660 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JULV 1 



the honey liquid a sufficient length of time, 

 put in two or three per cent of commercial 

 glycerine. Do not use glucose, as you will 

 ruin your trade if you do; and, besides, 25 

 or even 50 per cent of glucose would not 

 prevent granulation. — Ed.] 



SHALLOW HIVES FOR BROOD-NEST AND SU- 

 PER; HOFFMAN FRAMES AND FENCES; 

 CARNIOLANS AS HONEY-GATHERERS. 



3Ir. Root: — I have seen a good deal late- 

 ly about shallow hives and several other 

 things of much interest to me, as you know 

 your firm has made a good many shallow 

 hives for me, and I have now over 1200 in 

 use. They are of the six- inch depth. You 

 seem to think it impracticable to use the 

 same depth both for sections and brood- 

 nest; but I assure you it is not, however, in 

 connection with the ordinary inside furni- 

 ture of supers, as I use it. Simplicity is 

 its main feature. A narrow tin strip is 

 nailed to the inside edge of the ends of the 

 hive. This is for the slats to rest on. A 

 thin board is used at one end to tighten up 

 the ends of the fences. Twenty-eight 4X5 

 sections are put in a super, and a half-inch 

 board fitted down inside the wood rabbets. 

 This completes the arrangement for comb 

 honey, and I know it is simple and good. 

 Two fences are used each side of the super, 

 or ten in all. As a section-honey getter 

 none excel this simple and inexpensive su- 

 per; and with a strong brushed swarm in 

 a hive of the same size it is hard to beat. I 

 indorse fences. Shallow hives are the ones 

 for me in producing extracted honey. They 

 are of equal value. I have had much expe- 

 rience with many kinds of hives. 



I see that a good many condemn Hoffman 

 frames. I do not see how anv intelligent 

 specialist can waste time with unspaced 

 ones. True, they are not perfect; neither 

 are those who condemn them. Propolis is 

 bad in this locality, but unspaced frames 

 are worse. I see smokers come in for a 

 share of criticism, and I think it is true 

 that they are not fastened strongly enough 

 to the bellows-board. One tack is not suf- 

 fic ent in the valve leather, and the curved 

 snout weakens the force of the blast. With 

 me the Crane is the best. Straight-blast 

 Bingham is also good. 



Mr. Crane's article on the importance of 

 getting bees started right struck me very 

 forcibly. For over two years I have had 

 one yard of pure Carniolans, and they are 

 said to be bad to swarm; and with the idea 

 of counteracting that tendency I have work- 

 ed to get them started off at honey-gather- 

 ing with a vim before the time for swarm- 

 ing came on; and the result has been that, 

 though last year was bad for swarming, 

 yet only 18 swarms came off', and this year 

 not one ; and the good thing about it is, 

 these bees are noted as being the most won- 

 derful honey-gatherers in the whole coun- 

 try, working very freely when others are 

 doing nothing, and I believe it due to the 

 proper starting they always get. 



Yes, I think excluders always hinder the 

 work of the bees, some to a much greater 

 extent than others. I do not use them, ei- 

 ther on extracting or comb- honey hives. 

 J. E. Chambers. 



Vigo, N. M., June 12. 



[W. K. Morrison has for some time advo- 

 cated making the hive and super of the 

 same depth for the sake of convenience and 

 simplicity. Our friend Mr. Danzenbaker 

 tried it on quite an extensive scale, but 

 finally abandoned it, making the brood- 

 nest about a half deeper than the super, 

 and he feels satisfied that better results are 

 thus secured. But if you use two hive-sec- 

 tions for a brood-nest, the same as advocat- 

 ed by Mr. Heddon and Mr. Hutchinson, 

 you would probably obviate some of the 

 objectionable features. — Ed.] 



HONEY VINEGAR ; SOME INTERESTING PAR- 

 TICULARS CONCERNING IT. 



That analysis is not conclusive. Vine- 

 gar-making depends entirely on perfect 

 conditions, whether all fermentation of su- 

 gar be finished before the fermentation of 

 the alcohol into vinegar is started, or wheth- 

 er the fermentation of sugar into alcohol 

 and alcohol into vinegar was going on at the 

 same time, which always causes a great loss. 

 Very often even a third kind of fermenta- 

 tion is going on at the same time, by which 

 the vinegar is changed into carbonic acid 

 and water. This fermentation is general- 

 ly caused by germs of decayed organic 

 matter. 



To obtain the best results in vinegar from 

 the fermentation of sugar, especially honey, 

 it is absolutely necessary that the fermen- 

 tation of honey into alcohol be perfectly fin- 

 ished before the fermentation of ihe alcohol 

 into vinegar commences, and that no de- 

 structive fermentation be present at any 

 time — indeed, that no two kinds of fermen- 

 tation be taking place at the same time. If 

 the different kinds of fermentation are kept 

 absolutely apart, then the quantity and 

 strength of the vinegar finally obtained 

 will depend absolutely on the quantity of 

 the sugar started with, no matter whether 

 the original was pure honey or sugar. 



I do not intend to criticise the doctor; but 

 his short Straw might mislead some par- 

 ties, although he, no doubt, is perfectly ac- 

 quainted with the matter. 



Otto Luhdorff. 



Visalia, Cal., May 20, 1904. 



OPEN-AIR FEEDING SUCCESSFULLY PRAC- 

 TICED BY AN EXTENSIVE BEE-KEEPER. 



I see that great caution is given against 

 open-air feeding. I also notice how the 

 veterans and others have lost by open-air 

 feeding. Why is this? I have built up 

 hundreds of colonies by open-air feeding, 

 and never yet have lost one by so doing; in 

 fact, it is the only proper way to feed an 

 apiary. Yes, there goes Dr. Miller up on 



