1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



225 



SIFTINGS. 



By J. E. Crane, Middlebury, Vt. 



That pile of honey, p. 60, Jan. 15, looks large, 

 but it represents the cream of four colonies, 

 which would be but 19 lbs. per colony. 



Two cents a pound usually meets all expense 

 for freight, cartage, commission, insurance, etc., 

 here in the East where honey is sent to the large 

 cities — page 65, Jan. 15. 

 ■^ 



W. A. Pryal, p. 55, Jan 15, gives us some very 

 important facts that bees not only do not destroy 

 fruit but keep it from spoiling by cleaning up 

 such as the birds have broken into. That has 

 been my experience. But when he talks of bees 

 getting drunk from the alcohol of decaying fruits 

 I don't believe all I hear. 



SHAKING A FAD. 



It's amusing how many fads bee-keepers have 

 had in bee-keeping — hives without number, 

 frames in many forms; now this and now that; 

 and now it is shaking bees; and there is no doubt 

 that shaking at the right time and condition has 

 its advantages; but unwise shaking is almost sure 

 to result in harm; and unless one has had some 

 experience it is not certain what the result will be. 

 -^ 



WAX SECRETION. 



Mr. Aikin's articles in Jan. 15th and Feb. 1st 

 numbers of Gleanings give a good deal of food 

 for thought. I believe we are apt to overestimate 

 the amount of extracted honey a colony produces, 

 for, in my experience, such will usually be found 

 in September much lighter in stores than those 

 that have section-supers. There is also a great 

 difference in different colonies in the amount of 

 wax they produce in storing the same amount of 

 honey. Some build very thin combs, using the 

 least possible amount of wax, while others build 

 much thicker combs with any number of braces, 

 and then stuff the wax in all sorts of places to 

 get it out of their way. 



That automobile, page 83, Feb 1, looks prom- 

 ising. I believe the automobile has a great fu- 

 ture in our business. What we want is a car 

 that will carry at least a ton, and travel ten or 

 twelve miles an hour. It will bring outyards 

 much nearer, in time at least, and enable a bee- 

 keeper and assistant to accomplish much more 

 than is possible with horses, and more conven- 

 iently, as we may drive right into a yard without 

 fear of stings, loading and unloading at our lei- 

 sure. [Yes, there is a crying need for machines 

 of large capacity of moderate speed. Twenty- 

 fi^e miles maximum, with an average of fifteen 

 miles, is fast enough for even pleasure automo- 

 biles. For farm uses, slower speeds and lower 

 powers would be better and cheaper yet. — Ed.] 



4!- 

 A MARKET FOR UNFINISHED SECTIONS. 



I don't agree with Mr. Henthorpe, p. 64, Jan. 

 15, where he says that he believes " no honey 

 should be placed in regular grades that has, be- 



sides outside row, more than 25 unsealed cells." 

 There is here in the East in some cities quite a 

 large trade in unfinished sections. Those three- 

 fourths full, if half sealed, pass very well, and 

 sell for about two cents less a pound. 



A grocer buys one case of perfect combs for 18 

 cts., another for 16cts. per pound of those weighing 

 three-fourths pound, and a workingman comes 

 along. " How much for that fine honey.? " 



"Twenty-one cents," says the grocer. Mr. 

 'Workingman looks sad; and the grocer, observing 

 it, says," We have some here not very well fill- 

 ed, but otherwise just as good, which we are 

 selling for fifteen." 



The workingman remembers the leanness of 

 his pocket and the difficulty of getting work, and 

 takes the lean section, and his chlidren are happy 

 when they sit at their evening meal, and the gro- 

 cer has made even more on his investment than 

 if he had sold the heavy section, and the buyer 

 has as much or more for his money as if he had 

 bought the full section. But for all this 1 doubt 

 if it will pay the Colorado bee-keepers to send 

 such honey east. We eastern bee-keepers can 

 supply the demand. 



ABSORBENT CUSHIONS INSTEAD OF SEALED COV- 

 ERS. 



I don't agree with you, Mr. Editor, page 71, 

 Feb. 1, on sealed covers. It is true that, where 

 the cover is porous, the packing is often damp in 

 winter; but I much prefer to have the dampness 

 in the packing than on the sides of the hive and 

 combs. The packing dries out in early spring, 

 and is all right, and the packing directly over the 

 bees is rarely or never damp on the under side 

 next to the bees. 



Later. — I have just been out examining some 

 hives with porous covers, and find some moisture 

 around the edges of the packing; but the brood- 

 chambers are as dry and clean as in May or Oc- 

 tober. If a horse comes in wet in January we 

 do not cover him with an oilcloth and then a 

 blanket, but, rather, a nice warm woolen blanket 

 that will retain the heat and let the moisture es- 

 cape. The sooner we can get rid of the mois- 

 ture of a brood-chamber in winter the better. 

 [See what G. C. Griener says on sealed covers. 

 In this locality sealed covers give us better colo- 

 nies. — Ed.] 



However, I am interested in that hive hermeti- 

 cally sealed, and should like to watch it myself; 

 also that hive in your office. Mr. Arthur C. 

 Miller, of Providence, told me some two years 

 ago he had wintered nuclei perfectly in this way. 



RYE MEAL AS A SUBSriTUFE FOR POLLEN. 



I have supplied my bees with finely ground 

 rye, and they are busy carrying it in when the 

 weather is warm enough. I put it in shallow 

 boxes some little distance from the hives, and 

 have practiced this since I have kept bees. I 

 have not witnessed any bad effect from feeding 

 it. As soon as the bees will take syrup I supply 

 them with two quarts to the hive. I find that 

 the rye flour and syrup (made of granulated su- 

 gar) is of much benefit in the early spring. 



Kendallville, Ind. Chas W. Kriwitz. 



