1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



251 



Heads of Grain 



From Different Fields 



HONEY LARGELY FROM ASTER SHOULD NOT BE 

 USED FOR WINTER SToRES. 



Some years ago I lived in a place where the 

 principal honey-tlow was from goldenrod and as- 

 ter. We usually had a little honey from fruit- 

 bloom, and a little later from an unknown 

 source; and about once in ten years we had a 

 flow from white clover. No one knew why the 

 white clover did not yield every year, for the 

 ground was often white with it. 



By extracting at the beginning of the aster 

 flow, and again at ils close, about Sept. 10, I was 

 able to get the pure aster honey. It is very 

 white, and has a mild Hivor It granulates solid 

 with a fine grain. Goldenrod honey granulates 

 with a very coarse grain; and, if pure, there is 

 much of it that does not solidify, but remains 

 liquid. Aster honey in any considerable quan- 

 tity is not fit to winter bees on, but I find that 

 goldenrod is fairly good. The only' way for me 

 to do was to set aside enough sealed goldeniod 

 honey for winter stores and extract the rest, 

 sometimes feeding sugar if there was not enough 

 for a winter supply. 



I averaged 35 or 40 pounds of this goldenrod 

 and aster honey per colony. This was not a 

 very large yield; but considering the short days 

 and the cool nights it shows that these flowers 

 contained a good deal of nectar. I believe that 

 many others could get fall honey if they worked 

 for it. 



Aster comb honey should be sold as soon as 

 possible, so that it may be used before it granu- 

 lates. It should not be sent to distant cities, for 

 it would then be held in stock by dealers. 



Plainfield, N. J. B. C. Whitney. 



RINSING 60-L8. CANS; ALLEN IATHAM's ADVICE 

 INDORSED. 



In Gleanings for March 1, p. 129, I read an 

 article by Mr. Allen Latham, which I enjoyed 

 because he has very ably and properly brought 

 me to task on the question of cleanliness, and I 

 now wish to say what I would have said in my 

 former article had I been sure that all honey- 

 producers would be as careful as Mr. Latham in 

 the preparation of the vessels that were to con- 

 tain their honey — wash them out; but I was of 

 the opinion then, and am now, that many of the 

 apiarists would not follow the method indicated 

 by him. I now think this will be sufficient to 

 pacify our friend; but yet I do not depart from 

 what I formerly said, that " where the water can 

 not be thoroughly dried out of the can it should 

 not be introduced." But I wish that all who 

 have honey that they wish to put in tin cans 

 would follow Mr. Latham's directions. 



Chicago, 111., March 6. R. A. Burnett. 



A NOVEL METHOD OF USING ELECTRIC LIGHTS 

 TO COAX BEES. 



About New Year's day a friend told us of a 

 bee-tree which he discovered in the fall. It was 

 an old hemlock on the side of a mountain. About 



Jan. 10 he called at our place and said that, in 

 passing along the road at the foot of the moun- 

 tain, he missed the old tree. We climbed about 

 a quarter of a mile over shingle rock and boul- 

 ders to the foot of the cliff wall, and there was 

 the old hemlock. It had broken off from the 

 weight of snow and the wind, and fallen about 

 fifty feet and lodged against some stunted trees. 

 We sawed it off above and below the bees, put 

 the section in a big bag, and took it home. We 

 certainly could not do any thing outdoors, as the 

 temperature was close to zero; so after working 

 our heads a while we tried the following plan: 



Our friend who owned the bees has a big stove 

 in his garage, and the room is lighted by eler- 

 tricity. We left the bees in the bag, still in their 

 native stump, till dark. We built a rousing fire, 

 and when the room was warm we placed a hive 

 on the floor, rigged two electiic lights on long 

 wires so as to be portab'e; put one inside of the 

 empty super on the hive, and placed the other 

 light close to the mouth of the hive outside. 

 Then with an ax we split up the stump and shook 

 the bees all out on the floor. The building was 

 hot and dark except for the one light at the hive 

 entrance, and in ten minutes we had a peck of 

 bees gathered around that light. We then turn- 

 ed that one out, and the bees could see a faint 

 light where the one inside of the super shone 

 down between the frames, and in ten minutes 

 more every bee was inside on the combs, in which 

 there was plenty for them to eat. They are now 

 in a dark cellar doing nicely, with some brood in 

 the hive. Bristol & Parkin. 



Meriden, Ct. 



PLENTY OF CLOVER WHERE THERE WAS SUP- 

 POSED TO BE none. 



Our prospect for white clover seems good 

 here. In places the ground seems to be carpeted 

 with the vines that recent rains have brought to 

 life. I was at neighbor Mitchell's two days ago, 

 and asked him if he had any in his yard. He 

 thought not. Between two bricks was a mass 

 grown up and tramped down, and it looked like 

 dead grass. On closer inspection we found it to 

 be white-clover vines, and they were putting out 

 tiny leaves all over. He had stepped on them on 

 the bricks hundreds of times without hurting 

 them. P. E. Cromer. 



Springfield, Ohio. 



PLACING THE WEAK COLONY UNDER THE STRONG 

 ONE INSTEAD OF OVER IT. 



A bee-keeper in England, p. 63, Jan. 15, says 

 that he has found the method of strengthening 

 weak colonies by placing them over strong ones 

 answers very well. But has he tried my plan of 

 placing the strong colonies over the weak ones? 

 If not, it may be good policy to do so. He may 

 be surprised to find this by far the better plan. 

 I have practiced both plans for several years, so 

 I know from experience. There are several good 

 reasons for placing the weak colony under the 

 strong one, and I know of no objections. If any 

 one can point out any objections to my plan I 

 should be glad to hear from such. I regard my 

 method as being as far ahead of the other as my 

 plan of treating foul brood is ahead of the shak- 

 ing plan. I say this notwithstanding Dr. Phil- 



