820 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



spring, and there is no danger that it will 

 perish on the ground. The ground of course 

 was bare of snow at the time of sowing. 

 Lakeville, Ind. 



ROBBING STOPPED BY A BUNCH OF HORSE 

 HAIR PLACED OVER THE ENTRANCE 



BY JAMES M. MUNRO 



May I share with my fellow-beekeepers 

 two real discoveries which I made in 1912? 

 One came about in this manner: At the end 

 of the honey harvest I was requeening my 

 colonies. One day after dinner 1 opened 

 one hive to see if the queen had been re- 

 ceived all right. I was removing frames, 

 had located the young queen, and had no- 

 ticed a nice batch of eggs when I heard the 

 distinct sound of robber bees. Before I 

 could replace the frames and close up the 

 hive they had made quite a start at robbing. 



As my large smoker was in fine trim I 

 thought that a good smoking outside would 

 drive tliem home. Instead they continued 

 to increase. Then I resorted to putting hay 

 and grass at the entrance; but the force of 

 robbers became so great that they would 

 push it far enough to get in and out. I 

 feared to add more hay lest I should smoth- 

 er the inmates; and, besides, I began to be 

 peppered with stings. 



As a next resort I tried a Myers bucket 

 spray-iDuiiip ; and, oh ! didn't I deluge them 

 until they hung around the hives like drown- 

 ed rats'? Then I let up. The reserves, how- 

 ever, renewed the attack. 1 went at it again 

 reluctantly witli the spray-pump, for it act- 

 ed like a mule that kicks both ways. It 

 squirted at the handle as well as at the 

 nozzle, so that I got my share too. I finally 

 gave up, owning that I was beaten. 



As I walked away, expecting nothing but 

 a ruined hive, I saw a bunch of horse-mane 

 trimmings the boys had left near by. In 

 my desperation I grabbed it and slapped it 

 in place of the hay at the entrance of the 

 hive. I wish you could have seen the halt. 

 The bees darted back as if they thought it 

 was some uncanny animal ready to kill them. 

 I shouted " Eureka ! " and, although soaked, 

 I sat and watched the bees and enjoyed one 

 of the heartiest laughs of the season. The 

 robbing note soon died away, and they 

 retired to their own hives. 



During the rest of the season I used noth- 

 ing else, when robbing started, than the wad 

 of horse mane or tail hair, which I placed 

 close up to the entrance of the hive. There 

 was no danger of smothering the bees, so I 

 could go away and start other work, quite 

 contented that there would be no robbing 

 at that hive. It does no harm to leave the 



horse hair at the entrance till noon of the 

 next day. 



HONEY A CURE FOR BILIOUSNESS. 



When ten years of age I had typhoid 

 pneumonia. My life was despaired of; but 

 after a long tedious illness I was able to go 

 about with two crutches. From that time I 

 always suffered from biliousness. Nothing 

 seemed to help me. When I grew up to 

 manhood I began to 'keep bees and to eat 

 honey freely. It was honey instead of but- 

 ter; honey instead of preserves and jams. 

 In fact, honey three times a day. At pres- 

 ent I do not know what it is to have a 

 bilious attack. I attribute it to the free use 

 of honey. Honey used in this way is not only 

 a cheap medicine, but also a nourishing food. 



Slate River, Out., Can., Dec. 30. 



HEATING EXTRACTED HONEY 



BY LOUIS SCHOLL 



Continued from page 797. 



constructed out of concrete blocks, bricks, 

 stone, or whatever is handiest. The illus- 

 tration on page 767 will give the reader an 

 idea of the one we are using. However, it 

 should be borne in mind that we have chang- 

 ed to a deeper vat than the one shown, for 

 the reason that we did not have entire suc- 

 cess with tills one. As mentioned, the hon- 

 ey in the upper parts of the cans liquefied 

 too slowly, while the lower honey was get- 

 ting too hot. This is overcome by using a 

 deeper vat and a cover over all. 



[Wlien liquefying honey in 60-pound 

 cans by the hot-water method, we never have 

 any trouble in getting enough heat at the 

 top. If the water reaches to within a couple 

 of inches of the top of the can the honey 

 near the bottom is always the last to lique- 

 fy. In our judgment, if so much heat were 

 applied to the top of the can, there would 

 be danger of scorching the honey in the 



upjier part. — Ed.] 



* * * 



It has been said many times that it never 

 rains in Texas; and, judging from the long 

 dry spells and drouths to which we have 

 been accustomed, a good many people who 

 do not know Texas so well might have 

 believed that the above is true. But, lo and 

 behold ! Texas lias not only had rains of 

 late, but continued rains for weeks and 

 weeks; and the result is that washouts and 

 floods, and damages of all kinds, were re- 

 ported from all portions of the State. Thir- 

 teen and fourteen inches of rain in a few 

 days was a common report, and creeks and 

 rivers that had not been up for years turn- 

 ed into raging streams, causing much dam- 

 age in many instances. 



