GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



August, 1922 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



then the spiders will catch worms as well 

 as moths, for not a worm ever gets in. I 

 have always believed that when the moth 

 found such an easy entrance she used it in 

 preference to a crack, and met a hearty re- 

 ception from a spider. 



Audubon, Iowa. E. M. Cole. 



[This plan for protection against damage 

 by larvae of the wax moth has been sug- 

 gested from time to time, having been ad- 

 vocated by Langstroth many years ago. 

 Those who try out the plan should keep close 

 watch to be sure that the moths do not get 

 a start, for if there are not enough spiders 

 present there would be great danger of the 

 moth larvae making quick work of the de- 

 struction of the combs. It is well to re- 

 member, in this connection, that moths are 

 less destructive if the combs are spaced wide 

 apart in the hive-bodies and exposed to the 

 light, for the moth larvae prefer darkness. 

 —Editor.] 



ONLY THE NET WEIGHT WILL DO 



Officials Object to Marking Minimum Weight Low- 

 er than AAual Weight 



Our good friend Crane writes in January 

 Gleanings of marking the actual net weight 

 in ounces upon each section, whereas he 

 holds that the U. S. law is satisfied with the 

 minimum weight idea. Mr. Crane 's argu- 

 ments are based upon common sense and 

 justice; but it is easier first to say, ''not 

 less than 12 oz., " or "minimum weight 12 

 oz.," than to mark 12, 13, 14, or 15 oz. on 

 each, as the case might be. We thought so 

 at any rate and followed the practice for a 

 season, when we were taken to task by the 

 departments of Aveights and measures of 

 Massachusetts and New York for violation 

 of the established laws. We were told that 

 no such thing as ^'minimum tceight" or "not 

 less than" would do. In fact, nothing 

 would do but the actual net weight, allow- 

 ing a leeway both ways. In other words, 

 a section weighing 12 1^ oz. might be marked 

 12 oz. or 13 oz. (Our practice is to mark it 

 12 oz.) A section weighing 12% oz. might 

 be marked 13 oz., etc. We were not prose- 

 cuted or fined on account of our violating 

 the law, but we have been careful that we 

 did not get caught again. 



It is not a great liardship thus to mark 

 the sections; we found we did not have to 

 weigh each one; for after a little practice 

 we were able to tell by the feeling in 

 which class a section belonged; and to guard 

 against possible mistakes we would occa- 

 sionally place one upon the little postal 

 scales standing on tlie worktnble by our 

 side. This requires but a moment's time. 

 This grading according to the weight is be- 

 ing done while we are cleaning our sections 

 from propolis; then we are ready to arrange 



them in our shipping cases or carton them 

 first, if that is to be done. 



The shipping cases are marked only with 

 the kind of honey they contain, clover, 

 buckwheat, or what not, and the number 

 of ounces each box therein weighs — thus, 

 clover, 12 oz.; or buckwheat, 14 oz.; amber, 

 15 oz., etc. We have abstained from using 

 the word fancy or No. 1 or No. 2. When a 

 case is marked 15 or 16 oz. it might be sup- 

 posed that that was fancy; whereas, if 10 

 oz. appeared thereon, that was equal to a 

 No. 2 or worse. This course has been satis- 

 factory to us and the purchasers. 



If sections are to be cartoned, each sec- 

 tion should either first be marked with the 

 number of ounces and with the initials or 

 name of the producer before it goes into the 

 carton, or else the carton should be sealed 

 and the weight stamped on the carton. 



Naples, N. Y. F. Greiner. 



no^Rp 



TREATMENT OR DESTRUCTION 



American Foul Brood Can be Eliminated from the 

 Apiary by Careful Treatment 



I should appreciate your making a slight 

 correction to the article entitled "Comb 

 Lovers and Fire Worshippers, ' ' published in 

 the June issue, pages 379-380. Mr. McMurry 

 in writing the article was depending on 

 memory in his statement that "we have not 

 a single case on record where a beekeeper, 

 even the best of them, has been able to 

 eliminate American foul brood from his 

 yard by the shaking method." While the 

 point Mr. McMurry wishes to make is cor- 

 rect, that the results from destruction were 

 more satisfactory than those of treatment, 

 the statement itself gives a wrong impres- 

 sion. In fact, we have 27 cases on record in 

 the office in which in four counties during 

 the past three years, beekeepers have suc- 

 ceeded in eliminating American foul brood 

 completely from their yards by treating the 

 bees instead of destroying them. It is unques- 

 tionably possible to clean up disease in this 

 way. Tlie fact that it is not done oftener 

 is due to the economical tendencies of cer- 

 tain beekeepers, revealed in the fact that 

 they apply treatment instead of destroying 

 their colonies. The difference is in the state 

 of mind rather than in the impossibility of 

 success by using the ordinary methods of 

 treatment. We have found that, whenever 

 a beekeeper undertakes to eliminate Ameri- 

 can foul brood but tries to save the maxi- 

 mum possible amount of equipment and bees, 

 he is sure to save something which is in- 

 fected. For this reason the percentage of 

 successful cures is less than when the bee- 

 keeper approaches the problem from the 

 standpoint of eliminating every possible or 

 conceivable source of infection. 



Madison, Wis. S. B. Fracker. 



