1894 



(JLEANINGS IN BEE CLLTURE. 



797 



lilies. Since the close of the mangrove season I 

 have moved my apiary to this place, a distance 

 •of 75 miles, and placed it in reach of some (K),- 

 '000 acres of swamp, and 2i)00 acres of orange- 

 groves, ready for winter and spring f^ows. I 

 •am well acquainted with every nook and cor- 

 ner of East, Middle, and South Florida, and 

 the honey resources all over the btate, having 

 compiled the State Reports for three years. I 

 have visited and investigated Cuba and her 

 honey resources, and could add several items to 

 Fred O. Sommerford's article in Sept. I5th 

 •Gleanings, but space forbids. 

 San Mateo, Fla., Supt. "^3. 



[When A. I. R. was visiting at Mr. Lang- 

 stroth's, in Dayton, the latter told him that he 

 had received a report fiom a bee-keeper in 

 Florida who had averaged a barrel of honey 

 per colony for his whole apiary. When the 

 Senior editor came home he wanted to know if 

 1 had received reports of any such yields. 

 ■■ Why, yes," 1 said. Our Huney Statistics had 

 .given an inkling of something of the kind, but 

 •did not put it exactly that svay. He thought 

 we ought, to find out more about it at once. 

 But 1 suggested that these big yields were 

 sometimes misleading, and that we must not 

 make too much of them. But Mr. Brown has 

 written the matter up in such a way that 1 do 

 .not tliink there will be any wrong idea convey- 

 ed. We must remember that yields per colony 

 in the South (and that includes Cuba) are much 

 .larger than those in the North; so we must 

 uiaKe due allowance for locality. While most 

 bee-keepers ot the North have been reporting 

 -a rather poor seasun 1 am sure they will all 

 rejoice with tlieir bee-keeping friends in Flori- 

 •da who have produced such enormous yields, 

 •«ven aggregating a barrel per colony, if we 

 consider the bairel as one of standard size — 31 

 gallons. Larger honey barrels are unwieldy 

 to handle, so the smaller sizes are usually 

 meant when spoken of. , 



1 have been a little tearful that the Hoffman 

 frame might not be satisfactory in the extreme 

 •South, where the propolis is deposited more 

 freely; but it seems that, if one will throw 

 aside his old-time prejudice, and really open 

 his eyes to something b tter, he may handle 

 these frames to belter advantage than the loose 

 ■unspaced style. 



1 scarcely know what is a big record for ex- 

 tracting — that is, the largest number of pounds 

 taken out m a given time; but 1 am rather of 

 the opinion that five 4r)-gallon barrelfuls, or 

 •3.500 lbs., in 4;'.2' hours, is a record-breaking feat 

 for a two-frame extractor. Here is a pointer 

 for those who are using the non reversible ma- 

 chines. 



The rest of my footnote will be found attached 

 to the article of Dr. Miller's, p. 7".i3, and to whicli 

 friend Brown is referred. I hope he will not 

 only give us the information called for. but the 

 "several items'" in reference to Mr. Sommer- 

 .ford's article in Gleanings for Sept. 15.— Ed.] 



RIPENED OR DIGESTED NECTAR. 



CHOS.S (V) OF f AI.IFOKNIA. 



By Prof. A. J. Cook. 



I read last (tle.ynings with sincere pleasure. 

 The new ideas regarding feeding by percola- 

 tion, from Dr. Miller and Mr. Boardman, pleas- 

 ■ed me much, as I am working on the same line. 



I am free, and rejoice to say that they are 

 ahead of me. I was amused to hear of Mr. 

 Boardman's experience, that it did not granu- 

 late as the " bees ripen it." We usually speak 

 of ripening as a thickening process, and we all 

 know that, the thicker cane syrup is, the more 

 readily it crystallizes. Why not speak the 

 truth, and say the bees digest it, or convert it 

 into honey — a glucose sugar ? Mr. Muth says 

 it is cane sugar stored. Why, then, does it not 

 granulate or crystallize? 



I did not say in my article that the so-called 

 paralysis was caused by too little stores. 1 see 

 no reason to change my mind regarding the new- 

 bee disease. 



We have heard much of cross bees in Califor- 

 nia, or, rather, that the California bees are pecul- 

 iarly ill-natured. My present bees are hybrids, 

 between blacks and Italians, with black blood 

 in the ascendency. This season has been a very 

 poor one. Such a combination in Michigan I 

 used to dread, in case 1 had to work with the 

 bees. I have not been troubled at all here. I 

 have worked not a little with no veil, and often 

 with no smoker. 



People are often annoyed by having their 

 shade-trees injured. Horses are hitched to the 

 trees, and soon girdle and destroy them. I 

 have a magnificent oak in my yard. It is im- 

 mense, and its shade and beauty are our con- 

 stant joy. Well, 1 have no sign up, and yet no 

 one hitches to this mighty monarch. 1 believe 

 the bees enjoy it as much as I do. It shades 

 the bees, and me while I work with them, and I 

 have little fear that horses will be tied to it. 



i have been through Ventura Co. twice late- 

 ly; but time would not stop nor listen to my 

 stopping, so I passed Fillmore, Santa Paula, 

 and Ventura, with great longings to visit 

 Mclntyre and our other friends. My regrets 

 were renewed as I read Rambler's account of 

 his and our good friend Wilder "s visit in that 

 region. 



Claremont, Cal., Sept. 26. 



[I do not think we can successfully deny that 

 bees dodo sumething to nectar or thin syrup 

 after they get hold of it. Chemical analysis 

 shows a bliglit change; and when honey or 

 syrup is fed thin enough they ripen it or digest 

 it, or do something to it that changes it some- 

 what. When syrup is fed thick, or in the old 

 proportion of two of sugar to one of water, less 

 change necessarily take.s place — perhaps none 

 at all in some cases; but when it is fed thin — 

 half sugar and half water, after the bees have 

 stored \i in the combs it seems to have under- 

 gone a change. It looks a little different, and 

 it tastes a little different. You seem to prefer 

 the word "'digest."* If there is a change, I 

 should prefer the word "ripen." It seems to 

 me it is more palatable to the consumer to 

 think of it as such; but whether this ripening 



*It seems incorrect to use the word "digest " in 

 connection with nectar or honey until it lias been 

 acted upon by tiie true stomach for food. Not until 

 then does it begin to disintegrate and start to build 

 up tliat which is continually wearing away, by con- 

 verting, in the language of Cowan, the nutrient 

 particles of the food into blood. Nectar is held in 



