598 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1 



as shown in the illustration, simplifies the 

 matter to perfection. 



Last fall I was caught as above mentioned. 

 When I undertook to draw from one of my 

 tanks the honey had thickened to such a 

 degree that it would hardly pass through 

 the gate; it would seemingly take ten or fif- 

 teen minutes to fill a one-quart can. This 

 state of affairs presented to me a welcome 

 opportunity to test the illustrated heating 

 scheme, which I had previously (for a num- 

 ber of years) planned to put into practical 

 use whenever its necessity should occur. To 

 my great satisfaction the result was all I 

 had hoped for. After the little oil-stove had 

 been lit and turned to a very moderate heat, 

 not more than the hand held against the 

 bottom of the tank could bear, for about six 

 hours, the honey would flow from the gate 

 almost as rapidly as when first extracted. 

 To be sure, it was not all melted yet, but 

 by giving it a little more heat and more 

 time it could undoubtedly be reduced to its 

 former fluid state. 



Until last winter I always used for my 

 honey-tanks solid two-inch-plank benches. 

 Of course, these would not permit the use 

 of the stove as I had planned ; and to be pre- 

 pared for the emergency I had built a stand 

 as shown in Fig. 2. This is simply a frame 

 of 2X4 scantling with legs and braces of the 

 same material. Being calculated for two 

 tanks, its size is about two squares of the 

 tank diameter. This gives the tank a sup- 

 port of four two-inch arcs, see dotted lines, 

 leaving the center all exposed to receive the 

 heat from the stove below. As a safeguard 

 against a possible overstrain on the bottom 

 of the tank, and at the same time to inter- 

 fere as little as possible with the heat coming 

 in contact with the bottom, a piece of com- 

 mon buggy-tire is slipped into a groove of the 

 frame, which is also shown by the drawing. 



It must be remembered that a tank of 

 honey can be easily damaged by the appli- 

 cation of too much heat; it is, therefore, 

 necessary that we be very* cautious when 

 using artificial heat in this way. It would 

 be a safe guide, when turning on the heat, 

 to lay the hand against the bottom of the 

 tank above the stove, for I hardly think that 

 any harm could be done by any heat a per- 

 son's hand can bear. 



There is another advantage connected 

 with this heating scheme. We are some- 

 times anxious to have a tank of honey go 

 through its clarifying process sooner than it 

 naturally would. A little additional arti- 

 ficial heat, even when honey is all liquid, 

 and when the summer temperature is at its 

 best, will help to hasten clarifying. 



At other times honey may be so very thick 

 that those little specks of impurities, what- 

 ever they may be, are extremely slow to 

 come to the top. Here, too, the Httle oil- 

 stove may help us out. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



[Liquefying or heating honey by means of 

 an oil-stove as shown in the above illustra- 

 tion, I believe to be an excellent idea. It 



has the merit of a slight amount of heat, 

 which can be prolonged without perceptible 

 variation for a day or two at a time; for a 

 low gentle heat for a long time is better, 

 much better, than a high temperature for a 

 short time. Honey liquefied as shown would 

 lose scarcely any of its aroma at all. Those 

 who do a business of bottling can put their 

 honey in with this kind of outfit more eco- 

 nomically than with a gasoline-stove, where 

 the heat would be intense for a time, and 

 then could be shut off. 



But I would suggest that it would be more 

 economical still to box up the sides and ends 

 of your topless table, and then use only one 

 oil-stove. The confined heat would probably 

 be equal to that of two stoves where a large 

 portion of it would be dispersed and do no 

 good. A little ventilation, of course, should 

 be provided at the bottom— just enough to 

 permit of a slow circulation. I do not 

 believe there would be any danger of set- 

 ting fire to the woodwork with only one 

 stove. If the heat were too great, light 

 only one burner. I suggest that you try the 

 experiment, and report the result in these 

 columns. We will pay for the time and 

 material to board up the table if you will 

 send us in your bill of it with a report. —Ed.] 



THE SCENT FACTOR IN INTRODUCTION. 



Has it been Overvalued? 



BY ARTHUR C. MILLER. 



Mr. Root:—l beg leave to reply to Mr. G. 

 W. PhiUips' article on p. 124; and as he is 

 speaking for you I shall quote some of your 

 statements as well as his. 



He begins by saying that I am correct in 

 a few of my assertions, but he fails to spec- 

 ify which. In criticism he says that I seem 

 " to take it for granted that we believe 

 scent to be the only factor worth considera- 

 tion in introducing queens." I fail to see 

 how he deduces that from my article. 



But here is what you do say: " The cage 

 should be on the frame (where the bees can 

 get acquainted with the queen) for at least 

 twenty-four hours," ABC book, page 227. 

 And, " The queen thus acquires the scent of 

 the combs, brood, and of the cluster, and 

 hence will be more likely to be accepted," 

 A B C, p. 228 (italics are mine). On p. 231 

 of the same book is a statement that it is 

 the old bees that cause the trouble in queen 

 introduction. Have only the old bees the 

 sense of smell? Scent and old bees are the 

 only two factors given in the section on "in- 

 troducing." Again, "Dr. E. F. Phillips has 

 shown that bees recognize each other en- 

 tirely by the scent," Gleanings, Sept. 15, 

 1904, p. 88.6. I can agree to that, and still 

 not have to qualify my statement that the 

 scent factor in queen introduction has been 

 overvalued. Still again, "If the new queen 

 has acquired the scent of the bees of the 

 hive she is just as much a part of the colo- 

 ny, and will be accepted as readily as though 

 she had been in the hive as long as the old 



