1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



239 



Siftings 



By J. E. Crane, Middlebury, Vt. 



When I read F. Dundas Todd's explana- 

 tions of bee-hives for beginners, p. 21, I feel 

 as though I wanted to begin all over again. . 



What makes the central leaves of almost 

 every number of Gleanings burst apart 

 like a rich ripe melon? Is it because it is so 

 full of sweetness, I wonder? 



I was glad to note, on p. 68, Feb. 1, that 

 the demand for cartons to cover comb hon- 

 ey is on the increase; but our New England 

 markets demand a full carton rather than 

 one of those scrimped four-sided aflfairs. 



M. E. Truitt, page 70, Feb. 1, gives some 

 very good proofs of the antipathy bees have 

 for any thing black. On the other hand, I 

 have no doubt bees will, to some extent, be- 

 come accustomed to dark clothes; but it is 

 doubtful whether it w^ill pay to try to edu- 

 cate them. They are too short-lived and 

 too numerous. 



Page 20, editorial on the importance of 

 accurate and honest grading of comb hon- 

 ey is worthy of being printed in italics or 

 heavy-faced caps. When will the rank and 

 file of humanity learn that honesty is not 

 only the best policy, but at the very foun- 

 dation of all commercial prosperity, to say 

 nothing of character? 



Much has been written of late on winter- 

 nests for bees. I recently found one of con- 

 siderable interest. Last Saturday I looked 

 over three yards, finding every colony alive. 

 One, however, had gone to the outside of a 

 division-board, where there was nothing but 

 two heavy combs of honey, and the bees had 

 clustered there, having come through the 

 winter in good condition. 



That is a new wrinkle in percolating su- 

 gar syrup and feeding, given by Dr. Miller, 

 page 88, Feb. 15. How stupid of me not to 

 have thought it out before! Why, I thought 

 the percolator folks had something like a 

 large water-filter into which they poured fif- 

 ty or a hundred pounds of sugar and then 

 water on top, and that in two or three 

 days it was drawn off to be fed to the bees. 

 Thanks, doctor. "Doesn't it leave a lot of 

 hard crystallized sugar in the bottom of 

 your feeders?" 



Mr. J. L. Byer calls attention, on page 63, 

 Feb. 1, to the importance of having the 

 hives so arranged as to work with the least 

 expenditure of strength. It is amazing to 

 see the amount of energy many people 

 waste because of the lack of forethought. 



Some will stoop when they could stand up- 

 right, and others will stand when they 

 might be sitting down just as well, while 

 still others will fret all day long over trifles, 

 leaving little strength for essentials. I re- 

 member having found a bee-keeper, many 

 years ago, who was sitting on the floor of 

 his shop nailing shipping-cases together in- 

 stead of using a chair before a low table or 

 bench. Some, too, will even lug honey or 

 clamps long distances in their arms when a 

 light wheelbarrow would save both time 

 and strength. 



On page 85, Feb. 15, the editor invites dis- 

 cussion regarding corrut^ated paper and bet- 

 ter shipping-cases. I feel as though I had 

 already had my share in this matter; and it 

 has been a surprise to me that more interest 

 has not been taken in this subject. Only 

 this morning a neighbor was telling me of a 

 bee-keeper in a neighboring town who sent 

 a lot of honey to market in corrugated-pa- 

 per cases and wooden cases; that in wooden 

 cases was so badly broken that it was re- 

 turned to him, and he had the privilege of 

 paying freight both ways, and, in addition, 

 a lot of broken honey for his pains. 



Mention is made, page 86, of a shipment 

 of comb honey received at Medina in the 

 Crane corrugated shipping-case. I was in- 

 terested in that report, for I packed that 

 honey myself; and while it was of fine qual- 

 ity, though rather light weight, it was very 

 poorly attached to the sides and bottoms of 

 the sections — to many of them, scarcely at 

 all. It was shipped during the coldest part 

 of the year, and doubtless was transferred 

 once or twice on the way from one car to 

 another. What would have been its condi- 

 tion when received, if it had been in wood- 

 en cases? I believe the editor is quite right 

 in thinking that the cross-partitions inside 

 the case are of much value, as it can readily 

 be seen that every partition helps to break 

 all further jars. 



The honey referred to was raised in the 

 Champlain Valley, about twenty miles from 

 here — supers with solid separators. 



We shipped another large lot of honey of 

 our own production to another place in the 

 West, and the parties receiving it write they 

 are so well pleased with it, and the way it 

 was put up, that they would like to handle 

 our honey exclusively another season. Our 

 honey averaged a little more than an ounce 

 to the section more than the lot shipped to 

 Medina, and was well attached to the sides 

 and bottoms of the sections. What made 

 the difference? I believe it was largely due 

 to the different separators used. One lot was 

 produced with solid separators, the other 

 with those which were slatted.having pins to 

 hold them in position, thus giving the bees 

 free access, both lengthwise and crosswise, 

 through the super. An ounce to the section 

 on our 1910 crop would amount to upward 

 of 1500 lbs., and would be worth between 

 $200 and 8300. It pays to look after these 

 little matters, and to get the best separators 

 and shipping-pases. 



