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• DELVoT 



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 ♦INTERESTS 



Vol. XXV. 



AUG. I, 1897. 



biishedy theAIT^ooY Co. 

 ^h'-^mYiKK '\@ ^Medina- Ohio- 



No. 15. 



Mr. Harbison has set out a large planta- 

 tion of the black (or ball) sage, and finds the 

 profits exceedingly large. — Pro/. Cook, in 

 .■{)nerican Hcc Journal. 



Mr. Editor, on p. o'Jo you speak in what 

 seems a commendatory way of replacing 

 brood-combs wth foundation when the combs 

 become dark. Do you really mean that ? 



Pope Leo calls honey "that celestial gift." 

 [The pope is right. No other sweet, pure and 

 simple, can be used for direct consumption 

 without some special manipulation on the part 

 of man.— Ed.] 



Some points given in "Musings," p. 514, 

 confirm the opinion that, the riper and thicker 

 honey is, the less inclined to granulate ; and 

 yet it is sometimes insisted that thickening 

 hastens granulation. 



Honey-salve is recommended by Dr. 

 Kneipp as an excellent dressing for sores and 

 boils. Take equal parts honey and flour, add 

 a little water, and stir thoroughly together. 

 Don't make too thin. 



The Southland Queen reports Dr. Stell, in 

 Mexico, getting %\ a section for honey, a total 

 of J17")0 from ten colonies. Even cutting that 

 in two to make it American money, it makes 

 $87.50 per colony. Not so bad. 



The Leipziger Biencnzeitung cites a case 

 to prove that bees gnaw wax from old combs 

 and carry it into the hive on their legs. I 

 think that is nothing uncommon; but is such 

 wax ever used except as a substitute for 

 propolis? 



J. F. McIntyre keeps his fiOO colonies of 

 bees in one apiary, says Prof. Cook, in .hneri- 

 can Bee Journal. What can't they do in Cal- 

 ifornia ? [This is remarkable. In most local- 

 ities in the Northern States, 125 colonies at 

 the most would be too many. — Ed.] 



The anticipation of a big crop everywhere 

 because white clover is so plentiful is likely to 

 amount to a scare. When the total honey 

 crop is footed up, I doubt whether the figures 



will be as large as a good many are now an- 

 ticipating. [I am beginning to think the crop 

 is not going to be as large as we at first ex- 

 pected. See editorial on this point in another 

 column. — Ed.] 



I don't know of a man in the ranks of bee- 

 keepers to whom will go out more kindly 

 wi.shes from all for a happy outcome of his 

 recent matrimonial venture than to my dear 

 friend Prof. Cook. Blessings on his head. 

 [You are right, doctor. GLEANINGS wishes 

 the professor blessings and joy. — Ed.] 



Pearrer TXeischmann put a thennometer 

 in 8 different colonies in winter, and found a 

 different temperature in each. The thermom- 

 eter rose 6° to S° on feeding, but settled back 

 to its former place in a few hours. [Doctor, 

 why didn't you tell what the temperature 

 was in the cluster during winter? I suppose 

 it was somewhere about 70 Fahr. — that is, in 

 the very center of the cluster itself. — Ed.] 



Having reported that I never saw laying 

 queens fight, I thought I'd give the matter a 

 severe test. The other Saturday I put six 

 queens in one cage. They seemed to quarrel 

 more or less throughout the day, but in the 

 evening all appeared alive and well. On 

 Mondav morning, however, one lone queen 

 was left to tell the tale. [This is interesting. 

 And now the question arises. Was the sole 

 survivor the fittest ? She doubtless was the 

 sur\'ival of the strongest. — Ed.] 



It's not wonderful that, in a certain 

 location, white clover should be more plentiful 

 in 1897 than ever before. But it is decidedly 

 remarkable that this should be so generally 

 the case all over. Wonder why. [Yes, why ? 

 We can only guess that the abundance of rain, 

 and cool vveather in the early spring, had 

 something to do with it. But' after all, this 

 does not entirely explain it, because we have 

 had cool wet springs before, without a remark- 

 able showing of clover following. — Ed.] 



Bottom starters at Medina, you say, Mr. 

 Editor, were about >4 inch. JMy bees are 

 more inclined to tear down such narrow .start- 

 ers; i/i deep are more respected, and I'm not 

 sure they curl worse. But I'm rather expect- 

 ing to use drawn foundation for bottom 

 starters, even at the present high price; >^ 

 inch of that might work all right. [A great 



