DECEMBER 1, 1914 



955 



the same as Medina — a little soutli, but fiirtlier from 

 the lake. 



I took Gleanings years ago when I could not 

 keep bees, just for the Home papers. I am not 

 envious, but I do wish I had the power tO' do good 

 that A. I. Root has, and friend Terry, and others. 

 A few years ago I was just about to go tO' the hospi- 

 tal to undergo an operation for cancer. As a 

 drowning man catches at straws, I thought of first 

 going to see Mr. Terry. Result was no operation, 

 and am better now than then, thanks to Terry, the 

 simple life, and the great physician. 



McKeesport, Pa., Jan. 26. T. T. Hibben. 



[The choice between single-walled and double- 

 walled hives depends entirely upon whether you have 

 a suitable cellar where the temperature can be kept 

 quite uniform, say between forty and fifty degrees 

 thro'Ugh the winter, and where the ventilation is 

 good. If you have, w-e do not believe it would pay 

 \ ou to invest in double-walled hives, unless, for some 

 reason or other, you are unable to give the bees any 

 attention through the winter. Bees in the cellar 

 occasionally require some attention, such as opening 

 windows, etc. — Ed.] 



The Gasoline Blow-torch — Some Uses 



This may be considered the beekeepers' friend, and 

 I will mention some of the ways he may use it. 

 The painter uses it to remove the old worthless paint 

 before the new is applied, and the beekeeper may 

 us it for the same purpose if he wishes as smooth 

 work on his hives as on his own home. It not only 

 helps to remove the paint, but it also removes a 

 measure of dampness from the surface, which is 

 quite desirable before painting. The hives, being 

 near the ground, gather considerable dust, insects, 

 worms, and their webs, which may be quickly re- 

 moved with the hot flame. 



The torch, however, is most often recommended 

 for cleaning hives and the fixtures that have con- 

 tained foul brood. But it may also be a isreventive 

 in the spread of diseases. All hives and fixtures 

 from other and unknown apiaries and conditions 

 must be disinfected by the torch before coming into 

 my apiary. If this were more carefully done there 

 would be less spread of disease through the transfer 

 of old bee-supplies. 



As a further caution it should be added that 

 excessive burning of the wood is not necessary. The 

 blaze is so hot that it may be passed quite rapidly 

 over the surface. The torch will also be found useful 

 for many other purposes, like melting wax, thawing 

 out frozen water-pipes, etc. It is a good thing to 

 have at hand ready for use. 



Litchfield, Mich. Edwin Newell. 



Honey from Peas 



In the summer of 1894 a great deal of the land 

 here was burned over with forest fires. The follow- 

 ing April I sowed a piece of this land to field peas, 

 usually called here Canada peas, and in Canada, 

 golden vines. They made an enormous growth, and 

 yielded 35 bushels to the acre. At that time I had 

 six colonies of bees, and there were other colonies 

 in the neighborhood, besides wild bees. Well, when 

 those peas were in bloom they were simply swarming 

 with bees. I do not remember ever seeing them as 

 thick on a clover-field. At the same time, my bees 

 were storing a peculiar honey which undoubtedly 

 came from the peas. The cappings were the most 

 beautifully white that I have ever seen. The honey 

 was very white, exceedingly thin, and almost taste- 

 less. A local buyer got hold of some of it, and it 

 looked so good that he wanted all I had left, and he 

 got it, and sold it along with a lot more. 



Since then I have grown peas many times, but 

 have never seen bees on them, and never had any- 

 more of that kind of honey. This year I had three 



acres of peas wiiich were in full bloom just after 

 clover ceased, and when there was no nectar coming 

 from any source; but though I passed the field fre- 

 quently, and watched carefully, I never saw a bee 

 on them. 



Had I known in 1895 what an unusual occur- 

 rence was going on I should certainly have watched 

 to see how it was done, but, in my youthful igno 

 ranee, I supposed it was the ordinary thing. 



Coleman, Mich., Sept. 15. F. H. Clarke. 



Why Swarms Often Cluster in the Same Place 



There are many quick guessers in this world; they 

 are sometimes called very intelligent, for they can 

 converse upon almost any subject. What they don't 

 know they guess at. I am inclined to think some 

 of them keep bees. 



I found a small swarm of bees to-day ; and after 

 they had gone, while examining the place where they 

 had been I noticed some small white specks. I 

 lasted of one of these specks, and found it was wax; 

 and remembering where another swarm had clustered 

 on a chestnut-tree a few days before, I went there 

 to look for wax. As s,oon as I got near the tree I 

 could smell it. Now, is it not more reasonable tc 

 suppose that the bees are attracted by the odor of the 

 wax than by the odor of a queen — especially after 

 several heavy rains? 



I was just thinking the other day how convenient 

 it is that all bees are the same size, and that we 

 need only one size of honey -board — .163 inches; and 

 now I read of Mr. Calcutt's experiments, p. 498, 

 •July 1, trying to raise larger bees. Please have 

 him arrested before he succeeds. Just imagine hav- 

 ing to measure all our queens and drones before 

 sending for honey-board and traps 1 One of the very 

 best things about the business is that the bees are 

 all the same size. 



HaraTnonton, N. J., July 8. C. E. Fowler. 



My Experience with Honey-clogged Brood- 

 chambers 



I remember in my early beekeeping days, when I 

 was located in Northern Vermont, that I used the 

 standard L. hives, and for a comb-honey super I 

 used a two-pound section about 5 i/i x 5% x 2 inches. 

 This was a two-piece, and nailed. I used starters of 

 nice white drone comb, which was fastened in the 

 (enter of the top. I used a light low rack to hold 

 these sections. I used no separators, and for a 

 follower against the outside sections I used glass. A 

 colony cast a swarm ; and, as I remember, there was 

 a super on the hive. Possibly the swarm was pre- 

 mature, and there were only eggs in the royal cells. 

 At any rate, the young queen was a long time in 

 beginning to lay. On taking a peep at the sections 

 I noticed the drone comb that was built about one- 

 fourth way down, the bees had changed to worker 

 comb. I examined all the sections, and found the 

 lower half of all, worker comb, and about the thick- 

 ness of brood comb, anc\ left empty of honey, al- 

 though the drone comb above it was nearly full of 

 honey. I examined the combs below, and found them 

 filled with capped honey ; and the bees building new- 

 comb in the sections had made there a brood-chamber 

 for the young queen. I closed the hive as it was, 

 and awaited events. Those sections were finished 

 out and filled with honey. When I removed them I 

 took a look at the combs below. The honey was 

 gone, and a fine large brood-chamber. The young 

 queen had driven it above; so it seems that the best 

 thing for a honey-clogged brood-chamber is a good 

 queen. 



Several times I have seen a brood-chamber filled 

 with honey one-half way down, and a small brood- 

 chamber in the lower half. I have on different oc- 

 casions taken out two or three of the fullest combs 

 from the side, and in their place in the center I 



