1904 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



811 



sour feed. That is what I call making a 

 five-cent piece hide a dollar. The feeder 

 should be well washed out every day or two 

 so it will always be sweet. As a rule, bees 

 do not like things very sour. 



I wish here to impress on the mind of the 

 bee keeper who has to feed, when once com- 

 menced it is far better and cheaper to keep 

 it up ever}' day till finished. When one 

 feeds one day and lets it go for two or three 

 daj's and then feeds again, it is bad policy. 

 Do not be in too big a hurr}' to build your 

 swarms up while having foundation drawn 

 — better to let the bees beg a little for foun- 

 dation. The combs will be far more per- 

 fect. Do not try to economize by trying to 

 use starters or half-sheets. Out of the 

 5000 swarms we have built up, not one 

 starter or half-sheet has been used. 



I once passed through a rich man's api- 

 ary, and he was using half-sheets of foun- 

 dation, "Well," he said to me, "I suppose 

 you do not believe in using half sheets of 

 foundation, do you?" 



"No, not yet." said I. 



"Well," said he, "I'm too poor to use 

 full sheets." 



"Well," said I, "I'm too poor to use 

 half-sheets." 



Mr. Langstroth once told me, with much 

 truth, it is far better to have less swarm- 

 ing and have bees in perfect condition. 



C. E. Woodward. 



Guanabana, Cuba. 



[Since Mr. Woodward and others have 

 referred to the feasibility of feeding out- 

 doors we have been conducting some exper- 

 iments here in Medina. Years ago we tried 

 it on inferior sweets ; but because there 

 were other bees, not our own, in the vicini- 

 ty, we finally gave it up; but since that 

 time the other bees have disappeared, and 

 we finally decided to try outdoor feeding 

 again. The results have been entirely sat- 

 isfactory. Instead of robber bees nosing 

 around, and instead of queen-cell-building 

 colonies refusing 1o work on the cells at 

 times, or at other times tearing them down 

 when started, they are accepting the cells 

 and doing good work. Indeed, the condi- 

 tions are very much like a natural light 

 honey- flow, and our boys are able to do 

 much of the work in the yard with compar- 

 ative peace and quietness Our experience 

 thus far shows that, when outdoor feeding 

 has been begun, it must be continued and 

 not worked intermittently. — Ed.] 



BEE-KEEPING AMONG THE ROCKIES; THE 

 20 LB. STONE ON THE HIVE. 



DIr. Root: — I wish to express my appre- 

 ciation of your department of " Bee keeping 

 among the Rockies." Mr. Morehouse can 

 make it interesting. He had a good bee- 

 paper in the Rocky Mountain Bee Journal, 

 and my commercial conscience has pricked 

 me several times because I never encouraged 

 him by my subscription. 



I notice in Gleanings occasionally your 

 fling at the " 20-lb. stone" on hive-covers. 



Acting on your suggestions I left them off, 

 and next morning found between 20 and 30 

 covers on the ground. May I ask what 

 would be your remedy in such a case? 

 How shall we keep the covers on? Sitting 

 in your office in Medina it must be compar- 

 tively easy work to give instruction in bee- 

 keeping; but I have the impression that the 

 bee-keepers themselves who are familiar 

 with the conditions in their locality some- 

 times know what they want, and wh}' they 

 want it; so until something better is offered 

 I shall stick to the "20-lb. stone," which, 

 in this locality, probably weighs about 5 

 lbs. G. F. Hyde. 



Lovelock, Nevada, July 26. 



[This statement of our correspondent con- 

 cerning the excellence of the new depart- 

 ment was evidently made before he was 

 aware of the death of Mr. Morehouse. This 

 is only one of several statements of a like 

 character that we have received. 



If our correspondent imagines that the 

 editorial matter in this journal receives its 

 inspiration at the "office desk" he is la- 

 boring under a great mistake. Besides be- 

 ing brought up among the bees from boy- 

 hood, I have spent five or six summers 

 among them, working constantly with them. 

 I have traveled a great many thousand 

 miles to study the methods used by bee- 

 keepers in all parts of the United States; 

 and scarcely a day goes by when I am not 

 in close touch with all the work and exper- 

 iments that are being carried on in all our 

 own yards; and in the eight of the season 

 I go to the outyards, take off my coat, and 

 work with the bees to help the boys out. 

 So much for " office desk " editorials. 



Our correspondent is evidently using a 

 quilt or enamel cloth under the covers. If 

 such is the case, a 20-lb. stone or some oth- 

 er sort of fastening is necessary to hold the 

 cover on the hive. But it is the practice of 

 most bee-keepers to dispense with all cloths 

 and quilts. When thai is the case the bees 

 hermetically seal the cover on the hive 

 where it will stay until pried ofl" by the 

 bee- keeper with a knife, screwdriver, or 

 hive-tool. I have traveled all through the 

 western part of the country, and been in 

 hundreds of yards; and, if my memory 

 serves me rightly, the 20-lb. stone is used 

 in only about one apiary in a hundred, the 

 great majority preferring to dispense with 

 quilts and cloths, leaving the cover to go 

 over the bees when it will be fastened. If 

 shade-boards are used, then it is necessary 

 to have something to hold them on; but as a 

 rule, even then bee-keepers apparently pre- 

 fer to seek natural shade, thus dispensing 

 with extra pieces and the lifting of heavy 

 weights. — Ed.] 



poisoned honey FROM COTTON. 



J. W. Davidson, of Ditto, Texas, asks if 

 you can give some advice as to the efl^ect 

 poisoning cotton with Paris green will have 

 on bees. Will it afl'ect the honey? I note 

 your answer, Mr. Editor; but the last part 



