822 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



own policy. This having been decided on, a number 

 of meetings were held, and an alteration has been 

 made in the rules which now provide for a slightly 

 increased membership fee, and provision has been 

 made for objects which were impossible of attain- 

 ment under the old rules. The action of the Can- 

 terbury Beekeepers' Association has been adversely 

 criticised by one newspaper ; but from acucounts at 

 hand at least some of the other associations are like- 

 ly to follow suit. The Canterbury Beekeepers' As- 

 sociation will now push forward the export trade in 

 honey which was commenced in a small way last 

 season. The government will shortly issue regula- 

 tions dealing with the subject, and a committee of 

 members will see that these regulations are complied 

 with. Meetings will be held quarterly, and it is in- 

 tended to have a question-box on the table where 

 inquiries can be put. These will be discussed, and 

 answers supplied, which will help beginners (and 

 advanced students) out of any difficulties they meet 

 with. 



Since the inauguration of the export trade, there 

 has been a large increase in membership, showing 

 that the Association's efforts are appreciated. The 

 prosp»cts for the coming season at present are good. 

 Spring is earlier than usual, and weatlier warm. 

 The winter has been rather dry, and there lias been 

 considerable frost. Fairly good rains fell during the 

 latter part of the winter ; and if we do not have a 

 cold spell, such as we had last year during and 

 after fruit-bloom, there should be a good crop. Bee? 

 are building up rapidly in many parts, and bee- 

 keepers are getting busy. 



Christchurch, N. Z., Sept. 9. E. G. Ward. 



[Tlie winter in New Zealand is at the same time 

 of the year as our summer. — Ed.] 



Bees Successfully Wintered in a Cold Cellar 



Last winter my cellar was cold because I did not 

 finish it until the ground was partly frozen. I put 

 my bees (five normal colonies, one weak colony, and 

 two very weak nuclei) in the cellar about December 

 5. A few days later I went to the cellar and found 

 that the moisture from the colonies had frozen on 

 the bottom-boards in front of the hives. I put up 

 another door to make a dead-air space. This did not 

 help matters much. 



A short time after, we had a few days of warm 

 weather, during which I opened the outer door in 

 the morning and closed it in the evening. In this 

 way the cellar was warmed so the moisture did not 

 freeze except on cold days. I watched the bees for 

 signs of bad wintering, but found none until early 

 spring, when they began to roar during a few days 

 of warm weather. The two nuiclei died before spring; 

 but the rest came out strong. One colony in an 

 eight-frame hive covered .oeven frames. 



Hurley, S. D., Oct. 6. Menholt Christensen. 



2300 Lbs. of Comb Honey and 70 Colonies of Bees 



all from One Runaway Swarm in 



Four Years 



"We are fast driving the saloons from Southern 

 California, there being but four towns in our county 

 that are still wet — the city of Los Angeles, Santa 

 Monica, Redondo, and Venice. Our board of super 

 visors have just passed a strict law to stop the 

 liquor men from sending their wares in to dry dis- 

 tricts. One town, Glendale, has never had a saloon, 

 and I hope it never will. 



I started in the bee business four years ago with 

 one swarm that I caught. This spring I had thirty. 

 and took 2300 pounds of comb and extraicted honey, 

 and have sevent}' colonies at this time. It has been 

 a poor year in most places in this country. 



I used to take your paper when I was a boy in 

 Pennsylvania, at the time you were interested in 

 Helen Keller. I was a great admirer of Rambler 



in those days, and also of the articles written by 

 Ernest R. Root on his bicycle trips. I think it was 

 in New York. 



I sent to Washington for seed of the dasheen, and 

 received word last week that they were out for this 

 year, but would put me down on the " waiting list." 



RAISIN GRAPES AND WINE GRAPES. 



I saw in the Oct. 1st Gleanings an article ask- 

 ing the question why the California gi'ape-growers 

 do not make the grapes into raisins instead of wine. 

 The wine grapes vnW not make raisins, as they are 

 too juicy. The varieties that make raisins are the 

 muscatel, or muscat malagas and Thompson's Seed- 

 less, or Sultana, all gi-een grapes. 



SULPHUR DUST FOR BEE PARALYSIS. 



I had three colonies that showed bee paralysis 

 last spring. I tried an experiment. I was sulphur- 

 ing my grapevines with a power machine. I put the 

 spray at the entramce of the hive, and filled them 

 full of the sulphur dust, and in a week they showed 

 no signs of the disease. 



Burbank, Cal., Oct. 22. W. H. Reynolds. 



Bees in Hot Weather do not Tarry Long when 

 Drinking Water 



With the mercury 104 in the shade, and not a 

 particle of air .stirring at 1 o'clock P. M., I timed 

 the bees at the water-tub. In making 20 tests, no 

 Lee was over 45 seconds, and none less than 35 

 seconds, taking its supply of water, and the next 

 day I made the same test with the same record. I 

 was surprised that they did not vary more in time 

 they were on the rim of the cement tub. There were 

 from 100 to 175 bees on the rim all the time. 



Bradshaw, Neb. C. B. Palmer. 



The Bees Varnish the Inside of the Hive so that 

 the Wood is not Porous 



If some one will show me a hive that has been 

 occupied by bees any reasonable length of time that 

 is not thoroughly varnished on the inside, makin| it 

 aljsolutely air-tight so far as the pores of the wood 

 are concerned, then I will feel as if it were a mis- 

 lake to paint and close the pores on the outside. You 

 men who oppose painting hives " because it closes 

 the pores of the wood," examine the inside of your 

 old hives that have recently been ocicupied. 



Rocky Ford, Colo., Oct. 21. A. S. Parson. 



[ Hey, Dr. Miller, what sort of answer have you 

 for this argument? — Ed.] 



Shrinkage in Weight of Comb Honey After it is 

 Removed from the Hive 



Is tliere any shrinkage in the weight of section 

 honey, say in three months' time, if it is removed 

 from the hive right after the main honey-flow? 



Wadsworth, Ohio. Jacob L. Lind. 



[There is some shrinkage in the weight of comb 

 honey, say in three months' time, after it is removed 

 from the hive. The amount of shrinkage depends 

 upon the atmosphere in the room where the honey 

 is stored, also upon the thickness of the honey when 

 it is removed from the hive. However, it is quite 

 common to find a shrinkage of about three per cent 

 in the weight of the honey — approximately half an 

 ounce per pound. — Ed.] 



Some Colonies Affected with American Foul 

 l5rood 



During my work as bee-inspector I have had quite 

 a liltle experience with swarms from I'olonies having 

 American foul brood. This seems to be against the 

 theory of some of our writers, and I should like to 

 know whether such swarms are the usual thing, or 

 quite rare. 



Salem, Iowa. J. W. Stine, Deputy. 



