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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 15 



little and Dr. Miller on the question of the 

 color of queen-bees. Murray, noticing one of 

 Dr. M.'s Straws in which the doctor said of 

 Doolittle, "Wait till I catch him out after 

 dark," sees in bis mind's eye the whole per- 

 formance. It appears from the first act that 

 Doolittle is to make the doctor a visit. The 

 doctor, on receiving this information, well — 

 the artist tells the rest of the story himself. — 

 Ed.] 



pollen; how gathered. 



While preparing a lecture on the honey-bee 

 a short time ago I turned up your article in 

 the ABC book on " pollen," and it occurred 

 to me that the article might be somewhat im- 

 proved by ascribing to the moisture oozing 

 from the abdomen of the bee credit for the 

 part it plays in preparing some kinds of pollen 

 and especially substitutes for pollen, to adhere 

 to the pollen-baskets. One might infer from 

 your article (top of second column, page 214, 

 62d thousand), that the pollen is moistened 

 only by the moisture applied with the tongue; 

 but after close observation I am convinced 

 that the moisture procured and applied to 

 the pollen as the bee passes its legs over and 

 under its abdomen plays a more important 

 part than it gets credit for. 



(Rev.) H. A. Dickson. 



Ste. Anastasie Sta., P. Q. ( 



[You may be right. The movement of the 

 bee's legs, as it wipes the pollen into its 

 basket, is so deft — so sleight-of-hand like — that 

 it is very difficult to follow just what is done. 

 Perhaps some of our readers may be able to 

 throw some light on the matter. — Ed.] 



ideal sections; 4^X5X1^ PREFERRED. 



I used a number of your Ideal supers with 

 tall plain sections this summer. The fence 

 separators please me, though I think there is 

 more value in the cleats than in the free com- 

 munication given by the slats of the fences. 



I shall not use the 3^x5 sections next year, 

 as they run much too light, especially in a 

 poor honey-flow. I expect to use a section 

 4^x5x1^8, which, when placed beside a 

 square section, is at no disadvantage because 

 of its narrow width, as is the 3^x5 section. 



The super springs are the best things that I 

 ever used to hold the sections tightly togeth- 

 er. The tin supports on which the slats rest 

 are much too thin. They sag, leaving too 

 small a space between brood-frames and super- 

 slats. 



Your sections 3^x5x1^ are made too thin. 

 The wood should be % inch thick, then the 

 sections will always come square against the 

 end-cleats of the fences. I was much trou- 

 bled with them, as they often slipped inside 

 the end-cleats of the fence. I can not under- 

 stand why some people report larger crops of 



honey by using tall plain sections and fences. 

 My experience this summer convinces me 

 that I can secure just as large crops of honey 

 by the use of the square sections and old- 

 style separators. 



I ordered a few pounds of your foundation, 

 18 feet to the pound, of your Chicago house. 

 It is not torn down by the bees, except at the 

 close of the honey-flow, when it seems to fall 

 down more frequently than does the founda-" 

 tion 15 ft. to the lb., even though fastened by 

 the Daisy fastener. 



When making Doolittle cell-cups, stick 

 them to a piece of separator about y 2 or % of 

 an inch square, then stick them to the slat. 

 Then when your cells are ripe you can pry off 

 this piece of separator and the queen-cell with 

 it, with no chance to damage the cell. Then 

 this wooden cell-base can be forced into the 

 midrib of the comb, where it will remain firm- 

 ly attached. E. F. AtwaTER. 



Yankton, S. Dak., Oct. 23. 



[There is considerable difference of opinion. 

 Some prefer short-weight sections, and others 

 will not have them under any consideration. 

 For the former class the Ideal does not quite 

 fill the bill. On the other hand, the 4x5x1^ 

 or 4^X5X1/^' running as they do nearer a 

 pound, give better satisfaction. There has 

 been quite a tendency toward the 4^X5, be- 

 cause it can be used in the old-style supers by 

 simply adding a rim to increase its depth. 



With regard to the thickness of the section- 

 blanks themselves, we are now making them 

 a full % inch thick. Indeed, our product for 

 1900 will all be of that kind. 



We put out a few pounds of the 18-to-foot 

 foundation, but we have been afraid to catalog 

 it for fear it might not be satisfactory. We 

 have received favorable and unfavorable re- 

 ports, but as yet we do not feel like pushing it 

 until we know that there is a certain and real 

 demand for such light-weight goods. In the 

 hands of expert and skillful bee-keepers the 

 18-foot article will give good satisfaction, and 

 reduce the midrib to a point that will satisfy 

 the most exacting of connoisseurs of good 

 comb honey. — Ed.] 



danzenbaker's prize honey. 



Mr. Root:— Mr. G. W. Bell, of Bell's Land- 

 ing, Pa., brought the best 20 4x5x1 ?/£ plain 

 sections of comb honey to the Philadelphia 

 meeting, and was awarded the highest prize — 

 50 cts. each— $10.00. Mr. E. J. Haight re- 

 ceived the second prize, 25 cts. each, for the 

 next best 20 sections — $5.00. 



Committee: W. Z. Hutchinson, Flint, Mich.; 

 Wm. A. Selser, 10 Vine St., Philadelphia. 



F. Danzenbaker. 



Washington, D. C, Oct. 30. 



in favor of the shortened spelling. 



With pleasure I note that Gleanings grows 

 better and better. Kindly register me as fa- 

 voring the reforms of spelling as mentioned in 

 a recent issue. The commonwealth will eager- 

 ly assimilate the delicate morsel as mentioned, 

 and profit thereby. E. F. Nall. 



Brownington, Mo. 



