SEPTEMBER 1. 1911 



Headg of Gram frdDim DiffeFeM Fields 



THE BACKLOT BUZZER. 



Bet the fellow who started the story about the bees 

 being a nuisance at the watering trough, where the 

 live stock come to drink, didn't linger long studyin' 

 the problem. He went on to town to do his drinkiii. 



Does the Use of Thick Foundation in Sec- 

 tions Injure the Sale of Honey? 



For the past eighteen mouths I have been a citizen 

 of Philadelphia. Last winter I wanted some honey ; 

 and one night on passing a retail produce house I 

 saw several beautiful-looking 4x5 plain sections on 

 display. The price-card read 25 cts. per section, as 

 they were not sold by weight. I learned afterward 

 those sections averaged 14 1^ oz. from a lot of two 

 cases. On inspection I saw the producer's name on 

 each section, which told me the stuff was true to 

 name, and a first-class article. I purchased one. 

 Next morning at breakfast I sampled the honey ; and 

 so far as that pai't is concerned the liquid was really 

 first-class. The producer used full sheets of founda- 

 tion in those 4x5 plain sections, however, so the 

 midrib was so tough it would not crumble under the 

 pressure of a knife. The use of this foundation 

 made the honey any thing but inviting. To get the 

 honey I placed the whole business in a small tin, and 

 slowly heated it to separate the wax, etc. 



I tried other places in this part of the city, but 

 could find no section honey save that which was 

 produced on full sheets of foundation, so I gave up 

 and did not buy any more. I went among the people 

 I have met while here, and others I do not know, 

 making an inquiry into the cause of people not buy- 

 ing or using more honey. The man running the 

 produce store is a very nice fellow, doing an honest 

 business so far as I know. Tliese inquiries proved 



to me that people earning under $20 per week re- 

 fused to buy honey on account of the price — 25 cts. 

 is altogether out of their means, considering the 

 small amount obtained for the quarter dollar. Per- 

 sonally the same feeling caused me to leave it alone, 

 simply from the fact of the nasty way the surplus 

 wax has of holding the honey. I find the majority 

 of people do not like the wax, and refuse to buy 

 honey on this account. This factor has much to do 

 in spreading the idea that comb honey is manufac- 

 tured, especially when this wax business proves it. 

 It is surprising to find how many people here in the 

 city have friends or relatives out in the country, 

 and, when sojourning there, they invariably get hon- 

 ey to eat ; and I want to say they hardly ever, if 

 ever, get honey in which the wax does not crumliie 

 into minute particles when gently mashed with a 

 knife or spoon. Is it any wonder these people think 

 comb honey of the city a fake, after having become 

 acquainted with an article made without foundation? 

 These same people know that beekeepers buy "manu- 

 factured" wax in large quanities. They are also 

 acquainted with the hundred and one fakes employed 

 to get their money for any thing needed for the home, 

 and thus it is most easy to associate the use of too 

 much foundation in comb honey as one of these tools 

 to get the advantage of the consumer. 



Therefore, brother beekeeper, I want to register 

 my protest against using full sheets in sections. To 

 continue its use renders the matter of fact in at- 

 tempts to increase consumption of no account. At 

 least it is discouraging to see a really fine honey 

 stored in a surplus of wax. The idea that bees "thin 

 down" the base or midrib in foundation is more 

 theory than practice, if my experience has not been 

 wrongly conducted. Ralph P. Fisher. 



I'liiladelphia, Pa. 



Feeding Syrup for Winter Stores Before the 

 Fall Honey-flow 



Last winter I placed a plate of syrup over the 

 brood-frames with a Hill device directly over it, 

 which kept the chaff-tray away from it; then I put 

 some excelsior in the syrup to prevent the bees from 

 drowning. If I were going to follow this plan right 

 along, however, I should rather have some dishes 

 made to conform to the shape of the Hill device. 



By measuring the Alexander feeder I find that it 

 M'ill go inside an empty super if I want to use it for 

 feeding after the chaff-trays are taken off. 



After the main honey-flow is over, and as soon as a 

 drouth or honey dearth comes on, I propose moving 

 all supers so that no syrup may reach the sections, 

 and then feed enough syrup so that the combs will 

 contain enough stores for winter. The bees will 

 then be ready to store the buckwheat and other fall 

 honey directly in the supers again. 



^V^leelerville, Pa. Mrs. Susan E. Allen, 



[ We would not advise the plan for the bees would 

 surely move some of the syrup up into the supers. — 

 Ed.] 



Hard Candy Too Hard to Make 



That snow blizzard at Medina, Nov. 9, 10, was no 

 more worthy of recording than our snow blizzard in 

 southeast Oklahoma, to-day, Jan. 30. Our 19 hives 

 of bees are banked high on all sides except southeast, 

 M'here the escaping warmth has melted the snow and 

 left the entrances open. Our bees are in fine order 

 because I have closely watched and liberally fed 

 them, and liecause they have just had nine days of 

 pollen and honey-gathering. Strange as it may seem, 

 with snow everywhere now, day before yesterday the 

 bees gathered honey and pollen all day. 



