NovHMiu:)!, 193 7 



GLEANINGS IN BEE C U li T U K E 



il seems certain that an oinniing above and 

 below would induce ventilation automati- 

 cally whenever outside temperature was 

 either liigher or lower than the temperature 

 in the hive. And that would make it easier 

 for the bees to ventilate if they would take 

 advantage of it. But their instinct seems 

 (o make them circulate the air in such a way 

 as both to draw in and expel the air at the 

 entrance. That makes the ea.se a little un- 

 certain. It's important to know, and some 

 day may be Dr. Phillips will tell us. I'm 

 very confident, however, that in my locality 

 it's a big lielp in hot weather to have big 

 openings both above and below. [If the 

 bees have a certain method of procedure in 

 ventilating by means of which a current of 

 air is foi'ced into one side of the entrance 

 and sucked out at the other side, when you 

 raise the cover do you not make it impossi- 

 ble for them to force the air in on one side 

 and to pull it out on the other? In other 

 words, don't you interfere with their regular 

 scheme? A comm.on pump will not work if 

 there is a leak anywhere in the pump or 

 lining. — Ed.] 



V. L. W., p. 788, wants to feed at an out- 

 yard without cari-ying anything but the dry 

 sugar. Years ago I did so. I put diy 

 sugar into a Miller feeder on the hive, and 

 then poured in water, hot or cold. That's 

 all. The same thing might be done with a 

 friction-top pail having holes punched in 

 the cover. [This may do all right in an 

 emergency; but we believe it would be ad- 

 visable to mix the sugar and water thoroly, 

 and then apply heat, either at the outyard 

 or at home. The trouble Ave found with 

 the plan above is that the sugar does not 

 entirely dissolve in the water. The mix- 

 ture is only a thin syrup. In the fall, 

 especially in the late fall, the syrup should 

 be thick. For early fall feeding, tlie dry 

 sugar and cold water will do very well ; and 

 the thinner the syrup the better for the 

 bees providing it is not too thin. — Ed.] 



I FIRST read about the disappearing dis- 

 eas^ in Australian bee-joui'nals some vears 

 ago, and I understood it was called '' dis- 

 appearing " because of the mysterious dis- 

 appearance of the bees. Xow it is said to 

 be so called because of the sudden disap- 

 pearance of the disease. Which is right? 

 or are both right? [Both are right; and 

 therefore " disappearing disease " is a good 

 name. — Ed,] 



" The bottom-bar of the Hoffman frame 

 is too weak for an extracting-frame. It 

 should either be made thicker or as wide as 

 the end-bars are at the bottom." Thus P. 

 C. Chadwick, p. 700. My frames have bot- 

 tom-bars 1 1-16 wide, same as top and end- 



bars, and they work well for extracting. 

 [The Hoffman frame is used by many 

 honey - producers who run for extracted 

 honey, and who find no fault with the bot- 

 tom-bar as it is. But that is not proving 

 that a wider or stiffer bottom-bar would not, 

 after all, be better. If there are others 

 who side with P. C. Chadwick, let them 

 speak up. — Ed.] 



Mrs. Allen, p. 696, seriously questions 

 the statement of the bulletin, that indis- 

 criminate swarming is the general practice 

 in Tennessee. I accepted her view till a 

 little later she spoke about men trying 

 movable frames, as if box hives were the 

 common thing, and then I didn't fe:l so 

 sure, for box hives and unlimited .swarming 

 are likely to go together. 



Harvkv a. Armbrust has sent me a 

 worker- Dee that is short on eyes. Instead 

 of a compound eye on each side, it has only 

 one, and that is centrally located. He says 

 "I have only about a half dos^en of these 

 one-eyed bees, and they come out at the 

 playspells. When they try to fly they 

 seem always to come down on the grass, 

 and crawl and buzz away and are lost." 



A. I. Root, your estimate of Dr. Barker, 

 p. 798, is all right ; but if you ever hear 

 Billy Sunday you'll revise your opinion 

 as to the comparison of the two men. I've 

 heard both, and in comparison would say 

 that Dr. Barker is a zephyr ai:d Billy Sun- 

 day a cyclone. 



On PAGE 744 I read that an Idaho asso- 

 ciation has sold its honey at 13^2 cents a 

 section, and is offered ViYz a pound for 

 extracted. If the price should continue the 

 same on each, good-by to comb honey. All 

 the better, in these war times. 



J. E. Crane, you say, p. 771. you don't 

 worry if your bees have sugar and ]iollpn, 

 as pollen has the necessary elements for 

 brood. Does pollen have all the necessary 

 minerals contained in honey? I confess I 

 don't know. 



R. F. Holtermann gives the reasons, p. 

 674, for glassing sections, and now I'm 

 wondering whether R. F. will hereafter be 

 a giasser. Anywaj', it's delightful to hear 

 again from so good a man as P. H. Elwood. 



Getting bee-glue off the fingers with 

 gasoline, alcohol, or lava soap is all right, 

 p. 630, and the plan I've generally usrd is 

 often more convenient. Rub well with a 

 little butter, and wash with soap and water. 



My bkes, as I expected, have stored 

 enough for winter, and a little surplus in 

 extracting-combs. But I can't afford' to 

 extract it — worth more to give back to bees 

 next spring. 



