MARCH 1, 1914 



171 



summer the doors and windows of the green- 

 houses are kept open, and the place is visit- 

 ed by a constant stream of bees. 



In short, variety rather than quantity of 

 bloom is the iDredominating feature of the 

 nectar pasturage in Central Park. This ex- 

 [dains why my honey embraces more differ- 

 ent varieties of flavors, fragrances, and 

 colors than is dreamed of in the philosophy 

 of the rural beekeeper. Frequently have I 

 emptied a pollen-cell of its little pellets and 

 found the'ni of so varied a hue that, if ar- 

 ranged in a row. they would go far toward 

 giving a fair example of a spectrum. 



Extracting is out of the question with so 

 few hives. I merely run them for section 

 and comb honey in shallow frames. I use 

 the Danzenbaker super, and place sections 

 and shallow extracting-frames into it alter- 



Lee Essenliower's bees on the roof of a department-store 

 Pa. A large tank of water keeps the temperature 



nately. Whatever bait sections I may need 

 (and I And them indispensable) are secured 

 by inserting six sections of foundation in an 

 emjjty Hoffman frame. The sections can be 

 made to fit snugly with the aid of match- 

 sticks. The frame of sections is then placed 

 in the hive-body to be drawn out. When 

 tlie sections liave been drawn out about a 

 (juarter of an inch they are removed from 

 the frame and distributed in the supers. 

 During the honey-flow I practice severe con- 

 traction of the brood-frames. I know that 

 this is condemned by most beekeepers; but 

 the end justifies the means, and a nice array 

 of sections at the end of the season covers 

 a multitude of sinful contractions. By con- 

 traction and a judicious use of bait sections 

 I have averaged 16 section boxes and 12 lbs. 

 in extracting-frames from each hive. 



Swarming must be 

 carefully guarded 

 against. Eternal vig- 

 ilance and clipped 

 queens are the price of 

 peace in a crowded 

 city. 



In the very few cases 

 of stinging in the 

 neighborhood during 

 three years, investiga- 

 tion showed that the 

 bees were invariably 

 only on the defensive. 

 A child I'eturning from 

 school in the afternoon 

 perceives a " golden 

 fly " resting on the 

 window-sill, or per- 

 chance perched on an 

 iron paling industri- 

 ously cleaning itself. 

 Only a few minutes 

 before, the teacher has 

 inoculated the child 

 with the "swat-the-fly" 

 theory, and the child 

 now bubbles over with 

 supi:)ressed excitement 

 as happy fortune 

 places before her an 

 opportunity to reduce 

 I heory to practice. 

 With hand poised for 

 a blow, little does the 

 victim (I refer to the 

 child ) anticipate with 

 what swift retribution 

 lier ignorance of ento- 

 mology will be reward- 

 ed. 

 >, ;i^- „ • T? 1 „ There is much to be 



building in Reading. t ■ -, n i i 



nearly constant. derived irom bees be- 



