1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



423 



have preferred to have had more difference 

 between the " fancy " and the No. 1; but as it 

 was long after the season, our friend Niver 

 was not able to secure such distinctive speci- 

 mens as he desired. — Ed.] 



" The discoloration goes clear through 

 the capping of so-called travel-stained honey," 

 or words to that effect, may sometimes be 

 heard. I arise to say I don't believe that the 

 cappings are often colored clear through. If 

 so, why the common advice to take sections 

 off early, before the bees have time to darken 

 them? I do know that in this " locality " 

 bees cap sections white, and they become dark 

 afterward. But the bees' feet have nothing to 

 do with it. [About a month ago I lifted the 

 cappings of a large number of travel-stained 

 sections ; and we had on the floor at that 

 time something like 5000 or 6000 pounds of 

 honey, much of which was travel-stained. I 

 went over dozens and dozens of sections, and 

 I think that, in nearly every case, the stain 

 went clear through the capping. The fact of 

 the matter is, there are two kinds of travel- 

 stain — or, at least, so I think. One is the real 

 travel-stain, of which you speak, and the oth- 

 er is the more common, the discoloration re- 

 sulting from foreign particles such as propo- 

 lis, strings, old dark wax, and dirt, incorpo- 

 rated in and through the cappings. Suppose, 

 doctor, you look over some travel- stained hon- 

 ey. Lift the cappings, and see how large a 

 per cent of the stain does not go clear through. 

 Perhaps this is a matter of locality; but the 

 honey I referred to came from the east and 

 west, and from all over. J. E. Crane, when 

 here, went over this same honey, and it was 

 he who called my attention to the fact that 

 the stain was not on the surface, but clear 

 through. — Ed.] 



The Nestor of superintendents of city 

 schools in this country is, I think, Prof. E. A. 

 Gastman, Decatur, 111. For 38 consecutive 

 years he has been in the public schools of that 

 city, and its superintendent ever since it had 

 a superintendent. On a delightful visit at his 

 home he told me he had never made much 

 money out of bee-keeping ( I think he never 

 reached 100 colonies, and his location is poor), 

 but the delightful outdoor work had kept him 

 in condition for going on with his work when 

 others were worn out. I think he's about 65 

 years young. [The doctor might have said, 

 that, had it not been for the bets, he probably 

 would not have been among us now. Years 

 ago, if I make no mistake, he gave up a lu- 

 crative position, having a fat salary attached 

 to it, on account of his health. He preferred 

 a smaller salary, God's pure air, and a longer 

 lease of life. And he got them. The bee- 

 keeping fraternity can rejoice that we have so 

 many professional men in our ranks. We 

 have our lawyers, doctors, members of Con- 

 gress, and our senators, school-teachers, pro- 

 fessors in colleges, many of whom have been 

 driven to bee-keeping as a pleasant and prof- 

 itable pastime. Such men in our ranks have 

 done much to enrich our literature and exalt 

 our calling. Is there any other rural pursuit 

 that can show such an an ay of talent? — Ed.] 



Our jolliest tune we sing in June 

 While we gather our winter stores ; 



Buckwheat and clover we're flying all over 

 When rainstorms don't keep us indoors. 



\i> 



BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



Wood ashes around hives are said to be a 

 preventive of black ants. 

 \\i 



F. A. Gemmill says the greatest amount of 

 wax he has been able to secure from a set of 

 eight Langstroth combs is 3 lbs. Mr. J. B. 

 Hall shows a similar result. Mr. Gemmill 

 used a Hatch press, a view of which is given. 

 \ii 



Honey for horse feed is a new fad. Mix it 

 with his common feed, and you will see what 

 sort of coat he will get. Quite likely it will 

 render the horse sleek and fat. Sugar has a 

 similar effect. In an eastern city I once 

 noticed that draymen for sugar-refineries car- 

 ried sugar in their coatpockets, and fed it to 

 their horses on the boat, and the horses were 

 remarkably smooth. 



\i, 



A fine view of the beautiful residence of Mr. 

 R. McKnight, of Owen Sound, Ontario, 

 graces the May number of the Review, also a 

 picture of Mr. McKnight himself and of a 

 "promenade" near his orchard. The pic- 

 tures give one a restful feeling. By the way, 

 Mr. M., who is that woman coaxing a dog to 

 stand on his hind legs in one picture, and 

 holding him in the next when he is tired out ? 

 and that one trying to push that huge tree 

 over? Mr. McKnight writes a very able arti- 

 cle to show that honey-dew is the exudation 

 of plants, and not that of plant-lice, etc., often 

 found in great numbers sucking it up. His 

 position is that of Mr. Cowan, and vigorously 

 opposes that of Prof. Cook. Mr. McKnight 

 is one of the most interesting writers among 

 bee-men. I think this one article is worth all 

 the Review costs for a whole } T ear. 

 \h 

 PROGRESSIVE BEE-KEEPER. 



R. C. Aikin has just passed through a politi- 

 cal campaign in which he was not only a 

 worker but was en the ticket, and is now in 

 for it to serve his little city as councilman for 

 the next two years. He adds, " May the 

 Lord help us to rout every whisky - selling 

 scheme that dares to ply in our midst." The 

 traditional "amen " is in order just here. 

 \\i 



Mr. J. H. De Myer says if he were to start 

 in the bee-business again he would use a 10 

 L. frame, self-spacing, Y% inch to center of 

 frames, or wider top-bars than the thick-top 

 Hoffman, and staple end-spacers, two supers 

 for each hive, and a few extra ones to be used 

 when needed. He would have one of them 

 regular size for half-depth frames, and the 

 other five inches deep for comb honey. 



