46 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Ceane, Middlebury, Vt. 



I hope the shipping of bees to Florida by 

 the Root Co. may prove a grand success. 

 We are all interested. 



* * * 



The most interesting page in Gleanings 

 for Nov. 1 is the last one devoted to temper- 

 ance rather than bees. Oh, my ! how it does 

 quicken the i:»ulse to read the good news ! 



* * * 



That illustrated article by Prof. Gates, on 

 pages 755 to 759, Nov. 1, is well worth the 

 careful study of beekeepers desiring to make 

 exhibits. Those Connecticut beekeepers are 

 ahead of all the other New England States 

 on honey exhibits, sure. 

 » * * 



Does beekeeping pay? When I read in 

 the ABC some time ago that our friend 

 Dr. Miller had sold from his colonies devot- 

 ed to the production of section honey an 

 average of $39.97, I said, " It certainly does 

 — sometimes." * * # 



I have been making beeswax the past 

 week; and from about 480 combs in Lang- 

 stroth frames I made some 160 lbs. of wax, 

 or 3 1-3 lbs. for each ten frames. I find the 

 secret of success is a good wax-press, plenty 

 of boiling water, and patience. 



* * * 



What Mr. Porter says, page 819, Nov. 15, 

 about home-made hives and fixtures is well 

 worth careful reading and meditation by all 

 beginners. The shabby hives that many be- 

 ginners use is enough to try the patience of 

 Job, and do more to discourage prospective 

 beekeepers than almost any thing else. 

 « * » 



The article by Prof. Lovell, page 687, 

 Oct. 1, ought forever to settle the question 

 of the likes and dislikes of bees for certain 

 colors. The reason he gives for bees trying 

 to sting dark objects before white is because 

 they see the dark object more readily — a 

 fact that beekeepers will do well to remem- 

 ber. ^ * * * 



I thought, Mr. Byer, that you lived away 

 up north, almost under the shadow of the 

 north pole, and here you are comjalaining 

 on page 751, Nov. 1, that you were suffering 

 from torrid heat Oct. 10. The weather was 

 just fine away down here in Vermont at that 

 time — -just right to start the clover for next 

 year. « » * 



Dr. Miller makes a good point, p. 740, 

 Nov. 1, when he says it costs 39 per cent 

 more per square foot to rear drones than 

 workers. If we add to this the fact that 



drones are large consumers from the day 

 they hatch till they die, while workers make 

 themselves useful from the day they hatch, 

 we see the folly of leaving large blocks of 

 drone comb in our hives. 



* * * 



On pages 682, 683, Oct. 1, are some illus- 

 trations of winter cases that remind me of 

 one I made a year ago to house twelve colo- 

 nies. It was Sy2 feet long by 41/2 feet wide. 

 Three colonies were placed in it to face each 

 side four inches from the wall, and about 

 two inches apart. The space between the 

 walls and hives was packed with planer 

 shavings and some between the hives, and 

 ten or twelve inches of shaving's above the 

 bees. They wintered perfectly. 



* * * 



PIECES OF COMB VS. FOUNDATION. 



It makes one feel good to read how Mr. 

 J. E. Hand is able to fill his sections with 

 drawn comb, pages 805 — 807, Nov. 15. It 

 looks as though it would work, too, where 

 one has only a single yard to look after. 

 But when I have six or eight yards to look 

 after it makes my back ache to think of it. 

 One might get drawn combs one year, and 

 fit them into sections during the winter ; but 

 then they would be old combs and not look 

 as nice as new, nor work as nicely either. I 

 might say in this connection that I cut down 

 all my partly filled sections to about one 

 inch thick so the bees will build out with 

 new wax the face of the comb from i?4 to 

 % of an inch, which gTeatly improves the 

 appearance. I do not seem to have much 

 trouble in getting bees to commence in sec- 

 tions if honey is plentiful in the fields. 



MELTED WAX BRUSHED ON TO FOUNDATION TO 

 PREVENT SAGGING. 



Mrs. G. N. Wisgate asks, page 620, wheth- 

 er there can not be some way devised easier 

 than wiring frames to prevent sagging of 

 combs. Dr. Miller, page 749, suggests the 

 use of splints, and I should like to inquire 

 as to the experience of those who have coat- 

 ed the upper part of the sheet of foundation 

 with melted wax applied with a brush. It 

 can be applied more quickly than frames 

 can be wired and wires imbedded ; and as I 

 saw it practiced by Mr. Poppleton in Flor- 

 ida it appeared to be a success. I placed 

 strong swarms on such foundation sheets 

 without their sagging in the least so far as 

 I could see ; but there was little honey com- 

 ing in at the time. The extra wax is util- 

 ized in drawing out the foundation into 

 comb. 



