498 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



December 



question. It will be for some new Huber to 



investigate this matter. Huber's narrations of 



how the bees fill with honey when ready to 

 swarm is exceedingly interesting. 



Heating Extracted Honey 



In the October issue of American Bee Journal 

 I note the Texas "Rules for packing bulk 

 comb honey," page 410. "Extracted honey 

 must have been heated to not less than 120 de- 

 grees." etc. I keep some 5 or 6 colonies for 

 my own pleasure and this year will have some 

 300 pounds to sell. I usually put it in Mason 

 jars. Will you kindly tell me whether it is ab 

 solutcly necessary to heat it, as I never have 

 done it? It sometimes becomes granulated in 

 the jars. Will the heating keep it liquid? Is 

 there any way to prevent granulation? 



NEW YORK. 



Answer. — Yes. heating will prevent granu- 

 lation, and we think that this is the only rea- 

 son why they require it. But it is not abso- 

 Ivitely necessary that you should heat your 

 honey. I think it is much better to tell the 

 people to whom you sell honey that it will 

 granulate, and to explain to them that it is 

 just as good in that shape. I have always 

 thought that honey that has been heated loses 

 some of the essential oils that come from the 

 blossoms. Of course, if it becomee the cus- 

 tom all around to heat it, we will have to follow 

 suit. Be sure not to overheat it. 



Bees Gnaw Cloth 



I have some colonies of bees that last winter 

 gnawed the cloth (cotton) that I laid over the 

 brood frames. I would find great quantities 

 of lint scattered over the bottom board and the 

 cloth ruined. 



How would it work to lay a piece of screen 

 wire cloth over the frames and then put on the 

 top packing? MISSOURI. 



Answer. — Bees do pull cloth to pieces, by 

 taking hold of the little threads that project, 

 and pulling till they make a hole. The softer 

 the cloth the more easily they will make holes 

 in it. If you use khaki or coarse gunny they 

 will be slow about making holes in it and 

 will not have any lint scattered about the bot- 

 tom board. For winter we remove the cloth 

 altogether. Wire cloth might do as you sug- 

 gest. At any rate, it is worth trying. We use 

 straw mats over the combs, with absorbents 

 above them. But old carpets or gunny sacks 

 would do just as well. If you use wire screen 

 let us know how you succeed with it. 



ODDS AND ENDS 



Special Course in Beekeeping 



The Iowa College of Agriculture is 

 offering a special course of twelve 

 weeks for beekeepers which looks 

 very attractive. Many are so situated 

 that they cannot take a long course 

 but will be greatly benefited by the 

 opportunity here afforded. The 

 course opens at Ames on January 2, 

 1922, and continues until March 22. 

 With the beekeeping work is com- 

 bined instruction in poultry and hor- 

 ticulture. The student is allowed co^i- 

 siderable latitude and can devote 

 most of his time to the particular 

 thing which is most attractive to him. 

 The course is divided into two six- 

 weeks terms, so that those who can- 

 not stay for the full twelve weeks can 

 take six weeks and finish the course at 

 another time. 



Any one intere.sted in this special 

 course will do well to write Prof. F. 

 B. Paddock, Ames, Iowa, for the 



booklet giving full information con- 

 cerning expenses, etc. 



In addition to this course there 

 will be a short course of four days 

 during Farm and Home Week the 

 last week in January. 



Southern California Fair 



San Bernardino County Beekeep- 

 ers' Club captured first prize for fea- 

 ture display, at the Southern Califor- 

 nia Fair at Riverside, in competi- 

 tion, with Riverside and Orange 

 counties, which received second and 

 third places, respectively. 



The exhibit was most attractive 

 and included all kinds of honey, bees- 

 wax, bees, canned goods put up vfith 

 honey, and other products of an api- 

 ary. The first money amounted to 

 $100, in addition to the feature. 



Bee Jelly 



The November Journal just re- 

 ceived. On page 458 you quote a 

 statement of a little boy calling 

 honey "bee jelly." I laughed when I 

 read the article. I have a little 

 nephew "Thomas J. Hoyes," of Rens- 

 selaer, Indiana; when he was 21 

 months old, at our dinner table, in 

 asking for the honey he said: "I some 

 jelly, make a bee out there," and as 

 he made this request he pointed first 

 to the honey and then turned to the 

 window and pointed to the bee hives. 



My wife and I have enjoyed re- 

 peating this little fellow's statement 

 to almost everybody who comes to 

 our home. Frank Foltz. 



Indiana. 



Father of Large Family 



A few days ago, at Warsaw, 111., oc- 

 curred the death of an old beekeeper, 

 Mr. J. B. Gehin. He was born near 

 the French line of Alsace-Lorraine, 

 emigrated to the United States about 

 1878, and became an American citi- 

 zen. He was the father of 10 chil- 

 dren, 42 grandchildren and 15 great 

 grandchildren. No race suicide there. 



Illinois Convention 



G. M. Withrow, Secretary of the 

 Illinois Association, writes to advise 

 that the Illinois convention will be 

 held at the St. Nicholas Hotel at 

 Springfield on December 14 and 15, 

 instead of the dates announced in Dur 

 November number. Illinois beekeep- 

 ers will note the change. 



Mississippi Awake 



Perhaps nowhere is more active ef- 

 fort being put forth to advance the 

 interests of the honey-producing in- 

 dustry than in the State of Missis- 

 sippi. The latest from her borders is 

 the report of the meeting of the Sep- 

 tember field council of all the exten- 

 sion workers of the College. At this 

 meeting the interests of beekeeping 

 was the subject up for special consid- 

 eration. The needs and opportunities 

 of bee culture in Mississippi were 

 placed before this group of field 

 workers in such a way as to enable 

 them to appreciate the value of the 

 beekeepers' contribution to the wel- 

 fare of the State. 



Iowa Convention 



Secretary Paddock announces that 

 the Iowa convention will be held at 

 Waterloo on December 15 and 16. 



Sippel to Montana 



O. A. Sippel, formerly of Guelph, 

 Ontario, is the new man in charge of 

 the beekeeping work at the Montana 

 College of Agriculture. Montana 

 has recently provided for bee inspec- 

 tion and now that the subject will be 

 given serious attention at the Col- 

 lege of Agriculture, we look for renl 

 development in beekeeping within her 

 borders. 



Rea to Pennsylvania 



Announcement has recently been 

 made of the resignation of George H. 

 Rea as beekeeping specialist at 

 Ithaca, N. Y., to accept a position as 

 Professor of Extension in Apiculture 

 at State College, Pennsylvania. He 

 was one of the first extension men in 

 the field, giving attention to beekeep- 

 ing, and his work has been very suc- 

 cessful. We feel that the beekeepers 

 of Pennsylvania are to be congratu- 

 lated upon Mr. Rea's return to his 

 native State. No announcement has 

 been made as to the selection of a 

 successor for Mr. Rea in New York. 



Bee Clubs Popular 



The boys' and girls' clubs are in- 

 ci easing in membership and interest 

 in all sections of the country. There 

 are numerous reports to the effect 

 that the bee clubs are doing much 

 to raise the standard of beekeeping 

 in many localities where the old-time 

 box apiaries are the rule. 



Another Crazy Reporter's Story 



The statement has been widely 

 published that B. M. Hatfield, an oil 

 operator, has a hive of bees in the 

 gear box of his automobile. "They 

 travel with me over the country," he 

 says, "When I stop they all pile out 

 and gather honey. When I honk my 

 horn they all come back home again." 



The public is being fed constantly 

 with such impossible tales about bees 

 and honey until the general view of 

 beekeeping is very much distorted. 



The Latest Booze Story 



According to a Virginia paper, offi- 

 cers searching the premises of a boot- 

 legger in that State were for a long 

 time unable to find the place where he 

 stored his supply of liquor. Eight gal- 

 lons of moonshine was finally located 

 in the beehives in the front yard. 



A Florida Proposal 



The Florida State Beekeepers* As- 

 sociation is planning to sponsor and 

 guarantee the production and sale by 

 its members, of early in the season, 

 dependable, high-grade queen bees 

 and package bees. 



It is hoped to furni.sh a consider- 

 able quantity of the package bees the 

 coming spring (1922); and queen 

 bees just as soon as tests and experi- 

 ments now under way have developed 

 a product worthy the attention of dis- 

 criminating buyers. 



