GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



Gleanings In Bee Culture 



E. R. Root 



Editor 



A. I. Root 



Editor Home Department 



H. H. Root 



Ass't Editor 



Department Editors: — Dr. C. C. Miller, J A. Grebn, Prof. A. J. Cook, J. E. Crane, " Stenog," Louis H. Scholl, 



G. M. DOOLITTLE, R. F. HOLTERMANN, W. K. MORRISON. 



CONTENTS OF JANUARY 15, 1909 



EDITORIAL 47 



Honey, Liquefying 47 



Spacing Combs for Winter 47 



Alfalfa, Bulletin on 47 



Drouth of 1908 47 



Bee-keepers' Review 47 



Weber, Death of 48 



Bees, Shaking to Stimulate 48 



Doolittle's Book 49 



Alexander's Writings Reprinted 49 



STRAY STRAWS 50 



Sugar, Cane and Beet 50 



CONVERSATIONS WITH DOOLITTLE 51 



SIFTINGS 52 



Cans, Old, Selling 52 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE SOUTHWEST 53 



GLEANINGS FROM OUR EXCHANGES 54 



Shafta', a New Clover 54 



Sunflowers 54 



Reclamation Service Attacked 54 



Hasterlik's Book on Honey 54 



Bees on Fruit 55 



Mouth of Bee 57 



Syrup Fed in Winter 59 



Honey, Fancy, from Box Hives 60 



Honey, Comb vs. Extracted 61 



Bees Moved Short Distances 63 



HEADS OF GRAIN 64 



Overstocking in a Buckwheat Country 64 



Queen in Wrong Hive 64 



Colonies Grouped Close for Winter 65 



Honey, Profits on 65 



Tariff on Honoy Not Favored 65 



Chicago Bee-keepers' Meeting 66 



Humming in Cellar, Cause of 66 



Sealed Covers v. Cushions 66 



Clover, Alsike and Red Not Hurt by Drouth 66 



Drouth, Summer v. Fall 67 



San Francisco Quotations 67 



OUR HOMES 68 



Celery in Florida 69 



POULTRY DEPARTMENT 69 



Gate for Chickens 70 



Basswoods Planted in Fall 70 



FIRST LESSONS IN DAIRYING. 



Milk production is one of the great and rapidly growing in- 

 dustries of America, and naturally it calls for a literature of its 

 own. Some remarkably scientific works on the subject have 

 been prepared of late years, and of practical books many have 

 been written and published. But there was a pressing need 

 for a plain simple work suitable for the average farmer who 

 'oes not understand mucti about milk, but who wishes to 

 learn some of the fundamental principles. It was for just such 

 a class that Prof. H. E. Van Norman's book, " First Lessons in 

 Dairying," was written. The information given is couched in 

 plain simple language easily understood by the average farm- 

 er. It is not a large volume, but it is quite extensive enough 

 to give a lot of valuable information on the subject, whi.h all 

 proiu'ers of milk should possess. It explains the secretioii of 

 milk by the cow, and gives the latest knowledge of the chem- 

 istry of milk. " Creaming," a process not usually understood 

 by dairymen, is satisfactorily explained, and this is appropri- 

 ately followed by a chapter on cream-ripening, in which the 

 philosophy of the fermentation of milk is clearly explained. 

 Churning is fully dealt with, nothing of real importance to a 

 practical man being omitted. Some clear-cut ideas on the 

 marketing of dairy products are presented, and these Slone are 

 worth the price of the book. There is a chapter on equipment 

 that is common sense and to the point. The Babcock test is 

 explained, and the details of butter-judging are given very ac- 

 curately and clearly. There is a short cnapter on the history 

 of modern dairying in America, and, lastly, a summary of the 

 various causes which lead to bad results in Jiandling milk and 

 butter. In short, this book is a sort of guidepost to dairy work 

 which may be readily carried in one's inside pocket while at 

 work on the dairy farm. It would be a good thing if many 

 dairymen would commit this book to memory. As a result we 

 should get better milk. 



until a business has been built up in which farmers have great 

 faith. We presume the other seeds sold by this house are 

 raised with equal care. Send for the Ratekin seed catalog be- 

 fore you forget it. 



' A SUCCKSSIUL SEED-HOUSE. 



For some years the famous Iowa seed-house of Ratekin has 

 been utilizing a space in these pages each spring, and evident- 

 ly to the entire satisfaction of many readers who have sent or- 

 ders there. A great specialty of this house is fine seed corn. 

 Around the home of the business, Ratekin has educated the 

 farmers to grow strains of corn solely for his farmer trad?, until 

 this section has become famous far and wide for its splendid 

 seed corn. For a quarter of a century he has been doing this 



FINE STATIONERY PAPER. 



Quite possibly you have never given any thought to the qual- 

 ity of the stationery used by you in correspondence. Like 

 many others you may have left that matter entirely with your 

 printer, who, in turn, charged you a price that would allow him 

 to furnish the best paper; but, unfortunately, he chose to sup- 

 ply you with a second-rate quality. This is a common prac- 

 tice. There is only one way to circumvent this, and that is to 

 find out for yourself what fine paper really is, and be your own 

 judge. As a preliminary step we would suggest that you write 

 to the makers of the " Hampshire Bond " papers which are ad- 

 vertised on another page. They will send, on request, sam- 

 ples of their high-grade papers which will probably convince 

 any skeptic ihat it is worth while to order the very best paper 

 obtainable. While the price of these high-grade papers may 

 be a little more, the quility is so much better that one does 

 not hesitate to pay the difference, and your local printer will 

 probably charge enough to pay for the best, any way. In any 

 event, we are inclined to believe that, when you have care- 

 fully examined the " Hampshire Bond " papers, you will in- 

 struct your stationer to furnish you no other. The best is none 

 too good, even for a bee-keeper with a small trade. It is 

 worth while to write to the paper company just to see the dif- 

 ference between good and bad paper, and we hope you will do 

 this. 



shijmvvay's seeds. 

 Again we have with us for another campaign the well- 

 known seedsman R. H. Shumway. His name has a familiar 

 sound to many of those who purchase seeds, as he is one of the 

 leaders in the seed trade. He sends his see< s far and wide 

 over this continent, but the Mississippi Valley more particu- 

 larly, as his seeds are of a hardy kind, and suitable to both ex- 

 tremes of temperature. It is needless to say that Mr. Shumway 

 issues a fine catalog, which will be mailed free to all appli- 

 cants. He is always to the front with desirable novelties 

 which are likely to hold the interest of all garden-makers. He 

 has also a Very complete line of farmers' seeds which have 

 been found worthy of extensive culture in the temperate zone. 



