614 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



through a trade, and it is not according to his 

 liking in hives and fixtures. It was formerly 

 quite a large apiary ; but, being in the hands 

 of inexperienced persons, it has degenerated, 

 and the dry seasons have diminished the 

 numbers. Mr. Crow proposes to get the 

 remnant into better hives, and build the api- 

 ary into a paying institution, provided, of 

 course, there is a good rainfall next season. 



The uncapping-can handed down by a for- 

 mer owner was so novel that it took the eye 

 of Mr. McNay, and I present a photo of it. 

 It was merely a rude frame with a gunny sack 

 attached to the upper portion. A slit in the 

 bottom of the sack allowed the attachment of 

 a good-sized dish-pan perforated with many 

 holes. Mr. McNay said they had no such 

 things in Wisconsin. One of the honey - 

 houses was a substantial affair, and built of 

 stone. A stone honey-house is a very desir- 

 able building in this country. They are cool 

 in summer, warm in winter, fire-proof, and 

 not handy for burglars to break through and 

 steal. 



After the honey business had been discussed 

 to a considerable extent we were shown the 

 adjacent gold-mines. Mr. Crow's mine was 

 in the course of development ; but a neigh- 

 ing miner had cut a tunnel several hundred 

 feet into the mountain, and had a large amount 

 of low-grade ore in sight. Mr. McNay was 

 informed that the mine could be purchased 

 for about $40,000. Now, if the mine had been 

 worth two or three hundred thousand dollars 

 Mr. McNay would have used a portion of the 

 fortune he has accumulated from the honey 

 business in Wisconsin, and purchased the 

 mine ; but he did not want any cheap $40,000 

 mine on his hands. 



After our arduous day's work, tired Nature 

 asserted her rights, and we prepared to go to 

 roost, and Mr. Crow insisted upon giving up 

 his nest to us. Mr. Crow is not a tall man, 

 and his nest was made according to his needs. 

 I could manage the nest very well ; but tall 

 Mr. McNay had to make rafters of his legs or 

 poke his knees out in front or into my ribs, 

 or project his feet out at the foot of the nest. 

 He managed very well until he dropped 

 asleep, then his feet would start right off 

 toward Wisconsin, and hang out like twin 

 specters in the dim moonlight. Having in 

 mind the old adage about keeping the head 

 cool and the feet warm, I was extremely 

 anxious for his welfare, and anxious to have 

 him return in safety to Los Angeles and Mrs. 

 McNay. 



To allow a man to expose his bare feet all 

 night, even in California, is no trifling matter, 

 and the case was more aggravating when we 

 consider that Mr. McNay was a tenderfoot. 

 My only remedy was to give my nest fellow a 

 shake, and shout, "McNay, pull in your 

 feet ! " He would promptly obey every time, 

 and keep right along snoring. 



Mr. Crow had curled himself up in a cot on 

 the other side of the cabin, and he soon began 

 a snoring duet with Mr. McNay. Between 

 the nasal music and the care of my compan- 

 ion's feet I slept hardly a wink during the 

 night. In the morning Mr. Crow remarked 



about my haggard appearance ; but I knew 

 that, if I told ihem the cause of my sleepless- 

 ness, they would both contradict me right 

 from the shoulder, and I suffered in silence. 



The next afternoon we returned to the city, 

 making good time, and having a trip the 

 pleasures of which we will long remember. 

 Mr. Crow's door is open to all good bee- 

 keepers who wander this way. 



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PROPER TEMPERATURE FOR BROOD-REARING. 



Question, — Can it be possible that 100° of 

 heat is required for brood-rearing ? If I re- 

 member rightly I read a few days ago that 100° 

 is about the temperature the bees maintain in- 

 side the hive when rearing brood ; and if the 

 heat in the sun is greater than that, the bees, 

 by fanning at the entrance, cause a current of 

 air to pass through the hive so as not to allow 

 the temperature of the hive to rise higher than 

 this. It seems to me 100 is altogether 1oo 

 high, and that 80 to bo is much nearer right. 



Answer. — I think I saw something similar 

 to what the questioner alludes to, in one of the 

 bee-papers ; and this, together with what he 

 says, leads me to believe that but few have a 

 correct idea regarding the degree of warmth in 

 which the bees keep the eggs, larvae, pupee, 

 etc., during the lime the}' are rearing their 

 young. While nature has so ordained that a 

 good colony of bees can form a living hive, as 

 it were, in which to rear their brood, yet 

 brood-rearing is very largely dependent on the 

 hive ; and before I take into consideration the 

 real subject touched upon by the questioner I 

 wish to say a few words regarding that part 

 which the hive plays in this matter of brood- 

 rearing. 



In spring weather the capacity of a hive to 

 retain warmth, the same coming in close con- 

 tact with the bees, has much to do with pro- 

 lific brood-rearing and the securing of our 

 bees in time for the harvest. The more heat 

 we can retain in the hive, the more honey we 

 can save ; for all are aware that the " fuel " 

 which the bees " burn," so as to raise the tem- 

 perature of the cluster to where they desire it, 

 is honey. Again, the more fuel (hone)-) the 

 bees burn, the sooner their life wears away ; 

 for it takes an effort, even on the part of the 

 bee, to keep the furnace (the bee) heated, and 

 filled with fuel as fast as it is consumed. 

 Hence we see the important bearing that a 

 good warm hive has in advancing our interests 

 in the spring. Why do I say in the spring f 

 Because at that season of the year the temper- 

 ature outside the hive is very much lower than 

 that which is required by the bees to rear 

 brood, especially during the nights. If, as I 

 saw in print not long ago, bees could rear 

 brood with a temperature of only 60°, then 

 there would not be so much need of a good 

 warm hive, for we have many spring days 



