GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 1. 



Avhich the yellow race drew out freely, and he 

 finds that the latter maintain a larger popula- 

 tion in fall. He finds an Italian queen mated 

 with a Carniolan drone better than any other. 



" Native bees are decidedly more subject to 

 foul brood than Carniolans or Italians ; while 

 the latter more readily respond to treatment 

 when affected, and will quite frequently dis- 

 pose of the malady without aid from the 

 owner." The 'editor says it is an undoubted 

 fact that colonies will at times recover, not 

 only without medical agents, but most cer- 

 tainly by treatment which aims solely at exter- 

 minating the complaint by causing the spores 

 to germinate under conditions where they can 

 not be reproduced. The whole matter, he says, 

 turns upon racial vitality and energy. His first 

 terrible experience with foul brood occurred 

 over twenty years ago. The bees attacked 

 were, with two or three exceptions, so-called 

 black bees, and these could not keep the dis- 

 ease under. The Italians soon disposed of it 

 with a little assistance ; and upon removal of 

 the queen every vestige of the complaint dis- 

 appeared from the combs. On later occasions, 

 in buying black bees from a distance the dis- 

 ease came upon him again, but at no time has 

 he had any difficulty in keeping foreign stocks 

 clean, while those bought were readily treated 

 as soon as the queens were changed and the 

 foreign varieties hatching out. On one occa- 

 sion he bought a number of stocks from (as 

 he then found) an infected source. Half were 

 native, the rest Italian. The former were dis- 

 eased, but none of the Italians. Are not these 

 significant facts? At a convention held in 

 Melbourne, Aus., Mr. W. Symes said he found 

 black bees so much subject to foul brood that 

 he despaired of getting rid of it ; but since he 

 introduced the Italians the disease has grad- 

 ually disappeared, and has now ceased to trou- 

 ble him. But it is idle to say that these strong 

 races 7nay not have foul brood. 



OPPOSED TO LIGHT WEIGHTS. 



The 10-cent Section a Detriment to the Business ; 

 The Danzenbaker Hive and Section. 



BY E. J. HATGHT. 



Please do not go into the booming and mak- 

 ing of light-weight sections too fast, as the 

 present high price of honey will not warrant 

 the policy of a 10-cent box, in my opinion — 

 that is, to retail for that. A section that vnll 

 average 14 oz. or over will take no more work 

 to prepare it for the bees to fill and to case it 

 for market than a section weighing only }4 or 

 14^ of a pound. Then the amount of wood, 

 dry beeswax, etc., costs about the same on a 

 little box as a 1-lb. box, which is so much 

 more waste to the consumer for his money, as 

 well as a waste of time and expense to the 

 producer ; in fact, the item of wax in a light 

 thin section that the bees have to make is more 

 than in a thicker one. I believe it would re- 

 sult in the loss of many pounds of honey to 

 the bee-keeper. 



I have sold more or less honey in . Port Jer- 

 vis, N. Y., for a number of years. Two years 

 ago a certain class of dealers wanted and must 

 have, as they said, a section they could retail 

 for 10 cts. They did not care particularly how 

 much it weighed. They wanted my light 

 weights, and I had to sell at a ruinous figure, 

 and a ruinous trade resulted, for they do not 

 order any more. But another party who gave 

 me a fair price for well-filled boxes buys every 

 year, and handles an increasing amount ; so I 

 believe it is best for the bee-keepers not to go 

 into the policy of a 10-cent box, as the present 

 high price of honey will very much help us to 

 get away from that standard. The increasing 

 demand for honey, that every faithful bee- 

 keeper is trying to stimulate by the aid of 

 those leaflets and by the mighty power of the 

 press, makes me think we had better keep that 

 idea of a lOcent box, which a great many 

 times is confounded with 10 cts. a pound, out 

 of sight. Some say, " Why, Mr. Jones is sell- 

 ing his very best at 10 cts. a pound, and you 

 want 12 or 13 cts. No, no ! I don't want your 

 honey. I can do better." I have had this 

 confront me many times; and a friend has just 

 written me that light weights have hurt his 

 trade very much. I think a nice Danzenbaker 

 section, 4x5, that comes pretty near the 1-lb. 

 mark, with a carton on, that can be handed 

 out for 20 cts. retail in cities, or 15 cts. in 

 country places — not less than that— will satisfy 

 all parties best in the long run. 



Now a word in regard to cleats on the inside 

 of hives, and also supers. Do not make them 

 of bass wood, as they will swell so they are too 

 tight. We had to dress off j^g inch from each 

 by hand last spring, so we could get them out 

 at any time. Inside fixtures should be of pine. 



I am pretty well satisfied with the Danz. 

 sections and hives, except the fault above 

 mentioned, as my Danz. section honey netted 

 me (the No. 1 honey) 1.3 cts. loaded on the 

 cars here, and No. 2 11 ct"!. cash. About ^^ of 

 the Danz. sections were classed as No. 1 honey 

 instead of No. 2 — a big item. 



Rock Valley, N. Y., Nov. 3. 



[In all these questions we must not forget 

 the bearing that locality has, and that indi- 

 vidual preferences can not be made to har- 

 monize. In Canada, light weights are sold 

 almost exclusively. 



We are not "booming" light weights, nor 

 have we been. We have simply called atten- 

 tion to them as being preferred for certain 

 markets. You would think the "booming" 

 of 4X5 Danzenbaker would be all right, when 

 friend Ochsner (see page 752 last year) would 

 think it " a nuisance to bee-keepers at large." 

 Mr. O. is a strong advocate of the 4, '4 section, 

 and he could not be made to see the matter 

 as you do on the shape of the section, although 

 he might agree with you on the light-weight 

 question. Of course, if you were compelled to 

 sell your heavy weights for light weights, that 

 would be a sacrifice. 



As to cleats in the Danzenbaker hive, that 

 matter had already been brought to our at- 

 tention, and is being rectified as rapidly as 

 possible. — Ed.] 



