DECEMBER 15, 1912 



793 



brood in the hive small. Whether the bees 

 of this hive were trying to economize their 

 heat and space by rearing two to the cell, 

 or they had overlooked the fact that two 

 had hatched in these cells I Was unable to 

 determine. 



Reference is made by Dr. Miller, page 

 504, Aug. 15, to the dislike of bees for 

 black stockings. Now, I believe it is the 

 almost universal opinion that bees have a 

 natural dislike or prejudice against black; 

 and while it seems certain they can or will 

 become accustomed to black, yet, consider- 

 ing the brevity of bee life and the value of 

 the beekeeper's time, it does not pay to try 

 to educate them against their natural in- 

 stincts. It is better to adajDt ourselves or 

 api^arel to their ideas of i^ropriety. In 

 this connection I am reminded that our 

 truckman drives a white horse, and never 

 has any fear of its getting stung when driv- 

 ing it near bees when going to a yard of 

 bees for us for a load of honey. 

 * * * 



Can bees count? Dr. Miller, page 540, 

 Sept. 1, mentions or suggests that bees can 

 or may tell the difference between an eight 

 and a ten spot card. Well, perhaps they 

 may; but I doubt much if they often do. 

 I think I have mentioned before that a few 

 years ago I set the hives of one yard of 

 bees in long rows, and had a great deal of 

 trouble in their getting mixed and losing 

 their own hives, going into unoccupied 

 hives in cool weather and losing their 

 lives. When I saw what the results were 

 I used a paint-brush freely, giving one hive 

 a large splash on the hive front, another 

 two or three or more, and others a circle or 

 bar across the front, but with very unsatis- 

 factory results until I changed the location 

 of the hives, allowing some to enter from 

 one direction, and others from some other 

 point of the compass. 



COLORADO GRADING RULES RATHER STRICT. 



I notice on page 610, Oct. 1, a call for 

 more comb honey in proportion to the 

 amount of extracted honey than is now 

 produced. I have been wondering for some 

 time what effect the close grading would 

 have on the jDroduction of comb honey. 

 The Colorado rules allow but fifty unsealed 

 cells in their lowest grade, no matter how 

 well the section is otherwise filled. We 

 have been told that all sections b(io\'/ (liis 

 grade should be marketed near home; but 

 we are not told how to sell two thousand 

 light sections in a town of 200 population 

 or less. Here, for instance, is a section 



that weighs 13 ounces, and has 60 unsealed 

 cells. That must be thrown out, although 

 half the cells next to the wood are sealed 

 on one side. Is there no demand in our 

 larger towns for such combs? I believe 

 there is ; but if such sections must be thrown 

 out, and the honey extracted and combs 

 melted up, I am not surprised that so many 

 extract their crop of honey. The Eastern 

 grading rules are more liberal — perhaps too 

 much so — as I doubt the wisdom of selling 

 the ordinary size of section that would 

 weigh but eight ounces. However, there 

 may be a demand for such sections in some 

 places. The desirability of nicely filled and 

 capped sections can not be over-estimated; 

 and the suggestion of the use of extracting 

 combs in the outside of supers is certainly 

 a move in the right direction. 



I was much interested in reading P. F. 

 X. Ryan's kindly criticism of Prof. J. H. 

 Lovell's article on flowers, page 654, Oct. 

 15, until near the close where he asked me 

 to stand up and take my medicine. Humph ! 

 I see it does make a difference whose ox is 

 gored. But really, friend Ryan, I believe 

 I used to think exactly as you do, but have 

 come to think somewhat differently in these 

 later years. In fact, I think that the Christ 

 was born, suffered hunger, thirst, and wea- 

 riness, as we do ; that he grew strong by the 

 use of his muscles as we do, and that his 

 mind grew sti'ong by thinking, whether in 

 school or out of school, in the open fields, 

 or studying the social and religious customs 

 of the people among whom he lived, just as 

 our minds gTow strong by using them. Of 

 one thing I am sure. He was a wonderful 

 thinker, and he taught those around him to 

 think also, to draw lessons from the birds 

 and flowers and fields. More, he taught 

 them to put first things first, and do as 

 well as to think; and his life may be an 

 inspiration to us in our business as truly as 

 the life of Lincoln or Langstroth. Suppose 

 we draw a lesson from the birds this after- 

 noon. Why does a hen sit on a jDorcelain 

 egg half the summer? That is easy enough. 

 Because she doesn't tliink or reason, or she 

 would know she could not hatch a brood of 

 fluffy chicks from porcelain eggs. And 

 why does a man buy an improved frame 

 hive and never open it, but let the bees 

 build the combs crosswise or any way it 

 happens? Or why does he let his bees 

 starve just before the harvest? Wliy? That 

 seems easy enough too. Because, like a 

 bird, he does not think or reason, or he 

 would conduct his business in a more sen- 

 sible way. 



