436 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



they wintered perfectly. He has also used 

 it with a great deal of success in queen- 

 cages, and has found that it keeps soft and 

 moist. However, he emphasizes the impor- 

 tance of keeping the candy in a closed ves- 

 sel, and then taking out a supply as occa- 

 sion requires. When the candy is placed 

 over a cluster of bees it will necessarily 

 keep moist on account of the natural mois- 

 ture from the cluster. Dr. Gates brought 

 out the point that the cooking temperature 

 will be somewhat dependent on the day. 

 The greater the degree of humidity, the 

 higher will be the temperature. In a dry 

 atmosphere 236 F. will be high enough, and 

 238 F. on a moist day. There was a candy- 

 maker present whose name I failed to get, 

 who insisted that cream tartar is not neces- 

 sary. On this point Mr. Fuller could not 

 say positively, but the candy-maker said 

 that if the candy was too moist it could be 

 stift'ened up with a little powdered sugar. 



In the following discussion Mr. Fuller 

 stated that 1 lb. of grape sugar equals 11/2 

 lbs. of liquid glucose. In other words, 12 

 lbs. of granulated sugar to one of gi-ape 

 sugar would make a fondant. 



Mr. Fuller referred to the criticism that 

 has been raised over the use of glucose; 

 but he argued that the amount of glucose 

 used is very small in comparison with the 

 amount of granulated sugar. He made the 

 point clear, however, that he did not use 

 glucose because of its cheapness, but be- 

 cause it was the best thing he had ever tried 

 for making a soft candy that would remain 

 soft for months. 



FIELD-DAY EXTRACTING. 



In the afternoon of the second day there 

 were demonstrations in extracting with a 

 hand-power and a large power extractor 

 and honey-pump, uncapping with a steam- 

 heated knife, and melting the cappings in 

 a capping-melter. To witness these opera- 

 tions the members of the convention passed 

 into the convention in single iile and out as 

 each demonstration was made. 



SHIPPING BEES IN COMBLESS PACKAGES. 



There had been shipped to Dr. Gates 

 sample packages of bees without combs. 

 The bees were on exhibition, and, later on, 

 places in the hives, some on unsealed brood 

 and some on frames of foundation. Dr. 

 Gates is in sympathy with any plan for 

 shipping bees over the country that will 

 eliminate bee disease by the omission of 

 comb. He gave an address on that subject 

 at one of the sessions, which we did not 

 hear. 



A NEW OBSERVATORY HIVE, 



Mr. Geo. T. Whitten, of the Hartford 

 School of Horticulture, exhibited an obser- 



vatory hive that will admit of the examina- 

 tion of any single comb without opening 

 the hive. This looks like an impossibility; 

 but seeing is believing. This will be a gxeat 

 hi\e to use at schools and colleges and by 

 timid people who would like to watch the 

 bees work without opening the hive. We 

 hope to have an illustration of this in an 

 early issue of Gleanings. 



THE OLD " LONG IDEA " HIVE REVIVED. 



Mr. A. W. Yates, one of the State deputy 

 inspectors, of Hartford, Conn., exhibited a 

 double-walled hive with a capacity, all in 

 one story, of something like 25 frames. It 

 involves the principles of the old Long Idea 

 hive of forty years ago that was so much 

 exploited at the time, but which was finally 

 abandoned. Mr. 0. 0. Poppleton, of Stu- 

 art, Florida, however, continues to use it. 

 As Mr. Poppleton is regarded as one of the 

 best beekeepers in the United States, the 

 " Long Idea " did not wholly die. Mr. 

 Yates argued that his hive, built on that 

 principle, required very little care. In fact, 

 it can be managed on the let-alone princi- 

 ple more nearly than any other hive with 

 which he is acquainted. He thinks that 

 enormous crops of honey could be secured, 

 and at the same time keep down swarming 

 by tlie system of manipulation of a queen- 

 excluder. We have asked him to illustrate 

 and describe this method in Gleanings at 

 some future time. 



SOIL FOR growing CLOVERS. 



One of the addresses that was listened to 

 was one by Prof. W. P. Brooks on the sub- 

 ject of increasing clovers and honey-plants. 

 Prof. Brooks is one of the acknowledged 

 authorities on soils. He explained that 

 clovers will grow anywhere if they get the 

 soil food right. But many soils are de- 

 ficient in lime; and when lime is supplied, 

 clovers will grow profusely. 



A notable feature of the Amherst meet- 

 ing was a large exhibit room where supplies 

 from many of the manufacturers were on 

 display. There were also to be seen old 

 hives of ancient pattern, curios, and vari- 

 ous articles of ingenious and odd invention. 

 This room was well occupied in the between 

 sessions. There was something doing, there- 

 fore, at this meeting almost from morning 

 till night. 



We respectfully suggest that President 

 Gates arrange for a field meet of the Na- 

 tional Beekeepers' Association at some con- 

 venient date at Amherst. It has a most 

 complete equipment, and if Dr. Gates should 

 be authorized to get up a field meet at the 

 college it would go down in apicultural 

 history as one of the great conventions in 

 the history of the Association. 



