B 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUBE. 



Jan. 



WINTERING BEES IN CELLARS. 



The temperature of our bee-cellars can be kept 

 higher than we have generally supposed. From 60° 

 to 90° have given excellent results. With a high 

 temperature, no absorbents are needed. A damp 

 cellar requires a higher temperature than a dry 

 cellar. But little ventilation is needed. Bee-bread 

 in the hives does no harm, if the conditions are such 

 that the bees do not eat it; and it appears that a 

 high temperature is one of the conditions. In a 

 warm cellar, bees will breed in the latter part of 

 the winter, and weak colonies thus become strong. 

 Prof. Cook explained that bees could breed without 

 taking pollen into their intestines; but Wm. F. 

 Clarke asserted (and was supported by Bro. Jones), 

 that the rearing of young was the harc1ci<t kind of 

 work, requiring the consumption of nitrogenous 

 food by the hees tJtcmselves. 



DIFFERENT RACES OF BEES. 



Pure Syrians and Cyprians are excellent bees for 

 warm countries, but not for Canada. When pure 

 races meet the requirements it is well to have them 

 in all their purity. Crosses between Italians and 

 Cyprians or Syrians, and between Carniolans and 

 Cyprians or Syrians, give the best result. The 

 blacks are excellent comb-builders, and keep the 

 honey out of the brood-nest. 



TAKE PAINS IN REARING DRONES, 



the same as in i-earing queens. Remember that 

 prepotency is on the male side. 



PUT THE BROOD-COMBS CLOSE TOGETHER, 



and it will " squeeze" the bees into the sections. 

 The combs can be close together as l^.i inches from 

 center to center. This also discourages the build- 

 ing of di-one-comb. 



" ACCORDING TO NATURE." 



This phrase has been a stumbling - block in the 

 way of advancement. It is not a question of " nat- 

 uralness," but it is, "all things considered, is it 

 best?" 



If I have not, in the above brief notes, given the 

 proper expression of the convention, I hope to be 

 corrected. W. Z. Hutchinson, Sec. 



Eogersville, Mich. 



Friend H., you have given the sum and 

 substance of tlie principal points discussed 

 while I was present at the convention, and 

 we owe you a vote of thanks for having suc- 

 ceeded in boiling it down so well, only you 

 have got it a little too brief, if aiw thiiig. I 

 would remind our friends that tne conclu- 

 sions arrived at which you have, I believe, 

 truthfully reported, were, at least many of 

 them, decided upon only by prolonged and 

 exhaustive discussion ; and the intelligence 

 that was brought to bear on these subjects, 

 and such keen, strong intellects that grasped 

 the different points, are not often brought 

 together in one meeting. I was not present 

 when the point you mention, ''According to 

 Nature," was discussed ; but 1 have often 

 felt what you express there. We do not 

 manage bees according to nature, nor straw- 

 berries, nor anything else, nowadays; but 

 we make even the frost and the snow, the 

 thunderbolt and the torrents, do our bid- 

 ding ; and who shall say that we may not 

 some time, after a feeble fashion, perhaps, 

 make the winds and the waves obey us, 

 something in the way they obeyed the Mas- 

 ter in olden time? 



FALSE STATEMENTS IN REGARD TO THE HON- 

 EY BUSINESS OF OUR COUNTRY. 



As a protection to our bee-keeping population, we propose in 

 tliis department to publish the names of newspapers that per- 

 sist in publishing false statements in regard to the purity of 

 honey which we as bee-keepers put on the market. 



ARTIFICIAL EGGS AS WELL AS ARTIFICIAL COMB 

 HONEY. 



TNCLOSED I send you a slip cut from the New- 

 11? York Trihiine of Dec. 1.5th, in regard to artificial 

 ^l eggs. As things artificial are being much dis- 

 "*" cussed, and as some claim that a poultry-yard 

 is a necessary auxiliar.y to an apiary, I inclose 

 the above, hoping that, if you find it interesting, I 

 shall hear your views in regard to it in Gleanings. 



Yonkers, N. Y., Dec. 10, 1W5. G. Wiederhold. 



Friend W., I am very much obliged to you 

 for the slip inclosed. Since you sent it, it 

 has been copied widely into other papers. I 

 will make a few extracts for the benefit of 

 our readers : 



In the back room of a Broadway office a curious 

 invention was exhibited yesterday to several pro- 

 vision dealers and merchants. The invention con- 

 sisted of a number of artificial eggs, which re- 

 sembled the real article so exactly that none but an 

 expert could distinguish them. The shells were 

 made of a clear, transparent composition, and the 

 shape was perfectly modeled. The portion sur- 

 rounding the yolk was made of albumen, and the 

 yolk itself ot ground carrot and satfron. Three of 

 these artificial eggs were placed on a platter by the 

 exhibitor with half a dozen real ones, and the men 

 present were told to select the bogus ones from the 

 collection. The first expert exposed his ignorance 

 by picking out three real eggs and declaring them 

 to be artificial. The second, with a little better 

 luck, owing partly to his avoiding the three select- 

 ed by his unfortunate predecessor, managed to 

 pick out two of the real eggs and one of the arti- 

 licial ones. Thus with varying results each of the 

 six men tried his skill in determining the difference 

 between the eggs by their appearance. When 

 each had had a trial, and failed, the exhibitor said: 



"Now, gentlemen, you can test them in another 

 way." A frying-pan was then placed on the stove, 

 and in a few minutes it began to simmer. Two of 

 the artificial eggs were picked up, their shells 

 brolten, and the contents dropped into the hot pan 

 where they soon began to simmer and sputter. A 

 little salt and pepper, a brisk two minutes' stirring 

 Avith a fork, and as fine a dish of scrambled eggs as 

 could be prepared at a restaurant was placed before 

 the expectant guests. 



" Help yourselves, gentlemen. They are as good 

 as the real article. Nothing poisonous or disagree- 

 able about them." 



This invitation Avas complied with at once, and 

 the several verdicts were: "Delicious," "Better 

 than the real article," " What are they made of ?" 

 "They are not artificial, but fresh eggs from the 

 country." 



" Well, gentlemen," smilingly responded the ex- 

 hibitor, " whether real or artificial, 1 can make any 

 quantity of those eggs at a cost of about half a 

 cent apiece, while you can not bu.y their equal for 

 less than two or three cents. You have just had 

 proof that you can not tell them from the real 

 article by their appearance or by their taste when 

 scrambled. In an omelette there is equally no per- 

 ceptible difference, but vvhen boiled the imposition 

 is much more easily detected. But even then nine 

 people out of ten would be deceived, as the only 

 difference lies in the fact that the yolk and sui-- 

 rounding white portion will not harden separately 

 as they do in the real egg. The flavor is about the 

 same, which after all should be the main considera- 

 tion. It is my intention to put these artificial eggs 

 on the market soon, and my object in inviting you 

 here to-day was to make you favorably impressed 

 with them. I think I have done it. Good-day, 

 gentlemen." 



Of course, the above is a newspaper can- 

 ard, and nothing else ; but I do think the 

 N. Y. Tribune might draw a little stronger 



