1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



185 



As to separators, my conclusions do not 

 favor the fences. I have used these quite 

 extensively; but with me there is too much 

 trouble with brace comb; also, in a few 

 3'ears the bees will gnaw the strips and 

 thus leave the combs ribbed. I do not 

 think 1 am mistiken as to the greater lia- 

 bility of the bees attaching more combs to 

 the fences than to plain smooth wojd sepa- 

 rators; and I notice that the trouble is 

 worse when the tall sections are used. I 

 now use the plain wood separators with the 

 strips glued on, as on fences, as I can see 

 no use for the spaces between strips any 

 way. Manj' years ago Betsinger tried to 

 introduce a wire-cloth sep trator of '4 inch 

 mesh, and what a failure it wasi Nut only 

 did the bees attach lots of burr- comb to it, 

 but I actually had them use these separa- 

 tors for the middle of the cumb, probably 

 ■mistaking them for some new fangled kind 

 of foundation. 1 trust that I shall not in- 

 terfere with the Rott Co. in the sale of fence 

 separators; but we all w lut to know the 

 facts in the case, and it will be just as easy 

 to make a solid board separator as so many 

 strips. 



The prospect for a g'ood honey harvest in 

 1904 is so far all that can be desired, and 

 much vexation and hurry can be saved by 

 preparing ever}' thing" possible for it now. 



Milan, 111. C. H. Dibbern. 



[We want the truth, cut where it may. 

 Let us have reports.- — Ed. J 



WHY THE BEES DON'T PAY ON THE COAST 

 AT SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. 



I was about to start with a hive or two in 

 connection with my chicken-ranch; but a 

 few years ago a man started here and gave 

 it a good trial, and for some reason or 

 other he gave it up. He went then and 

 started somewhere about six miles from 

 Los Angeles, and is now doing well with 

 the bees. Before he left here he got some 

 experienced bee-men to come to his place to 

 see if they could find out why the bees would 

 not work. He had also to feed them with 

 sugar in the winter or else they would eat 

 all the honey. These men could give no 

 reason why the bees would not work, except 

 that they might be too close to the salt 

 water, this place being only about one mile 

 from the sea. 



There are also a great many fogs here, 

 and perhaps that may have something to do 

 with it. 1 have one of four hives which I 

 got at Smith's cash store, San Francisco, 

 and find that the frames are only half as 

 deep as his, and that may also have a little 

 to do with it, J. Lewin. 



San Francisco, Cal. 



[The seasons vary in California, and in 

 southern portions of the State there are only 

 about two good seasons out of five, so that 

 some years the bees practically starve to 

 death; in fact, thousands of colonies have 

 died in the off years. The keeping of bees 

 along the coast is not nearly so profitable 



as a few miles inland. A mile or so from 

 the shore, in the vicinity of San Franciso, 

 is too cold, usually, to get good results. If 

 you go inland about ten miles it will be 

 warmer: but be sure to get into a territory 

 where alfalfa is grown, or the bees might 

 starve to death. You can, however, keep a 

 few colonits in connection with 3'our chick- 

 ens, and get fairly good results; but the 

 further 30U can get them from the cold 

 winds of the ocean the better. The writer 

 does not know of any extensive bee keepers 

 directly on the coast in the vicinity of San 

 F^rancisco. As a rule you will find them a 

 few miles inland, where it is warmer. — Ed.] 



atwater"s entk\nce-contr actor. 

 To-day, while looking at one of your bot- 

 tom-boards with a deep entrance, I was 

 wishing for some simple and che ip entrance- 

 contractor and m luse guard, and. presto! I 

 had the idea. I made one at once, and it 



fi'l> t ,e b r. It does not need to be tack- 

 ed in place, as its wedge shape allows it to 

 be pressed into the entrance It fits any 

 depth of entrance, from y% to 1^ inches deep, 

 when made ot % lumber, and contracts 

 thtm all to ,i4 X9>2 inches, which is m)U9e- 

 proof. If mice should ever gnaw them, 

 which I doubt, coat with carbolineum, 

 which is more than distasteful to mice, but 

 no detriment to bees when it has dried thor- 

 oughly. E. F. Atwater. 



Bnse, Idaho, 



[This is an excellent idea. Perhaps the 

 svipply m muf iC'urcrs better furui&h thtm 

 to tlie gener.ii public. I have seen nothing" 

 anv better for the purpose, or rather, I 

 shcu'd say nearly so good. The fact it will 

 fit any standard entrance in usi-, and hold 

 its place, are two strong" points in its 

 favor.— Ed.] 



death op- W. R. graham, OF TEXAS. 



Njv. 27, 1903, W. R, Graham, of Green- 

 ville, Tex., passed away. He was one of 

 the leading bee keepers of Texas, and has 

 always, up to within a few months of his 

 death, been willing and ready to assist bee- 

 keepers in any way he could consistently. 

 Mr. Graham was born in Jouesville, Va., 

 Jan. 14, 1828. He professed religion in his 

 nineteenth 3ear. He was married to Miss 

 Eletta Poteet in 18^1. He was the "lather 

 of nine children, of which five survive him. 

 He moved to Texas in If 74, settling in 

 Greenville, where he has since lived. He 

 organized the Texas State Bee-keepers' As- 

 sociation, and was its president for several 

 years, when the late Dr. W. K. Marshall was 

 elected president until death; and at the 

 next meeting" after Dr. Marshall died, Mr. 



