844 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15, 



honey is very abundant will build comb very 

 rapidly, fillinjj their hive in eight or ten days, 

 thereby building comb in advance of the 

 queen, in which case their comb will be apt to 

 be crooked, and at least one-third drone or 

 store comb which is good for nothing for rear- 

 ing worker bees the next season, but an actual 

 damage, as the drones reared in them will 

 consume a great part of what honey the work- 

 ers gather. Such colonies will always be un- 

 profitable ones, either for rearing bees or stor- 

 ing honey, just so long as left in that condi- 

 tion ; and, if unprofitable, the bees will be 

 neglected more and more, and the keeping of 

 bees be declared by the owner as a " delusion 

 and a snare," while had their keeper attended 

 to them while they were building combs, 

 and then given them the attention needed 

 afterward, success would have crowned the 

 effort, and bee-keeping would have been de- 

 clared one of the nicest and most profitable 

 pursuits in the world. Any business is profit- 

 able only as we put our thought and energy 

 into it, bee-keeping being n'o exception to this 

 rule. 



ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE NATIONAL 

 UNION. 



Mr. J. C. Kubias, of Redlands, Cal., has been 

 sued by W. F. Whittier for damages, and he 

 prays for an injunction restraining Mr. Kubias 

 from keeping bees within one mile of his land, 

 claiming that the bees befoul the water used 

 for irrigating and domestic purposes, and also 

 sting men who work in the fields adjoining 

 the apiary. Mr. Kubias' apiary was located 

 there before Mr. Whittier planted his orchard, 

 and should have prior right to the location — 

 if there is to be any preference. 



The National Bee-keepers' Union assisted 

 the defendant with "points of law," and 

 money to defray the expenses of a lawsuit. 

 When it was known that the Union was inter- 

 ested in the defense, the plaintiffs weakened 

 and bought out the defendant's homestead. 

 Mr. Kubias returned the money to the Union, 

 and wrote thus : 



Whittier acknowledges, through his attorneys, the 

 correctness of our position, and bought my rights to 

 the home.stead entry on which my bees are located. 

 The fact that the National Bee keepers' Union was 

 back of me was the mo.st potent factor in not allowing 

 the case to come to trial. J. C. Kubias. 



As soon as the enemies of the pursuit of bee- 

 keeping understand that the National Bee- 

 keepers' Union is interested in the defense, 

 they generally waste no'time in trying to set- 

 tle the matter by compromise or letting it 

 drop entirely. This i-hows the value of organ- 

 ization, in maintaining their rights and de- 

 manding their privileges. " In union there is 

 strength." Bee-keepers should remember 

 this, and lose no time in becoming members 

 of the National Bee-keepers' Union. 



Thomas G. Newman, Gen. Mgr. 



THE GOLDEN honey; WHY SOME OF IT (P. 



690) was darker. 



li. R. Root: — Your footnote relating to 

 your judgment as to the cause of so great a 

 difference as to color of sections (comb honey ), 

 page t)90, would have been a correct answer if 

 you had put it "characteristic" instead of 

 "difference" in bees; but I presume you 

 meant that the same kinds of bees possess dif- 

 ferent characteristics as to the capping and 

 building of comb; and, as I stated, I'll tell 

 just why that third row shows up so much 

 darker. Those three colonies are all three- 

 banded Italians that I had to leave over from 

 last year with unchanged queens, and the one 

 from which No. .3 sections were taken was one 

 of the best colonies I ever owned for storing 

 large amounts of honey; but when capping 

 they would just spread a thin coating of wax 

 over the honey, and glass it over, giving it a 

 greasy appearance; besides, one could scarce- 

 ly handle the combs, being so fragile — brood- 

 cappings having a good deal the same appear- 

 ance. When offering this section honey in 

 the market, inquirers wanted to know if a 

 coat of paint had been put on the honey. So 

 you can readil}- solve the question. 



Sections in No. 3 contain the same kind of 

 honey as 1 and 2 ; but the cappings being 

 smeared right on the honey, it shows badly; 

 and had the honey been light you could hard- 

 Iv have told where the cell-cup walls were; 

 therefore a $5.00 breeder reigns in her stead. 



But, Ernest, there is no doubt in my mind 

 that the open separators have much to do in 

 more quickly curing honey. This is one of 

 the essential features of my method which, if 

 you will take time to consider for a few min- 

 utes, you will see afford a free ventilation 

 throughout the entire combination hive. 

 This undoubtedly hastens evaporation, as 

 all will admit; but I have noted down in my 

 diary to fully and properly test the three sep- 

 arators in the one hive next season. 



Reinersville, O. J. A. GOEDEN. 



[This should be taken in connection with 

 what is said on page 806. — Ed.] 



BEE-SPACE BETWEEN COMB SURFACES, AND 



HOW IT VARIES WITH DIFFERENT 



KINDS OF BEES. 



Mr. Root: — I notice the disagreement going 

 on in vour paper as to the width of space be- 

 tween well-filled sections, and that you call 

 for the opinion of honey-producers as to what 

 they know about it. 



Now, I believe all are correct in the mea- 

 surements they have given, as everj^ one has, 

 no doubt, been accurate as his bees did the 

 work. 



Bees are not all of a size. The blacks differ 

 in size as well as the Italians. 



In this locality there is a small black bee 

 that does not leave a space between the sec- 

 tions more than two-thirds as wide as some of 

 the Italians. Then there is the brown bee, 

 fully as large as the common Italian, and yet 

 it is called the black bee, and the space Vje- 

 tween the combs they leave is substantially 

 the same as with the Italians. 



