1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



13 



bees, causing- a greater consumption of air. 

 If the air is foul, the bees become uneas3% 

 fl_v out on the cellar bottom, and die. Some 

 late experiments this winter have shown 

 exactl}' this. We have repeatedly proven, 

 in our locality at least, that fresh air quiets 

 the bees. To answer your question specifi- 

 cally, I will state that the ventilation men- 

 tioned, for New York, if in the northern 

 part of the State, might be sufficient through 

 the window opening out under the wood- 

 shed. But at Medina, on warm days, the 

 bees would require a good deal more air 

 than could percolate through that chaff 

 cushion. Doolittle and Ira Barber live in 

 localities much colder than ours, and they 

 recommend no ventilation. Mr. Barber es- 

 pecially is clear up in the northern part of 

 the State; and it is possible that in such 

 localities fresh air is more disturbing- than 

 the ordinary air in the cellar, because it 

 arouses the bees to activity. — Ed. J 



Mr. Phillips finds that "bees will build 

 drone comb after a swarm is shaken, the 

 same as before." Is that peculiar to Ja- 

 maica, or do shaken swarms difl^er so much 

 from natural ones? It has been given as a 

 rule, perhaps never contradicted, that a 

 natural swarm would build worker comb 

 almost if not quite entirely until half the 

 frames are filled, then more or less drone 

 comb. [This has been referred to Mr. Phil- 

 lips, who replies: This depends entirely 

 upon conditions, such as the strength of the 

 shaken swarm, the age of the queen it con- 

 tains, the amount of honey ci ming- in, etc. 

 I shook some 2uO strong swarms on starters 

 the last year I was in Jamaica. T he re- 

 sult was g-ood so far as honey production 

 was concerntd; but, drone comb! As Dr. 

 Miller intimates, there is generally some 

 worker comb built at the tops of the frames; 

 but in some instances the drone comb equals 

 and even exceeds this. I am not prepared 

 to say whether shaken swarms would act 

 in the same manner at Medina, as all of 

 ours were put on full sheets of foundation. 

 In my opinion, however, they would act 

 similarly.— G. W. P.J 



A. I. Root, wants "reports encourag- 

 ing." Well, here's mine: 124 colonies were 

 increased to 284, and gave 18,466 pounds 

 (20,05* sections) of honey. Putting it just 

 as it was: 100 colonies run for honey gave 

 184;^ pounds (200^^ sections) per colony; 

 and 24 colonies run for increase gave 666;^ 

 per cent increase. [This is, indeed, en- 

 couraiiing, and I congratulate you on such 

 an excellent showing; but I think I am safe 

 in saying it is away beyond your general 

 average, season after season. 



When I first took charge of the journal 

 we used to have a department called " Re- 

 ports Encouraging." Nearly every one of 

 our subscribers who had dune well would 

 send in his report some time during the 

 season. Those who had obtained only mea- 

 ger results, or who had had a poor season, 

 would, as a rule, keep still, for the average 

 man does not like to parade his failures. 



lu the process of time I noticed we had 

 complaints from our subscribers who said 

 Reports Encouraging did not afford a fair 

 index of the possibilities of bee-keeping, 

 since bee- keepers would not report common 

 or average results, because very few would 

 send in their reports of failures for the de- 

 partment of " Reports Discouraging. " My 

 own view of the matter is that the statisti- 

 cal reports that we now gather from bee- 

 keepers from all over the country, who are 

 in position to report for their own locality, 

 summarized and given to the public just 

 after \he general honey- flow, are of much 

 more value than these occasional reports 

 telling ot good or extraoi dinaiy yields. In 

 other words, when one embarks in the busi- 

 ness he should not base his expectations on 

 the Reports Encouraging which are above 

 the average, but on the reports based on a 

 series of >ears or a report covering the en- 

 tire country, giving the average of wh^t has 

 been done in nearl}' every portion of the 

 United States. 



Now, in saying all this I do think it is 

 interesting and valuable to know what can 

 be done and what has been done by expert 

 bee keepers in a good 3'ear. Your report is 

 one of the best, lor the number of colonies, 

 I ever read for this part of the country. To 

 get an average of nearly 200 lbs. of comb 

 honey per colony is something extraordina- 

 ry for the Middle and Eastern States. 

 Some parts of the West, especially Califor- 

 nia, have been known to show up an aver- 

 nee of 400 lbs. for each of 500 colonies. 

 Yes, I believe we had one report of an aver- 

 age of SOO lbs. fiom nearly 10 colonies. 



Sav, doc'or, my, oh mv! I note that you 

 had "l8,466 lbs., or 20,051 sections. Why 

 didn't you have each of vour sections weigh 

 just an even full pound? Why, there must 

 be something " rotten " in Marengo as well 

 as in wicked Chicago — eh? — Ed.] 



y^eiefiboKSJleldj 

 By 



BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 



A correspondent asks the editor what 

 constitutes a suitable place in which to 

 keep honey; and he also wishes to know 

 how to prevent cloudiness atter granula- 

 tion. The editor's answer is worth re- 

 membering: 



The main point in preventing fermentation is to 

 avoid .slorin? awav any honrv not Ihoruughly well 

 ripened. The thin' portion, which rises to the top of 

 the bulk, after being kept for a fewd-i\s in a warm 

 place, sh uld he krpt apait and u^^ed first. The thick- 

 er hoiiev which, of court^e sinks to the bottom of the 

 bulk, will keep and not be liabl" to ferment if kept in 

 a fairly warm and drj' place. When jarring ofiF, Ut the 



