386 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15. 



Mr. Doolittle seems to think he was having 

 a real nice confidential talk with the bees ; 

 but they did not so understand it, and their 

 inferred replies to his imaginary questions 

 were not answers to them at all, and proved 

 nothing, only that they were badly frightened, 

 and who can wonder ? 



Both Dr. Miller and Mr. Root have ex- 



firessed themselves as agreeing with Mr. Doo- 

 ittle that loaded bees on returning from the 

 fields swoop through the entrance and catch 

 on to the bees or bottom-bars. Now, while a 

 few bees do so, we all should know that, as a 

 rule, in actual working practice many of them 

 drop outside the entrance, and a good many 

 quite a distance away. 



Well, gentlemen, a suitable time will soon 

 be upon us again, and I hope you will make 

 further observations on this line, and report. 

 The great mass of bee-keepers everywhere 

 know without further observations. 



Here is what Mr. A. I. Root says touching 

 the subject, on p. 8 of the A B C of Bee Cul- 

 ture, last edition : 



" Several years ago we had a fine colony 

 suspended from a spring balance. It was in 

 the height of the clover bloom, and the hive 

 gained in weight during the day an even 10 

 lbs. As the hive was raised two inches from 

 the ground to suspend it, the bees at about 9 

 o'clock had fallen on the ground in quite a 

 little cluster, where they paused to take breath 

 until they could again take wing to get into 

 the hive. At this time the spring balance 

 showed a gain of an ounce every five minutes. 

 To help them, a cloth was tacked from their 

 old alighting-board to the entrance of the 

 hive. They then crawled in in a steady stream, 

 and the dial of the balance at once showed a 

 gain of an ounce in every four minutes." 



Just now, right here, I wish to interject 

 that, if the hive had been provided with a large 

 entrance by the use of the Pettit wedges, many 

 of those bees would have crawled up the sides 

 of the hive, and comb-building and comb- 

 filling would have gone on just about as rapid- 

 ly at the outside sections as elsewhere in the 

 super — that is, if the super were provided with 

 good dividers to accommodate and hold a dou- 

 ble bee-space full of bees out against the super 

 side walls. 



Years of careful observations in actual prac- 

 tice have proved the truth and value of my 

 claims in that regard. I have no money in 

 view in making these claims. Prejudice is a 

 mighty factor in warping our minds. The 

 first reference from Mr. Doolittle to my meth- 

 od of taking comb honey, that came to my 

 notice, was made to poke a little fun at it. 

 For some cause, I presume unknown to him- 

 self, he seems to have become prejudiced, and 

 his criticisms seem to bear the same bent ever 

 since. 



It was Mr. A. I. Root, many years ago, who 

 first called my attention to the importance of 

 good and well-adjusted alighting-boards. I 

 seldom look down a row of hives in the work- 

 ing season, and witness the cheering sight of 

 thousands of loaded bees dropping down upon 

 their alighting-board, and streaming so ear- 

 nestly into the hives but Mr. Root's vivid de- 



scription of the matter comes fresh to my 

 mind. 



Friend Ernest, when I first gave my meth- 

 od of taking comb honey, and a description of 

 the divider and its uses, you said it was old, 

 and that, if I would give you time, you would 

 look it up. I know you are always busy, and 

 you must have more time if you want it ; but 

 I beg to say that, if any one before me advo- 

 cated and described a method of creating a 

 double bee-space, where and for the purpose 

 set forth by me, then he should have the cred- 

 it for it. Now, please don't confound the di- 

 vider with the perforated separator. These 

 two implements are different in construction, 

 and their uses are very different indeed. 



AylmerWest, Ont., Can., Feb. 24. 



[You have not given us the references, 

 friend Pettit, to what you refer. So far as I 

 am individually concerned I did not know 

 that I had ever made the statement that all 

 the incoming laden bees would swoop through 

 the entrance, and grab hold of the cluster of 

 bees. That many of them do do so, I know 

 from long and careful observation at different 

 times. I realize that an observer must get be- 

 hind some bush, or just far enough in the 

 background so as not to frighten or disturb 

 the bees unduly, and probably Doolittle ob- 

 served this precaution — at least he would be a 

 poor bee-keeper if he didn't. 



On one or two occasions Mr. Vernon Burt 

 and I spent an hour or two watching the bees 

 laden with honey go into the hives. These all 

 had wide entrances, and a large number — I do 

 not remember exactly the proportion of them 

 — went clear through the entrance without 

 alighting, and landed squarel}' on the cluster 

 of bees hanging below the frames. 



You speak as if the great masses of bee- 

 keepers everywhere knew more about this 

 than friend Doolittle and your humble ser- 

 vant. I have not a doubt of it so far as my 

 knowledge is concerned, and it may be that I 

 am wrong ; but I have watched this thing for 

 hours at a time, in our own, in Mr. Burt's, 

 and in Dr. Miller's yard, each time getting 

 back behind some natural barrier so the bees 

 could not see us. On all of these occasions I 

 am very sure that the incoming workers knew 

 nothing of our immediate presence. 



Now, there is one thing, friend Pettit, that 

 perhaps you have not yet considered. When 

 bees are working on basswood two-thirds of 

 them— yes, three-fourths — will drop in the 

 grass near the entrance ; but when they are 

 working on clover they are not so heavily la- 

 den when they come in, and hence are able to 

 steer their flight a little more accurately. 



I well remember the experiment made by 

 A. I. R. with the hive on the scales, and I my- 

 self watched them with him many and many 

 a time as the bees came in. But if you refer 

 to the stat<=ment you will see that the bees at 

 this time were working on basswood, and con- 

 sequently would drop down on the entrances 

 as I have explained. 



With regard to your system of producing 

 comb honey, we have had a large number of 

 favorable reports ; and so far as I am individ- 



