656 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



In our own locality we have been having a 

 light flow of honey, probably from second- 

 growth clover. A few days ago robbing was 

 the order of the day, but now it is almost en- 

 tirely stopped. While there is no great show- 

 ing in the hives, our queen-rearing operations 

 are going on at a good rate. 



On page 646 of this number will be found 

 an article telling all about how to bleach comb 

 honey. The modus operandi is somewhat 

 similar to the one we illustrated some time 

 ago ; but friend Crombie has made an im- 

 provement in that bleaching by the two meth- 

 ods — sulphur and sunlight — is all done in the 

 same building. 



Our subscription clerk informs me that 

 Gleanings subscription-list of paid-up sub- 

 scribers is now the largest it ever has been 

 since its existence, and it is still jumping up. 

 Considering the poorness of the season, we 

 feel grateful to our many friends and patrons; 

 but when honey fails, the wise bee-keeper is 

 the one who will keep up his bee-literature so 

 that he may be able to profit by all that is 

 latest and best. 



Our Mr. Wardell has been trying all the 

 different methods for queen-rearing. At pres- 

 ent he rather favors the drone-cell cup, but 

 he says when he can get plenty of the Pridgen 

 cups he prefers them. I have tried to make 

 Mr. Wardell think that transferring the co- 

 coons a la Pridgen would be a saving ; but 

 after having tried it he prefers the Doolittle 

 plan of putting the royal jelly into the cup or 

 drone-cell as the case may be. In his experi- 

 ence he gets more of them accepted where the 

 royal food has been given than where he trans- 

 fers cocoons ; but Dr. Miller's experience, I 

 I understand, is quite the reverse. 



THE LA.NGSTROTH MONUMENT. 



We have just received word from General 

 Manager Secor, of the National Bee-keepers' 

 Association, stating that the Langstroth mon- 

 ument cost §300. and that the same has been 

 paid for ; and, if I am correct, by grateful bee- 

 keepers in this and other lands. We had sent 

 on the sums of money placed in our hands, 

 amounting to some !t!93.98 ; and these and 

 other funds have been forwarded to cover the 

 expense of the monument, " and the matter is 

 all closed up," says Mr. Secor. It will be 

 remembered that, before he took hold of it, 

 we were enabled to raise only about $150, but 

 he has doubled it. 



If it is a possi'ole thing I hope to have a 

 photo of it in time so I can throw it on the 

 screen at the Chicago convention, together 

 with a picture of Langstroth himself. Appro- 

 priate words will be offered by Dr. C. C. Miller, 

 in connection with a short biographical sketch. 



HONEY FOR 1900; GETTING GOOD PRICES. 



There is very little new to report about the 

 honey season this year. In general it may be 

 said to be a poor year. But Michigan and 

 Colorado seem to be especially well favored 

 above all their sister States. We are begin- 

 ning to find, however, that in many of the 

 States where poor yields were generally re- 

 ported, a great deal of honey has been taken ; 

 but those who have a crop to dispose of are a 

 little shy about making the fact known. It is 

 folly to wait too long. The time to get good 

 prices is usually at the very beginning of the 

 first new honey, and just before the holidays. 



As will be seen by the Honey Column else- 

 where, the markets are firm ; but there is 

 hardly a probability that honey will go much 

 higher than it now is. Now is the time for 

 the intelligent bee-keeper to study his own 

 local market and his tity market, and then 

 decide where he will dispose of his crop. 



DR. MASON "interviewed" BY A REPORT- 

 ER. 



In the Toledo Blade for Saturday, Aug. 4, 

 appears a very interesting article entitled 

 " Bees and their Wonderful Talents." It ap- 

 pears that one of the reporters of this enter- 

 prising paper visited Dr. A. B. Mason, Secre- 

 tary of the National Bee keepers' Association, 

 and posted up generally on the subject of 

 bees. The article speaks very highly of the 

 genial secretar}-, and describes him just as we 

 know him, and then goes on to tell the unin- 

 itiated public some of the secrets of the hive, 

 in an interesting and instructive manner. In 

 the statement of facts it is wonderfully free 

 from error; and any reporter who could, after 

 an interview, write so good an article on bees, 

 without any practical knowledge beforehand, 

 deserves the thanks of bee-keepers. 



Such articles as these, especially when the 

 material is from practical men, do a vast deal 

 of good. They break down the general dis- 

 trust against comb honey, and tell the public 

 generally how the product can be produced 

 annually in such immense quantities. 



I forgot to mention that the engravings of 

 the drone, queen, and worker, as made by the 

 Blade artist, are strikingly accurate. They 

 would satisfy the most exacting taste of any 

 bee-journal editor. 



BEE INSPECTION IN THE STATE OF NEW 

 YORK ; PREVALENCE OF BLACK BROOD. 



The following will be read with interest by 

 all bee keepers of the Empire State : 



The Commissioner of Agriculture, under the provi- 

 sions of Chapter 223, Laws of 1899, appointed four 

 agents to carry out the work of inspection of bees. 



Up to the present time the work has been confined 

 to a few counties where the diseases have been most 

 injurious to this great industry. 



The agents of this depsrtment are all experts in 

 bee culture, and have done a gi ent amount of good 

 work among the owners of apiaries, giving in.struc- 

 tion on the care of bees, and especially suggesting 

 remedies for their diseases. 



The Commissioner has had a bulletin prepared on 

 the black (foul) brood among bees, and will send 

 copies to applicants. 



A compilation of the reports of the agents since the 

 work began on the first of May to the 21st of July 

 shows as follows ; viz.: 



