98 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



Dk. C. C. Miller, Marengo. 111. 



Mr. Editor, please look at the sticker on 

 the envelop that contains these Straws, It 

 reads, "We want the United States Gov- 

 ernment to establish a parcels x)ost.'" These 

 stickers can be had for $1.00 a 1000 from 

 " Parcels Post League," New York. [Good 

 suggestion. See editorial elsewhere on the 

 subject. — Ed.] 



Bees will build queen-cells when the 

 queen is caged in the hive "about the same 

 as if she were out of the hive entirely," p. 

 58, 1 suppose that "about" means that 

 cells will be started sooner, and more of 

 them, if the queen be out of the hive en- 

 tirely. [We accept your modification or 

 correction. — Ed.] 



Louis Scholl gives alfalfa as an example 

 of honey with decided flavor, page 38. I've 

 been buying alfalfa to use in hot drink, as 

 being nearest a pure sweet without flavor, 

 but I've lately had some with too much fla- 

 vor. Wonder what is the rule about flavor 

 in alfalfa. [Alfalfa varies somewhat in fla- 

 vor, depending on the locality where it is 

 produced. In the southern irrigated regions 

 it is apt to be a little darker, and perhaps a 

 little stronger in flavor. In the more north- 

 ern regions the color and flavor are improv- 

 ed. In some localities there is enough sweet 

 clover and mountain sage in alfalfa to mel- 

 low its taste. The same conditions that af- 

 fect alfalfa apply to clover — that is to say, 

 there is white clover and white clover — some 

 extra fancy, most of it good, and some of it 

 poor or "off." — Ed.] 



"Every modern yard nowadays has a 

 scale-hive," p. 48. S-s-say, Mr. Editor, do 

 you mean to insinuate that my bee-yard 

 isn't modern? Well, if you will insist, I 

 suppose that part of the yard isn't as modern 

 as it might be. [Yes, sir, 'e. Put up a scale 

 hive, ^'ou may have a modern yard, but it 

 can not be clear up to date unless you have 

 a honey-barometer, so to speak. We have 

 been in many yards where the owners would 

 about as soon get along without a veil as 

 without a scale hive. If the colony on the 

 scales is a fair average one, neither the best 

 nor the poorest, it enables the owner to keep 

 pretty close tab on the flow of nectar. For 

 example, if a drouth is on, and the nectar 

 supply begins to show a rapid falling-ofT, 

 the bee-keeper will not put on any more 

 supers. Hut if the weather conditions are 

 ideal, and the scale hive shows a big gain 

 every day, the bee-keeper will take the op- 

 posite course. — Ed.] 



You ASK, Mr. Editor, page 69, if I might 

 not find outdoor wintering to my advantage 

 if I should try it again. Entirely possible. 

 Not very probable. I've always had an 

 idea that bees wintered out in the open air 

 would be more rugged than when in the 

 close air of a cellar. Then there's the gain 



of earlier breeding. But with a furnace in 

 the cellar my bees have perhaps as pure air 

 as outdoors. The earlier breeding makes 

 some colonies stronger, but it also kills some 

 colonies- At any rate, it is morally certain 

 that I would have a loss every winter from 

 wintering outdoors — some winters a heavy 

 loss — while in my well-ventilated cellar J 

 don't expect to lose a single colony from 

 wintering in any winter. What's best else- 

 where might not be best for me. [It would 

 hardly pay you, evidently, to make any 

 change; but a large number (mostly begin- 

 ners) are not having success with indoor 

 wintering. To all such, if located in a se- 

 vere climate, we would recommend winter- 

 ing four hives in one large case, as practiced 

 by R. F. Holtermann, .1. L. Byer, and H. 

 G. Sibbald, of Canada, with such marked 

 success. See pages 693 and 694, Nov. 15th 

 issue. Where climates are extremely cold, 

 these big winter cases, we believe, for four 

 hives are the equal of any cellar. — Ed.] 



That editorial, p. 35, sets one to think- 

 ing. But if comb honey is so scarce, why 

 don't quotations show it? In Gleanings 

 the highest for comb is 18 and extracted 12. 

 Hardly any thing in that to induce extract- 

 ors to take up comb. It may be said that 

 comb is a luxury, and above a certain price 

 will not be bought. But it didn't work 

 that way years ago when it was higher than 

 now, and kept with the price of butter. It's 

 too much of a muddle for me to understan<l. 

 [Market quotations at the present time do 

 not give the true index of the situation. 

 Early last season there was a big demanti 

 for comb honey that could not be filled. 

 Buyers, fearing that a large crop might be 

 held in reserve, did not olTer high prices, as 

 they feared being overloaded. Shortly 

 W^estern comb honey began to come in, and 

 prices on comb honey that would have ad- 

 vanced were held stationary. Several buy- 

 ers have told us that they could have sold 

 ten times the amount of comb honey if they 

 could have gotten it when there was a call 

 for it. The best demand for coixib honev is 

 in the fall and before the holidays. If there 

 is no comb honey to speak of, consumers 

 will go without. If, on the other hand, we 

 bee-keepers will raise more comb honey, and 

 have it ready in time, we shall have no trou- 

 ble in selling it — that is, if it is of good qual- 

 ity. At the present time there is just enough 

 comb honey held by one or two large buyers 

 to hold the market fairly even. But the 

 point is this: There is always a good demand 

 for more comb honey early in the season. 

 In seasons of plenty the early shippers will 

 dispose of their crops at good prices, while 

 late shippers, if they wait till the holidays 

 or after, may be hunting a market. Comb 

 honey, however, is getting to be more and 

 more of a staple. — EId.] 



