626 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



Now, while I do not desire to open the dis- 

 cussion of the subject of facing comb honey, 

 I do desire to correct what seems to me to be a 

 false impression conveyed by the foregoing 

 quotation. I know of no one who advocates 

 putting up honey or any other product at ran- 

 dom. The objection has been made to dishon- 

 est facing, putting a prime article in sight, but 

 filling the rest of the package with inferior 

 stock. For one, I distinctly stated that I saw 

 no objection to Mr. Doolittle's method of 

 packing ; namely, sorting it up into XXX, 

 etc., and packing the entire case with the 

 same grade. Such honey is all the same 

 grade, and of equal value for all practical pur- 

 poses, but who will pretend to say that the 

 symmetrical proportions of the comb are ex- 

 actly alike ? 



We owe something to good taste and order 

 in putting merchandise and other products 

 before the eye of the customer. To illustrate, 

 let us take the case of an apple-grower after 

 ha\-ing sorted stock for packing There would 

 be nothing dishonest in putting the first course 

 at the head of the barrel, with stems all down, 

 and the apples placed in courses, so as to ap- 

 pear the most attractive when the head of the 

 barrel is removed. 



So also with comb honey. Sections being 

 of the same quality, there would be nothing 

 wrong in putting such as are capped as though 

 a straight-edge had been used, to the front. 

 There is no fraud in such packing as that, as 

 the qua'ity of the package is the same. Have 

 I made myself clearlv understood ? 



William M. Whitney. 



Hospital, 111., July 16. 



[It seems almost impossible to cut off this 

 discussion, but as these seem to be the tail 

 end of the matter I let 'em pass on their mer- 

 it.— Ed.] 



"FACING" IN HUMAN NATURE. 



I have carefully read all the articles on 

 facing fruits, honey, etc. W^hile this looks 

 like great deception, I want to say that not 

 only fruits, honey, etc., are faced, but the 

 whole human family is shown to the world 

 with the bright smile in society; but the dark, 

 faulty, gnarly acts are brought out on closer 

 inspection. Frequently we select representa- 

 tives in Congress who prove their whole lives 

 and beings are full of corruption, fraud, and 

 disrepute. R. R. Ryan. 



Salem, Oregon. 



DO BEES carry the OUEEN WHEN SWARM- 

 ING ? 



One of my neighbors came the other day to 

 tell me there was a swarm in his garden, on 

 the ground. I went and hived them and 

 brought them back. Next day I looked in 

 the hive and found a clipped queen. I could 

 hardly believe my eyes. There are no bees 

 nearer than two miles, and that queen was 

 clipped like mine, on the left side, both wings 

 half cut off. The swarm was 200 yards from 

 the nearest hive, and there was a field of 

 three-feet oats between, so she could not have 

 crawled that far. There is but one explana- 

 tion of it — the bees carried her. The above 



swarm was hived in a new hive with frames 

 filled with foundation. G. GROSS. 



Mt. Tabor, Wis. 



THE IDEAL SUPER ALL RIGHT. 



I have seen only a few reports in regard to 

 the "Ideal " super, no-way sections, etc ; but 

 what I have seen are, I am glad to say, most 

 favorable. Let me add my mite. I like 

 them very much, and shall add to what I have 

 another year, and use none other. Then, too, 

 if you wish an extra-large section, one that 

 wdll weigh 2 lbs or more, just use two of the 

 1-lb. sections with a sheet of extra thin foun- 

 dation between; press together, and fill up a 

 super with these. What have you ? 20 two- 

 pound sections equal to 40 one-pound, and 

 you also do away with three fences, but add 

 one more pattern slat. The advantage of 

 this, I think, is that you have extra-long 

 honey cells, use just half as much foundation, 

 and then it is less trouble to put in the foun- 

 dation (I believe in split sections); and when 

 you use the honej^ for home consumption you 

 are not compelled to eat much extra thin foun- 

 dation; and I believe that, the deeper the cell, 

 the better the honey. Success to the Ideal ! 



Honey will be scarce here if we do not get 

 rain soon. I am depending almost entirely 

 on the fall flow for much surplus. 



Maiden, 111. Geo. O. Morris. 



[Yes, you can make 2-lb. sections on that 

 plan. And that calls to mind the fact that 

 plain sections will permit of doubling up on 

 this plan where the ordinary scored out boxes 

 could not be used — Ed.] 



FRIEND MORRISON TELLS US ABOUT PORTO 

 RICO. 



Dear yi/r. Root: — We were all pleased to 

 hear from you, but were sorry to hear it was 

 so hot. The highest yet reached here is S4°. 

 It may get to be 1° more next month — August. 

 After September I shall leave for the West In- 

 dies. I shall take a look at Porto Rico. It is 

 a very fine island, and the most prosperous. It 

 is a very fine bee country. It is the only part 

 of the Spanish colonies worth owning. Tell 

 President McKinley that. 



W. K. Morrison. 



Devonshire, Bermuda, July 21. 



[We shall hope to hear from friend M. re- 

 garding bee-keeping in our newly acquired 

 possession. — Ed.] 



WHAT KILLED THOSE BEES ? 

 I had a queer thing happen the other day. 

 A friend of mine sent me a young laying 

 queen, and I had no place prepared for her; 

 and as the honey season was about past I 

 thought I would gather half a gallon or so off 

 the ends of several hives that were all covered 

 with them. So I took a dustpan and took 

 perhaps a pint off six or seven hives, and put 

 them in a wire box I have for the purpose — 

 box 12 in. long and 6 or 8 square, and put 

 them down cellar, intending to give them the 

 queen in the morning; but in the morning 

 almost every bee was dead. There was about 

 3 qts. of them, and they looked as though 

 they had been daubed with honey. Now the 



