SEPTEMBER 15, lal2 



577 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane, Middlebury, Vt. 



The honey season about here began June 

 22 and closed July 20, lasting just four 

 weeks — three weeks on clover and a week 

 on basswood. We have a verj^ good crop. 



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Thanks for C. A. Bunch's descrijDtion on 

 page 454, July 15, of a sweet-elover-seed 

 stripper. I might have saved a lot of seed 

 two years ago if I had known how ; but I 

 sup])osed it had to be drawn to a barn 

 floor and thrashed like grain to get the 



seed. 



* * * 



That editorial, page 431, July 15, in 

 regard to the use of glass in sliipping- 

 cases. and the statements by Mr. Hath- 

 away, page 454, are quite to the point; 

 and yet there are some markets that will 

 call for it for a long time to come, I fear; 

 and not only cases Avith glass but sections 



as well. 



* * * 



Mr. E. W. Peirce, page 409, July 1, hits 

 the nail scjuarely on the head when he 

 tells us that we can not expect the price 

 of honey to go above a certain figure. 

 This is most certainly true with the great 

 mass of consumers; and j^et there are some 

 who will pay fancy prices for honey if 

 they can not get it without doing so. 



# -* * 



Louis H. Scholl gives us a "chunk" 

 of bulk comb honey to think about, p. 434, 

 July 15. Now, I would like to ask him 

 frankly if he would advise tlie beekeepers 

 of the North to put ujd bulk honey in tin 

 or glass, and pour over it choice clover 

 or linden honey that granulates quickly 

 m our cool climate, and then ship to the 

 cities to wait for customers. What is best 

 for him may not be for us, although I 

 have a friend here in Vermont who is 

 quite enthusiastic over "bulk comb honey;'' 

 but he sells near home. 



* * * 



I am not exactly glad that Orel L. Her- 

 shiser has had foul brood among his bees, 

 but that, having had it, he can tell his ex- 

 perience as he has done on page 299, May 

 15. European foul brood or American foul 

 brood in the hands of an earnest or indus- 

 trious beekeeier is not the scourge it is 

 usually considered. I visited one town last 

 year where evei-y yard, so far as I know, 

 was diseased, and it seemed a hopeless task 

 to clean it up ; yet by following a few sim- 

 ple directions these same yards to-day are 

 almost free from disease. One yard of black 

 bees where almost every colony was diseas- 



ed, I found on a recent visit entirely free, 

 and as clean as one would care to see. But 

 I see the finish of the careless farmer bee- 

 keeper in the near future, and the whole 

 business left in the hands of those who will 

 care for their bees. 



i' * « 



J. L. Byer, p. 264, May 1, says that it is 

 hard to explain why a cross between Ital- 

 ian and black bees should be called a hy- 

 brid. Well, my friend, I will tell you. 

 When Italian bees were first introduced 

 into this country, or before, they were de- 

 scribed as most wonderful bees — very dis- 

 tinct from tlie common bee, and much larg- 

 er than black bees. It was claimed, too, 

 that they would work on red clover. The 

 conclusion was drawn, that of course a 

 cross, if it would cross with the common 

 bee, must be a hybrid; and since that time 

 we beekeepers have kept right on using 

 the word in a wrong way Avhen we knew 

 better. Is there time for repentance? I 

 think so. Why not call all the various 

 crosses between the different breeds of bees 

 "gi-ades," as is done with cattle and sheep? 

 Is a cross between a Carniolan and a black 

 bee a hybrid? Then why should a cross 

 between an Italian and some other breed 



be called a hybrid? 



* * * 



Mention is made, May 1, p. 273, by Dun- 

 das Todd, of hiving a swarm by first using 

 a little smoke. It is a popular idea that 

 smoking a colony of bees clustered on the 

 branch of a tree is ticklish business, for 

 smoke frightens them and then they will 

 all leave for the woods. I myself used to 

 be afraid that, if I smoked a cluster, the 

 bees would immediately run away. I have 

 now used smoke for this purpose for more 

 than tliirty years, and never yet have driv- 

 en a swarm away. Smoke is even more 

 helpful in making bees gentle when clus- 

 tered than when in the hives. Besides, 

 they often cluster in fence-corners or on 

 branches where one can not readily dis- 

 lodge them or saw off the limb, and smoke 

 is exceedingly helpful in driving them to a 

 place where they can more easily be hived. 



Speaking of the value of ground cobs 

 for packing, p. 259, May 1, the editor 

 commends this material because of its ca- 

 pability of absorbing water. I had suppos- 

 ed that the value of packing material con- 

 sisted in its ability to hold air. I don't want 

 any water in the hives or packing, and there 

 will be little in either if good provision 

 has been made to get rid of it. 



