268 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



April 1. 



ElDl " ' 



e.R. Roo-r 



Eight extfa pages this issue. 



NO COMB HONEY IN THE MARKETS. 



There never was a stronger demand for 

 comb honey than now. In fact, we do not 

 know where there is any to be had, either of 

 this year's crop or last. The universal reports 

 of good wintering give us encouragement to 

 believe that we shall have at least good strong 

 colonies, and good markets for comb honey. 

 Now, then, if we can have the right kind of 

 season with nectar we shall be "in clover" 



THE NEW-YORK SPRAYING LAW. 



In my editorial, page 178, March 1, with re- 

 gard to the reported attempt to change the 

 spraying law of' New York, I made Mr. Marks 

 say that the amendment provided that experi- 

 ments might be made by experiment stations 

 and by individuals. Mr. Marks calls my at- 

 tention to the fact that, in his original letter 

 concerning the matter, he said nothing about 

 "individuals." I therefore make this correc- 

 tion. 



I am much pleased to say, however, that the 

 amendments have been so amended that there 

 will be no objection to the bill, if it passes, on 

 the part of bee-keepers ; but while legislators 

 are in session, it behooves us all to watch and 

 see what they are doing. That is the only 

 way we can prevent unnecessary and often vi- 

 cious legislation. 



CUBAN BEE-KEEPING IN A BAD WAY. 



The American bee-keeper who is thinking 

 of migrating to Cuba to carry on his chosen 

 pursuit where he may have thousands of acres 

 without danger of overstocking, and where, 

 perhaps, he indulges the fond hope that he 

 may be able to produce honey and deliver it 

 to the American markets for half what he can 

 produce the same grade on American soil it- 

 self, would do well to read carefully two arti- 

 cles in this issue — one from Harry Howe, and 

 the other from Mr. George Rockenbaugh. 

 From several sources outside of the parties 

 named I learn that foul brood has gained a 

 terrible foothold on the island, and it will be 

 many a year before bee-keeping, probably, can 

 be conducted on a safe and profitable basis. 

 At present, American bee-keepers need not 

 fear Cuban competition — that is, if we can 

 rely on what several correspondents have said. 



THE CONTAGIOUS CHARACTER OF BLACK AND 

 FOUL BROOD ; THE IGNORANCE OF BEE- 

 KEEPERS. 



AT the New York State convention, Mr. 

 Benton, who had been pretty well over the 

 districts affected by black brood, laid particu- 

 lar stress upon one point, and upon which too 

 much emphasis can not be placed. It was, 



that he found that some bee-keepers whom he 

 had visited, and in whose apiaries this disease 

 was found, seemed to be utterly ignorant of 

 the character of contagious diseases. They 

 did not realize the importance of keeping 

 combs and honey away from affected colonies 

 where healthy bees could not get at them ; 

 nor were they particular about disinfecting 

 utensils and their hands after handling the 

 diseased colonies. The same precautions nec- 

 essary to prevent the spread of foul brood 

 should be observed in the case of this disease. 

 Mr. Benton recommended rubbing vaseline on 

 the hands just before beginning work with 

 the bees, and then washing afterward in a so- 

 lution of carbolic acid and water ; or formal- 

 dehyde and water, using one per cent of the 

 chemical. 



NIVER ON GRADING ; POKING A LITTLE FUN 

 AT THE EDITOR. 



The following letter, just received from 

 Niver, the grading man and honey salesman, 

 will explain itself : 



Friend Ernest : — When glancing over Gleanings 

 for Mar. 1.5th my attention was called to page 225, and 

 the pictures of sections adopted by New York bee- 

 keepers as their guides for grading. President Marks 

 evidently understands the system, and has a good lot 

 of pictures — better than the ones I presented to the 

 societies last year ; but I am as/oiiis/ted — not to say 

 shocked at the comments E. R. Root, "' ye editor," in- 

 dulges in on that same p.Tge Just study on this boil- 

 ed down concentrated extract of clearness : 



" There is just one difficulty with this picture-grad- 

 ing. It is very difficult to .'■elect three sections, the 

 poorest of their grade, each of which shall bean aver- 

 age of the poorest." 



Say. Ernest, just try it on a case of No. 2. Hunt out 

 the /ioo)«7 section in the whole case that will also be 

 a.n average one . If it's an avei age sect'\on it will nec- 

 es.'arily be belter than the pooie.st, won't it? Just im- 

 agine the two " Docs " (Miller and Mason), and my- 

 self (we would be three of a kind — all like to laugh), 

 watching you struggle with that problem— or paradox 

 — of making a poor section and a better one equally 



The average oi a No. 2 would be at least half way to 

 the No. 1. The average of No. 1, in like mannrr, 

 would be half way to the " fancj','' while the " fancy" 

 would have nothing /oor^r than the section shown in 

 the picture, and run from that to the extra fancy or 

 the " stuffed prophet." as Morton used to call them. 



This grading tiy sample is very easy in practice, 

 and can be made fairly uniform from the specimen 

 pictures, if we all agree to sell nothing poorer i'ha.n 

 the No. 2 represen ed on page 225. Any bee-keeper 

 can .select the other two samples, after once deciding 

 what No. 2 shall be, and this picture is all right to 

 guide him in that important decision. 



I contend that it is of more profit to the bee-keeper, 

 and to the business as a whole, to extract every .sec- 

 tion that isn't fully as good as the No. 3 shown on page 

 125 (the one on the right-hand side, of course, I mean, 

 not the middle one, which is a No. 1). 



Groton, N. Y., Mar. 21. S. A. NiVER. 



Look here, Niver, you are altogether too lit- 

 eral in }'our construction of language. I grant 

 that the sentences under consideration from a 

 technical standpoint might be considered par- 

 adoxical. What I meant by the "average of 

 the p' orest " was that there might be in one 

 grade a dozen or so sections which we might 

 call "poorest." One would be poor from one 

 cause and another from some other, and so on 

 each of the whole dozen would have some se- 

 rious defect which would class it with the 

 poorest of the poor. But the point I tried to 

 make was that, if we grade by pictures and 

 select the poorest of each grade, we should se- 

 lect as our sample one out of the whole dozen 



