GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



191 



work on red clover unless we can get the honey; 

 for lh«' bumble-bee works on it, but that doesn't 

 specially benefit the bee-keeper. Very likely 

 you may say. " Well, even if we don't find it any 

 better than the bumble-bee, it can't do any 

 harm to import it, even if it does no good. The 

 bumble-bt'e is the only bee that works on red 

 clover, and it will be no loss to let the two big 

 bees divide." Softly. You are quite mistaken 

 in thinking no bee but the bumble bee now 

 works on red clover. Many have had bees that 

 gathered more or less honey from red clover; 

 and very likely if you watch from year to year 

 you may see some of your own bees at it. It is 

 not at all impossible that we may breed Apis 

 mellifica with a tongue so long as to reach to 

 the bottom of the red-clover tubes. There is a 

 decided variance in the length of bees' tongues. 

 In France they have been making an effort to 

 breed larger bees, longer tongues coming with 

 larger bees. In our own country Dr. Murdock 

 has bred bees so large that the worker-cells are 

 almost as large as ordinary drone-cells. He 

 says they work well on red clover. 



Now, suppose ^pis dnrsala is brought into 

 this country, behaves as it does in its native 

 land, and multiplies so as to gather nearly all 

 the red clover honey. Don't you see that it will 

 not only be of no use, but that it will be a posi- 

 tive damage to those who have a red clover 

 strain of bees? No wonder English sparrows 

 came up in the minds of two of the gentlemen 

 making replies. No, let us work to get ^pis 

 mellifica regularly instead of exceptionally to 

 work on red clover, and not run the risk of get- 

 ting AjjIs dorsnta here until we know for cer- 

 tain that we can make it work for the benefit 

 of its owner, and not to his detriment. 



C. C. MllXER. 



There are plenty of things we need at the 

 hands of the general government much more 

 than the imponatipn of ylpis dorsnta. If any 

 one wants these bees I doiint not that they can 

 be obtained from missionaries far more cheaply 

 than by sending «ome man desirous of a fat 

 government job after them.— Ed.] 



ftUALITY OF COMB AND EXTRACTED HONEY 

 COMPARED. 



IS THKKE ANY DIFFERENCE ? IF SO, WHY ? 



By F. A. Sncll. 



There is quite a difference in the views of 

 bee keepers upon this subject. Why this dif- 

 ference? It seems to me it must result largely 

 in the difference in management practiced by 

 the apiarists. Many claim that th« quality of 

 honey stored in new combs or in sections is of 

 better quality than that stored in old combs, 

 such as are used mostly for extracted honey, 

 while others as earnestly claim there is no dif- 

 ference. My experience has been that as good 

 honey can be secured in the extracted form. 



stored in old combs, as in any other form; and 

 during some seasons, if anything it is better. 



In ISitt and '96 our extracted honey was of 

 better body— that is, thicker and richer in flavor 

 than our comb honey. Other years there has 

 been no perceptible difference. Our comb honey 

 was well .sealed, but the honey was rather thin 

 or unripe the past two seasons from clover and 

 basswood. The combs on the extracting hives 

 were only partially capped. The honey was 

 left on the hives some time, which gave time 

 for thp moisture to be evaporated; thus it was 

 better ripened than our comb honey, which 

 must be removed soon after it is capped, to pre- 

 sent the best appearance and bring the highest 

 price in market. 



My extracting combs are kept dry and sweet 

 when not in use. No pollen is stored in them, 

 nor brood, as I use a queen-excluder which 

 keeps the queen from these supers. In good 

 seasons I tier up. I first put on one super of 

 combs; and when thpse are nearly filled, and a 

 little capping done, I raise this super up and 

 put a set of empty combs under it, next to the 

 brood chamber, which gives the bees more 

 room. Storing is begun in the new super, and 

 the upper one is filled. Much of the honey be- 

 ing thus uncapped, it isripened more completely 

 even than when capped soon after being stored. 

 In a week or a little more the first supers are 

 emptied of well-ripened honey, as most of the 

 newly gathered honey has been stored in the 

 lower story. 



If the honey-flow at this time continues good, 

 the emptied stories are put under the one put 

 on a week previously, and the work goes on, 

 and we shall have the (then) upper stories of 

 well-ripened honey to take off a few days or a 

 week later. All strong colonies are managed 

 as above described. Those not so strong are 

 run only two-story; but the honey is left on the 

 hives until of good quality. When taken off, 

 all our honey is stored in the honey-room, which 

 is a hot place, and air-dry. 



In fine weather the screen-covered windows 

 are left open by day. Our extracted honey 

 is stored in open cans and barrels. With this 

 method we secure good honey if the flowers 

 yield. Of course, in past No. 1 seasons the 

 honey seems almost ripened when stored, and 

 need not be then left so long on the hives. Un- 

 fortunately we have had none of these since 

 1888. In 189.5 and "96 our fall honey was of bet- 

 ter body than that gathered during summer. 



Mill, dgeville. 111. 



[Whatever may be true of your extracted, the 

 average of extracted is not equal to the average 

 of the comb honey. There is one point that 

 you have not mentioned; namely, that in the 

 production of comb honey the bees begin to 

 store in shallow cells. As the honey is stored 

 the cells are increased in depth. Meanwhile, 

 the honey in these shallow cells is ripening as 

 it is stored, and more perfectly than if stored 

 in the deep cells (full depth) of extracting- 



