GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



6. The manner.^ of her death — being thrown 

 from a wagon during a runaway — was pecuiiar- 

 ly sad. Although she had not figured very 

 prominently in the columns of Gleanings, she 

 had written not a little for some of the other 

 bee-periodicals. 11 well remember^ her kindly 

 face and pleasant handshake at the convention. 

 — Ed.J 



Prof. Cook says, in American Bee Journal, 

 '"T think there is every thing to encourage the 

 breeder in bee-keeping. I think that there has 

 been very little real scientific breeding yet 

 practiced. If I am right it is a new field; and a 

 wider, surer success awaits the earnest, conscien- 

 tious, capable artist in this line of work." [Prof. 

 Cook may be right, but at the same time I can 

 not help feeling that Doolittle, Alley, and the 

 Atchleys have got down pretty near to the scien- 

 tific methods of queen-rearing. — Ed.] 



Gravbnhorst indorses Gleanings' advice 

 to melt candied honey slowly, and adds: The 

 more slowly the crystals are dissolved by mild 

 heat, the less the honey loses in aroma and 

 color. [I do not know when we gave such ad- 

 vice; but all the same it is good. Our method 

 of liquefying candied honey in square cans is to 

 immerse a number of cans within an inch of 

 their tops in a vat of hot water, the latter being 

 heated by a jet of steam, and turned ofJ. The 

 cans are allowed to stand thus about half a 

 day, when the honey will be brought to a liquid 

 condition. It is unnecessay to state that we re- 

 move the caps before liquefying.— Ed.J 



" As REVEALED by an inquiry in the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal, the importation of Apis clor- 

 sata by the U. S. Government is favored by 

 such distinguished apiarists as Prof. A. J. Cook, 

 Mrs. L. Harrison, E. France, J. M. Hambaugh, 

 W. G. Larrabee, G. M. Doolittle, and G. W. 

 Demarse."— ylmev'icfm Bee-keeper. But please 

 add, worthy A. B. K., that Mrs. Harrison wants 

 it for the Seminole Indians, who never keep 

 bees in. a hive; that Larrabee^ says, " Yes, jif 

 they would not turn out like the English spar- 

 row;" and that, while Demaree would bo glad 

 to have itdone, he fears it might fail. Also that, 

 while these 7 more or less favor it. 14 others on 

 the same page oppose it. 



Hutchinson thinksithere may be some prog- 

 ress in bee-keeping, but hardly expects fany 

 thing important. v!,Now look here, Hutchy, no 

 one was hunting for or expecting the extractor 

 when it came. G How do you kaow ;that sur- 

 prises of that kind are all over? [It is true, no 

 one was hunting for or expecting the extractor 

 when it came. The same may be said of comb 

 foundation. But I want to tell you that I am 

 hunting for and expecting some startling de- 

 velopments in the way of deep cell foundation, 

 or what some might call partially drawn comb, 

 said comb being within the reach of every bee- 

 keeper, and as light per square foot as the thin 



foundation. Hip, hip, hur— Well, I guess I 

 won't just yet. Perhaps the whole thing- 

 well, I am not going to say any more.— Ed.] 



D Which IS NICER for the table— square or ob- 

 long sections? In American Bee Journal, 8 

 say square; 3, oblong; 7, either; 4, to suit the 

 shape of the plate. [I wonder if the eight ever 

 saw an oblong and a square section side by 

 side. So far as I am concerned I should be in- 

 clined to agree with the seven. Difference, if 

 there be any, would be a 'matter of notion or 

 taste. A square section will not remain on the 

 table very long before a slice will be taken off 

 from one side or end, and then it will look ob- 

 long. The oblong will probably have a slice 

 taken off from one end, then it will be square. 

 I do not suppose the housewife ever thinks 

 which looks better on a plate— a square or ob- 

 long cake.— Ed.] 



Mr. Editor, you are altogether too modest in 

 your statement on p. 890. I think no one in the 

 last 40 years has disputed that it is a common 

 thing for workers to hold young queens in their 

 cells and feed them there. When there's piping 

 and quahking in a hive, lift out the comb and 

 you'll see the quahking queens thrust their 

 tongues through the slit. " Doolittle on Queen- 

 rearing," p. 77, says, " Put a little honey around 

 the end of the cell, so that she can feed herself 

 before coming out of th6 cell." [I did not mean 

 to be so modest; but I did not wish to be ap- 

 parently too positive regardiug the number of 

 queen -cells that had been observed on one 

 comb. Yes, come to think of it, it is pretty 

 well established that queens are sometimes con- 

 fined in the cells.— Ed.] 



Hon. R. L. Taylor put on four colonies 453 

 lbs. of unfinished sections, fed 378 lbs. of honey, 

 and tookeSOlbs. fiuished sections— 1.7 lbs. honey 

 for each pound gained.— Reuiew. [The results 

 obtained by Mr. Taylor I think are more favor- 

 able than the' results generally secured by 

 others in feeding back. In some cases I believe 

 it °has been reported that it was necessary to 

 give two and even three pounds of honey for 

 every pound of finished comb honey received 

 back. While there is a good deal in knowing 

 how and when to feed back, as a general rule 

 the average bee-keeper had better let the prac- 

 tice alone. He will usually get more money .n 

 the end by cutting out his unfinishri combs 

 and selling them as chunk honey, and selling 

 the extracted at market price, than to try to 

 set good money chasing after poor.— Ed.] 



OSOME ARGUE that it's all right to sell sections 

 by the piece, there being no deception in the 

 case. Well, then, if it's right for the grocer to 

 sell them that way, why isn't it right for the 

 grocer to buy them that way? Just tell me 

 that, will you? [Say, doctor, what do you 

 want to rake up that old bone of contention 

 for? I won't argue with you, at all. Yes, I 



