180 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1. 



if dirty feet were the cause, that part first cap- 

 ped would present stains as much as or more 

 than the bottom cells, which are the last to be 

 completed on full sheets of foundation and 

 the upper corner cells where starters are used 

 the same, the travel over the center being 

 greater than at the bottom (last built), where 

 the stain is almost always darker, it stands to 

 reason if attributed to dirty feet ; but not so. 

 Although foreign substances are often incor- 

 porated in the wax, that does not color the 

 comb; and if we lift off a capping from the 

 cell, and hold it up to the light the semi trans- 

 parency shows the color of the outside, the 

 same as glass shows dirt, which puzzles the 

 housekeeper, often, to tell which side of the 

 window needs wiping. The color is not in the 

 wax, but on the outside, and is placed there 

 by the bees with care and deliberation, and for 

 a purpose. 



All combs when built (they are not drawn) 

 are formed from the scales of wax as excreted 

 by the bee, and pinched by their mandibles 

 till they adhere together. The sides of the 

 cells are porous, also the cappings, and will 

 admit moisture from the breath of the bee 

 condensing within the hive when ventilation 

 is impeded by cold air, and, unless excluded 

 from contact with the honey, would be absorb- 

 ed and cause the sweating and souring, detri- 

 mental as food to the bee. To prevent this 

 the bee varnishes all sealed sections at a time 

 when resinous vegetation is secreting propolis, 

 so called. Unless the cells are reserved for 

 uncapping for larval food there will be no pro- 

 polizing until very late, and will be slight be- 

 cause of scarcity. There is great difference 

 in the amount of this so-called travel-stain as 

 applied to the combs by different colonies, as 

 well as in different localities. In this prairie 

 country in an early day, say thirty years ago, 

 when much was unsettled, wild flowers were 

 abundant, and excretions of gum or resin 

 were plentiful, so the bees made use of it to 

 excess compared with what is now gathered. 

 Honey at that date was ruined for market by 

 the amount of propolis spread over the combs, 

 it being applied in chunks. 



To convince yourself that this stain is most- 

 ly propolis smeared on by the bees, and not 

 incorporated in the wax, take some soda car- 

 bonate, dissolve it in water, apply the solution 

 to the comb with a soft brush. Now try some 

 propolis scrapings; result, a stain like yellow 

 paint, which will rinse or wipe off from the 

 comb and leave the comb very much whiter — 

 a fair No. 1 section, changed from a discarded 

 travel-stained one. 



Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 20. 



RAMBLE 162. 



Crossing the Boundary into Oregon. 



BY RAMBLER. 



Yreka is located in a fertile valley, but it is 

 not much of an alfalfa-growing district, con- 

 sequently there is no one engaged in the busi- 

 ness of bee culture here. About the only 

 honey-production that was ever practiced here 



was by an old miner who hunted and robbed 

 bee-trees, and became so proficient in the 

 business that he was known as Honey Jake. 

 Now and then a nice hunk of honey would 

 sell for 50 cts. , while a mashed or broken lot 

 would be greatly depreciated in price; but the 

 miners were not over-particular about the 

 mussed condition, for a real lover of honey 

 would patronize Jake whenever the buckets 

 appeared with any sweetness in them. Honey 

 Jake never tried to domesticate the bees. His 

 ambition went no further than to cut the tree 

 or pry open the rocks, secure the sweets, and 

 leave the bees in a forlorn condition. 



At Gazelle, on the S. P. R. R., and almost 

 in the shadow of Shasta, we find the noted 

 Edson ranch, upon which are several thou- 

 sand acres of alfalfa. The Edsons are not 

 only enterprising along the lines of alfalfa and 

 cattle raising, but have established bee - 

 ranches, and make considerable shipments of 

 honey. They are in the ideal condition so 

 much extolled bj< the cattle-man, wherein they 

 have command of the northern and southern 

 markets. I judge, however, that, if there is 

 any gain in choice of a market, the railroad 

 will take a good share of said profit, for the 

 freight rates from this point are excessive. 



I broke away from Yreka about noon, and, 

 with the aid of my wheel, sought to strike the 

 railroad about 18 miles north in time for the 

 north-bound train ; but owing to quite a little 

 up-grade, and the necessity of leading my 

 wheel, I did not make Klamathon, the station, 

 in time. 



But I did not care a continental. I found 

 quarters in a nice little temperance hotel pre- 

 sided over by several nice sociable ladies of 

 various ages, and I made myself so agreeable, 

 that, in the evening, I was invited out to the 

 only entertainment the town afforded, and 

 that was to the saw-mill. This mill is the 



