itmm MBdERicjsrf m^mM j©iPFKif mi,. 



53 



Xlie Uloatcd lluiubl«-ltee. 



Raise the pickens for the chickens, 



Raise the baby on joiir knee, 

 But never raise a rumpus 



Witli a bloated bumblebee. 



Don't you slieht him, don't you fight him. 



Even on your own domain ; 

 If you do it you will rue it 



When you wrestle with the pain. 



Don't you boss him, don't you cross him 

 When the (lowers are in bloom ; 



If you meet him try to greet him 

 With respect and lots of room. 



OUERIES f ReFLIES. 



Burnings Out Iloney-Kcgs when 

 Tliey are made. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 607 — -Is it necessary to burn out 

 honey-kecs by the cooper, when making 

 them ?— Michigan. 



No. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



I do not know. — Eugene Secor. 



I think not. — G. M. Doolittle. 



I see no reason why thej' should be. 

 — Will M. Barnum. 



No, not to burn them out. — H. D. 

 Cutting. 



I think that it is not necessary, only 

 convenient. — R. L. Taylor. 



Not being a cooper,! cannot answer. 

 — James Heddon. 



Thi.s question can be more correctly 

 answered by the cooper. — J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



I do not know enough about keg- 

 making. That is a question for coop- 

 ers to answer. — ^C. C. Miller. 



No. You apt to transmit a coloring 

 to the honey. — J. M. Hambaugh.. 



I find it to be Ijetter, especially when 

 soft wood is used. — P. L. Viallon. 



No ; and it should not be done un- 

 less they are to be waxed or paraf- 

 fined before being used. — A. B. Mason. 



Honey-kegs should never be charred, 

 as the motes of coal will spoil the ap- 

 jM-arance of the honey. — Dadant & 



No ; only to make the staves more 

 '• jiliable," so as to make the kegs per- 



filtly tight.— C. H. UlBBERN. 



The cooper heats the staves in order 

 to bend them easily, and without 

 breaking. Tliat much burning is 

 necessary. — M. Mahin. 



I give it up. A.sk the cooper. If 

 you mean because of flavoring honey, 

 it would depend some upon the wood. 

 Generally, no. — A. J. Cook. 



I think not. It is well and advisable 

 to either give them an inside coating 

 of wax or paralKne. — J. E. Pond. 



I think not. Cooperage is burned 

 or heated, so that the staves will bend 

 readily to form tlic " bulge," and close 

 the head of the cask. The hoops ma}' 

 be driven closer, and the joints tighter, 

 if the material be cold. — J. M. Shuck. 



No ; but coopers usually put fire in 

 the vessel when forcing the joints, to 

 make tight work of it. Many years 

 ago I made tiglit cooperage with or 

 without the use of heat. Kegs or bar- 

 rels charred on the inside are preferred 

 by the manufacturers and dealers in 

 " red liquors," but they are not fit for 

 honej'. The charred wood does no 

 harm to the honey, except that it 

 crumbles and mixes with the honey, 

 especially at the sides after granula- 

 tion. — G. W. Demaree. 



The cooper heats the staves to make 

 them pliable, and thereby get closer 

 joints. He also "chars" the wood 

 when making them for some kinds of 

 liquors, but such are not fit for hone}', 

 which needs neither the color nor the 

 flavor it imparts. — The Editor. 



Do Bees Store IVater in the 

 Combs ? 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 608.— In the spring water is often 

 found in the combfi — do the bees store it 

 there, or is It a condensation ?— N. 



It is a condensation. — J. M. Ham- 

 baugh. 



It is a condensation. — A. B. Mason. 

 It is a condensation.^M. Mahin. 



I never saw it here in the South. — 

 P. L. Viallon. 



It is a condensation. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



It is a condensation. — James Hed- 

 don. 



It is probably a condensation. — C. 

 C. Miller. 



I think that it is found there from 

 both causes. — R. L. Taylor. 



It is stored Ijy the bees. — Will M. 

 Barnum. 



I think that It is stored there by the 

 bees from condensation. — H. D. Cut- 

 ting. 



It may result from condensation, 

 but more frequently from leaky hives. 

 — J. P. H. Brown." 



It may be there from either cause, 

 or from both causes. — J. M. Shuck. 



I think that it conden.ses there. I 

 have never seen water in the cells. — A. 

 J. Cook. 



I have never seen any water in the 

 cells that the bees did not bring. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



It is the result of condensation, or 

 leaky hive-covers. Bees do not store 

 water, pure and simple, in their 

 combs. — G. W. Demaree. 



It may be done in both ways. That 

 the bees store and use water is con- 

 ceded l)y most bee-keepers. — G. M. 

 Doolittle. 



I do not think that bees store water 

 at all ; but when found, I think that it 

 is the result of condensation. I shall 

 hold to the above opinion until ab o- 

 hite proofs to the contrary are given. 

 —J. E. Pond. 



I do not know. The bees probably 

 store some water while rearing brood, 

 for a "rainy day." — C. H. Uibbern. 



Usually it is a condensation. Some- 

 times in the early spring, bees carry 

 water on a pleasant day faster than it 

 is used. This may be a wise provision 

 of Nature, or a wise instinct given to 

 the bee, to provide water in the hive 

 for the brood, upon days too cold for 

 storing for the bees to leave the hive. 

 — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Water is necessary for bees wlien 

 rearing brood, for diluting the honey, 

 or when liquefying it after being gran- 

 ulated. That found in the combs may 

 have resulted from condensation, the 

 bees may have placed it there for 

 future use, or it may have resulted 

 from leaky hives — at all events when 

 there, it is convenient for use as de- 

 sired. The Ijees often visit pump- 

 troughs, and are eager for water, 

 showing that it is a necessity for them, 

 and when found in tlie combs it is sug- 

 gestive of being stored tliere by the 

 bees, even though the proof is wanting. 

 — The Editor. 



Convention I%otices. 



ZW There wiU be a meeting of the Susquehanna 

 County Bee-Keepers' Association at the t:ourt House 

 in Montrose, Pa., on Saturday, May 4, ihmh, at to a.m. 

 H. M. Seelet, Sec. 



fg'" The Northeastern Michigan Bee-Keepers' A8- 

 Bociation willliolrl its annual convention tpn Feb. 6, 

 18«y, at the Dayton Hotel in Klint, Mifli . iit 10 a.m. 

 W. Z. UUTCUI.VSON, Sec. 



t^" The nth annual session of the Texas State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association will be held in the apiary 

 of W. R. Graham, of Greenville Hunt Co., Tex., on 

 May 1 and 2, its8!(. AH bee-keepers are invited 



G. A. WILSON, Sec. 



Z^~ The Northeastern Ohio. Northern Pennf^ylva- 

 nia and Western New York Hee-Keepers" Associa- 

 tion will hold its tenth annual convention in the 

 City Hall at hranklin. Pa., on Wednesday and Thurs- 

 day. .Ian. ;iO and :il, IHHSi. Good hotel accoiumuda- 

 tions have been setmrcd at one dollar per tlay. 



C. H. Coo.v. .See. 



Xlie I>al«» on the wrapper label of 

 your paper indicates the end of the month 

 to which you have paid. If that is past, 

 please send us a dollar to carry the date 

 another year ahead. 



