626 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 1. 



Calicotoine znllosa. Thymus N^iunadinis, and 

 other species of Thyynus, several species of 

 Cistus, and many other honey-yielding plants; 

 so that, in fact, there is a good harvest from 

 November till May, which is quite a long 

 period, especially when we consider the great 

 abundance of the honey -yielding flowers dur- 

 ing the whole time. 



It must be borne in mind that every pound 

 of hone}- collected is so much clear gain to 

 the national wealth of a country; for, if not 

 collected by bees, the honey is absolutely 

 wasted. Fruit-growers and owners of almond- 

 orchards should remember, too, that greatly 

 increased crops of fruit are obtained if there 

 are ample bees kept to insure efficient fertiliza- 

 tion of the flowers. 



The bees of Tunis are very hardy, good 

 workers, and are all that can be desired for 

 the countr}', and I strongly recommend that 

 the introduction of foreign bees be not at- 

 tempted; and in view of the fact that the bees 

 here, so far as I have seen, are free from the 

 disease called foul brood (which has caused, 

 and is still causing, such havoc with the bees 

 of Europe), I advise that the most stringent 

 measures be taken to absolutely prohibit the 

 importation of any foreign bees, as the risk of 

 the disease being introduced thereby would be 

 very great ( it being very widespread in Eu- 

 rope ) . 



The Chalet, Welwyn, England. 



WALKER'S GRADING-RULES CRITICISED. 

 The Rules too Flexible, and Why. 



BY B. F. ONDERDONK. 



Friend Root : — I have been reading Mr. 

 Walker's grading-rules, and, after nmch 

 thought and perplexity, have come to the 

 conclusion that they do not grade. As I un- 

 derstand the word, " fancy " means appearing 

 extra well. I fail to understand how a section 

 with a row of unsealed cells next the wood 

 can fill the requirement of "fancy," to say 

 nothing about "extra fancy" allowing this 

 defect ; then his ' ' fancy, " " slightly fastened 

 to or detached from the bottom, "'and " /zro 

 cells viay contain bec-hread" (italics mine). 

 I grade his extra fancy for my own trade as 

 No. 1 ; his fancy as No. 2, except as to the 

 bee-bread, a section containing which I never 

 offer for sale, but exclude it entirely from the 

 grading. 



P'ancy, with me, must not have more than 

 four unsealed cells on any one side of the 

 comb, and unsoiled. No. 1 may have one row 

 of cells next the wood unsealed. No. 2, one 

 row of cells next the wood unsealed, and two 

 or three rows at the bottom; no section to 

 weigh less than 13 oz.; and ver}^ little amber 

 honey in with white. No. 3, or fourth grade, 

 may have two rows of unsealed cells, top and 

 sides, bottom detached ; and weight, 11 to 12 

 oz., goes to the peddler at 10 cts., regardless 

 of color, comb, or honey. Lighter weights go 

 back on the hives to finish if a flow is on, or 

 clean out if bees need it. 



Mr. Walker says, "No. 2 like No. 1, but 



combs may be more crooked and uneven (sic), 

 and not over three-fourths filled ; but any one 

 section must weigh half as much as the hea\'i- 

 est section in the case." To say nothing 

 about his supplementan,-, which would allow 

 his sections to be shoveled in, and modifies 

 previous elastic rules, it looks to me like a 

 barrel of unsorted apples, and I do not won- 

 der at commission men's returns for consign- 

 ments of honey if these rules obtain to any 

 great extent. 



Your grading is good, except fancy, which 

 should not admit the whole row of cells next 

 the wood unsealed. No. 3 should not go on 

 the market. It hurts the business, and gives 

 the retailer too much show to " do " the 

 consumer. 



I did intend my letter as an order ; but the 

 wa}' things are looking now, I am not sure 

 but I shall need a barrel of sugar instead. 



Mountain View, N. J., Aug. 11. 



APICULTURAL STATION OF THE MARYLAND 

 AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



An Old Bee-keeper in Charge. 



BY C. H. LAKE. 



[A few weeks ago we received a letter from Mr. C. 

 H. Lake in regard to an apiarj' that he had the plea- 

 sure of establishing at the Mar}i-land Agricultural Col- 

 lege and Experiment Station near Washington, D. C. 

 At that time he promised to send us photos if we 

 cared to have them. I told him to send them on and 

 tell us something about the .station and its plans. The 

 photos are reproduced in half-tone on the opposite 

 page. The .station is located eight miles from Wash- 

 ington, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, at Col- 

 lege Park Station.— Ed.] 



Friend Root: — I send you under separate 

 cover the photographs of the aviary and apia- 

 ry of the Man,dand Agricultural College, and 

 I will give you at this writing as brief a de- 

 scription as possible. 



No. 1 is the brooder-house of the aviary ; 

 incubator capacity at present, 1300 eggs. The 

 gentleman on the left is the president and his 

 two children. Next is Mr. Taylor, the poul- 

 try man, and his little son. The other is in- 

 tended for"3'Ours truly." The trees show- 

 ing over the brooder-house are on the rear 

 grounds of the president's cottage. 



No. 2 takes you a little farther up the hill. 

 Place it at the left of No. 1 and you will see 

 how the ground lies. It takes in a large part 

 of the poultry plant. 



No. 3 (again placed on the left) is the apia- 

 ry", looking north. It is unfinished, as I wTote 

 you; and, while it makes but a small show, it 

 is more extensive than it looks. The white 

 building is the honey-house and workshop. 

 The window of workshop is nearly hidden by 

 the tree. This view cuts off about 75 feet of 

 the extreme left from view. 



No. 4 is a view of this part taken from the 

 shop-window looking south. So much for the 

 views. Now take the plan. The long line of 

 hives on the extreme left are all of the Balti- 

 more pattern for extracting, and will contain 

 80 hives, to be covered in, for both shade and 

 shelter. Along the front and poultry side, or 

 at a and b, there will be located 100 or more 



