SkI'TKMLIEK. 1921 



(.4 I. K A X I X G S 



X i; K K (' r L T L' U K 



HEADS O F GR A I N TI?P^i;irD'IFFERENTJ7IELDS 



Should Be Hlston axcmic, Cliic-ago, 



Honey Avenue, may sonn- day be called by 

 a iiiiu-li swcH'toi'-soundiiig 

 iiaiiu'. This is iiiiiiiiiu'iit bocauso of the 

 honey that is being raised along both sides 

 of this great pnblie liighvvay, wliicli quite 

 recently has been iinjiroved and is attract- 

 ing heavy motor travel. Cook county bee- 

 keepers long since found the advantage of 

 selling tlu' products of their apiai'ies direct 

 to the Cdusunierj and they are doing it today 



MHiri' than i'\i'r before. 'J'liis rci.-id ;inil its 

 tributaries in\;ide the fifteent liousand- 

 acre forest jncserxc of Cook county. There 

 is a woinlerfnl \ariety of bloom in and out 

 of the forest, now i)reserved for all time for 

 the people. When the different tiacts of 

 land were l)0Ugiit to add to the ]ii('ser\(', 

 many beekeeping plants were found in hid- 

 ing, as it were. These are opeiated liy pri- 

 vate hands. Some of them are close to fine 

 (dd orchards. The bees seem to ha\'e no 

 end of fine prospects. Automobile parties 

 stop at such apiaries and stock uj) their 

 sweet supply, which turns out to be a good 

 thing for seller and buyei-. J. Jj. Craff. 

 Ravi'uswood, Chicago, 111. 



when the occasion r('(|uires except in the 

 case of old bees when tliev need a cleansing 

 flight. 



Then what doi's this washboard action 

 of bees really signify? Simply that var- 

 nishing is being done, cracks filled, and 

 things made slick and clean. I agree with 

 Mr. Latham that this action is more preva- 

 lent after the honey How. I also agree with 

 him as to the age of the bees in question, 

 namely, those of the wax-working age. That 

 the wax-workers are also the varnishers is a 

 recognized fact. We find much more var- 

 nish or propolis on our sections of honey at 

 the close of the honey flow than at a time 

 when nectar is (lowing abundantly, because 

 at that time tlio wax scales are plentiful, 

 and the builders need not resort to other 

 substances to finish their work. ^Vt this time 

 whe]i comb-building should cease and var- 

 nishing begin, the bees seem to blend the 

 two and make yellow bitter combs. 



I call this jieculiar washboard .-tction a 

 necessity, since it is their way of j)utting 

 the hive into a sanitary condition, and of 

 preiiaring for winter by sealing cracks and 

 covering objectionable matter. I once laid 

 a new piece of section near the entrance of 

 a . beehive, and before night it was cov- 

 ered with a thin coat of the so-called var- 

 nish. C. F. Wieneke. 



Fairfax, Iowa. 



Stimulating We increase the coiisuniidion 

 Greater Use of honey by means of printed 

 of Honey circulars which describe the 



different kinds of honey, its 

 consistency, its use as a food and medicine, 

 and superiority over other sweets. These 

 circulars are given out to all customers. 

 They are also given to merchants to dis- 

 tribute to all purchasers. The result of this 

 is that, during the next season, the demand 

 for honey is usually about three times as 

 great. This should speak for itself. 

 Roxbury, N. Y. M. E. Ballard. 



The Washboard 1 have a little coninu'nt to 

 Action of Bees make on the article by Al- 

 len Latham (page 152, 

 :March, l!)21, Cleanings) entitled " Wash- 

 l)Oard Actions of Bees.'' I do not believe 

 that he is right in his theory that they are 

 sinqily working off excess energy. After 

 giving this peculiar action a careful study, I 

 ha\(' couii' to the conclusion that the bt'cs are 

 simply iierforming necessary work of which 

 I will speak later. As far as comparing the 

 movements of the bees to the activity of 

 a wild caged animal, T think h(> is sur(d>' 

 mistaken. We have long recognized the 

 fact that bees relax into semiinactivil \' 



Color of Paint 1 like red paint for painting 

 for Hives. hive bottoms, as it is cheap- 



er ;ind does not show the 

 dirt so much as whitt-. It is also fine for 

 the inside of the cover. If I wer( using all 

 tight-bottom hives I would jiaint all the 

 lower body and the brood-chamber red, and 

 keep the supers and covers white. Bees will 

 winter 20 per cent better and average one 

 frame of brood more in the spring in red 

 hives than in white liives, but the red hives 

 aic hotter in summer. Chas. S. Kinzie. 



Arlington, Calif. 



