782 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane, Middlebury, Vt. 



The bee-lines illustrated by J. Ford Sem- 

 pers, page 618, Oct. 1, are of exceeding in- 

 terest, and shows that bees know better how 

 to fly from one point to another better than 



we have supposed. 



* * » 



Mr. Chadwick is quite right in his recom- 

 mendation of the use of burlap bags for 

 smoker fuel, page 616, Oct. 1 — nothing 

 better. No objection if the burlap is cov- 

 ered with propolis. 



* * * 



We received a card from a beekeeper 

 a few days ago who had some honey to sell, 

 saying he would have sent us a sample of 

 his honey, but he had a little foul brood 

 among his bees, and did not wish in any 

 way to expose our section to disease. If all 

 were as careful we should have much less 



foul brood. 



* * * 



The yield of honey Dr. Miller secured 

 the past season is certainly surprising, and 

 shows the value of sticking to the business 

 through thick and thin, and not neglect- 

 ing the bees because it looks bad or dis- 

 couraging. Had he not fed and cared for 

 them until honey came I dare say he would 

 have had a poor season. 



* * * 



Mr. P. C. Chadwick gives some interest- 

 ing paragraphs from the Pacific coast ; and 

 while conditions are very different there 

 from those on this side of the continent, 

 still the fact remains that the general prin- 

 ciples are the same, and it is the man there 

 as here who tends his business, keeping 

 watch as to what it is best to do, and doing 

 his own thinking, who succeeds. 



* * * 



That editorial, page 503, Aug. 15, on 

 migratory beekeeijing was very interesting 

 reading although few of us will be able to 

 try it; but it makes one wish he were 

 young again. To succeed, one will not 

 only need "brains and capital" but a large 

 amount of physical endurance as well. The 

 building-up of a large number of colonies 

 from a few is a trade of itself, and one 

 which, I fear, but few of us fully under- 

 stand. 



* * * 



Mr. Chadwick, p. 616, Oct. 1, refers to 

 an item of mine telling how I found a very 

 strong colony in early spring that had win- 

 tered in fine condition with a very large 

 entrance, and thinks I have found grounds 

 for a large winter entrance. That is not 



exactly the idea. I still prefer a small win- 

 ter entrance for outdoor wintering; but 

 when I find a case like the one mentioned, 

 where a colony has wintered in the best 

 possible condition under conditions which 

 I do not approve I like to speak of it, that 

 vve may all study the subject more carefully 

 and find out the exact truth, which is vastly 

 more important than to brace up my pet 



theories. 



* * * 



Louis H. Scholl calls for a good hive 

 number. Say, my friend, I have one that 

 is durable and cheap. It has been in use 

 for more than forty years, and is good yet. 

 Take a little boiled linseed oil and some 

 lampblack. Mix the black with the oil 

 rather tliick, and then use with a small 

 brush on stencil figures. I like those two 

 inches high, so I can see them a long way 

 off. Oh ! you said you wanted figures that 

 you could put on in a "jiffy," and change 

 from one hive to another in the same space 

 of time. Well, put your numbers on your 

 covers if you want to change them. 



* * * 



Shipjaing bees in two or three i^ound 

 packages, or even in larger packages, with- 

 out combs or hives, is a new idea as ex- 

 plained on pages 645 and 649, Oct. 15. If 

 it proves a success (as seems probable) it 

 will be a boon to many beekeepers when, 

 after an unusually poor season, their stock 

 of bees is greatly reduced but their supply 

 of combs and hives large. An extra-good 

 season almost invariably follows a very 

 poor one; and if one can get bees reason- 

 ably cheap he can stock up at once, and 

 not have to melt combs into wax, and can 

 thus be able to get not only the hives filled 

 with bees, but surplus more than enough to 

 pay for the bees bought. 



* * * 



I have about come to the conclusion that 

 a beekeeper's education is not quite complete 

 until he has had one or two years away 

 from home inspecting bees. He sees and 

 learns a great many things he has never 

 known before or even dreamed of. A little 

 while ago I found a colony trying to rear 

 two larvae in the same cell. I counted nine 

 such cells containing each two larvae about 

 half grown, and they appeared to fill the 

 cell about as full as one full-gi'own larva. 

 I had supposed that two might often hatch 

 in a cell, but supposed they were always 

 removed when quite young. This colony 

 was quite weak, and the total amount of 



