n I, E \ \ T X O S T K B E E C V L T f R E 



•TAxr.\F<v 1921 



III FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



fortable. Secretary Millen being especially 

 busy. We were fortunate in having Dr. 

 Phillips with us as well as Mr- Demuth, his 

 late associate at Washington, D. C. Both 

 these gentlemen gave very instructive ad- 

 dresses on bee-behavior, wintering of bees, 

 etc. Mr. Kelty of Michigan also gave a 

 splendid address along the lines of diagnos- 

 ing the two foul brood diseases, and if any 

 one who heard this address does not now 

 have a knowledge of the symptoms of the 

 brood diseases, it isn't Mr. Kelty 's fault. 



One of the outstanding points of interest 

 at the convention was the Markle extractor 

 placed on exhibition by the Hamm brothers 

 of Brantford, Out. Some improvements are 

 noticeable, as compared with the machine 

 shown in Toronto two years ago, and with- 

 out exception, so far as I could find out by 

 inquiry, every person that saw the machine 

 was of the opinion that it would entirely 

 revolutionize the honey-extractor of the fu- 

 ture. The eight baskets of the machine 

 are all very rigidly constructed and yet are 

 not clumsy. With one hand they can be 

 lifted out of the sockets for cleaning or 

 other purposes. Nothing is in evidence at 

 the top of the machine except the baskets, 

 so every facility is present for rapid work. 

 But the great feature of the machine is the 

 wonderful reversing action which is con- 

 trolled by a foot lever. By simply touching 

 the control lever the combs can be reversed 

 just as often as one wishes; and, what is 

 more wonderful, these changes can be made 

 while the extractor is at full speed, and with 

 no injury to the combs- While the machine 

 is spinning rapidly, the reversing action 

 takes place so smoothly and quietly that no 

 jar is noticed to the machine, and one 's eyes 

 have to follow the baskets very closely to 

 notice the changing of position. 



The beauty of the mechanism as to re- 

 versing so easily and rapidly comes in verv 

 nicely when handling heavy combs of thick 

 honey or newly drawn combs. One side can 

 be partially extracted, the comb reversed, 

 and the process repeated as often as one 

 wishes till the combs are clear of honey. All 

 who have extracted much honey know just 

 what that means. Another feature applies to 

 the matter of setting the comb baskets at 

 any angle desired. Experiments prove that 

 combs placed at a certain angle offer less 

 resistance to the air when the machine is in 

 motion, and consequently cells are etnptied 

 more easily and more quickly than with the 

 old-style baskets. As stated, the baskets are 

 readily adjusted by set screws at the bot- 

 tom, if I remember correctly. The foregoing 

 observations are given from memory aiid 

 by one who has little if any mechanical in- 

 genuity; so, if some slight errors have been 

 made in this short write-up, the manufac- 

 turers, or any others for that matter, Will 

 please consider where it came from. How- 



ever, I regard this machine as a wonderful 

 invention, and I sincerely hope that the man 

 responsible for the improvements may reap 

 a rich reward for his work. J. L. Byer. 

 Markham, Ont. 



In Iowa "^^^ unexpected has again 



happened. The bees were 

 not snugly put away in the cellar until to- 

 day, Dec. 15. They were flying Dec. 13, after 

 a heavy thunder shower, which that night 

 turned into a light flurry of snow, this most 

 ly melting off the next day. This is the 

 latest we have ever left our bees out. Our 

 records show Dee. 6 as the next latest, and 

 more often about Nov. 20, 



In my last letter to Gleanings I said the 

 demand for honey was very moderate. Since 

 that was written conditions have grown 

 worse, and I now say the demand is very 

 extremely and decidedly moderate. In fact, 

 it has moderated until it is so quiet that 

 you can scarcely hear anything that sounds 

 like honey. I have never seen such a condi- 

 tion since I have been in the bee business. 

 I have about 350 mail-order customers, and 

 under ordinary circumstances these would 

 have taken all I produced. By Jan. 1, 1920, 

 I had disposed of about 23,000 pounds of 

 honey and could have sold more- I have 

 sent out my second batch of price lists, 

 with the price somewhat reduced from the 

 first (something I have never done before), 

 but can see nothing gained as yet from do- 

 ing so. I doubt very much if the slashing of 

 prices would do any good under present 

 conditions. It just seems that people are 

 not buying honey. The fact of the matter 

 is that everybody is buying just ns little 

 as possible, and that little is what they 

 must have. Honey is not the only thing 

 that is a drag, and beekeepers should not 

 get discouraged or excited and slash i)rices 

 clear below reason. It would only make 

 matters worse, and the beekeeping frater- 

 nity would all suffer alike. The present con- 

 ditions cannot always last. We may have 

 to lower our prices in some instances, but 

 don't let us lose our heads and slash the 

 price away below cost of production. If you 

 do, remember the big buyers will gobble it 

 mightv onick, and you have gone a long way 

 to destroy fair honey prices. 



I read Mr- Chas. Blaker's contribution 

 to this department last month with much 

 interest, especially what, he had to say in 

 condemnation of the inspector 's work being 

 solely educational, and doing away with 

 the inspection of bees and the law. Amen. 

 I hope Minnesota will never be so foolish 

 as to nullify the law giving the inspector 

 authority to inspect bees and to see that 

 the fellow who has foul brood cleans it 

 up. W. S. Pangburn. 



Center Junction. Iowa. 



