1054 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



since then my honey has been stored in the 

 hottest room possible." 



"But you do not lug all youi* honey up- 

 stairs, do you?" 



"No. But I know of several bee-keepers 

 who do, and of some who have elevators for 

 the purpose, which saves this lugging." 



"How do you manage youi'sV ' 



"Soon after tinding out that honey must 

 be kept in a warm room to keep perfect, I 

 built me a shop and honey-house combined, 

 locating the room for comb honey in the 

 southwest corner, and painting the outside, 

 or the south antl west sides to this room (on 

 the outside) a dark color, so that the rays of 

 the sun would be absorbed; and when I had 

 one or more tons of honey in this room the 

 heat absorbed by the honey during the day 

 would carry or hold over night, so that I 

 had a continuous temperature of from 75 to 

 95 degrees, day and night for weeks, or till 

 the honey was crated and marketed." 



' ' Do you keep your honey there now '/ ' ' 



"No.' When I sold out I had to build a 

 honey-room again, so I put a lean-to on the 

 south side of the barn. Want to see it V " 



"Yes, please." 



"Well, here we are." 



"W^hew I but this is awfully hot." 



"Somewhat warmer than the shade of the 

 old basswood, I admit." 



"How hot is it '! " 



"A glance at the thermometer there will 

 tell you." 



"Just an even 100, as I live." 



"Yes, this room often goes up to 100 de- 

 grees, as the whole outside, roof and all, is 

 painted with red paint, which makes it fully 

 as hot as if bla(^k wei"e used." 



"But don't the honey ever melt down 

 here ? ' ' 



"Never, so far." 



"And does the honey keep .good here Y" 



"Never had any thing equal it." 



"How much did such a lean-to cost ? " 



"The material cost a))out $55.00: but as 

 half of it is for my automobile-room, as you 

 will notice, $30 to $35 should cover the ex- 

 pense of the material for a honey-room large 

 enough for the honey from 50 to 100 colo- 

 nies." 



"Surely, there is your auto. And that 

 picture in the August 1st Gleanings is per- 

 fect too. And you can run it, with its load 

 of honey, right in here, with the honey right 

 in the honey-room, just where you want it. 

 My ! but that's handy ! " 



"Yes; and when it is so muddy that I can 

 not use the auto I drive the horse and wagon 

 right in here on the barn floor, when it 

 comes through this door almost as easily as 

 it unloads from the auto." 



"That's so. And in no case do you have 

 to carry the supers of honey more than from 

 five to eight feet. But, say ! the tempera- 

 ture in this barn almost feels cold after com- 

 ing out of that honey-room. I had never 

 thought of a lean-to for a honey-room; and 

 I have got a barn situated similar to this, 

 and I can fix things all right. A lean-to I 

 must have, and I will have one for my honey. 



No more leaky, watery, sour honey on my 

 plate." 



"All right. But let me just whisper that 

 you put your sleepers and abutments untler 

 your floor thick enough and strong enough 

 to sustain the weight of honey you may 

 chance to have should a good year come 

 when you pile the room full." 



m 







ANTS THE GREATEST ENEMY OF BEES. 



Especially those in the Troj)ics; How to 

 Combat Them. 



BY W. K. MORRISON. 



Your cori'espondent in South Africa who 

 wants to know how to protect his bees 

 against the attacks of ants asks for the solu- 

 tion of a very important question to nearly 

 all tropical bee-masters. Those who have 

 never lived or traveled much in the tropics 

 can have no adequate conception of the ex- 

 traordinary numl^ers of tropical ants and 

 their wonderful abilities. When I tell my 

 friends that some species of ants will tunnel 

 under a river as wide as the Thames at Lou- 

 don Bridge they think I am guilty of telling 

 a traveler's tale: but there is the I)est grouml 

 for so stating. It is pretty hard to put a 

 limit to their abilities and extraordinary en- 

 ergy and industry. 



Ants are said to be the masters of South 

 America, and with truth. Some are relent- 

 less enemies of bees — I mean those with 

 carnivorous instincts chieHy. while some like 

 honey as a food. There may l)e 2000 differ- 

 ent species of ants in South America, and 

 it is almost needless to add that practically 

 nothing is known about them, the subject 

 being so vast that few or none care to attack 

 the problem. South America is immensely 

 rich in ants, bees, and wasps, next to man 

 himself the most highly organizetl of all ani- 

 mals. Down there the ants are everywhere. 

 They have their nests in the loftiest ti'ees, 

 and in tunnels far underneath the surface of 

 the earth; and they tackle any thing and eve- 

 ry thing day and night. 

 " I do not think that any other part of the 

 world can compare with South America in 

 this respect; but South Africa has a good- 

 ly share. Years ago I read such authorities 

 as Huber, Forel, Moggridge, and McCook; 

 but their observations apply principally to 

 European and North American species; and 

 what the natives say can not always be relied 

 on. So it is, if any one is very much bother- 

 ed with these enemies he will have to depend 



