234 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Poisonous Spray During the Blooming Season In- 

 jurious to Trees as well as to Bees 



I was invited to make an address at the Stat« 

 horticultural meeting of Missouri, held in 1906 at 

 Moberly ; and while at that meeting I had the en- 

 dorsement of some of the very best horticulturists 

 present, that to spray with poisonous ingredients 

 during blooming time would destroy the prospect for 

 fruit on trees so sprayed. Mr. J. C. Evans, who had 

 been the president of the society for more than 20 

 years, and a man of very large orchard interest and 

 experience in spraying, stated that he had tried it 

 most thoroughly during the blooming period, and he 

 was entirely satisfied that it would kill the prospects 

 for fruit. 



One man having extensive orchard interests had 

 sent in a paper to be read at that meeting, and in 

 it stated that he did not know any reason why he 

 should not spraj- during blooming time, as he con- 

 sidered his orchard interests worth more than all 

 the bees around him, but also stated in his paper 

 that he had sprayed during blooming time; but for 

 some reason to him unknown his trees had set but 

 very little fruit. 



Mexico, Mo., Mar. 22. J. W. RouSE. 



Fruit-men Borrow Bees to Place in their Orchards 

 During the Blooming Season 



I am located right in the middle of the peach 

 region : and at first, when the tree-spraying began, 

 I had some trouble, and had to distribute some of 

 your free literature about spraying to show the fruit- 

 men their folly. 



It may be interesting to yoii to learn that now 

 the fruit-growers so value the bees in connection 

 with the fruit-bloom that they borrow my bees, and 

 carry them to their orchards, and bring them back 

 when the bloom is over. 



The spraying of peach trees is done just before 

 the blossoms begin to swell to any size — about two 

 or three weeks before opening; but in case they fail 

 to get it done at the right time they prefer to put 

 it off rather than to do it when the trees are in 

 bloom. 



Port Clinton, Mar. 28. Julius Johannsen. 



Bees Brought Pear Blight 



If you see the fool-killer, send him out here. The 

 ranchers sprayed their trees with a strong solution 

 of arsenate of lead for codling moth, and it burned 

 the tender twigs where they used high pressure on 

 the blooms before the petals had dropped off, and the 

 ■wise fruit inspector told them it was " pear blight " 

 packed there by the bees during bloom. His argu- 

 ment was convincing, for there was the dead bloom; 

 also the dead limb. 



Walla Walla, Wash. C. A. McCartv. 



How to Color Queens Red 



As to your question in Gleanings, Jan. 1, 1913, 

 under Stray Straws, regarding the marking of a 

 queen red so that the coloring won't come off within 

 six years, I can" tell how it is done in my native 

 country, Switzerland. I don't know, however, from 

 what the coloring matter is made. It can be bought 

 out there by nearly every queen-breeder or supply 

 dealer. It is a fast-drying varnish. Before using it, 

 stir it well. It should not be too thick nor too thin. 

 Otherwise it will not stay on, and will spread. Put 

 the queen under one of those marking-nets made 

 of mosquito-netting, or from an old veil, to keep her 

 quiet. Put a little of the coloring matter on a small 

 sharp wooden stick, and rub it lightly on the back 

 of the queen's breast where it will dry quickly. Then 

 remove the netting. 



Highland, 111., Jan. 6. Xaviee Widmer. 



Heating Honey Before it Granulates 



There is an article in the Review for January, by 

 Virgil Sires, North Yakima, Wash., on his process 

 of heating honey as it leaves the extractor, and 

 wherein he claims that honey heated then will keep 

 liquid longer than when allowed to candy first. Now, 

 this is vital to our business. I should like to see 

 the matter discussed in Gleanings. Who else so 

 believes and does it ? Who knows it is true ? Who 

 has a process to heat honey just right to keep clear, 

 and 7iot materially impair the flavor? 



Utica, 111., Jan. 31. A. Mottaz. 



[Occasionally, when granulated honey is liquefied, 

 certain parts of the honey are not reduced entirely 

 to the liquid form, owing to the distribution of heat 

 having been faulty. This possibly accounts for the 

 belief that honey which has been heated before it 

 granulates remains liquid longer than if it is heated 

 after granulation, for it is a well-known fact that, 

 if the honey is not entirely liquefied — that is, if there 

 is any portion of it still somewhat cloudy, owing to 

 minute crystals, that honey will granulate again in 

 a very short time ; whereas if all traces of crystalli- 

 zation were removed, further granulation would be 

 postponed a much longer time. We do not know 

 that this accounts for the belief expressed bj- Mr. 

 Sires, but offer it merely as a suggestion, m this 

 connection see the statement bv V. V. Dexter, p. 219. 

 — Ed.1 



One who Does Not Like Autos 



I am glad you issued your automobile number on 

 April 1, 1912. It was the biggest April-fool num- 

 ber I ever saw, and I have taken Gleanings for 

 years. I believe you believe in temperance. So do I. 

 I believe you do all you can to fight the liquor traf- 

 fic. So do I. But I want to tell you that the autos 

 and motor-cycles are a worse curse to the rural pop- 

 ulation than the liquor-traffic. Some people tell us 

 the auto has come to stay. I tell them that the Devil 

 has come to stay too, and that the day is coming 

 when the Devil and the autos and a good many 

 people who own them and run them will all be in 

 one place, and they will be there to stay. 



St. Anns, Ont., Feb. 4. Herbert Freas. 



[You have a perfect right to your opinion in re- 

 gard to automobiles; but there are hundreds of bee- 

 keepers in this country alone who own them, and 

 who would hardly know how to get along without 

 them now. The day has passed when automobiles, 

 at least those which are moderate in price, and 

 which are used for business as well as pleasure, are 

 considered only as expensive luxuries. 



In regard to the April-fool number of last year 

 that you refer to, we received one other letter from 

 a beekeeper who did not like that number. Since its 

 appearance, however, we have received so many 

 letters of appreciation from others of our readers 

 that we have kept no record of them. We can not 

 expect to please all of our readers all of the time. 

 We know that for a time last year there was scarcely 

 a day that did not bring one or more letters of ap- 

 preciation for that automobile number, and requests 

 for another one this year. — Ed.] 



A Side-hill Facing East for Bees 



I have had no experience, but think my present 

 location suitable. It is on a side-hill facing east 

 — rocky ground, and somewhat wooded. Will you 

 advise me as to the suitableness of the location ? 



Mt. Hope, N. Y. Wm. Edwards. 



[The location, apparently, would be a good one. 

 We prefer to have the bees screened from the pre- 

 vailing winds ; and it is also a good idea to have the 

 apiary or the hives located in some low shrubbery, 

 both for the purpose of shade and to protect the bees 

 against heavy blasts of wind. This is very impor- 

 tant in the matter of wintering. — Ed.] 



