1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



165 



ston's. She has, I think, about 60 colonies of 

 bees in single-walled hives, and they were all 

 snugly tucked away in the cellar. I understood 

 her bees were blacks and hybrids: but she as- 

 sured me the greater part of her honey came 

 from red clover, and that her bees would leave 

 the white clover for the red. 



After a pleasant visit here I journeyed on to 

 Mr. Wm. J. C. Davis' home. This is about 

 twelve miles down the peninsula, and situated 

 on the shores of the south bay. IMr. Davis has 

 recently moved from Wexford County: has fif- 

 teen colonies of bees, and shows his preference 

 for Italian bees and chaff hives. Tliey insisted 

 on my staying to dinner, and here for the first 

 time I ate red-clover honey gathered by the hon- 

 ey-bee. I have robbed bumble-bees' nests. Mr. 

 Davis fully confii'med all Mrs. Johnston said in 

 regard to the bees working on red clover. He 

 is an intelligent, well-read man, and he assured 

 me the floweret of the clover grows shorter 

 there than further south, making it possible for 

 any bee to work upon it. 



Mr. Davis is well protected by high hills on 

 the east, west, and north, and is fast getting 

 his farm into fruit. His place is especially 

 adapted to early gardening, with no tear of 

 drouth, as he can turn a spring brook across 

 the place almost anywhere. 



There are many strange and wonderful things 

 on and around this peculiar strip of land, that I 

 should like to talk about, but space forbids. 

 Perhaps I can at another time. On one little 

 spot out in the north bay lives the Robinson 

 Crusoe of Michigan. The land is not located 

 on the maps, consequently he pays no taxes, 

 and can not vote. His history as it comes to 

 me is an interesting one. I should have very 

 much liked to visit him and several others who 

 keep hees on the peninsula, but my time would 

 not pi'i'init. But I am going again some time, 

 and in the summei' if possible, for it must b(^ a 

 vi'ritable paradise then. (iKo. PI Hii/roN. 



Fremont. Mich.. .Ian. :.'3. 



[Friend H.. we are very much interested in 

 that wonderful peninsula: and it rejoices our 

 heai'ts to know of all such Christian homes as 

 you describe. And. by the way. we want to 

 know more about the Robinson Crusoe of the 

 State of INIiohigan. There ar(> (jnite a f(>w of us 

 who have not yet forgotten theenthuiasm witii 

 wliicli we lead the real Robinson Crusoe. | 



DEAD-AIl! Sl'ACE FOli KEFKIGERATORS. 



You have no doubt observed the double glass 

 in some of the coach windows, and that no frost 

 will form on such double-glass windows, and it 

 is the same with the thin wooden walls. I 

 have also made a few small refrigerators with 

 thin walls with several spaces of about ^.j inch, 

 made by using building-paper, and I find that a 

 given quantity of ice will keep as long as in 

 any packed walls of even double the tiiickness. 

 I have also observed, in brick walls of dwell- 

 ings, where the walls were laid up with a hol- 

 low wall, or a space of about two inches, with 

 just suthcient tie-brick to keep the two walls se- 

 ciu'e, that the walls are drier in wet weather, 

 cooler in hot. and warmei- in cold weather, 

 showing, beyond a practical doubt, that dead- 

 air is a better non-conductor of cold, heat, and 

 moisture, than any packing that we can prac- 

 tically use, and certainly it is the cheapest. 



CARKYING POLLEN IN FLORIDA. __ 



Our bees have been busy most of the time 

 since Christmas carrying pollen and honey 

 from the maple, which is in bloom. It lasts 

 here usually about six weeks, and starts the 

 bees to breeding very nicely. The willow 

 comes in about the first of February, and will 

 reach to orange bloom in March. This is a 

 very favorable location for bee-keeping along 

 the St. John's River. We have had considera- 

 ble cold this winter, with some frosts, but none 

 severe enough to damage the orange-trees or 

 the fruit on the triH's. 



THE fOXTEMPLATEl) U. S. EXPERIMENT STA- 

 TION FOR THE SOUTH. 



It appear.-; from reports sent out that the U. 

 S. entomologist contemplates establishing an 

 apiciiltui'al exp(>riment station somewhere in the 

 South. It would be a great help to Southern 

 bee culture, as we ar(^ left almost alone here to 

 work out our own destiny, and that of our bees. 

 We are unable to make experiments alone. 

 Here in South Florida are vast fields of re-, 

 search, open for the experimenter. The season 

 is much longer here for such work as breeding 

 and the crossing of the races, and early enough 

 to rear queens and send north to test as to their 

 good qualities: and. further, there could be 

 ])laces where the dift'erent races could be reared 

 in absolute purity, as here are many islands 

 around the coast of 1:300 miles where their isola- 

 tion would be absolute. J. Crayckaft. 



Aster Park. Fla., Jan. 17. 



AIR-SPACE VS. PACKING. 



KXI'KUl.MKNTS. with THE RESULT IN F.^VOK OF 

 THE AIR-SI'Af'E. 



I made and used chatf and double-walled 

 hives for several years in Southern Indiana. I 

 nuule the best chaff-packed hives with three to 

 lour inch packing of oat chalT. aiul made 

 sonu' with dead-air spaces of the same spaces, 

 and I found that bees did as well in the air- 

 spaced hives asin the chaff-filled ones: and. fur- 

 ther, in damp weather the air-spaced ones 

 were the fliyest. and emitted no damp or moldy 

 smell. They wei-e all furnished with tin roofs, 

 well painted, and the walls of all wiu-e well 

 painted witli white lead and oil. Subse(|uently 

 I reduced the air-si>ace to two inches, using a 

 partition ol building-pa])er, making two si)aces 

 of one inch each, which I found did better than 

 either of the othei's. 



I came south to Florida, and did no more in 

 experimenting with the make of hives until 

 lately, when 1 have been experimenting simie 

 again with double-walled hives here, and I find 

 them very profitable even in this climate. 



[Friend C, I am very well aware that double 

 panes of glass, especially if the glass is puttied 

 in. will make an air-space that is better than if 

 the space were filled with chaff — or just as 

 good at least. A hollow wall made of bricks 

 and mortar is right in the same line. It is 

 practically air-tight. The air can not change 

 places with that on the outside. I suppose a 

 bee-liive could be made out of lumber, with a 

 dead-ail- space nearly air-tight. But if you 

 use boards wid(^ enough for the side of a hive, 

 they will be ([uite sure to check, sooner or later. 

 Then the frost gets through, and the air inside 

 circulates with that outside, so the tempera- 

 tui-e is about th(^ same. With our chaff hive, 

 as I have so many times said, we prefer the 

 walls made of narrow strips, somewhat corn- 

 crib fashion. This is to admit moisture to pass 

 out freely, just in the same way the old-fash- 

 ioned straw hive permits the moisture from the 

 bees to work througii. and just as woolen cloth- 

 ing lets the perspiration from our bodies get 

 through. Butwitiiout tlm chaff packing, the 

 air, moisture, and every thing else would get 

 through altoget.lier too fast. Now, by filling 

 this space with loose dry chafT. air can still get 



