568 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1. 



In the American Bee Journal Mr. Dadant 

 thinks bears are deterred from robbing bee- 

 hives by the fear of stings. Bears are not 

 built with that sort of fear in this western 

 country. Bears make sad havoc with an 

 apiary in this State, and never let up until 

 they have filled themselves with honey. Pos- 

 sibly Mr. Dadant was thinking of French 

 bears. Of course, they are not so aggressive 

 as American bears. 



Mr. Brodbeck and I have been sort o' neigh- 

 borly and sociable this season. He moved his 

 bees into an adjoining canyon, within easy 

 visiting distance, with some hopes of securing 

 a little honey. But his hopes are blasted 

 along with the rest of us, and I think they 

 are a little blasteder, for he is not only minus 

 a honey-yield but minus one of those bull- 

 terrors. The poor dog fell into a reservoir and 

 was drowned. It is supposed that the dog, 

 being old and feeble, and his tail becoming so 

 animated at the sight of water, it wagged the 

 body into the reservoir. 



It is of no use for Prof. Cook and me to be 

 hopeful about getting a honey crop in South- 

 ern California. We hear of but two carloads 

 being shipped, and those from a few favored 

 localities. Even where circumstances were 

 favorable, the fogs were so numerous and cool 

 that the bees could not work to advantage. Our 

 only hope now near the coast is a yield from 

 sumac, which is coming on very full of bloom; 

 but we have discovered that, to have a honey- 

 plant fulfill its mission, it must have the mois- 

 ture below as well as right conditions above. 

 We hope, however, something from sumac. 



News comes from that man Wilder in Noith- 

 ern California that he has shot two bears and 

 a buck, and the end is not yet. His prospects 

 for a honey crop are not flattering; plenty of 

 flowers but weather too cool. Barring the 

 bears, the same news comes from Mr. Littooy, 

 of Tacoma, Wash. It rained all the while 

 when I was there in November. It has drop- 

 ped off now to raining every other day; but 

 that is a little too much for the successful 

 honey gathering. Central California com- 

 plains of a shortage of the honey yield, and, 

 taking it all together, there will not be honey 

 enough produced on the PacHc coast, from 

 Mexico to British Columbia, to supply the 

 home markets. 



I clip the following from a paper published 

 in my native State, New York : 



The Tripp bill, defining the sizes of small-fruit pack- 

 ages, has become a law. It provides that all manu- 

 facturers of small-fruit packages, such as quarts, pints, 

 and half-pints, that make or cause to be made such 

 packages that are of less size or capacity than the 

 standard sizes, as defined in section one of this act, 

 shall mark such quart, pint, and half-pint with the 

 word " short " on the outside in letters not less than 

 half an inch in height. 



Then follows the penalty. How about sec- 

 tions of honey that are short? I know of 

 some parties who use that style of section, 

 and advocate the sale by section ; but even in 

 this way of selling, the purchaser thinks he 

 is getting a pound. Taking all things into 

 consideration, is it not better to stick to the 

 full pound section rather than be compelled to 

 by law ? 



N1VER ON THE WITNESS-STAND. 



Grading and Marketing: Valuable Pointers from 

 a Practical Man. 



[In our issue for June 15 I referred to the visit of S. 

 A. Niver. and to the fact that one of our stenogra- 

 phers, " W. P." had taken down in shorthand an ex- 

 tended conversation that occurred between Mr. Niver 

 and myself. Knowing that our fiiend was full of 

 good practical "bee-talk" I took occasion to draw 

 him out on various subjects on which he was familiar, 

 especially on the matter of grading and marketing. 

 While we were in " Brnest " conversation "Bob" 

 snapped the camera at us just as we sat before my 

 desk. Without further introduction I'll give the dia- 

 log (the first installment of it), just as it took place 

 between us, beginning at the very start, when he 

 came into the office. — Ed.] 



E. R. Root. — Well, well, well ! where did 

 you drop down from, S. A. Niver ? 



Mr. Niver. — Why, I just took a run over 

 from Mantua Station, Portage Co., Ohio, on 

 my wheel. 



R. — Ran over ? Why, how far is it ? 



N. — About fifty miles. 



R. — Fifty miles ? Why, how old are you? 



N. — It seems to me that is a leading ques- 

 tion. I have not reckoned up lately, but I 

 was born in 1847. 



R. — Well, sit down. You must be tired. 



N. — Your Ohio roads have a good deal of 

 road to the mile. 



R. — But we have not the hills you have, 

 anyhow. 



N. — I would rather have hills than sand 

 and clay and hills too. Well, how are things 

 going on here ? 



R. — Oh ! we are all as busy as can be. Have 

 bets wintered fairly well ? 



N. — There is an average loss of 40 per cent 

 thorughout our country. 



R. — Forty per cent ! My, oh my ! How 

 did Coggshall come out ? 



N.— He told me that he had 3000 pounds of 

 honey that he had extracted from combs of 

 defunct colonies. 



R. — Extracting from dead bees ! Who ever 

 heard of the like ? 



N. — Buckwheaters. By the way, that word 

 accounts for a great many of our peculiar 

 notions. We buckwheaters can not manage 

 bees as you people do who have no buckwheat. 

 It brings many new elements into it, and we 

 must take them all into consideration. 



R. — You mean, I suppose, that he ex- 

 tracted from dead colonies. 



N. — Yes. Our bees, you must remember, 

 go into winter quarters heavy with buckwheat 

 honey, loaded clear to the brim — or at least 

 nearly always. If a colony dies from any 

 cause whatever, there is a large supply of 

 buckwheat honey left in the brood-chamber. 

 That honey is really some of the best, because 

 it is so ripe and so good. 



R. — But I should have thought he would 

 have wanted to keep these combs for raising 

 bees in the spring, instead of extracting. 



