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Stray Straw ) 



Dr. C. C. Miller, Marengo, 111. 



The taritt' on honey is now ten cents a 

 .uallon instead of the old rate of 20 cents. 

 I don't believe the change will make mncli 

 of a dent in the bnsiness. 



C. F. Bender has given the key to a 

 troublesome puzzle. The Root Co. found 

 that it killed queens to keep them in cages 

 of wire cloth not painted, and I never found 

 any harm come of it. Mr. Bender explains 

 that the Root Co. used galvanized wire 

 cloth, while I used bright tinned wire cloth. 



" Other things being equal, the highly 

 fecund strain will produce a proportionate- 

 ly large amount of surplus," p. 605. But 

 the ti'ouble is that "other things'^ are not 

 equal. At least I think that has been the 

 rule here. When I've found a queen of 

 fecundity above the average, industry or 

 some " other thing " has not been equal to 

 the average, so that, while a fourtli more 

 brood has been reared, a fourth less honey 

 lias been stored. 



A. I. Root, let me endorse your advice to 

 take care of the teeth, p. 657. Especially 

 does that apply to the young. When I was 

 a youngster T got into the habit of brushing 

 my teetli, and now at 82 I liave 20 faiiiy 

 serviceable grinders, and ready for a chew- 

 ing match with you any day. If you young 

 folks can't brush your teeth after each 

 meal, at least brush tliem after the last meal 

 of each day, and not allow food to be de- 

 caying all night long l)etween and on youi' 

 teeth. Then vou wcjn't need store-teeth at 

 40 or 50. 



Louis H. Scholl, p. 615, speaks of the 

 loss of time caused by many bees foraging 

 over the same ground near a large apiary, 

 and others having to go a great distance 

 from home. I wonder just how much bees 

 crowd one another. It seems natural to 

 think that near home it would always be 

 crowded; but is it? If a piece of honey is 

 thrown out, the bees will ci'owd u])on it, but 

 do they crowd upon the flowers'? And if 

 not, what wonderful knowledge is it that 

 tells the bees just how to disti'ibute them- 

 selves over the ground sd as not to crowd? 



a. M. DoOLTTTLK, aren't you letting the 

 drones olT a little too easily, p. (iO!?? A 

 square foot of drones occupies the same 

 square space as a square foot of workers, 

 but you forget the thickness. I've just 

 measured a new comb containing sealed 

 drone brood, and it is ly^ inches through. A 

 similar worker-comb was 1 inch tlu'ough. 

 Tluit makes drone-brood occupy 25 |>cv cent 

 more cubic space. Add to thai llic 14 per 



cent longer time that drone-brood requires, 

 and it uiakes a square foot of drone brood 

 cost 39 per cent more than a foot of worker 

 brood. 



" Has it been proven beyond doubt that 

 there is any advantage in cutting alfalfa 

 before it comes into bloom?" p. 633. I 

 don't know how it is out west, but I do 

 know that there is no doubt about it here. 

 Wait till it is all in bloom before your first 

 cutting, and the young shoots from the bot- 

 tom (wliich shoots make your second crop) 

 Avill have gi'o'wn so high that they will be 

 spoiled at first cutting, or else you must set 

 your sickle-bar so high that you will not get 

 all of the first crop. Besides, I think that, 

 if you waited for full bloom at each cutting, 

 you'd get about one crop less in a season, 

 and so less hay. It is not believed here, as 

 stated on p. 656, that cutting before bloom 

 gradually reduces the tonnage, and eventu- 

 ally kills the plant altogether. The thing 

 most blamed for killing is the failure to 

 apply i)eriodically a dressing of two tons 

 of ground limestone to the acre. [We shall 

 be glad to get more light on this question. 

 I'erhaps some of our subscribers in the 

 West can give us the information. If so, 

 our columns are open. — Ed.] 



Mrs. Y. N. Wesgate asks, p. 620, wheth- 

 er some man can't devise an easier way than 

 wiring frames. Why not try foundation 

 splints;' With them I don't use wire at all. 

 [Foundation splints are perfectly satisfac- 

 tory for the prevention of sag in founda- 

 tion or in combs. We know that combs, 

 even after they are drawn out, have a ten- 

 dency to stretch vertically. This stretch 

 occurs usually in very warm weather dur- 

 ing a rush of honey. Splints will stop ""ne 

 elongation of cells on a vertical line; but 

 they will not prevent combs from falling 

 out or breaking out, during the rough han- 

 dling of extracting time, like wires attached 

 to the frame. You are a comb-honey pro- 

 ducer, and, of course, experience hone of 

 the troubles of the man who produces liquid 

 honey ; but if you go into some large ex- 

 tracting-yard whei-e combs are being lian- 

 dled in a wliolesale way we believe you will 

 become convinced that notliing short of wire 

 secured to the frame itself will be satisfac- 

 tory. Some one, perhaps yourself, sug- 

 .gested having the bottom-bar split so the 

 splints can be jilaced between. If both top 

 and bottom bai's sjilit so that the splints 

 can be rigidly secured to the frame, they 

 might i)rove satisfactory to the oxtratled- 

 honey man. — Eu.l 



