G L E A N 1 K G S IX BEE CULT U K E 



OcTUUER 1920 



ITAMINES 



VlTAMliNli;s 

 in Hoiiev! 

 Hurrah! But 

 hold on a mo- 

 ment: it does 

 not appear to be 

 in the extracted 

 h o n e 3" but in 

 comb honey, and 

 we have always 

 IxH'u told that wax is indijjestihU 



S 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane 



3 



LJ 



U 



even sulphuric aeid Clan )U)t dissolve it. 

 And now comes the news that rats on a 

 starvation diet can get enough vitamines 

 out of comb honey to thrive. How many 

 tlieories, supposed to be true have been 

 l)roved by the lime light of scientific in- 

 vestigation to be defective, or only in part 

 true! But I have been wondering since 

 reading Mrs. Puerden 's account of vita- 

 mines, whether the clear honey used in 

 these investigations was not bottled honey 

 that had been sterilized to prevent granu- 

 lation, which might be the cause of finding 

 few or no vitamines in honey without the 

 comb. 



Dr. Miller's plan for the preventio)i of 

 after-swarms, page i53+, is simple and effec- 

 tive, and would, I believe, in most sections 

 prove entirely satisfactory. But w^hy have 

 first swarms? We bought last spring 30 

 colonies in odd-sized hives just for increase. 

 As fast as a colony became strong enough, 

 I would shake the bees into a new hive 

 and place the hive of brood-combs in the 

 place of another stroug colony. As goon 

 as the colony that had been moved to make 

 room for the one I had shaken, was strong 

 enough I would shake it and place it on the 

 stand of another hive, usually one that had 

 been shaken before. By this method 

 swarming has been almost wholly elimin- 

 ated, only one swarm issuing. The colonies 

 nearly doubled, with honey enough for 

 winter in most of them and considerable 

 surplus from new colonies. This method is 

 not, I believe, new, but proves to be one 

 of the simplest and easiest I have ever 

 tried. I can usually shake a swarm from 

 their combs much quicker than hive the 

 average swarm. 



That field of annual sweet clover certain- 

 ly makes a great show on page 560. 

 "Well," I said to myself, "it may grow 

 like that in the far western soils, but not 

 here in Vermont;" for T had sent for some 

 of the seed after reading what was said 

 of it in the June number of Gleanings and 

 was surprised at its small growth during 

 June and July. Not having seen it for 

 some time I thought I would go and look 

 at it before throwing stones or saying any- 

 thing to discredit it, when to my great 

 surprise I found it on the last of August 

 breast-high or over four feet by actual 

 measurement and well branched and begin- 

 ning to bloom. It was sown June 10, and 

 on July 10 had made but little growth; but 



that geonietrical progression. 



d n r i ng August 

 had spread itself 

 like a gi'een 

 bay tree. It is 

 d u b t f ul if it 

 m a t u r es simmI, 

 but I can s c c 

 what it is like. 

 It seems to grow 

 by tiie rule of 



Cheer up, brother and sister beekeepers! 

 for we are told on page 522 that ' ' there 

 never was a time in the history of beedom" 

 when the future looked brighter for the 

 beekeeper than now ' ' — and this in spite of 

 foul brood, winter losses, the high cost of 

 supplies, and all the other vexations attend- 

 ing our pursuit. It was indeed something 

 of a surprise to be told that the bottling of 

 honey has developed more than 1,000 per 

 cent in the last few years. That is going 

 some. But when I read on page 542 how 

 one beekeeper in southern California pro- 

 duced 74,000 pounds from 280 colonies, it 

 looks as tho it would require a good many 



bottles to taHe all that is produced. 



* * * 



That editorial beginning on page 521, 

 "Good Honey Versus Sugar for Winter 

 Food, ' ' is well worth reading several times 

 by every young beekeeper and some old 

 ones. We have usually had very fair suc- 

 cess with sugar stores for winter, but after 

 watching carefully for the last few years 

 I am more and more satisfied there is noth- 

 ing better for winter stores than early 

 clover honey. While sugar syrup is often 

 cheaper than honey, it costs a good deal of 

 time and money to feed a thousand colonies, 

 the most of them from three to twelve 

 miles from home. And the loss of the vital- 

 ity of the bees in storing and ripening 15 or 

 20 pounds of sugar syrup in the fall when 

 they should be kept as quiet as possible, 

 is no small item, for it shortens their lives 



just that amount in the spring. 



* * * 



That short sketch (page S.'JO) of the life 

 of Prof. Emilio Schenk is of unusual inter 

 est. We have those in this country who go 

 out to teach beekeeping, but their expenses 

 are paid, with a good salary besides. But 

 here is a man that gives his time and 

 traveling expenses for the good he may do. 

 Evidently he has not neglected his family, 

 for that picture (page 530) is one of the 

 very choicest I have seen in many a day. 

 I hope we may hear from him and catch 

 something of his spirit, for it seems to be 



tlie spirit of the Master. 



* * * 



The Vermont beekeepers held a picnic or 

 field day at the home of Geo. C. Spencer 

 near Lake Champlain in Addison County on 

 Aug. 25. There was a large and enthusi- 

 astic attendance. Mr. Selser of Philadel- 

 phia was present and added much to the 

 interest of the occasion. 



