732 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



December, 1920 



W^ 



rE used to 

 grade 

 _ queens by 

 the amount of 

 yellow rings on 

 the bodies of 

 their worker 

 offsprings, but 

 E. J. Ladd, Port- 

 land, Ore., 



grades them by the number of frames they 

 will fill with brood. He says on page 673 

 ' ' S-frame queens now are not satisfactory. 

 Those who know want a 16 to a 20 frame 



queen. ' ' 



* * * 



The beekeepers of the country are to be 

 congratulated on present prices of honey. 

 While sugar has dropped 50 per cent in the 

 last few months honey prices still hold up 



fairly well. 



* * « 



After reading the beautiful tributes of 

 many beekeepers in November Gleanings in 

 Bee Culture, I found myself saying over and 

 over to myself, almost unconsciously, "Dr. 

 Miller died rich." 



» * * 



One of the pleasant things about bottling 

 honey is that many who at first buy a few 

 ounces of honey in a bottle, write, wanting 

 to know what it will cost them in five, 10, 

 or 20 pound packages, and so our trade keeps 



increasing. 



* *, * 



I am in full sympathy with J. T. Bartlett, 

 page 661, in his disgust with the retail honey 

 dealer that had the ill manners to tell him 

 how much honey he should use on his table. 

 If there is anything that starts my ire, it is 

 to have a stranger come into my house and 

 tell me what I ought to do and what of his 

 wares I ought to buy. He is wasting his 

 time and mine, too. 



* * * 



On page 649 the Editor says: "We will 

 admit that sugar stores fed early, and sealed 

 in the comb, are equal to or possibly better 

 during the coldest part of the winter when 

 bees are not breeding; but after that, honey 

 stores are unquestionably better." This is 

 doubtless as near the truth as it is possible 

 to state the matter of winter food for bees. 



I have many times heard beekeepers say 

 that bees consumed more honey in winter 

 when they could fly, because they could re- 

 lieve their intestines of waste matter, and 

 in consequence require more honey to fill 

 them. It would be better to think of the 

 greater loss of honey when bees can fly 

 freely as the result of increased activity. 

 When bees are active during winter there is 

 likely to be a loss of vitality as well as 

 honey. It is better to keep them as quiet as 

 possible. W. L. Porter of Caldwell, Ida., gives 

 some very interesting facts and experience 



in burying bees 



in the ground 



for winter. This 



would seem to be 



a very practical 



way, especially 



in a dry section 



of country. My 



brother and I 



tried it over 50 



years ago with very satisfactory results, but 



great care should be taken to see that the 



pit or clamp is thoroly drained. 



Ah! Mrs. Constance Eoot Boj'den! I am 

 glad you have removed your veil. Thank 

 you. We have had our suspicions for some 

 time. But I just wanted to thank you for 

 making that matter of vitamines so plain 

 on page 669, so we who are not quick to see 

 can understand. I talked with a representa- 

 tive of The A. I. Eoot Company not long ago, 

 who seemed to know you well, and he told 

 me that you had the genius and enthusiasm 

 of your father running strong in your veins. 

 Well, I can well believe it. Your depart- 

 ment in Gleanings proves it. 



* * * 



If one colony filled that pile of supers 

 with comb honey, as illustrated on cover 

 page of Gleanings for November, it certainly 

 did a big thing. How such an exhibit would 

 take at state or county fairs! Grace Allen, 

 on page 672, tells of making such an exhibit, 

 altho her exhibit was from two. hives. Now, 

 wouldn 't it be an inducement to offer a gen- 

 erous premium for the largest amount of 

 comb honey from one hive, also the largest 

 amount of extracted honey from a single 

 hive, the honey in both cases to be on ex- 

 hibition? 



* * * 



In our postoffice is a notice which reads 

 as follows: "Insure your packages. Value 

 $5.00, 3 cents; $10.00, 7 cents; $25.00, 10 

 cents;" and so on up. Now, as I understand 

 it, it means, if it means anything, that the 

 post office department will receive packages 

 and will forward them for their regular 

 rates, but will not be responsible for their 

 safe delivery unless they are insured. If 

 lost, stolen, or destroyed, the person has no 

 redress or satisfaction, but will be told, "It 

 was not insured." Now what would we 

 think to see such a notice posted up in an 

 express or freight office? Would it increase 

 our respect for such transportation agencies? 

 Would we not expect such a notice to cover 

 innumerable cases of theft, carelessness, and 

 incompetency? Should we think otherwise 

 because it is a department of the govern- 

 ment? Is it not a tacit invitation to care- 

 less clerks to be careless? To dishonest 

 clerks and deliverymen to steal? We ship 

 a good deal of honey thru the mails, or try 

 to; but have come to the conclusion that the 

 millennium is not yet here. 



