582 



GLEANTNaS IN BEE CULTURE 



September, 1022 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



persisted in prescribing honey and in rec- 

 ommending its use freely by those who are 

 well in order to keep well and by those 

 who are sick in order to get well. Perhaps 

 these wise men have long known the germ- 

 destroying power of honey. AVho knows but 

 that the wise Solomon knew a few things 

 when he advised his people to "Eat thou 

 honey because it is good." — Prov. xxiv:13. 



A "wise one" of much experience said, 

 "If you have any sort of kidnej^ trouble, 

 cut out all forms of sweets except honey, 

 and see- what Avill happen." 



Madison, Wis. H. L. McMurry. 



A PLUCKY WOMAN BEEKEEPER 



A Representative from South Africa Visits the 

 Home of the Honeybees 



About a year ago we received a letter 

 from Miss Ada E. Pullinger, Grabauw, Elgin, 

 Cape Province, South Africa, one of the 

 leading beekeepers of the Union of South 



Miss Ada E. Pullinsjer of Soulli Africa at the 

 Home of the Honeybees. 



Africa, asking if it would be possible to re- 

 ceive her as a student in bee culture at our 

 Medina apiary. She said that slie would be 

 willing to take hold of the work if we would 

 give lier the opportunity. There was somo- 

 tliiiig about her letter that indicated not 

 only real love and entliusiasm for tlie bees, 

 but that she was a person of superior intel- 

 ligence. As a general thing we do not take 

 students in our apiaries; but I told our 

 l)eople that here was a person to whom we 

 could make an exception to our general 

 rule. A cordial invitation was extended; 

 and in due time, after some six weeks of 



travel by boat and train, she arrived at Me- 

 dina from licr far-off home. 



When she first came I started to give her 

 instructions in the rudiments of bee culture, 

 thinking she was, perhaps, a beginner. But 

 it did not take me long to discover that she 

 knew as much about bees as I did. All she 

 wanted of us was to see and learn how we 

 handle bees in America, particularly at the 

 Home of the Honeybees. She proved to be 

 an apt student, winning the admiration and 

 respect of all who came in contact with her. 



She could take a severe stinging better 

 than any other wom-an I ever saw. She was 

 absolutely fearless. She took hold of h;ird 

 work, and even brought down a swarm from 

 the top of a ladder. Slie did more thnn her 

 share of the work. 



She not only carries on beekeeping opera- 

 tions on a large way in South Africa, but 

 she is quite an extensive poultry-raiser. She 

 lias carried off first prizes, not only on bees 

 and honey, but on fancy poultry, at South 

 African shows. 



She spent several weeks with us, and then 

 took a trip to Washington to make a visit 

 to Dr. Phillips, of the Bureau of Entomology. 

 She went back to her home with the best 

 wishes of all those whom she met. Glean- 

 ings hopes" it may have the privilege of 

 hearing from lier from time to time. 



Medina, Ohio. E. R. Root. 



FERMENTATION IN HONEY 



How this Trouble Can be Avoided by Proper Ripen- 

 ing and Heating 



Fermenting honey on the hives or else- 

 Avhere is rare liereabouts, regardless of Avhen 

 it is extracted. In one instance within my 

 recollection, a producer extracted every six 

 days, tanked it in the house, and there was 

 some fermentation, which was remedied 

 when the tank was placed out-of-doors in 

 tlie sunshine. In my own locations, there 

 is seldom u very heavy flow; so we prefer 

 to tier up, and if we get a little beliind 

 with our work, sometimes it is practically 

 all capped. However, it is a fact that with 

 this tiering up, in an arid climate, there 

 may not be so much capped honey as when 

 not tiered so high, though the honey will be 

 ripened better. By tiering up in this way 

 tlie bees are read_y for a heavy flow, such as 

 sometimes comes for a few days; while on 

 such occasions, the man with a scanty sup- 

 ply of supers on the hives may lose heavih"- 

 from lack of storage room. 



In the Salt River Valley of Arizona, un- 

 der some conditions, the ripening honey in 

 the hives will ferment and even run out of 

 the entrance, after which work by that col- 

 ony ceases, unless the sour honey is ex- 

 tracted. This honey is heated after ex- 



