SEPTEMBER 15, 1913 



Stray Straws 



Dr. C. C. Millee, Marengo, 111. 



" Extracted honey will be much more 

 wholesome to use than sugar." That's what 

 T. B. Terry says in Tlie Practical Farmer 

 when speaking of sweetening oatmeal. Ter- 

 ry has been slow to recognize the value of 

 honey, but is not likely to take any back- 

 ward step. That pronouncement of his will 

 do a lot of good. 



A Kansas reader says he has more trou- 

 ble introducing ripe queen-cells than queens, 

 and asks the best way to introduce them. 

 The trouble comes almost surely from in- 

 troducing cells too soon after remo"\ang the 

 queen, before the bees are yet conscious of 

 needing either queen or cell. Wait a day 

 after remo^^ng the queen, then introduce 

 any way you like. You may make a safe 

 thing of introduction at the time the queen 

 is removed by using a West cell-protector. 

 Or you can introduce it in a cage the same 

 as a queen. This last has the advantage 

 that the bees are slow about tearing down 

 the cell, so you can see whether the queen 

 has hatched or not. When not jDrotected, 

 the bees are likely to remove all traces of 

 the cell, so you can't tell whether the queen 

 hatched or the bees destroyed cell and all. 



" If a colony, slightly affected with foul 

 brood, should cast a swarm, would the 

 swarm, if placed on new frames and new 

 hive, be liable to the disease if not exposed 

 aftei-ward?"— D. W. H. I don't know. 

 My griess would be that it would be safe 99 

 times in 100 with European foul brood, and 

 not quite so safe with American foul brood. 

 [The base of the cure for foul brood, both 

 European and American, is putting the 

 bees in a clean hive. A swarm makes use 

 of this principle in that it leaves behind it 

 its combs, and usually enters clean new 

 quarters. Again, it is generally understood 

 that swarms do not cari*j' foul brood. Put- 

 ting these two facts together it would seem 

 that Dr. Miller's statement could be made a 

 good deal stronger. While there would not 

 be much danger of European foul brood 

 following, there would be no danger of the 

 American type showing up. — Ed.] 



T DON^T believe alfalfa-growei-s can be 

 persuaded to delay cutting till after alfalfa 

 is in bloom, and I don't believe they ought. 

 Much alfalfa is now gi-own here, and we're 

 well up in alfalfa lore. The old rule was 

 to cut when one-tenth was in bloom. Now 

 the more intelligent rule is to cut as soon 

 as the new growth starts at the base of the 

 stalk. If cut later the new growth will be up 

 in the way of the sickle, and the next ero]i 



injured, and at this time not many blos- 

 soms are out. But alfalfa is no good for 

 bees here anyhow. [Has it been proven 

 beyond doubt that there is any advantage 

 in cutting alfalfa before it comes into 

 bloom? Many ranchmen apparently be- 

 lieve that the early cutting furnishes better 

 hay. Perhaps so; but does it furnish a 

 greater quantity of nutriment to stock? In 

 other words, will an early-cut hay that has 

 not reached its full growth and develop- 

 ment yield more beef and i^ork than alfalfa 

 cut after it comes into bloom? If we mis- 

 take not, there is a disagi'eement among 

 authorities, with the odds rather in favor 

 of the early cutting. But the pendulum has 

 been swinging the other way, toward a later 

 cutting. We hope so, as this will mean 

 more honey, and probably more hay. See 

 what Mr. Higgins says in the Heads of 

 Grain department, in this issue. — -Ed.] 



A BIG jump has been made in parcel post 

 by the postmaster-general by making the 

 rate within 150 miles a cent a pound plus 

 4 cents, with an increase in weight-limit 

 from 11 to 20 pounds. Then the e. o. d. 

 feature is a good thing. But the insurance 

 is not what it ought to be if we are to ship 

 honey by parcel post, and I don't see whv 

 honey shouldn't be thus shipped in this 

 country as well as across the ocean. May 

 be not yet, but after a while. WeU, you 

 can insure a package; and if it is lost you 

 can recover value. But if you ship a case 

 of honey and insure it, and it's smashed in 

 transit, and the dauby remains are deliver- 

 ed, not a cent of loss can be recovei'ed, be- 

 cause the thing was not a total loss. [At 

 present we do not think it would be advis- 

 able to ship either comb or extracted honey 

 by parcel post. See experience of Mr. 

 Moody elsewhere. So far the results have 

 shown that any fragile article is likely to 

 receive pretty rough treatment in the par- 

 cel-post mail-bags. Unfortunately, almost 

 every thing is being sent in this way, wheth- 

 er fragile or not. A heavy package will 

 be bumped against a light and fragile one, 

 with the result that the latter will be smash- 

 ed into smithereens, if, indeed, it ever reach- 

 es the consignee. We see no reason why 

 comb and extracted honey should not share 

 a similar fate, damaging every thing else in 

 the mail-bag. Parcel post has been a great 

 boon to the people of the country. If we 

 give Uncle Sam, or, rather, the Postmaster- 

 General, a little more time he will probably 

 be able to eliminate some of these break- 

 ages. — Ed.] 



