854 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 1 



use of disinfectants this would have been 

 quite otherwise. I know a very expert sur- 

 geon, and I once asked him the secret of 

 his great success. He gave a first place to 

 his generous use of antiseptics. 



While the subject of outdoor feeding is 

 old to some of the veterans, to many of 

 our newer readers it is a new one. I believe 

 that we have blundered on to some ideas 

 that may not have been exploited before in 

 the bee journals in reference to feeding in 

 the open air, especially when it is practiced 

 with almost sole reference to stopping rob- 

 bing when the hives are constantly opened. 



A PROFITABLE BUSINESS IX BUYING UP 

 SLUMGUM. 



Some bee-keepers are making a business 

 of buying up slumgum in large and small 

 lots. There are many other bee-keepers who 

 delude themselves by thinking they have got 

 all of their wax out of the slumgum. The 

 delusion is costing all such a good many dol- 

 lars. An intelligent use of the wax-press 

 will save these dollars that at present go to 

 the fellows who have learned the value in 

 slumgum. When one can make a very good 

 press out of an old half- barrel and a 12 ft. 

 4X4 hard-wood lever, he is penny wise and 

 pound foolish to give away these "dollars." 

 Wax always has a good cash value. 



THOSE TISSUE-PAPER SOUVENIR BEES. 



In response to a notice in the last issue of 

 Gleanings, of the beautifu' souvenir of the 

 bee made of tissue paper. Dr. E. F. Phillips, 

 of the Department of Agriculture, in charge 

 of the Division of Apiculture, reports that 

 he has received numerous inquiries concern- 

 ing and orders for these souvenirs. If the 

 reader will refer again to the editorial in 

 question, he will see that no statement is 

 made by us to the effect that the bees can 

 be obtained of the Department, although 

 that might be the natural inference. When 

 I wrote the item I left the address of the 

 concern which has them for sale in Wash- 

 ington blank, expecting to put in the street 

 number before that issue went to press. 

 Dr. Phillips writes that the rules of the De- 

 partment would not permit of his accepting 

 any orders, and he has forwarded all in- 

 quiries here, which we will take care of. 

 Others may obtain them from L. Cohen & 

 Co., 630 Pa. Ave., N. W., Washington, D. C, 

 by sending 7c postage. 



CAUCASIAN bees AT MEDINA. 



One of our correspondents desires us "to 

 put in the next issue of Gleanings a de- 

 scription of the Caucasian bees." We have 

 only a few colonies of them from imported 

 queens, and so far are not able to form a 

 correct opinion of them. In one colony the 

 bees are almost entirely Caucasian. They 

 are of a grayish black, and the fuzz-rings 

 are quite pronounced. They are different 

 from the ordinary black bees of this country 

 — enough so, so that I think one could, with- 

 out very much difficulty, distinguish one 

 from the other. They differ, also, from the 

 Carniolans. The black of the abdomens of 

 the latter is of a bluish cast, while on the 

 Caucasians it is of a grayish black. Our 

 Caucasians are all very quiet on the combs, 

 and, so far as we can see, they are very gen- 

 tle. They are too young yet to show us 

 their fighting propensities, if they have any. 

 Within a month or so we shall be able to 

 give a more complete account of their dis- 

 position, when the weather turns cool and 

 propolis is hard. 



In this issue will be found a good descrip- 

 tion, by Dr. Lyon, of the Caucasian bee in 

 the Government apiary. 



selling at too low prices in local 

 markets; a word to the wise and 



the otherwise. 

 For several years we have urged bee- 

 keepers to take advantage of the early de- 

 mand for comb honey, especially in the East, 

 which advice we still give. There is, how- 

 ever, an important point to which too little 

 attention is paid. We have found in nu- 

 merous instances successful bee-keepers in a 

 locality where there is a good demand, but 

 comparatively little honey produced, not 

 aware of the opportunities of their market, 

 supplying their grocers in small lots in the 

 early season at from 1 to 3 cts. per pound 

 less than the regular market at that time in 

 the nearest large city. These bee-keepers 

 do not seem to consider that they can obtain 

 from 16 to 18 cts. for their crop when sold 

 early in small lots, locally, as easily as 12 to 

 15 cts We urge the necessity of bee-keep- 

 ers all over the country, when selling in 

 small lots, to see to it that they do not sell 

 below the market. 



When there are a good many producers, as 

 in many localities in New York, Michigan, 

 and Wisconsin, it is true that the local 

 stores will not pay a high price, for the rea- 

 son that there is so much offered, and it is 

 unnecessary for them to do it. On the oth- 

 er hand, there are hundreds of places where 

 only a small amount is produced, and the 

 bee-keepers of these places should be care- 

 ful early in the season not to sell at a low 

 price, thereby spoiling the market for an 

 entire season. A great deal depends on the 

 locality and the amount produced; but if 

 each bee-keeper is careful, when selling in 

 small lots, the general tone of the market 

 will be very much improved. 



