354 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 1. 



nies. Of course, it was not entirely pure or- 

 ange honey, for in good seasons there are 

 many honey-plants in bloom at the same time 

 as the orange; but it was very nice honey, as 

 I can testify from personal examination. 



The great drawback to orange honey is its 

 uncertain yieVl, being so sensitive to weather 

 conditions. It would never pay to keep bees 

 where orange was the only source of honey. 



G. W. Brodbeck has moved his bees some 

 40 miles to alfalfa and moist-land pasture. 

 He is a " rustler," and will make it win if any 

 can. 



J. H. Martin thinks of leaving his bees 

 where they are, as there are some citrus trees 

 near. 



So it goes with all the bee-men — all are pre- 

 paring for the worst. C. A. Hatch. 



Pasadena, Cal., Mar. 25. 



THE IMPROVEMENTS ON HIVES MADE AT THE 



HOME OF THE HONEY-BEES ; THE VALUE 



OF THE VENTILATED BOTTOM-BOARD. 



My gable cover is much like yours, except 

 that the top boards are fi inch thick ; they 

 overlap, also, about 1 in. over the sides and fi 

 in. at the ends. The space between upper and 

 lower boards is also greater than in yours, as 

 there is 1 in. space between the boards at the 

 closest point; and to prevert hornets and 

 other insects from causing any annoyance a 

 strip of zinc is run into grooves along the 

 sides. The groove to run the zinc into is right 

 along the edge of the upper surface of the 

 lower board, and one inch from the lower edge 

 of the upper board. This groov-e in the upper 

 board is a.o/rat factor, also, in preventing any 

 tendency to curl or twnst. It is put together 

 with 2^-inch nails principally, so is particu- 

 larly strong, and not too heavy. For this cli- 

 mate it is certainly a thing of beauty and a 

 joy ; and the more experience I have with it 

 the better I like it. With the lid as described 

 above, the dovetailed hive-joint (a joint that 

 the fiercest sun has little effect upon), and the 

 deep-entrance bottom-board, this hive is now 

 practically perfect. 



I am not sure which has the greater influ- 

 ence in preventing swarming — the improved 

 ventilated gable cover or the deep bottom- 

 board ; but that each has a powerful influence 

 is unquestionable. This season I ran over 300 

 colonies in the home apiary ; and while a big 

 proportion of these were utilized in queen- 

 raising, a good number also of the choicest 

 colonies were run for extracted honey and for 

 the production of first-class drones. The sea- 

 son was a magnificent one ; and while these 

 colonies were powerfully strong in three-story 

 ten-frame hives, not 5 per cent swarmed dur- 

 ing the entire season. What a striking and 

 pleasing contrast is this to my experience of 

 years back, when colonies used to get fairly 

 swarming mad, and a dozen disorderly swarms 

 a day the rule ! Instead of chasing after 

 swarms almost the entire day I can now get 

 through twice as much work. Just reflect a 

 while, and calculate what improvements have 

 been made in our methods of management in 

 the past few years, and you can not fail to 



come to the conclusion that one man can now 

 manage double the number of colonies that he 

 could some years ago. Hurrah for the Home 

 of the Honey-bees, and your grand corps of 

 workers ! H. L. JONES. 



Goodna, Queensland, Aus., Mar. 12. 



[Such a letter stands out in pleasant con- 

 trast with one or two others whose writers 

 seem to have the impression that The A. I. 

 Root Co. make improvements simply for the 

 sake of doing it, or for diverting trade away 

 from competitors. We never put out an im- 

 provement but that we thought it might prove 

 to be a labor-saver to the bee-keeper in the 

 end ; and why should we make future genera- 

 tions plod along year after year in the same 

 old ruts when we can see new and better roads 

 to travel over ? — Ed.] 



OLD-STYLE WIDE FRAMES FOR PLAIN SEC- 

 TIONS. 



Why can't I tise two cleated separators on 

 my wide frames, and hold them in place by a 

 5/^ -inch brad in end cleat (each end), driven 

 into the end-bar of the wide frame ? I was 

 just trying the separator you sent me, on one 

 of my frames; two of them will just fill the 

 bill. E. E. McCoy. 



Noble, 111. 



[You can use the fence on the plan you in- 

 dicate, without any trouble whatever. It is 

 never necessary to discard wide frames to take 

 plain sections. — Ed.] 



J. F. //., Mass. — Where one intends to use 

 full sheets of foundation I wouln by all means 

 use wired frames ; and if I intended to use 

 only starters I would have wired frames just 

 the same. The wires tend very materially to 

 stiffen the combs. This is an advantage dur- 

 ing times of extracting, and of moving bees. 



A. P. B., N.J. — For a cure for foul brood, 

 see page 34 of the catalog we are sending you 

 — the last paragraph or two. The honey will 

 be all right if it is boiled for a period of four 

 or five minutes. I would not advise any one 

 trying to get a living off from 150 colonies in 

 average localities. The seasons are too uncer- 

 tain. Bee-keeping should generally be com- 

 bined with some other business. 



G. P. A., Pa. — We can not understand why 

 3-our honey should be bitter, unless it is that 

 the bees have been gathering nectar from some 

 weed that may be prevalent in your locality. 

 When this bitter honey comes in, watch the 

 flight of the bees and note the direction they 

 are coming from ; then trace them to the 

 source from which they gather the nectar. 

 Having found this, take one of the flowerets 

 and see if you can squeeze a drop of nectar out 

 of it. If this drop tastes bitter, then you can 

 easily determine the source of the bitter honey. 



