1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



431 



It is. to si m pi J- take a piece of common wliite 

 chalk or school crayon, wiiich should be reason- 

 ably soft, then break your cake of wax that is 

 to be tested, and if the chalk will leave a plain 

 mai'k on it it is pure; but if adulterated, the 

 chalk will leave no mark. The above may be 

 old to many, but I do not remember of seeing it 

 in print. T. I. Uugdale. 



West Galway, N. Y.. Apr. 'JO. 



[The above test, if I am cori-ect, depends on 

 the spurious wax being softer than the genuine. 

 While this is usually the case, I believe it is not 

 always true. Nevertheless, your test is proba- 

 bly a valuable one.] 



HOW TO GET GLAS.S CHEAP FOR SHIPPING- 

 CASES. 



You have always an eye open for saving the 

 pennies of the honey-producer. Now. I would 

 suggest that you let the brother bee-keepers 

 know that old" photographers' negatives answer 

 very nicely for glass for honey cases or sections, 

 and they can be had at almost every gallery for 

 very little or for nothing, as they are not used 

 for "another exposure, and are a nuisance lying 

 round a gallery. They can be I'eadily cleaned 

 by immei'sing in lye or ashes and hoi water. 

 The most common size is 5x7. and by practical 

 experience I find that 3 Inches clear is all the 

 glass that is required for a 1-lb. section. By 

 splitting these .5x7 pieces, two strips and a half 

 are just enough to go across four 1-lb. sections. 

 I have several thousand such negatives that I 

 will sell cheap, or exchange for almost any 

 thing in the line of supplies or queens, a book, 

 or almost any thing. H. W. Fi'Xk. 



Bloomiugton, 111., Apr. 7. 



[We are glad to give the above a free notice, 

 as it will help bee-keepers as well as the writer 

 above.] 



THOSE SPACING-STICKS OF DK. MILLER'S. 



In March 1.5th Gleanings I see Dr. Miller 

 has invented a new hive, and he says, " Now 

 for a winter hive. I have invented a stick, in 

 manner and foi-m set forth, of just such size 

 and proportion as to fit in the spaces between 

 the top-bars." Well. Dr. M.. I have used that 

 same arrangement for nearly three years, a full 

 description of which you will find in Aug. 1st 

 GLEANiNciS, 1890, page .55(5. 'Tis sad but true; 

 and right here I wish to say it's the best ar- 

 rangement possible to keep a brood-nest warm 

 in the spring. E. D. Keeney. 



Arcade, N. Y., Mar. 18. 



[You may be the one we had in mind who 

 first suggested the stick spacer, but we are of 

 the opinion that there is some one before you 



yet.] 



HONEY FROM LIMA BEANS, BY THE TON. 



By the way, last fall I had my bees within 

 from one to thi'ee miles of thousands of acres of 

 lima beans. The consequence is, I am now ex- 

 tracting a ton or two of choice lima-bean honey, 

 which is so thick that I have to warm the 

 combs in my sun -extractor before I can extract 

 it. As it is such a rare article, it occurred to 

 me that you might have customers desiring 

 some of it. I think it is fine. What could you 

 afford to pay for some? R. Wilkin. 



San Buenaventura, Cal. 



[Thanks for the sample, friend W. The 

 quality of the honey is very fail-, although the 

 color is somewhat against it. It would hardly 

 be considered first class, although it is very 

 fair. Now, here is an opportunity for bee-men 

 to make capital out of the idea, in the vicinity 



of these great bean-fields. The next question 

 is. Does it yield honey to this extent every 

 year?] 



Why not use honey with your lemon and ice? 

 Try it. I will take the honey every time. See 

 page ~'7(). W. J. DRUiiRiGHT. 



Sarasota, Fla., Apr. 1.5. 



ANOTHER PATENT- RKillT MAN. 



I had a patent-right man to see this morning. 

 He wanted $10.00 for a right and one hive. I 

 would not give that for a carload. 



Jordan. Ky., Feb. 27. J. D. Kennady. 



1. Are drones pure, if reared from a pure Ital- 

 ian queen which mated with a black drone? :.'. 

 Is honey gathered from laurel flowers poison- 

 ous? With us they grow in the form of'a bush, 

 from three to four feet high. 



IMcWiLLiAMS & Miller. 



Prattsville, N. Y., March 30. 



[1. It is generally agreed that they are, al- 

 though one or two, including Doolittle, think 

 the black drones do atfect the blood somewhat. 

 2. A case of poisoning from laurel, in West Vir- 

 ginia, has been recorded. See '" Poisonous Hon- 

 ey," in the ABC book.] 



HOW TO MAKE HONEY CANDY. 



Unlike the majority of bee-keepers, I should 

 be glad to know of the surest means of making 

 my honey candy. Can you give me a hint? 

 Exposed to frost, it candies; but when no frost 

 comes, what is to be done? Is cold the only 

 means known? J. B. Weber. 



Paris, France, P'eb. 14. 



[We do not know of any way to make honey 

 candy except to put it where it is cold. We 

 have heard of placing it in an ice-house to 

 have it candy in wai'in weather, but we do not 

 know how it turned out.] 



ADVANT.\GE OF DOUBLE-WALLED HIVES. 



I have fifteen colonies in double-walled hives, 

 and four in single-walled hives. I winter on 

 the summer stand, for the reason I have no bee- 

 cellar and can not make one on my ground. I 

 find that the bees in the single-walled hives 

 consume far more honey than those do in the 

 double-walled hives. Ferris Burr. 



Braidwood. 111., April 13. 



the doolittle solar WAX-EXTRACTOR, AND 

 HOW IT WORKS. 



I want to thank you and Mr. Doolittle for the 

 description and cut of the solar wax-extractor 

 in November number of Gleanings. I have 

 made one. and it works well. Heretofore, 

 whenever I undertook to make any wax I got 

 myself and every thing else smeared and stuck 

 up with it; but with the extractor I have no 

 trouble at all. W. W. Young. 



Worthington. Ky.. Apr. 30. 



SEASON AND PROSPECT IN FLORIDA. 



The season in this immediate neighborhood 

 has been quite poor up to date, as the late win- 

 ter and early spring flow of honey has been 

 light, and the bees bred up but slowly. Asa 

 consequence there was almost no swarming at 

 the usual time. In April we always look for a 

 honey drouth, and I always feed to stimulate 

 the queens to continue vigorous laying. I am 

 feeding now. and am having a few swarms as a 

 consequence. April 7th there came a freeze (the 

 latest on record, I believe), that blasted the 

 saw-palmetto and gallberry blooms on the 

 mainland, so a large part of our May and early 



