514 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15. 



junct factors " is, it seems to me, a little in- 

 volved—at least I do not clearly understand 

 what is meant, although I think he is trying to 

 tell us what we already knew.— Ed.] 



A DISCOVERY is reported in the Australian 

 Bee Bulletin, in prevention of swarming. Just 

 turn the hive upside down once in nine days, 

 and the bees will destroy the queen-cells. The 

 Bulletin may save its readers much disap- 

 pointment by saying that the same discovery 

 was made in this country several years ago, 

 and, afier extensive trial, it proved a failure. 

 Bees don't always destroy the cells, and, be- 

 sides, they often swarm with only eggs in 

 queen-cells. 



I MUST PUTIN just a word for Funics. You 

 say, Mr. Editor, they have hardly a redeeming 

 quality; but from my limited experience the 

 one redeeming quality is an important one. 

 They're great workers; and if I were working 

 for extracted honey I shouldn't object to some 

 of the blood in my apiary. But they couldn't 

 be tolerated for comb honey on account of fill- 

 ing the cells so full as to make the combs look 

 watery. [I said, doctor, that they had hardly 

 a redeeming quality. They may be a little 

 better than the average Italians or hybrids, 

 for extracted honey, but I doubt very much 

 whether they are. Their bad qualities put 

 them considerably behina in the race with other 

 bees.— Ed.] 



It is true, Mr. Editor, as you say, that " the 

 general run of customers do not take kindly to 

 candied honey." But that leaves it still an 

 open question whether it might not be best for 

 producer and consumtr that they should be ed- 

 ucated to it. Muth's experience is not on paper. 

 Better sell granulated honey to a man taught 

 what to do with it than to sell liquid honey to 

 a man who doesn't know what to do with it 

 when it candies on his hands. [There may be 

 some truth in what you say; but it is uphill 

 work to educate the public. Most of the bee- 

 keepers and dealers with whom I am acquaint- 

 ed seem to have come to the conclusion that it 

 is better to keep honey liquid as long as possi- 

 ble; and when it candies, exchange it for liquid. 

 -Ed.] 



David N. Ritchey feels sure Apis dorsata 

 can be domesticated, and that they should at 

 once be imported to test the matter of their 

 acclimatization. If their domestication is es- 

 tablished, no one will object to their introduc- 

 tion. What I object to is their introduction 

 before we know they can be domesticated. [It 

 looks to me, in view of what was published on 

 pages 487, 488, from the pens of those who have 

 been in the native homes of the dorsata, that it 

 is exceedingly doubtful whether they could ev- 

 er be domesticated. But, nevertheless, Glean- 

 ings desires Mr. Ram bo to give the matter a 

 test when he returns to his missionary labors. 



In view of this, speculation from those who are 

 not personally acquainted with A. dorsata in 

 their native climate is worse than useless. — Ed.] 



"Bee-keepers," says Editor Hutchinson, 

 " have one bad habit. If they agree with their 

 editor they write and pat him on the back. If 

 they don't agree with him they keep still. They 

 ought to write to him just the same, if they 

 don't agree with him." All of which is more 

 or less true. But, say, W. Z., some editors 

 have a bad habit. They'll publish only what's 

 written them on their side. [Yes, both sub- 

 scribers and editors are quite inclined to believe 

 the way they want to believe. The subscriber 

 is too much inclined to write to the editor 

 agreeing with him; and the naughty editor is 

 very much inclined to publish that side of a 

 question which accords with his views, or, 

 perhaps, more exactly, his prejudice. I believe 

 I am as human as anybody else; but I have 

 often tried, to give greater emphasis to the side 

 that is opposed to my own opinions.— Ed.] 



Tb.e American Bee Journal is now faithful- 

 ly working on the report of the St. Joe conven- 

 tion that got water-logged more than two 

 years ago. The last five numbers have been 

 occupied with Frank Benton's essay on honey- 

 plants, which has grown so much in two years 

 that it now fills about six pages of the Old Re- 

 liable. It is, perhaps, the fullest thing of the 

 kind ever written. [Yes, it is no doubt the 

 fullest; but very often I have seen a long list 

 of honey-plants, all of which have practically 

 no bearing at all on the honey market, and the 

 reader is led to believe that they all yield honey 

 to a considerable extent. The honey-plants of 

 importance in this country can almost be 

 counted upon the fingers on one hand. It 

 seemed to me, as I glanced over Mr. Benton's 

 essay, that he was giving the unimportant 

 ones almost as much prominence as the others. 

 -Ed.] 



Bu R. C. Aikin. 



ALFALFA HONEY; ITS GRANULATING QUALI- 

 TIES; A REPLY TO E. T. ABBOTT AND 

 F. L. THOMPSON. 



Mr. Editor:— I had not intended writing any 

 thing more in regard to the granulation of 

 alfalfa honey; but it seems to me that, while 

 Messrs. Abbott and Thompson are thumping 

 me, may be I had better hit back a little. 



Now turn again to page 115 and see what I 



