514 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Sunday, and no drones were flying. Monday fore- 

 noon was rainy ; but after noon the sun came out 

 bright, and the drones were having their first fly for 

 three days, which probably accounts for the unusual 

 number of queens mating at this time. There are 

 450 mating nuclei in the yard. 



Medina, O., July 15. M. T. Pritchaeu. 



CKaCKED-WHEAT muffins and NEW HONEY. 



We have been eating at our house, for 

 several weeks back, muffins made of cracked 

 wheat which surpass any thing else we have 

 ever tried. We buy the wheat and grind it 

 in a -little hand gTinder, which can be se- 

 cured at the large hardware stores or mail- 

 order houses. We do not grind the wheat 

 fine, but adjust the macliine so that the 

 flour will be coarse. This cracked wheat is 

 then sifted, the finer portions being used 

 for muffins as aforesaid, and the coarser for 

 a breakfast food wliich is boiled for four 

 houi-s over a low flame. When served cold 

 with new honey it is simply delicious. The 

 cracked-wheat muffins served hot with good 

 butter and new honey make a meal — well, 

 just try it for yourself. The muffins have 

 a nice nutty flavor, and the grits covering 

 the wheat itself will clean out the system 

 that maj' have become clogged ujd, better 

 than any cathartic that has ever been de- 

 vised; and it does it in Nature's own way. 



We asked Mrs. Root to write out the rec- 

 ipe for the muffins. " Oh ! " said she, " any 

 w^oman knows how to make muffins;" but 

 we doubt if all know how to make some- 

 tliing as delicious and fine as we have at our 

 house. Here is the recipe : 



Two cups whole-wheat flour ; 1 tablespoonf ul white 

 flour; Vz teaspoonful salt; % cup sugar; 2 eggs; 

 1 cup sour milk or buttermilk ; % teaspoonful soda ; 

 1 tablespoonful melted butter. 



We took out of one of our hives a frame 

 of white-clover honey just built out on me- 

 dium brood foundation; and, say, you 

 would be surprised that the midrib of the 

 wax is hardly noticeable. We cut this 

 frame up into squares and put it on plates. 

 When served in tliis way it looks as nice 

 and tastes as fine as the finest comb honey 

 from sections, and at a ereat deal less cost. 

 Now, then, take some of this honey and put 

 it on a piece of muffin with good butter; 

 and if you do not have a feast fit for a 

 king, we shall be surprised. The wax chews 

 up with the mulfin without leaving a parti- 

 cle of " gob." 



GREASY WASTE V. DRY COTTON WASTE FOR 

 SMOKER FUEL. 



We use in all our yards greasy waste, 

 and our men all prefer it to any other fuel 

 for smokers; but ]\Ir. Morris, our foul- 

 brood inspector, in one of his trips referred 

 to elsewhere carried with him some dry or 

 clean waste,' remarking that he did not like 

 to carry the greasy stuff that would spoil 



eveiy thing with which it came in contact. 

 The smoker was loaded with greasy waste 

 to start on; then it was reloaded with dry 

 waste, and all at once we thought the bees 

 were fearfully cross. We could hardly drive 

 them down, and they stung so terribly that 

 once we were driven to cover. We then 

 remembered that Mr. Arthur C. Miller ut- 

 tered a word of caution against using cot- 

 ton rags for smoker fuel, saying tliat it 

 irritated the bees. We did not agree with 

 liim, because we had used greasy waste — 

 hundreds of pounds of it — with the greatest 

 of satisfaction. We did not then think that 

 the presence of grease possibly and prob- 

 ably modified the effect. We do not even 

 j-et know whether it does or not; but we 

 present the facts as above given; and if 

 anybody else has had a similar experience 

 we should like to hear from him. 



We imagine our friend Arthur wiU. be 

 smiling up liis sleeves with the grim satis- 

 faction, " I told you so." If there is any 

 one else who can smile with liim, we hope 

 he will let us hear from him. 



Perhaps it will tone down Mr. Miller's 

 smile when we say that the time when the 

 bees began to get cross was along about 

 five o'clock; but the evening was not cool, 

 nor had the temperature materially changed. 

 Was it the time of da}', or was it the cotton 

 waste that made the bees drive us to cover? 



It would hardly be proper to print all 

 that Mr. Morris said when some two or 

 three dozen bees, more or less, were hang- 

 ing by their stings imbedded in his bare 



arms, such as " You little ! ! ! 



! ! ! Ouch ! " The crowd of good-natured 

 farmers with their wives had a laugh, at his 

 expense. 



Later. — We have just had a talk with our 

 apiarist, Mr. Marchant, with regard to di^y 

 cotton waste for smoker fuel. " You can tell 

 Mr. Miller," he said, " that he can make that 

 smile a little broader if he likes, because I 

 entirely agree with him. I find corncobs 

 equallv objectionable ; but greasy waste is 

 all right. My father, A. B. Marchant, of 

 Florida, now uses nothing else. It is the 

 best fuel he ever used." 



Still later. — Day before yesterday, July 

 21, the inspector and ourself went on an- 

 other tour of inspection. We remarked: 



" Say, Morris, are you going to use any 

 more of that dry cotton waste?" 



"Why not?" 



" You know how the bees stung us." 



" Fudge ! I have been using that kind of 

 fuel right along." 



So saying he proceeded to fill up his 

 smoker with more dry waste. We went 

 over about a dozen colonies; and notwith- 

 standing there was quite a party of visitors 



