196 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15. 



no honey in their sacs, so that, when they find 

 themselves cut off from the brood-chamber by 

 the insertion of an escape-board, they may per- 

 forate the cappings to obtain a supply of honey 

 to take with them. But, as stated above, there 

 is a great difference in the excitability of differ- 

 ent colonies; and while pure Italians will 

 usually pass out quietly without molesting the 

 honey, blacks, Carniolans, and their crosses are 

 liable to mutilate the cappings more or less late 

 in the season. And further: As the last bees 

 to leave supers are the ones that become most 

 excited over their more apparent isolation, it is 

 natural that they should mutilate the cappings 

 on the sections nearest the place of exit. 



One of the leading features of rejoicing over 

 the introduction of a good, practical bee-escape 

 was the lessening of the damage to comb honey 

 by the bees perforating the cappings; for in the 

 old way of smoking and brushing off the bees 

 from sections, in many instances the cappings 

 were badly mutilated in spite of the bee-mas- 

 ter's efforts to prevent it. With the use of es- 

 capes, the bees do not become so alarmed; and 

 if the bee-master is up and doing in good time 

 there is but little excuse for complaint in this 

 direction. 



Talent, Oregon. 



FUEL FOR SMOKERS. 



THE CORNEIL SMOKER ; SHAVINGS VS. STOVE- 

 WOOD; PRICES IN CALIFORNIA AND NEW 

 YORK; BRITISH markets; FOUL BROOD; HOR- 

 IZONTAL WIRING OF FRAMES. 



By Wm. O. Hemes. 



I have been testing your Cornell smoker, and 

 find it the equal of any other smoker in all 

 respects, except in price, and in that it is 

 superior, being less— a valued consideration in 

 these days of low prices for honey and only 

 occasional crops. 



I notice you recommend burning hard wood 

 and shavings. Shavings are all right. Noth- 

 ing I have used suits me so well; but to burn 

 hard wood is better for the manufacturer of 

 smokers than for the bee-keeper, because the 

 great heat from the glowing coals of the wood 

 will burn out the smoker in half the time that 

 shavings, rags, punk, etc., will do. I find that 

 the fire-box and nozzle are the parts which first 

 give out; and I think that, if they were made 

 of heavy galvanized iron, the life of a smoker 

 would be longer. 



At first I did not like the hinged nozzle, as I 

 found it very difficult to tip back when the 

 smoker was cold and tne creosote hardened; 

 but I find that, by tapping the nozzle lightly 

 with a bit of wood, where it fits over the tire- 

 box, it will readily open. 



In the " Year-book of the Dept. of Agricul- 

 ture " for 1895, Secretary Morton, in his report, 

 has a few words to say in regard to the honey 



market in England. He quotes "Thurber & 

 Whyland's white-sage honey," in one-pound 

 jars, as selling at 13.30 per dozen, or nearly 20 

 cts. per pound. " California, in original cans 

 (about 56 lbs.), per cwt. of 112 lbs., $9.60," or a 

 trifle over S}4 cts. per lb. As this honey was 

 purchased from the producers at an average of 

 about 4 cts., it can readily be seen tnat the 

 speculator made a good thing; but what, in our 

 Western vernacular, "breaks me all up," is 

 when I realize that Thurber & Whyland buy 

 my honey for 4 cents, put it into a quarter- cent 

 jug, and sell it for twenty cents. No wonder 

 they are multi-millionaires if they are in the 

 habit of making 400 per cent profit on every 

 thing. 



It seems to me the British market is worth 

 investigation by our Exchange if we ever again 

 have a crop of honey to sell; and that jug 

 process, for multiplying by five the price of our 

 honey, gone through with at heme. 



Secretary Morton further says: "Our agent 

 in England has had several inquiries as to the 

 honey market this year, especially from Texas, 

 and has supplied inquirers with names of im- 

 porters in England and with information as to 

 how to approach them, and this he will be 

 pleased to do for all inquirers." I should like 

 to request right here that, if any of these in- 

 quiring Texans made a shipment to England, 

 they tell through Gleanings what success they 

 met with. 



The Secretary speaks of bee-keepers as 

 " honey - makers." I wish to inform him, 

 through the medium of this journal, that it is 

 not the bee-keepers who make honey, but New 

 York and Chicago merchants. 



Foul brood seems to have been rather more 

 contagious the past season than usual. Api- 

 aries which had it several years ago, but whose 

 owners thought in 1895 they were rid of it, were 

 found the past spring to be badly infected 

 again. The foul-brood inspector, Mr. Hart, 

 was sent for, and he looked through all the 

 apiaries in this district, marking the diseased 

 hives; but I fear it does not do much good, as 

 he is not authorized to burn the hives, and the 

 owners often try to cure, which, if they are 

 inexperienced or careless, only results in spread- 

 ing the disease. Healthy districts are often 

 infected by the moving of a diseased apiary 

 into their midst. A desirable law would be 

 one preventing any person from moving bees 

 without first having them inspected and pro- 

 nounced free from foul brood. A similar law 

 is now in force in this State in regard to fruit- 

 trees. 



Some years ago, when you published the 

 Keany method of wiring frames, I fixed about 

 one thousand in that way; but, as I found that, 

 when the foundation was drawn out in strong 

 colonies, it sagged and made a bad kink where 

 the wires crossed. I abandoned it for the hori- 



