146 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



2. Was this water separated from the syrup while 

 being taken, or after It had entered the honey sac ? 



3. We often notice after a rain during a flow of 

 honey that nectar Is very much thinner than at 

 other times. Why does this filter not work at 

 such times rather than force the bees to carry to 

 the hives a large surplus of water that must be 

 evaporated later? 



4. In giving bees a rough handling until they 

 have gorged themseves with honey, how often do 

 we land them regurgitating it over themselves, 

 forming a sticky mass ? 



This process, I understand, represents an abnor- 

 mal condition; but so is feeding from a tub unusu- 

 al. Furthermore, on the grass all around the tub 

 were scores of bees that I supposed were reclaim- 

 ing the sweets that had been lost. I may be mista- 

 ken in this, but will try an experiment in the 

 spring to make sure. I am satisfied for the present 

 with what became of my 500 pounds of sugar. 

 Moistened sugar for stimulative purposes and 

 heavy syrup fed qviickly for winter stores (both fed 

 In the hive) suit me: and if I should try feeding in 

 the open air again it would be with moistened su- 

 gar spread over a large surface. 



Hartford, Ct. A. W. Yates. 



[1. The bees we have observed, eject the water 

 ten or twenty feet from the ground after they arise 

 from the outdoor feeder. Sometimes the spray is 

 shot out when the bees are forty to fifty feet from 

 the point of starting. 



2. We do not know how the water is separated. 

 The sweetened water they take up from the feeders 

 may go into the honey sac or stomach, and the ex- 

 cess of water pass through tlie alimentary canal, 

 and finally out at the anal opening : or the excess 

 of water may be regurgitated and discharged from 

 the mouth. It will be very difficult to determine 

 just how the bees do it ; but it is remarkable tliat 

 such a fine spray should be shot out immediately 

 after taking flight. 



3. We do not know. 



4. We have never noticed the bees regurgitating 

 the honey over themselves when roughly handled: 

 or, rather, we should say, we have never handled 

 them so roughly that they have ever done this. We 

 were not aware that rough handling of any sort 

 would cause them to regurgitate the contents of 

 their honey sacs or stomachs on themselves. 



Referring to your last paragraph, we have no ab- 

 solute means of knowing whether the spray dis- 

 charged by the bees while in the air is water free 

 from saccharine matter or sweetened water that is 

 an excess of what they can carry. As the bees 

 shoot out this spray when gathering nectar from 

 the flowers as well as from feeders it would hardly 

 seem to us that nature would be so wasteful that 

 she would throw away sweetened water or nectar. 

 In other words. It Is our opinion that a bee is an 

 economical machine. The principle of the survi- 

 val of the fittest has made It so. apparently. 



A. I. Hoot, some years ago, collected the spray 

 that the bees shot out when they took wing while 

 they were working on the spider plant. This spray 

 was caught on dinner plates: and, so far as he 

 could determine at the time, it was nothing but 

 water, while the nectar from the spider plant, 

 which he gathered with a tiny spoon, was distinct- 

 ly sweet. Last fall we gathered on our hands some 

 of the spray the bees shot out. On tasting it, it 

 seemed to be nothing but water. However, it map 

 have contained some saccharine matter. This is a 

 matter that will have to be worked out by other 

 observers. At all events, the spray such as we saw 

 was thrown over the leaves and shrubbery near 

 the outdoor feeder. The fact that our bees did not 

 go after this after the feeders were emptied, and 

 the further fact that it was evaporated without 

 leaving a deposit, would seem to indicate that It 

 was only water. 



The bees that you found on the grass around the 

 tub, we should be Inclined to think, were those 

 that had overgorged themselves and were unable 

 then to take wing. Years ago, when our bees 

 worked on the spider plant that gave such copious 

 quantities of nectar, some bees would take such 

 big drinks that they would drop down on the 

 ground, apparently because they were overloaded. 

 Presently they would take wing and away they 

 would go.— Ed.] 



Bees Eject Water when Fed Maple Sap 



I have supposed or taken it for granted that 

 every one knew that bees eject water when carry- 



ing very thin nectar. Chip a maple, blackwalnut, 

 or any tree that has a sweet sap, or give bees water 

 slightly sweetened, and stand between them and 

 the sun while they are carrying it home, and you 

 can very distinctly see them eject water. 



MOTHER AND DAUGHTER TAKING TURNS. 



I raise my best queens from an old queen when I 

 put her off by herself with a few bees and a single 

 frame of brood, and let the bees supersede her. For 

 some time the mother and daughter will occupy 

 the same comb — the former laying once in a while 

 an egg, while the latter will work very industrious- 

 ly laying eggs. I usually find them about two 

 inches apart, and they appear to keep about that 

 distance habitually. 



THREE-WHEELED CART. 



I do not like a wheelbarrow for handling honey 

 nor for any other purpose about a beeyard. I use a 

 three-wheeled cart with springs. I had it made at 

 South Bend, Ind., and shipped to me as freight. 



MOTH.S IN COLORADO. 



Don't you let them make you believe that bee- 

 moths are unknown in Colorado — both kinds too. 

 Just lease a ranch to some Easterner who thinks 

 there are none, and by the end of the season you 

 will be able to find plenty. 



Carlton, Col., Feb. 5. James H. Wing. 



Production of Extracted Honey Much More Profita- 

 ble than Comb 



Referring to the editorial, page 35, January 15, 1 

 will sai that it does not pay us to ship any comb 

 honey to market, except the fancy and Xo. 1 white. 

 At the same time, there are so many unfinished 

 sections that have cost us about as much to pro- 

 duce as the good grade that the profit in comb 

 honey is almost wiped ovit, since we are obliged to 

 accept practically extracted-honey prices for these 

 culls. When it comes to dollars and cents, extract- 

 ed honey has comb honey beat a mile. We can 

 produce almost 2^<i pounds of extracted honey to 

 one of comb. In this country we are just finding 

 that extracted honey is much more profitable. 



Wyoming. Winfield Martin. 



Dampening 500 Seetions Without Swelling the 

 Wood 



Remove the boards on the top side of the crate 

 holding the sections and gently shake the loose 

 sections end down until all of the V grooves are 

 opposite and even. Drive two long sticks as wedges 

 down to the bottom of the crate on one side so that 

 the faces of the sections are tightly wedged togeth- 

 er, and no water can reach them. Pick up the 

 crate endwise and immerse it in a tub of water. 

 The water will run through the open grooves, wet- 

 ting them thoroughly, leaving the surfaces dry. 

 Only one immersion is necessary, and the crate 

 should be placed so as to drain at once. If kept 

 covered the sections will stay damp all day, even 

 in a dry climate. 



Bakersfield, Cal. L. C. Clark. 



Honey Cures Sick-headache 



1 have been Informed by Captain Geo. H. White- 

 side, a very iirominent citizen of Appalachicola, 

 also manufacturer of ice there, that he has been 

 cured of sick-headache by eating honey twice a 

 day. His headache was so severe that he had to go 

 to bed, sometimes for several days. You may rest 

 assured that this comes from a man who stands 

 high among the people of this State, and from one 

 who is a ( 'hristlan gentleman, 



Sumatra, Fla. A. B. Marchant. 



Clipping Queens of Prime Swarms. 



1 follow the practice of clipping queens, and am 

 not troubled much by supersedure: but I always 

 avoid clipping the wings of a queen in a colony 

 that is working well and is in normal condition. 



Webster Springs, W. Va. L. S. Weese. 



Pyrox fills the barrel with the apples that used to 

 be on top. M'rlte Bowker Insecticide Co., Boston, 

 for book. 



