218 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



April 5, 1900. 



from. A retailer has a right to order direct from the pro- 

 ducer if he sees fit, and a producer has a right to the reputa- 

 tion his production gains. 



In the same paper W. A. H. Gilstrap says: "Perhaps 

 the strang-est part of Mr. Mandelbaum's article is where he 

 ■wants the cases markt so as to protect him, and yet allow 

 him to sell alfalfa and basswood for white clover. I don't 

 know what you call that." 



And again in the same journal, Frank Rauchfuss says : 

 " We not only want our names on the cases, but also the 

 addresses, so that people will know where the honey has 

 been produced. We recognized that this is the only way to 

 establish a reputation for our product." 



Bee-Keeping in Switzerland. — As every traveler 

 knows, honey is much in evidence at almost every meal in 

 Switzerland. The Republic has an excellent bee-school at 

 Zug, where there are usually 25 students undergoing train- 

 ing in the brief honey-producing season, which (as far as 

 commercial production goes) extends to but three or four 

 months — the later stores being always allowed to remain in 

 the hives for winter. The bee most valued is the small 

 brown German variety, which beats the Italian and Carnio- 

 lan sorts hollow in foraging in hot weather. I regret to see 

 that complaints are rife as to the import of adulterated 

 honey, and need hardly say where the complaint chief!}' 

 lies. Scarce one of the old-fashioned straw-skeps is now 

 in use, the most approved bar-hives being almost universal. 

 — Country Gentleman. 



A New Bee=Glove, devised by C. I. Graham, is thus 

 described by Editor Root in Gleanings in Bee-Culture : 



" The wrist portion of the article is made of some stout 

 strong cloth and elastic material the same as shown in 

 shoes. Instead of shortened glove-fingers every other 

 finger passes thru small iron rings ; and these are said to 

 be sufficient to keep the protector tightly over the back of 

 the hand. The elastic rubber causes the wrist portion to 

 fit tightly, preventing any bees from getting up the sleeve, 

 and the rings give the freest possible use for the fingers 

 and palms of the hands. 



" I have not tried these protectors any more than to 

 put them on. I don't know, but I think I would not on a 

 hot day like to have a pair of tight corsets, so to speak, 

 around my wrists. I have used with a great deal of satis- 

 faction a pair of loose straw cuffs to prevent soiling of mj' 

 sleeves, and to keep bees from crawling up my arms." 



Strong Colonies for Comb Honey was the slogan at 

 the Wisconsin convention. A report in the Country Gentle- 

 man says : 



" Mr. C. A. Hatch argued for the 10-frame brood-nest in 

 the spring, in order to rear all of the bees possible. At the 

 opening of the honey harvest he would have every comb in 

 the brood-nest of a colony that was to be vporkt for comb 

 honey, filled with brood, even if he had to rob some other 

 colonies in order to do this. He would place the unsealed 

 brood at the outside of the brood-nest. This prevents the 

 filling of the ouside combs with honey, as the harvest (from 

 basswood) is over before the brood has hatcht from the out- 

 side combs. The center of the brood-nest will not be filled 

 with honey. In a debate between two members, on spring 

 management, one advocated that all colonies to be run for 

 comb honey should be populous, even at the expense of 

 weaker colonies, by robbing some of the latter of combs of 

 brood if necessary. He believed in concentration instead 

 of equalization." 



Cleansing Beeswax is thus given by F. Greiner in the 

 American Bee-Keeper : 



" I happened to have an old 5-gallon oil-can ; from it I 

 cut the top and put in a small brass-faucet about three 

 inches above the bottom. The can was then ready for 

 work. It was first filled with water up to within one inch 

 of the faucet ; when the water was hot, the wax, in its 

 crude state, was added little by little as it kept melting, till 

 the can was nearly full. When all was melted, a cover was 

 put on the dish, moved to the back part of the stove, or the 

 wick of the oil-stove pretty well turned down. My aim now 

 was to keep the melted wax in a quiet state for some little 

 time, until the agitation of boiling had subsided. Still I 

 did not want the wax to cool off very much, but give it time 

 that any impurities might settle. After a lapse of about 30 

 minutes I commenced drawing off the wax, running it into 

 slightly oiled new-tin basins ; all of these when full were 



set to one side and kept covered so that the cooling process 

 might go on slowly, thus preventing the cracking of the 

 cakes. 



" Moulded in new tin the cakes came out much brighter 

 than when using any old rusty basins, as I have done be- 

 fore. I was greatly pleased with the appearance of the 

 wax, and so were others. Having some on exhibition at 

 the fair, some experienced bee-keepers askt me repeatedly 

 how I managed my wax, whether I had varnisht it, etc. 

 For that reason I make special mention of this point. All , 

 wax that would run from the faucet without tipping the 

 can up, came out perfectly clean, and none of the cakes, 

 when cool, had any sediment. That which did not run out 

 was allowed to cool in the can, slightly tipping the can 

 back, to leave the faucet above the top surface of the wax. 

 As soon as hardened sufficiently, and yet before the wax 

 had become really cold, the slab about an inch thick was 

 taken out and dirt and other impurities were scraped off 

 from the bottom. I melted this cake with the next batch 

 each time, and thus managed I had only one small cake of 

 inferior wax in my whole lot of ISO pounds." 



Improved Benton Shipping-Cages were mentioned by 

 Mr. Benton at the Ontario Co., N. Y., convention, as re- 

 ported in Gleanings in Bee-Culture, as follows : 



" As stated, the customary cage is made out of an ob- 

 long block with three holes bored in it, and overlapping 

 each other. This feature Mr. B. objected to. A thin wall 

 should be left standing between these holes, connecting 

 them by a smaller perforation thru the walls, which may be 

 effected by boring a small hole from the end into the cage. 

 Formerly the sides of the cages were made flat or smooth. 

 Packt tightly in the mail-bags it might cause a lack of ven- 

 tilation, which can be easily insured by grooving the long 

 sides of the cages, and boring, not punching, the little holes 

 for ventilation from the grooves into the cage. By thus 

 ventilating only chamber I, the bees may retreat to compart- 

 ment II, if they should find it more congenial there. In 

 fact, here they will generally be found clustering." 



Wet=Sheet Pack for a Severe Bee=Sting. — I want to 

 say a word of comfort to those who suffer from severe itch- 

 ing, resembling hives, all over after being stung by bees, 

 especially in warm weather. My daughter, aged 12, was 

 stung by a bee last summer, and in half an hour her body 

 was as red as it could be, and swelled up in blotches and 

 lumps of all sizes, and she was in such agony that she cried 

 out aloud. My wife got a sheet, wrung it out of cold 

 water fresh from the well, and spread it upon a bed, and, 

 after taking off all of the child's clothes, she laid her upon 

 it and covered the ends of the sheet over her and patted 

 them down very closely. She then covered her up with a 

 lot of quilts. In IS minutes she was asleep, and slept over 

 an hour. When she awoke she felt quite well, and the per- 

 spiration was flowing freely. After wiping herself care- 

 fully with a soft towel, she drest, and felt as well as ever. — • 

 Edw. Smith, in Gleanings in Bee-Culture. 



Some Big Yields of Honey are reported in the Aus- 

 tralian Bee-Bulletin as follows : 



" Some seven or eight years ago Mr. Vogel, of the Pat- 

 erson, reported that one colony with its swarms had pro- 

 duced 1,000 pounds of honey. 



"Mr. Peterson, late of Wattle Flat, asserted that one 

 year his colonies averaged 7S0 pounds apiece. It was not, 

 however, satisfactorily proved. The year previous he had 

 no honey and had to feed. 



" Mr. Maxwell, of Albury, informed us that one year 

 he had an average of SOO pounds per colony. 



"Mr. Kelly, last year, had 17 tons from 70 colonies. 

 These big returns, as far as we can learn, are never fol- 

 lowed up. The following year, or the previous one, are in 

 most cases poor ones." 



Honey and Almond Cake. — Boil one pound of honey. 

 After it has boiled, and while still hot, stir in one pound of 

 flour, % pound of coarsely chopt almonds, browned in }i 

 pound of sugar (heat the sugar without water ; when it has 

 melted stir in the nuts; allow it to cool, and then separate 

 the nuts so they will mix well). Add one teaspoonful of 

 ground cinnamon, '4 teaspoonful of ground cloves, a hand- 

 ful of chopt citron, and a scant teaspoonful of soda dis- 

 solved in a little water. Mix well, spread on a floured tin, 

 and bake. While still warm cut into squares. — E. H. 

 SCHAEFFLE, in Gleanings in Bee-Culture. 



