480 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



see how there can be any question if we 

 reason from analogy. Horse-carts, dog- 

 kennels, man-heads, pig-stys, etc., are fa- 

 miliar examples. Undoubtedly the phrase 

 should be jiucleus rather than rntclei as the 

 proper adjective to be used before "ship- 

 ping-boxes," as each nucleus is shipped by 

 itself. It was simply an oversight. — Ed.] 



However bad the matter of adulteration 

 in this country, there's a certain grim com- 

 fort in the thought that adulteration of hon- 

 ey is worse in Europe than here. [You 

 are sure of that, are you, doctor? If you 

 were to go over the country as I have, and 

 visit the various cities, and see the pack- 

 ages of extracted honey that are put up and 

 labeled "pure," I think you would conclude 

 that conditions could be no worse than they 

 are in the United States. The glucose bus- 

 iness here is flourishing, and the backers 

 of it are seeking all sorts of outlets, and 

 one of the best outlets is under the guise of 

 honey. I am sorry to say it, but I have 

 about come to believe that honey put up in 

 glass by a packing-house that puts up all 

 kinds of syrups besides, including glucose 

 mixtures— is, generally speaking, not pure. 

 The time will come when the National Bee- 

 keepers' Association, or some organization 

 backed by bee-keepers, will have to put out 

 its own honey properly branded. — Ed.] 



I've just read over for the second time, 

 Mr. Editor, your philosophy as to temper- 

 ature and ventilation of bee- cellars, p. 432, 

 and I think you've got it down pretty fine. 

 You can't give too much fresh air unless it 

 becomes wind, and you can't make the tem- 

 perature too uniform. If a severe cold spell 

 comes, and it's a question whether to con- 

 tinue ventilation and let the bees get a 

 little too cold, or to keep up the temperature 

 and squeeze down a little on ventilation, it's 

 better to let temperature have the right of 

 way. In reality you are thus taking care 

 of both at the same time; for the warmer 

 you make the cellar and the colder it is out- 

 side, the greater the difference in the weight 

 ■oi air in and out, so the greater the ventila- 

 tion. I think none of this conflicts with 

 Bro. Doolittle's superb success. He suc- 

 ceeds grandly in holding temperature at 

 that point where the least amount of oxygen 

 is consumed, and at the same time the bees 

 are furnished all the oxygen they need. 

 [All the oxygen they need? Even our 

 friend Doolittle has reported having a good 

 many dead bees on the cellar bottom. If 

 his bees could have had more oxygen, and 

 still have the uniform temperature, which I 

 suppose is not possible, there would be 

 fewer dead ones on the floor, and more vig- 

 orous colonies. I do not suppose Bro. Doo- 

 little could give more oxygen without put- 

 ting in a very expensive apparatus for cool- 

 ing and warming the cellar. He would 

 have to have, probably, hot-water pipes to 

 warm up when the air from outdoors was 

 too cool, and ammonia- pipes to cool off when 

 the air from outdoors was too warm. I ex- 

 pect to try the experiment next year, with 

 a cistern or cellar so far under ground that 



the frost can not come anywhere near the 

 walls; then shut off all ventilation, or ex- 

 cept such as may percolate through some 

 porous material. — Ed.] 



The advice to go no faster than the bees 

 will pay the way is questioned as to its 

 wisdom, by me, p. 428; and in a footnote, 

 Mr. Editor, you take it as in reply to you. 

 I didn't know that you had been a special 

 advocate of that doctrine, but others have. 

 Your position on page 382 I do not feel at all 

 inclined to criticise unless it be the one point 

 where you speak of the increased expense 

 of '"sugar to feed," as if feeding sugar 

 were a regular part of the program. I am 

 coming more and more to believe the Ger- 

 mans are right who hold that sugar is nev- 

 er to be fed except as a matter of necessity; 

 that strong brood can not be reared on su- 

 gar as well as on honey; that every pound 

 of sugar fed is just so much interference 

 with the honey market; in short, that the 

 perfect bee-keeper will make it his aim never 

 to feed an ounce of sugar. 



When talking of increasing to 500 or 1000, 

 you italicize the advice of " making the bees 

 pay their way.'''' That is eminently wise, 

 for in that case a man is generally supposed 

 to have most of his capital in the bee busi- 

 ness, and he should keep on safe footing. 

 Perhaps the strongest reason for such a 

 man to go only as the business warrants 

 further outlay lies in the point you make 

 that a man should feel his way until he 

 knows that he has the ability to run the 

 business on a larger scale. 



It would be hard to emphasize too strong- 

 ly the advice to go carefully without taking 

 risks and running in debt. That's sound 

 advice, whether it relates to the bee busi- 

 ness or any other business. 



But all this has little or nothing to do 

 with the advice to every beginner to put it 

 down as a fixed law that he will under no 

 circumstances make any outlay except as 

 the bees furnish him the means. There are 

 thousands of beginners who don't need any 

 such advice. If you care for specific illus- 

 trations, say the word and I'll give you in- 

 stances where a man would be foolish to 

 follow such advice. [Yes, I will admit 

 that there are times and circumstances 

 when a beginner would do well to borrow 

 money in order that he might make the 

 right kind of start. There are other times 

 too when a professional would do well, even 

 if he has to borrow money to do it, to buj' 

 up a bee-yard in his vicinity — that is, one 

 that might cut down his honey crop. A 

 good bee keeper has many and many a time 

 paid oft" debts like this in a single season, 

 and had a comfortable surplus besides. 

 But if one were to multiply illustrations of 

 this kind, without emphasizing the other 

 side — that of conservatism — there might be 

 a great danger of bee-keepers of the begin- 

 ner class, not knowing the hazards and 

 the uncertainties of the business, plunging 

 in too deeply, and then turn around and 

 curse ye editor for their reverses. When 

 one thoroughly understands that there are 



