JANUARY 15, 1916 



49 



Dr. C. C. Miller 



STRAY STRAWS Ma.e„,o,in 



Bulk comb honey looks good 

 when those Texas chaps talk about 

 it ; but why has it never gone in 

 the North? We might know more 

 about it if some enthusiast who 

 has made it a success in the South 

 should move nortli and try it on 

 our markets. 



" Clover pollen seems to be the only 

 pollen which is covered with honey, and the 

 honey sealed over," says G. M. Doolittle, p. 

 927. That's new to me; but I've no doubt 

 he is correct, as usual, at least for clover 

 regions. But I do know that in pollen left 

 over from the previous year I do not recall 

 that I've ever seen any but dark brown, like 

 clover pollen. I suspect there's more pollen 

 from clover than from all other plants com- 

 bined; and the other pollens being used as 

 fast as gathered, clover is the only kind 

 left to be sealed. 



So much is said about Italians for Euro- 

 pean foul brood that there is danger a 

 beginner may think all he has to do is to 

 keep Italians and defy the European enemy. 

 Italians have the disease as well as others, 

 only they are a help in its treatment. I You 

 are exactly right, Dr. Miller; but the ten- 

 dency of late among beekeepers is to think 

 that an immune strain of Italians is all 

 that is required. In the first place, no one 

 can know when a strain is immune; and in 

 the second place, when they are immune, 

 additional treatment is necessary. — Ed.] 



Ye Editor guesses bees go for nectar as 

 far as they can see, p. 965. My guess is 

 smell. No matter how slight the breeze, 

 bees always approach a basswood on the 

 lee side, although they can see as well from 

 either side. Then I'm skeptical about their 

 seeing a patch of clover two miles away. 

 [You may be right. One thing in favor of 

 your theory is that an obstruction would 

 shut off an odor-carrying breeze the same 

 as it would shut off a view of the thing 

 itself. The suggestion has been made that 

 the bee has a telescojoic sight as well as a 

 microscopic. The small simple eyes may 

 be telescopic, and the compound or big eyes 

 on each side of the liead may be for near 

 or close work. — Ed.] 



According to what you say, Mr. Editor, 

 p. 1011, the average beekeeper of large 

 experience leaves the dummy out of either 

 eight or ten frame hiveg. Well, as I there 

 said, " I'm not entirely certain it isn't an 

 improvement." Let's fig-ure: With 1% 



spacing, and combs % thick where occupied 

 with brood there will be V2 inch between 

 combs, and a space of 13/16 at each side. 

 Accumulation of glue will in time take up 

 1/4 inch, as you say, and then tlie space at 

 each side will be 11/16. If 8/16 is the right 

 space for bees between combs, 11/16 would 

 seem none too much for the outside blanket 

 of bees. I think I'll ti-y leaving out the 

 dummy. How about ten-frame hives 14^4 

 inches wide? When everything is new 

 there will be just I/2 inch at each side. 

 With an accumulation of 1/4 i"ch of glue 

 that space will be %, and with more glue it 

 will be still less. Seems that outside space 

 should be more than the inside ones, rather 

 than less. 



" I AM satisfied that fifty degrees is too 

 high a temperature for successful winter- 

 ing," converses Doolittle, p. 1015. Likely 

 true in most cellars, where the air is close. 

 But it doesn't seem to do much harm in my 

 cellar, where the door is more or less open, 

 and air about as pure as outdooi'S. At any 

 rate, the temperature often stands at 50 or 

 more, and the bees winter well. I wonder 

 if ijurity of air isn't more important than 

 temperature. [This question of tempera- 

 ture, as you say, is one that is largely de- 

 pendent on the amount of fresh air. When 

 there is no ventilation, or but very little, 

 the nearer the thermometer shows 45 Fahr.. 

 the better. But with sufficient ventilation 

 the temperature may go up to 50 or even 

 higher without any serious results. In our 

 best indoor wintering-cellar the tempera- 

 ture ranges from 45 to 65 — most of the 

 time about 50. We have a dry cellar with 

 a large amount of ventilation. The bees in 

 this cellar would scarcely fly out on the 

 cellar bottom; and on Feb. 15 we were 

 often able to go across the floor without 

 stepping on a bee. 



If anything we prefer a temperature of 

 50, and ventilation, to a temperature of 40 

 to 45 with little ventilation. We have 

 proved, to our own satisfaction at least, 

 that with a perfectly pure air the tempera- 

 lure may go up to 60 and stay there for 

 days ; but, of course, we prefer it about 50. 

 At 50 to 55 the bees begin breeding. This 

 does no harm toward the latter part of win- 

 ter, but it is too ranch of a good thing dur- 

 ing the fore part or middle of winter. We 

 have looked into a good many bee-cellars; 

 and the conditions we have found all over 

 the North are borne out by our own experi- 

 ence in our own cellar with plenty of 

 ventilation, — Ed,] 



