24 



GLEANINGS LN I3EE (JULTIJIIE. 



Jan. 1. 



when we offer alfalfa honey, wo mean white 

 honey, as it invariably is. Th(>re is no danger 

 of real alfalfa honey being called New Orleans 

 molasses. Yon might call it " i)artly" alfalfa, 

 or mixed, as it surely is. if dark. Any one ac- 

 quainted with it would understand what dark 

 alfalfa extracted is, but the majority would 

 not. Chahi.es Adams. 



Greeley, Col., Dec. 23. 



[Friend A., I think you are right. The pure 

 extracted alfalfa we have had is just as white 

 as any white-clover honey, and just as uniform. 

 The problem seems to he. then, to avoid having 

 the bees gather honey fi-om otliei' sources that 

 may get mixed with it. We ct)nclude this sub- 

 ject with a letter from friend Ball in regard to 

 the honey that showed best on the outside.] 



Mr. Moot: — I see in Gleanings there has 

 been some complaint about some of the honey 

 you got fi'ora me being poor — dark in the mid- 

 dle of the cases, and white outside. Now. Mr. 

 Root, I don't know what to say about this, as 

 you say sometimes. There were a few sections 

 that looked yellow, caused by leaving on the 

 hive too long: and I should have put them by 

 themselves: but I find i«'o|)lc sometimes that 

 prefer the yellow cappings to the white. I 

 never could see any difference in the honey. 

 I packed but very little of my honey myself, 

 but I charged the ones who did. to be very 

 careful and not put in any thing that was not 

 nice. Mr. Root, if you have lost by any of my 

 honey, please let me know, and T will try to 

 make it all right. I shall be inore careful 

 about assorting and packing mv honey after 

 this. W. K. Ball. 



Reno, Nev., Dec, 2.3. 



[Many thanks, friend B.. for your kind offer. 

 With such a proposition we ceilainly can have 

 nothing to complain of. I know, as you say, 

 that the stained or yellow sections ai'e just as 

 nice honey, and may be a little better, than the 

 white ones: but there are many retailers who 

 would not accept honey if they found the white 

 sections on theputside and the dark or stained 

 ones inside.] 



CLOSE SPACING. 



MOKE miOOD AND KEGULAU COxMI! 

 TANCES. 



FLXED DIS- 



I wish to add a word on clos(> spacing and 

 fixed distances, as these I regard as very impor- 

 tant matters, and they have been my hobby for 

 a number of years. It is folly to use frames 

 hanging hap-hazard, and hand spacing is a 

 sort of guessing at one of the most needed parts 

 of correct bee-keeping. We may space frames 

 ever so nice at the top. but the bottom is sure to 

 be out of true, and a frame can not be made so 

 but it will warp and twist. If there is more 

 weight of honey or brood on one side it will 

 vary the frame I4 inch. It has long been my 

 belief that we all must come to fixed frames. 



You may end up a hive of hanging frames 

 enough to see the "bottom-bars below, and you 

 will see them all distances apart (except what 

 are close together). 



One cause for so many drones is those wide 

 gaps; and I feel very sure the cause of bare 

 spots of no brood is caused by two combs so 

 close that the queen can not get thei-e. I have 

 seen a fourth of an L. frame without honey or 

 brood, and the cell not more than half depth: 

 and I am very sure that if they had bee-i spac- 

 ed and fixed at % apart, there would have been 

 no such trouble. These shallow cells may be 



caused by being cut oft' too close: and if a comb 

 is crooked th(^y should be pressed back into 

 place before shaving oif for close spacing. 



Thri'o vears ago I made a number of stays of 

 wood, hair the length of. and as wide as the 

 end-bar. and tfe thick. Tiiese I tacked on to 

 the side of the upper half of the end-bars, 

 which made a nice stay: and as I had used a 

 number of hives with ^h spacing, and was so 

 snre it was the best distance, I found those a 

 I could ask. All the now hanging frames can 

 be easily made exact, and it seems to me there 

 should be no stay on the top-bar. as there is no 

 need of it, and it means so much more gum and 

 crushed bees. It is very important that the 

 frames be wedged at each end: that is, on the 

 outside of all. for they all are twisted more or 

 less, and all the little openings will soon be fill- 

 ed with ijropolis. and nice even spacing is out 

 of the question. In fact, there is need of scrap- 

 ing the edges of the stayed frames once in a 

 while. 



You speak of a follower, to be wedged up. 

 To be sure, they have some good features, yet 

 are (piite a trouble. If there is much space 

 back of it. if the bees can get there they will, 

 and they -aw quite apt to find a way tliere. If 

 a ease happens a little out of place, down goes 

 a lot of bees to play the loafer (I know, for I've 

 had the same thing). 



If there is a good '^k allowed at the outside, 

 and the combs are kept shaved down, or, rath- 

 er, shaved to start with, and stayed only half 

 way down, there is not much troiible in getting 

 out the first comb. It seems to me not enough 

 to take the i)lace of a follower. lam satisfied 

 there shouldn"t be ()ver'*„ space between combs, 

 and a little less between the bottom of the 

 frames and bottom of the hive; and for losing 

 no bee time there should be only % at the end 

 of the frames. More space than the little bee 

 can reach across is loss to their valuable time, 

 and just so much to us. Don't you remember, 

 friend R., of cutting out chunks of honey from 

 box hives, and what a narrow passage there 

 was between tliem — yes, less than ?^— with the 

 honey scmietitnes ?, inches thick? 



I would say to those who never use fixed dis- 

 tances and •■*« spacing, just try one hive: and 

 when you get the combs shaved down and all 

 in order, see what sheets of brood you will have, 

 and how the honey will go (upstairs), and. too, 

 whei-e you used ttui combs seven or eight will 

 suffice." E. P. Chukchill. 



Hallowell. Me., Dec. 25. 



[You have given us some e.xcellent reasons for 

 close spacing: but .^s inch between comb sur- 

 faces—isn't that rather close? Why, that is 

 only II4 inches from center to center. At the 

 National Association, Dr. A. B. Mason and 

 some one else argued for that spacing, if the 

 spaces were exact. But the majority seem to 

 prefer \% inch. Your spacers amount virtually 

 to a modified Hoffman frame, or the same as 

 was suggested by J. F. Mclntyre. See Glean- 

 ings, page 780, last year.] 



MIGRATORY BEE-KEEPING. 



43 COLONIES GIVE AN AVERAGE OF 47 LBS. PER 

 COLONY IN ONLY 8 DAYS. 



Friend Root: — This is a subject that is cer- 

 tainly worthy of the consideration of that por- 

 tion of our bee-keeping brethren who are not so 

 favorably situated as to reap the benefit of both 

 summer and fall harvest. Situated as I am, on 

 the verge of large areas of land subject to over- 



