GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Honey Necessary even for Prepared Paste 

 I see by Stray Straws that Dr. Miller has 

 trouble in making labels stay on 5-lb. pails. 

 A home-made paste with a little honey add- 

 ed will make it stick, but it will sour and 

 mold under the label, and so is not very 

 satisfactory. 



The best thing I have found so far is a 

 paste made by the National Can Co., which 

 is made for labels, and which they say will 

 stick to tin; but it would not always stick 

 for me, however, until I added a little honey 

 to it. It will not sour or mold, even after 

 the honey is added, and will always stay. 

 About a tablespoonful of honey is added, 

 and if, upon trial, it will not stick, a little 

 more honey is added. To make a label that 

 goes half way around a can stick is a differ- 

 ent proposition from one that goes all the 

 way around, and the ends lap, or a label on 

 glass when almost anything will stick. 

 Grosvenordale, Ct. Ernest Ryant. 



A Good Paste for Labeling Tin 



To make one cup of paste, melt a piece of 

 glue about the size of a medium hazlenut, or 

 two white beans. Next stir in a large table- 

 spoonful of wheat flour. Mix in cold water, 

 then bring it to a boil and stir. We never 

 had this fail or come off. But if too much 

 glue i& used the label will get stiff and peel 

 off. 



The greatest tool ever used to clean, 

 frames, hives, and sections, is Dr. Miller's 

 large overgrown putty-knife, or piece of a 

 handsaw, two to three inches wide. But I 

 have been waiting ten or fifteen years for 

 some one to tell how to sharpen the edge. 

 The old shoemaker 's way of dulling his steel 

 •for scraping soles is simply to put it in the 

 vise and rub the edge heavily until the 

 corners turn over, making a flatter edge. It 

 works best in cool weather. This tool will 

 keep right on to the wood, and will plane 

 the very varnish off, and will not lead into 

 the wood. Try it. 



Listowell, Ont., Can. C. Mitchell. 



Another Paste for Labeling Tin 



To make paste sufficient for 30 or 40 

 labels, take about four tablespoonfuls of cold 

 water, a small pinch of saleratus, and a 

 lump of laundry starch about the size of 

 a large walnut, and dissolve them together; 

 then put them on the stove and cook to a 

 paste. Use paste while warm, and you will 

 have no trouble about labels coming off. 



Ticonderoga, N. Y. George H. Adkins. 



Wash the Tin with Soda 



Tell your readers that they will have no 

 trouble having labels stick to tin if they 

 will first wash the tin with strong soda wa- 

 ter, and then use good mucilage. 



Forkville, Pa. W. L. Norton. 



94 Pounds Per 



Mrs. Allen, page 969, Dec. 1, 1915, speaks 

 of the average yield per colony in North 

 Carolina being very low, and the quality 

 being nothing to boast of. Yes, that is the 

 general cry; but I think I did pretty well 

 for a poor season. I got an average yield 

 of 94 lbs. per colony of honey that sold for 

 18 and 20 cents per lb. (this was comb hon- 

 ey) and an increase of a little over 57 per 

 cent. Our main honey-flow, the sourwood, 

 was a complete failure. 



Hazel V. Boukemyer. 



Randleman, N. C. 



Blessing in Disguise, after All 

 I had muscular rheumatism in my right 

 leg and arm, and so much that for two years 

 I took electric treatments. My trouble would 

 come and go — come so hard, sometimes that 

 I limped when walking, and my shoulder 

 would ache so that I could not sleep nights. 

 The first year I had bees I was not trou- 

 bled so much, the second year less, and so 

 on until now for over two years I have had 

 no trouble with it at all. I think that the 

 stinging of the bees counteracted the poison 

 that was in my system — any way, it is gone, 

 and I assure you I had plenty of stings to 

 do it, for the bees certainly got at me in 

 good shape. 



Rutland, Vt. J. H. Davenport. 



Eucalyptus Tempting even in Bad Weather 



My bees have been carrying in both honey 

 and pollen every bright day all autumn and 

 winter, and they even fly out into the rain 

 and try to work, as a number of eucalyptus- 

 trees are in bloom, and it is a great tempta- 

 tion to them. I am sure that I am losing 

 quite a number from this cause, but see no 

 way of preventing it. I can catch the odor 

 of new honey when near the hives. 



Millbrae, Cal. W. O. Graeber. 



A Prayer 



My Father, I thank thee for this day 

 Wherein a task was set for me, 



That I might labor, and in my way 

 Share the blessings sent by thee. 



My work may seem quite humble, Lord, 

 To those who do not understand; 



For I care not for worldly hoard. 



Nor noted fame throughout the land. 



O Father! I'm content with these' — 

 My simple home, my garden-plot, 



And daily care I give my bees — 

 Dear Lord, I thank thee for my lot. 



Elsa Rosalind Howell. 



Indianapolis, Ind. 



[This prayer was written by a little girl 

 and was sent to Gleanings by Walter S. 

 Ponder. We are very glad to give it a place 

 bore.— Ed.] 



