 

 uation per colony may be likewise low. — Ed] 



" The double-tier case has much in its favor," 

 p. 191. Thanks, Mr. Editor. Please tell us the 

 comparative cost of the single and double tier 

 24-section case. I think I'll use the double-tier 

 case hereafter, if it doesn't cost too much more 

 for the single-tier. [We do not find the double- 

 tier cases listed in some of the bee supply cata- 

 logs; but in talking with our Mr. Calvert he says 

 the cost of the single and double tier cases of the 

 same capacity and for the same sections will be 

 about the same. The double- tier takes more 

 glass, and the single-tier slightly more lumber. 

 One would just about offset the other. 



But it appears to us that it is not a question of 

 single versus double tier, but it is a question of 

 wooden versus corrugated-paper cases. If the 

 latter will almost if not entirely eliminate all 

 breakage, and can be sold at approximately the 

 same price, it is apparent that the old-style pack- 

 ages will, in a few years, be conspicuous by their 

 absence from the market. Apparently it is much 

 more feasible to make a single tier case out of 

 corrugated paper than a double-tier. — Ep.] 



