922 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15. 



taken him then to a native medicine man who 

 put on a number of thin bamboo strips (very 

 good splints), but had bound them down very 

 tightly with wyths of coeoanut fiber. The 

 little fellow was moaningand crying when they 

 brought him here. The whole arm was dead, 

 from the tight pressure applied. In fact, it had 

 been so for three or four days, and was quite 

 offensive. He had high fever, and no doubt 

 would have soon succumbed. I amputated at 

 the shoulder, and he is now nearly ready to 

 leave the hospital. 



I could write pages, and scarcely know where 

 to stop, but will do so now. Thanking you 

 again^and those who have kindly made up 

 this sum to send out here for use among these 

 people. I beg to remain youi's very sincerely. 



Madura, Nov. 9. Frank V^an Allen, M. D. 



BASSWOOD AND CLOVER HONEY. 



HOW AN UNEDUCATED TASTE FAILS TO DI,>- 

 TINGUISH THE DIFFERENCE. 



Friend Root.'— Gleanings came to hand to- 

 day, and I noticed your editorial on "feeding 

 bees sugar to make honey." In reading your 

 question, if it were really true that those stu- 

 dents could not tell basswood honey from sugar 

 syrup after it had been fed to the bees, it struck 

 me that I could offer a probable explanation of 

 that fact. As you may be aware, our apiary is 

 situated almost in the business part of the town 

 of Niagara Falls. We have one window of a 

 building facing the street, fitted up with a fine 

 display of honey, which attracts many custom- 

 ers, so that we dispose of nearly all our honey 

 directly to the consumer. Often, when a cus- 

 tomer asks for honey, I will say, "Which do 

 you prefer, the clover or basswood?" 



"Well, I don't know. What is the differ- 

 ence '?" 



"The difference is in the flavor. Taste them 

 and see which you like best." 



" That tastes pretty good. What is it ? '' 



"That is basswood; now try this." 



"Why," he remarks in surprise, "I don't see 

 any difference; both taste alike to me." 



" Does it ? Well, try the basswood again." 



" Oh. yes I I see now there is a great difference 

 in the flavor." 



I have tried it many times, and it is almost 

 invariably the case, that, if the basswood is 

 tasted first, the average customer does not de- 

 tect any difference between tlie two kinds of 

 honey; but if the order is reversed, and the clo- 

 ver tasted first, its milder flavor is noticed at 

 once, and generally preferred. 



Niagara Falls, Ont. W. H. Brown. 



[You are probably correct. After eating 

 basswood honey we have oftentimes been un- 

 able to get the full flavor of certain kinds of 

 sauce. In a similar way. novices might fail to 

 detect the difference between basswood and 

 clover honey.] 



WHICH WAY SHOULD HIVES FACE ^ 



G. JM. DOOLITTI-E PREFERS THE SOUTHE.«iT. 



Question. — "All things cousidered. which way 

 should hives front, in order to obtain the most 

 profit from the bees — east or west, north or 

 south, where they are wintered on the summer 

 stand? and which way when they are wintered 

 in the cellar? " 



If I am to understand by the last part of the 

 question that the inquirer thinks that it makes 

 a difference which way the hives face while in 



the cellar, I will simply say that he is making 

 a mistalve, for I can not see how it could make 

 any possible difference in a cellar of even tem- 

 perature and total darkness. If there is a win- 

 dow to the cellar which admits light, it is bet- 

 ter to darken the window: yet at my out-apiary 

 cellar thi^ people don't want the cellar dai'k, so 

 I face the hives away from the light, and, so 

 far as I can see, they wiutei' just as well as in 

 a perfectly dark cellar. But to the other ques- 

 tion, which way should they face while on 

 their summer stands? Some .seem to think 

 that it malces no difference which way the hives 

 face, but I think otherwise, especially in win- 

 ter. I have had hives facing almost all points 

 of the compass, and those doing the poorest 

 faced the north, while those facing the south- 

 east invariably did the best. I have lost colo- 

 nies in winter facing the north, when those 

 facing the south and east would have good 

 cleansing flights, and be in good shape for an- 

 other long cold spell, the others not flying at all 

 on account of the sun not shining on the en- 

 trance, hence died with diarrhea, as it is called,. 

 by not having a chance to void their excrement. 

 Again, in summer, bees in hives facing the 

 sun will generally work longer each day than 

 will those whose entrances the sun never shines 

 upon. Once more, the prevailing winds are from 

 southwest to north, in this locality; and where 

 hives face the west or north, more stores are 

 consumed in keeping up the heat of the cluster 

 where the prevailing winds blow directly in at 

 the entrance, carrying off the heat generated 

 by the bees. 



INCREASING COLONIES. 



Question. — "Having 17 colonies of bees, and 

 wishing to increase them to 50 next season, I 

 should like to know the best way of doing it 

 and still get some surplus honey." 



I large increase of bees and surplus honey at 

 the same time is something which is not very 

 likely to occur; still, there are ways in which 

 it is sometimes accomplished. One of these 

 ways would be to let the bees swarm naturally, 

 hiving the first and second swarms, returning 

 those which came out after the second. Put 

 sections on the tiist swarms, having them in 

 contracted brood-chambers; and if the swarms 

 come early enough in the season, box all the 

 old colonies as soon as the young queens com- 

 mence to lay. A still better way would be to 

 keep the colonies from swarming as much as 

 possible, hiving the few swarms which did 

 come in contracted brood-chambers as above, 

 and, six days after any swarm issued, divide 

 the old colony into nuclei with a queen-cell for 

 each. Occasionally, as needed, to keep those 

 not having swarmed from taking the swarming 

 fever, take frames of brood from them and give 

 to the nuclei, thus building them up. Replace 

 the frames of brood taken, with frames filled 

 with comb foundation, thus preventing the 

 building of drone comb. If successful, as you 

 should be, seven of the colonies swarming would 

 give all the increase needed to make the fifty, 

 thus leaving ten to roll up all the surplus they 

 Dossibly could were the same ten worked for no 

 increase. 



RIPENING HONEY. 



Question. — "What is the best plan of ripen- 

 ing honey where we can not afford to wait until 

 it ripens in th(! hive? " 



I am not sure that there could be a locality or 

 circumstances where " we can not afford to 

 wait" for the bees to ripen the honey in the 

 hive. We used to think we could not afford the 

 combs to use in tiered-up hives necessary to 

 wait till the end of the honey season, but I now 

 think this a mistake. Not affording the combs. 



