118 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 16. 



the foundation was all right. [I am not sur- 

 prised that foundation ten years old should be 

 brittle — at least if it were of the old process, 

 which it undoubtedly was; but if the founda- 

 tion under consideration was melted up again, 

 and then worked up again into foundation, it 

 would be soft and pliable whether linseed oil 

 were melted up with the wax or not. I am of 

 the opinion that linseed oil had nothing to do 

 with it. Any thing of an oily nature should 

 be left out of the wax, otherwise the bee-keep- 

 er will have a mess on his hands some day 

 when the weather is pretty warm. — Ec] 



The busy bee well deserves its name. A. 

 Astor fed a marked bee which worked from 

 6 A. M. till 5 p. M., making 110 trips a day, 

 and kept it up for 12 days. But it aged terri- 

 bly in that time. — Revue Int. On the other 

 hand. Prof. Hodge's bees worked only 3>^ 

 hours a day. [Now, if we had a national ex- 

 periment station, or experiment station of any 

 kind, in this country, making bee-keeping a 

 specialty, here would be a nice field for in- 

 vestigation ; and there would be something 

 practical to be learned from it too. For in- 

 stance, what strain of bees make the greatest 

 number of trips in a day? and does the amount 

 of honey depend on the number of trips? 

 Perhaps some bees have larger honey-sacs as 

 well as longer tongues. — Ed.] 



Alex. Astor reports in Revue Internatioti- 

 ale that a bee fed very thick honey took more 

 than three times as long for the round trip as 

 when fed equal parts honey and water. Given 

 its choice, it took the thin every time. He 

 says robbers prefer the thin — gain time in the 

 long run. [I always supposed the reason 

 why bees preferred thin nectar or thin honey 

 or thin syrup was because they could then 

 ripen or digest it more than where it was 

 more nearly of the consistency of ripened 

 honey. Indeed, we do know that syrup almost 

 as thick as honey will be syrup still when 

 stored in the comb ; but if, on the other hand, 

 it stands in the proportion of 50 per cent wa- 

 ter, the bees will convert it into what may be 

 called a kind of honey, giving it that honey 

 taste that leaves a smarting or burning feeling 

 in the throat. — Ed.] 



So MUCH is said in foreign journals about 

 horseradish for stings, that those seeking a 

 remedy might try it. It is even said that, by 

 mashing the leaves and rubbing the juice on 

 the hands, bees will not sting them. [The 

 only effect that horseradish would have would 

 be its strong odor, which odor might have a 

 tendency to drive the bees away. It is well 

 known that bees, when about to sting, very 

 often hesitate, seeming to select a good tender 

 spot. If the vulnerable parts were smeared 

 with some strong pungent liquid, it might 

 have a tendency to prevent a certain class of 

 would-be stingers from accomplishing their 

 purpose. But nothing in the world would 

 stop the onslaught of bees that are suddenly 

 stirred up by a sudden snap or jar. It is then 

 that they make a strike like a bullet, and hit 

 the mark, odor or no odor. — Ed.] 



"The next thing we shall want to know 

 is how to make extracted honey candy quick- 



ly," p. 91. Yes, that is a point that has been 

 reached and discussed in Germany. To hasten 

 granulation, stir occasionally. [At the Colo- 

 rado convention it was mentioned that stirring 

 did have quite an effect in hastening the can- 

 dying of honey. If honey could be extracted 

 from the combs without so much violent agi- 

 tation, it would probably remain in the liquid 

 form as long as that in the combs ; for it is 

 well known that honey in the comb will re- 

 sist granulation much longer than that which 

 has been separated by the extractor or by any 

 other means known. So I think we may set 

 it down as a fact that agitation is one of the 

 prime causes of granulation ; and the more 

 we agitate, the sooner will it granulate. An- 

 other favoring condition is a freezing temper- 

 ature for a given length of time. — Ed.] 



AT the supper-table I read about W. L. 

 Coggshall, p. 94, and ended by saying, "And 

 a nice, pleasant man he is." At once came 

 two voices, " Why. I thought he was a coarse, 

 rough old fellow." I laughed. They had 

 never seen W. L.'s genial face, and knew only 

 that " kicking " story. [Human nature is in- 

 clined to remember the peculiar or striking 

 features of a man or his methods ; and the 

 kick-off-super act of Coggshall seems to be the 

 handle by which some of our friends hold him 

 in mind. If so, I am responsible for making 

 this feature prominent ; and if I do not look 

 out I am afraid my friend might practice his 

 professional art on me the first time I go into 

 his locality. Yes, indeed, Coggshall is a nice 

 fellow; and with all his other good qualities 

 he is exceptionally modest ; and one who has 

 had the experience he has, and runs as many 

 colonies as he does so successfully, might be 

 pardoned if he should attempt to teach bee- 

 keepers at conventions some things they did 

 not know before. But that is not his style. 

 He has to be drawn out. — Ed.] 



The Editor mentions, p. 90, a point too 

 little noticed — 10° above zero with a high wind 

 is worse than 20° below without wind. That 

 explains why a winter at Marengo is worse 

 than in many places away north. Here the 

 wind blows hard, not merely for a little while, 

 but makes a steady business of it the whole 

 enduring day. Some of you people don't 

 know what a genuine windy day is. [Yes, in- 

 deed, there ought to be a great deal of empha- 

 sis placed on the fact that a high wind with a 

 m.oderate amount of cold is much more de- 

 structive than a very low temperature below 

 zero without wind. If this is true, it be- 

 hooves us to put up windbreaks in the shape 

 of high board fences or evergreen -trees. It 

 will be remembered that the winter losses out- 

 doors at Medina have been very low — scarcely 

 ever exceeding 5 per cent, and usually about 2 

 per cent. Our apiary is shielded on the north 

 and west sides by a solid phalanx of evergreen- 

 trees from 20 to 30 feet high ; and on the east 

 and south by brick buildings and lumber-piles. 

 The result is, that on the days of our highest 

 winds there is comparative quiet in the apiary. 

 True it is, there is a great roar of the wind 

 from without, but there are only slight air 

 currents within. A windbreak of evergreens 

 does not cost much, and is perpetual after it is 



