1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



435 



when put into pails, and there is no excuse 

 for it. I have bought honey more than once, 

 however, that had this objectionable fea- 

 ture. 

 Brussels, Ont. 



[It is these simple cheap devices that help 

 to lighten the burden, and at the same time 

 increase our profits in the bee business. So 

 simple a thing as a clothespin, applied at the 

 right time, is often overlooked. I have oft- 

 en seen my mother strain out starch pre- 

 cisely in this way; and the illustration here- 

 with will be a reminder to bee-keepers how 

 they can strain their honey. —Ed.] 



to yield a crop of honey. The average has 

 been abaut 40 or 50 lbs. per colony, although 

 as much as 150 lbs. of extracted honey has 

 been obtained per hive. The honey is most- 

 ly light amber. Several varieties of the 

 sages are to be found in the hills, and afford 

 good pasturage for bees. Other honey- se- 

 creting flowers abound. 



Mr. K. finds that it does not pay to use 

 the solar extractor for any thing but cap- 

 pings and new combs. For old combs he 

 uses a Germaa wax-press. Before he began 

 the use of the latter he believes he must 

 have thrown away over $L0O worth of old 

 combs. 



THE HOME OF PATRICK KEATING NEAR HACIENDA, CAL, THE APIARY IS A FEW FEET UP 

 THE HILL, PARTIALLY SHOWN AT THE LEFT. 



A VISIT TO A CALIFORNIA APIARY. 

 The Use of Beeswax among Horticulturists. 



BY W. A. PRYAL. 



I am sending you several pictures show- 

 ing the apiary, home, and a solar wax-ex- 

 tractor belonging to Mr. Pat Keating. His 

 property is known as the Pat Keating farm. 

 He has kept bees at New Almaden some 15 

 years, but before coming to California he 

 was in the business at his old home in Coun- 

 ty Tipperary, Ireland, where he used a hive 

 much like those he now uses, except that 

 they were more like the double- walled hives 

 used in the Eastern States. 



This California apiary has contained as 

 many as 200 colonies, and has never failed 



The wax-extractor pictured is 4 ft. long, 

 2 ft. 4 inches wide, and 2 ft. deep. A sheet 

 of Russia iron, three-quarters the size of 

 the inside of the box, and raised to about 

 six inches of the top, supports the combs to 

 be melted. Six or eight combs can be in- 

 serted at once, and, if new, will melt down 

 in a very short time. Mr. Keating sells all 

 his old and black wax to a man in Santa 

 Clara Valley, who makes a business of man- 

 ufacturing grafting-wax. As stated before 

 by me, the valley just named is one of the 

 largest and best fruit-growing localities in 

 the world, consequently much beeswax is 

 used by its horticulturists. The wax-maker 

 referred to seems to prefer the old wax for 

 his purpose. 



San Francisco, Cal. 



