388 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 3, 1906 



Varies from 62 to 66 degrees according to temperature out- 

 side. Within those limits a change of IS degrees outside 

 makes a change of 1 degree inside the cluster. Meantime 

 the air adjacent the cluster, as near as the bulb can be held, 

 is about 40 degrees — and less than 2 inches away depositing 

 frost at 32 degrees. Shortly after being disturbed the in- 

 side temperature runs right up from 60-odd to 87 degrees. 



The puzzle with which Mr. D. closes I'll guess off thus : 

 The liveliest bees are of course well inside. When they 

 hear a racket and think that duty calls them, they push to 

 get out in all directions, and of course find it pretty hard 

 pushing ; but (equally of course) those that push down find 

 less resistance than do those that push sidewise and up- 

 ward, and succeed better. Page 272. 



When Bees Gather Propolis 



Dr. Miller didn't accuse bees of bringing propolis from 

 buckwheat while working on it; but a heedless beginner 

 might, perhaps, infer that. My idea is that when a heavy 

 honey-flow prevails propolis is scarcely brought in at all 

 from any source. Warm weather and idleness conduce to 

 propolis — and I suppose that buds secrete it more plenti- 

 fully as the winter draws near. Presumably the only thing 

 the buckwheat can be held to blame for is not furnishing 

 nectar the latter half of the afternoon. That would leave 

 our busy-bodies several unoccupied hours to hunt for stick- 

 em-up. " Satan finds," etc. Still, I doubt a little whether 

 they change their kinds of work so readily as that. Page 271. 



Winter Space Too Crowded With Bees 



So Harry Lathrop confesses (20 years after date) to fill- 

 ing a little wintering space so nearly solid with SO hives of 

 bees that bushels of bees came out and clustered in the 

 upper corners. Some of the boys can better afford to note 

 how this particular thing works than to try it themselves. 



" Eggsperiunce good skule tewishum hi." — Josh B. 



Page 277. 



Lubricant for Rietsche Foundation Press 



And alcohol 4 parts, water 3 parts, honey 3 parts, is 

 about the formula for a lubricant to put on the Rietsche 

 press, which makes foundation from melted wax. Wood 

 alcohol is so very poisonous that I fear we would better not 

 assume without proof that its use will do no harm. Or do 

 the chemists assure us that it leaves nothing whatever be- 

 hind when it evaporates? Adrian Getaz, page 278. 



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Conducted by Morley Pettit, Villa Nova, Ont. 



J 



S. T. PETTIT 



Born in 1829, S. T. Pettit became a public school- 

 teacher, a farmer, then a bee-keeper. In 1873 he founded 

 " The Marble Apiaries " by purchasing a few hives of bees. 

 About IS years later he leased his farms and became a spe- 

 cialist bee-keeper. Throughout he made a hobby of some 

 special line of his regular business. While farming it was 

 prize Southdown sheep ; and as a bee-keeper it was fancy 

 comb honey. While producing mostly extracted honey he 

 developed the Pettit system of comb-honey production, 

 based on ventilation, shade, packed cover to secure uniform 

 temperature in the super, wedges, dividers, perforated sep- 

 arators, etc. His many pet ideas could hardly be enume- 

 rated, such as shade and upward ventilation to retard 

 swarming ; wide top-bars ^-inch thick and accurately 

 spaced to prevent bur-combs ; honey ripened by the bees 

 before extracting ; special watering-place for bees with 

 fresh water every day, etc., are only a few. 



Mr. Pettit spared no expense in securing the best build- 

 ings and appliances. His honey-house, as well as his bee- 

 cellar and work-shop, were perhaps the best built for the 

 purpose in the Province at that time. 



Wintering bees commanded his most careful study. It 

 was not enough that every hive should contain live bees in 

 the spring, but the colonies must be strong enough to be 

 ready for the extracting supers and to store a good surplus 



in fruit-bloom. He allowed natural swarming, considering 

 the good first-swarms as best for comb honey. 



While actively engaged in bee-keeping, Mr. Pettit at- 

 tended conventions, and read and contributed to bee-papers 

 largely. He was at one time President of the Ontario Bee- 

 Keepers' Association, and was delegated with 3 others to 

 take a large consignment of honey from that Association to 

 the Colonial and Indian Exhibition at London, England, in 

 1886. This was the beginning of the series of successful 

 exhibits of honey which Ontario bee-keepers have sent to 

 World's Fairs. He was also largely instrumental in secur- 

 ing the first Dominion Pure Honey Law, about 12 years ago. 



In 1899 he sold his bees to his son, Morley Pettit, and 

 removed to the town of Aylmer, Ont., where he now resides, 

 devoting his attention to his latest hobby — fruit-growing 

 and gardening. For a man of his age, Mr. Pettit is re- 

 markably energetic, and enjoys riding his bicycle almost as 

 much as he did 10 years ago. 



" Marble Apiary," near Belmont, when under the management of 

 S. T. Pettit. The honey-house is in the center background. To the left 

 is the shop nearly hidden by trees. The cellar i6 under the shop. 

 The residence is to the right, and not shown in the picture. About 

 one-third of the colonies were run for comb honey, and the balance 

 for extracted honey. 



^ i ^ 



Emptying: T-Supers by Gravitation 



On pages 160 and 271 may be found an interesting discussion be- 

 tween Mr. GreiDer and Dr. Miller, and the merits and demerits of 

 wide frames and T-supers. 



The Doctor's pictures on page 265, and description on page 271, 

 make his way of emptying a T-super very clear. Allow me to say 

 that is just the way I used to do it a good many years ago, but I 

 found a better way — one thac saves the hard pushing process, and 

 time. 



When you have a number of supers ready for pushing, as the 

 Doctor describee, just go about something else for a time and let 

 gravitation do the pushing. Bee-glue puts up a strong resistance to a 

 quick motion, but to a steady pull it slackens, yields, and lets go, and 

 the sections drop. Allow them to drop about % to % inch at first. 



Aylmer, Ont. S. T. Pettit. 



Father tells me I knocked over a super once upon a 

 time, and when the sections fell out on the floor it taught 

 him this wrinkle. 



Work in Harmony With the Farmers 



The following letter and editorial reply are copied from 

 The Maple Leaf — a weekly newspaper published at Port 

 Dover, in one of the best alsike regions in Canada : 



Value of Bees as Fertilizers of Blossoms. 



Mr. Editor: — At the last annual meeting of the Ontario Bee" 

 Keepers' Association I introduced a resolution, which was carried, 

 asking the Ontario Government to conduct experiments as to the 

 value, or otherwise, of bees in fertilizing blossoms, such as large and 

 small fruits, clover and buckwheat. Also for them to publish results 

 and any information any one has to the effect that bee6 injure bloB- 

 soms by working on them. 



Our Government official has expressed himself to the effect that 

 there are already many experimer ts to show the great value of bees 

 for this purpose, and that they have never been known to injure crops. 



I am anxious that these experiments should be conducted in Nor- 

 folk, to demonstrate to the farmers the value, or otherwise, of bees. 



