Jan. 15. 1912 



37 



wirm 



J. K. CUANK, Middlebiuy, Vt. 



I do not think the editor's vakie of drawn 

 comb an overestimate — page (>99, Nov. 15. 

 <$> 



An unusual number of fall dandehons 

 bloomed here in New JCngland, the same as 

 at Marengo, 111., and in Canada; but they 

 were of little value to bees. 

 ^^ 



Slowly the value of honey as a medicine 



is becoming known and ai)i)reciated. I am 



not sure but another leaflet along this line 



would prove of great value — p. 644, Nov. 1. 



■^ 



Dan White is all right about ripening 

 honey — page ()84, Nov. 15. I find that hon- 

 ey ripened as it should be is very difficult to 

 strain unless warm; and even a gravity 

 strainer will work very slowly. 



I think our friend A. C. Miller is a little 

 oir when he thinks smoke from cotton will, 

 as a rule, irritate bees, as he claims on page 

 664, Nov. 1. Queer, some of the rest of us 

 bee-keepers have not noticed it. 



All who wish to improve their bees can 

 not study with too much care the article by 

 H. D. Tennant. page 651, Nov. 1. The sci- 

 ence of breeding (and it is a science) is be- 

 coming better understood than formerly; 

 and those who will may profit by such an 

 article as Mr. Tennant has given us. 

 ■^ 



Our experience corresponds with that of 

 the editor in footnote on feeding brown su- 

 gar, page 646, Nov. 1. A few years ago we 

 led two or three tons of raw sugar to bees as 

 winter food, and they wintered fairly well; 

 but we believe the best white granulated 

 i|uite as cheap and much more satisfactory. 



Dr. Miller tells us that Dr. Bethune told 

 him that a young queen could be reared 

 and fertilized in a hive with a very old 

 queen, i)age 646, Nov. 1. I believe this a 

 very important question; for if we may rear 

 a queen in a hive having an old one, much 

 time will often be saved by so doing. 



That metal air-spaced cover, page 699, Nov. 

 15, is certainly a nice thing, especially for 

 hot sections of country, as it combines pro- 

 tection from rain and sun at the same time; 

 but I should think it would prove a play- 

 thing for the wind. I have seen nothing I 

 like better than the telescopic cover covered 

 w ith metal. 



Our genial friend Doolittle tells on page 

 650, Nov. 15, of an old man w'hom the bees 

 would not sting. I have heard, during the 

 past fifty years, of several such, but have 

 thought such statements should be taken 

 with some allowance; but after readingwhat 

 Mr. Doolittle says, I will doubt no longer. 



I wonder if Mr. Doolittle can tell us why 

 there is such a difference in the way bees 

 treat different people. 



Arthur C. Miller tells us, page 664, Nov. 1, 

 that when bees rii)en honey they spread out 

 all they can; but if the night is cool they go 

 to the brood-combs just to keep their feet 

 warm, rather than to keej) their brood warm. 

 Well! there is where we don't think alike. I 

 still think bees care more for their brood 

 than the warming of their feet or the ripen- 

 ing of honey. 



4?- 

 We are under obligation to Mr. Holter- 

 mann for a full description of his present 

 method of wintering out of doors, and his 

 reasons for it, page 695, Nov. 15. Where 

 bees can be wintered indoors perfectly, as is 

 sometimes the case, and you have but one 

 yard to look after, and can be always on 

 hand to attend to it I believe there is no bet- 

 ter way. But as cellars run, I prefer the 

 outdoor plan; and of outdoor plans none are 

 better than the one given by Mr. Holter- 

 mann. 



4^ 

 THE AVERAGE YIELD PER COLONY. 



On page 654 Mr. C. C. Chase tells in a let- 

 ter to E. E, Colein how he secured from 20 

 hives and 80 three-frame nuclei 4000 lbs. of 

 honey in ''one of the worst seasons on rec- 

 ord,'" while one nucleus with a poor queen 

 gave him no surplus. Now, the inference 

 one would draw, especially a beginner, is 

 that if one only had choice queens, and gave 

 his bees suitable care, he could do as well in 

 the worst of seasons — which would be wide 

 of the mark. Now, we who have been in 

 the business longer know that, in very bad 

 years, we get no such yields of honey, al- 

 though we may have good stock and give 

 them the best of care. On the other hand, 

 in a good year even hives with quite ordi- 

 nary queens, if given care, will give very 

 good results. It often happens that, while 

 one section is very poor, another may be 

 good. The past season was, as a rule, very 

 poor (perhaps one of the worst), yet there 

 were isolated localities where the yield of 

 honey was good. One such I am thinking 

 of where a bee-keeper secured some 8000 

 pounds of surplus, mostly comb honey, from 

 75 hives, and increased to 115 colonies. It 

 is also true that, with a very poor queen, we 

 can not get much if any surplus, even in a 

 good year. If there are few fiowers, or even 

 if there are many that yield little or no nec- 

 tar, we can not get much surplus with the 

 best of queens and best of bees and best of 

 care. The estimate of the editor of Glean- 

 ings as to the yield to be expected from api- 

 aries with good care, as given on page 678, is 

 very much nearer the mark, or will give us a 

 much better idea of what to expect, and I 

 am afraid his estimate is a little too high 

 for the exl leine North. 



