GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



or necessary to give here. the full details, be- 

 fnuse we have asked her to prepare an 

 article for Gleanings, telling- just how she 

 proceeds. But for the present, at least, 

 we may say that she produces comb honey 

 by dequeening her colonies, then cutting 

 out cells nine days afterAvard. In answer 

 to repeated questions she said that she 

 could not discover that the queenless colo- 

 nies were much inferior to those operated by 

 other methods and with queens. She has 

 worked out a system of dequeening colonies 

 for the production of comb honey that 

 seems to give remaikable results in lier 

 locality and with her management. She 

 and another woman do all the work, run- 

 ning a series of outyards, producing very 

 fine comb honey, and that, too, without any 

 swarming. 



DIFFERENCE IN COLONIES IN THE PRODUCTION 

 OF COMB HONEY. 



-^ It was clearly shoAvn thruout the discus- 

 sion that there is quite a difference between 

 different colonies in the production of comb 

 honey. Some that are Avell adapted for 

 extracted are not fitted at all for comb. 

 Colonies that produce dark-colored cap- 

 pings, or are inclined to swarm, should be 

 run for extracted. Those that show the 

 best results in previous years in the pro- 

 duction of comb should be selected for 

 comb honey. 



In this connection the color of the cap- 

 pings received considerable consideration. 

 Some argued that the dark cappings are 

 caused by too little ventilation. Others 

 held that the strain of bees and the season 

 have something to do Avith it. It was 

 stated that a slow floAv causes darker-looking 

 comb honey than where the nectar comes 

 in rapidly. 



EFFICIENT BEEKEEPING. 



This question was handled in a masterly 

 manner by Mr. E. S. Miller, of Valparaiso, 

 Indiana. Mr. Miller called attention to 

 the Avasteful methods employed by many 

 beekeepers, and he explained hoAv, by the 

 use of proper tools and equipment, with 

 the right kind of planning one may very 

 greatly increase the crops Avith the same 

 labor. He mentioned a case particularly 

 of one beekeeper who was kept busy thru- 

 out the season taking care of 60 colonies. 

 Avhile another, his successor, took care of 

 400 colonies in the same locality, with an 

 expenditure of time equivalent to only two 

 days in the w^eek, the rest of the time being 

 devoted to another business. This called 

 forth a liA'ely challenge from several, and 

 then it developed that Mr. Miller Avas the 

 man who Avas able to accomplish the feat. 

 Mr. Miller is manager of a local telephone 



company, and is not only a trained business 

 man but a good beekeeper. Just hoAv he 

 is able to accomi^lish so much work with 

 so little labor he Avill explain later on in 

 Gleanings. When the question was rais- 

 ed whether it Avas possible for him in so 

 small an allotment of time to do good Avork 

 among so many colonies, a neighbor of 

 his, Mr. Bull, said he actually knew that 

 he did do it. 



CHOOSING A location. 



This Avas admirably handled by Ira D. 

 Bartlett, of East Jordan, Mich. In the 

 order of their importance he puts the man 

 first, location second, equipment third. 

 The locality and the man must Avork to- 

 gether. The flora is of paramount im- 

 portance'. It is desirable to have a suc- 

 cession of honey-producing plants to build 

 up the bees in the sj^ring, to jjrovide good 

 forage in the height of the season Avhen the 

 main crop is secured, and a fall flow if 

 ]iossible to put the bees in proper condition 

 for Avinter. A protected spot in the local- 

 ity is essential. He Avould have Avoods or 

 shrubbery around the apiary, not only to 

 protect the bees but to give them an oppor- 

 tunity to get out in early sjDring to get 

 jiollen. ProximitA' to water is important, 

 but he avoids putting the yards in a Ioav 

 damp place. If possible the locality should 

 be where there are good roads, churches, 

 and schools. He does not place the bees 

 too near a lake or stream. Many bees are 

 lost by dropping on the surface of the 

 Avater. 



A southeast or southern slope is best. The 

 apiai-y should be placed on the ujiper part 

 and the honey-house and buildings on the 

 loAver. Mr. Bartlett places the hives in 

 long roAvs for convenience in shoving a 

 Avheelbarrow from one hiA^e to another 

 Avhen loading on supers. When asked 

 AA'hether bees placed in long rows ao not 

 drift more or less he admitted that this 

 might be true, but his hives are far enough 

 apart (ten feet) so that it does not cause 

 any trouble. 



A SCHEME FOR EQUALIZING COLONIES. 



Mr. Bartlett then went on to tell how he 

 had equalized his colonies one season by 

 putting a weak one in place of the strong, 

 causing the flying bees of the strong to 

 join the Aveak. He admitted that this re- 

 quired a great deal of care to prevent some 

 brood from being neglected in the stronger 

 colony ; but he never made it a practice to 

 equalize them except in warm or hot 

 Aveather. 



This brought out considerable discus- 

 sion, but thru it all Mr. Bartlett held his 

 point Avell. We have asked him (o describe 



