154 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



when we get a roally hot day. Mine is 2 i/^ ft. deep, 

 and there are two sheets of glass with an inch air- 

 space between. 



St. Albans, Christchurch, N. Z. E. G. Ward. 



[Heat from a tropical sun where a double glass 

 is used in the solar extractor will sometimes scorch 

 wax ; but nowadays a single glass is used almost 

 universally. Years ago, with a double-glass machine 

 we fried eggs, and raised the temperature nearly up 

 to the boiling-point. As wax melts at 140 degrees 

 the wax might be lurnt if retained too long in the 

 machine. — Ed. ] 



The Quarantine on Bees in Imperial Valley, Cal- 

 ifornia 



Mr. Editor: — It would seem to me, after reading 

 your issue for Jan. 1, that a few words from me 

 would not come amiss. One J. Egar Ross, a part of 

 whose letter you published, presumes to take up the 

 cause of a few disgruntled beekeepers and writers 

 who were trying to override an ordinance in force 

 in this county by bringing in bees in violation of a 

 quarantine. This letter was published in full in the 

 Wi'fitern Honeuhee. 



Space will not permit me to go into his letter in 

 detail, so I will take iip the most of the important 

 points. 



He says great injustice was done to a party who 

 shipped in a carload of bees. Nearly every beekeep- 

 er in this county knew that these bees were coming 

 in to test the law, and fully expected to take this 

 into the courts, and that the railroad company refus- 

 ed to deliver them to the consignor, as I held the 

 railroad company responsible for violation of quar- 

 antine, and they returned them to the consignee 

 after keeping the ^vires hot three or four days. 



I acted only in the capacity of an officer doing his 

 duty, of which the owners were fully aware. The 

 question as to whether they were healthy or not 

 never entered the ease ; but they came from a quar- 

 antined county. 



He goes on further to state that I permitted some 

 to come in while I objected to others. Again he is 

 silent as to the reason for this apparent partiality. 

 This was before the quarantine was established, and 

 was like this: The ordinance leaves it to my discre- 

 tion as to whether or not bees could be brought in. 

 There were certain counties that I accepted a bill 

 of health from without quest" jn, and others I was 

 not so ready to accept; and j. explained my position 

 in each case. Personally I treated all alike, without 

 fear or favor. 



Now as to the dog-in-the-manger argument. If 

 the beekeepers were not afraid of- importing disease 

 would they not have gone out and bought up these 

 cheap bees ? They have as good a business instinct, 

 and are as anxious for bargains here as anywhere 

 else. 



One more noint : Mr. Ross puts himself up as an 

 expert on bee diseases. The fact is, he did not know 

 American foul brood when I showed him a case in 

 his yard last spring. 



I think Imperial Co. has gained a great point in 

 the enforcement of this ordinance for which they 

 have a progressive board of supervisors and district 

 attorney to thank by standing back of the beemen, 

 for which the beemen are very appreciative. 



A. F. Wagner, Inspector. 



El Centro, Cal., Jan. 21. 



Twin Mating Nuclei with Three Combs on a Side 



I am making up a supply of twin mating-boxes a 

 little different from any thing I have seen. I am 

 making them with loose bottom and loose central 

 division-board fitting in grooves cut in the ends and 

 resting on the bottom-board with division-board out. 

 They take seven frames the same size as the fr^me 



in the Root twin mating-box, the only difference 

 being a long top-bar with division-board in. They 

 take three frames to a side, making a nucleus with 

 comb area the same as one standard L. frame. Three 

 of these boxes united, with division-boards out and 

 frames substituted, make a colony for winter with 

 <-omb area the same as seven standard L. frames. 

 Liberty, Tenn., Dec. 15. J. Ivan Banks. 



[Your form of twin mating-box is almost the same 

 as the one that we are using in our own yard. We 

 started out with the idea of making the central 

 division-board removable. It is of very thin stuff, 

 and sliaes down into corresponding grooves in each 

 end-board of the nucleus box. WTiile these can be 

 removed very readily when the hives are new, it is 

 practically impossible to get them out when they are 

 stuck up with bee-glue. We find it perfectly prac- 

 ticable to run the twin nuclei side by side, and there 

 is really no need of withdrawing the central division- 

 board except at the close of the season. A plan 

 could be readily devised for making the division- 

 board easily removable, even though it were covered 

 with propolis at the end; but it would be quite ex- 

 pensive. — Ed. ] 



Bees Working on Sawdust for Pollen 



A few days ago I sawed 20 cords of green wood. 

 To-day is a warm shiny day, and the pile of sawdust 

 is entirely covered up with bees. They seemed to be 

 gathering pollen so far as I could see. I noticed 

 some of them had a good bit of pollen on their legs. 

 Never before have I seen bees after sawdust. 



Roanoke, Va., Jan. 22. Henry S. Bohon. 



[During a dearth of pollen, when the bees are 

 fairly crazy for it, they will make things pretty lively 

 about stables where bran is kept, or about a barn 

 where there is an accumulation of screenings, etc. 

 We have heard of bees working on sawdust, although 

 not very often. Whether they really get a nitrogen- 

 ous substance that they can use in brood-rearing, or 

 whether they are deceived, we do not know. It is 

 iiard to imagine any thing nutritious for young brood 

 in sawdust. — Ed.] 



No Bad Results from Feeding Thin Honey in the Fall 



I have read the article on feeding sugar syrup b) 

 J. E. Hand, Dec. 1, p. 858. I consider this an im- 

 portant question, but it seems to me Mr. Hand is 

 mistaken in his claim that the bees do all the evap- 

 oration while on the wing. If so, why do we find 

 thin nectar in the extracting-super, and that, too, 

 when the bees are gathering only a little. 



I have never fed such thin feed, but for a num- 

 ber of years I have practiced feeding Lack honey 

 thinned to the consistency of nectar, through the 

 month of September, for the purpose of finishing 

 sections, and have never experienced any winter loss 

 from those so fed. On the other hand, I sometimes 

 lost 15 per cent of those not fed, which has led me 

 to believe that fall brood stimulation is good. Last 

 fall I fed all my bees half a pint of thin honey each 

 night from Sept. 17 to Oct. 4, the result of which I 

 shall watch with interest. 



Durkee, Ore., Dec. 13. J. O..Baird. 



Color of Alfalfa Honey Differs with Successive 

 Crops 



p. C. Chadwick, of California, holds to the opinion 

 that one kind of flower gives but one sort of honey 

 so far as color and flavor go. He would not think 

 so if he lived in the Pecos Valley. As alfalfa is our 

 only honey-plant through the summer, how is it then 

 that the nectar from the first and second crop is 

 amber, at least, while the third crop's honey is 

 water-white ? 



Dexter, N. M. C. Vanden Bout. 



