1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



857 



naphthol-beta solution of this kind is used to 

 cure foul brood direct. 



STOPPING ROBBERS DURING EXTRACTING. 



I have not tried it yet, but I am of the 

 opinion that, when robbers are a nuisance 

 during extracting time, after the honey- 

 flow, if, two or three days previous to the 

 extracting, a large feeder full of thinned- 

 down honey be exposed, and that same feed- 

 er be kept going on the days of extracting, 

 the bees will let the apiarist work right 

 along unmolested, provided he is not too 

 messy in his work. If the combs are ex- 

 posed no longer than is necessary to get 

 them out of the hives and into the comb-box, 

 I will guarantee there will be no robbing. 

 By giving bees, say, 50 or 100 lbs. of syrup 

 or thinned- down honey one can extract, I 

 think, a full day's extracting, aggregating 

 anywhere from a hundred to several thou- 

 sand pounds. 



Of course, one should not feed any sugar 

 syrup if there is any danger that it go into 

 the extracting-combs and be taken again to 

 the extractor. 



A FAIR critic; HERESIES; CUBICAL-SHAPED 

 HIVES, ETC. 



The Rural Bee-keeper, edited by W. H. 

 Putnam, and published at River Falls, Wis., 

 is one of the newer bee papers that, for a 

 youngster, is showing a great deal of 

 strength and growth. The reason, I sus- 

 pect, lies largely in the fact that its editor 

 injects his own personality into its every 

 page. But the feature that struck me more 

 particularly is the fairness and liberality of 

 its criticisms, especially when directed to- 

 ward a brother-editor. In the last issue of 

 the Rural Mr. Putnam quotes approvingly a 

 portion of an editorial from these columns 

 on page 68, on the subject of heresies in bee-i 

 keeping. He joins most heartily with me in 

 the desire to have the truth, let the facts 

 cut where they may; and then, referring to 

 what I have said, he adds, " I firmly believe 

 he is seeking for the facts." Bro. Putnam 

 calls attention to a statement of mine rec- 

 ommending the Langstroth hive, first, be- 

 cause it is standard, and, secondarily, be- 

 cause it allows of a larger amount of super 

 surface on top of the brood-nest than a per- 

 fect cube. Almost in the same breath I con- 

 demn a divisible brood-nest in the shape of 

 a cube because a cube is not adapted to the 

 production of comb honey. Right here Mr. 

 Putnam takes issue with me strongly, and 

 then draws attention to another editorial 

 statement on page 527 of this journal in 

 which I observe that the small baby nuclei 

 were "standing these extremes even better 

 than the old-fashioned Langstroth two-frame 

 nuclei. The bees can keep a small cubical 

 space warm much more readily than a flat 

 oolong room with a great deal of surface ex- 

 posed to the weather." 



Commenting on the foregoing. Editor Put- 

 nam adds: " The above statement is correct, 

 every word of it true; and this disproves the 



statement that there is no advantage in the 

 cubical over the flat oblong-shaped hive." 



In the quotations made above from p. 527, 

 as will be seen from the Italicized portion, 

 I was comparing a small baby nucleus, ap- 

 proaching a cube in shape, with a large flat 

 slab-sided two-frame Langstroth-sized nu- 

 cleus. The shapes of the two are so radi- 

 cally different that I was led to remark 

 what I did in favor of the more compact 

 hive, even though it were very much small- 

 er; but, as a matter of fact, the baby nu- 

 cleus under consideration has almost the ex- 

 act proportion of the eight- frame Langstroth 

 hive which I had been recommending. I 

 was not comparing an exact cube with one 

 having a shape somewhat approaching a 

 cube, like the eight-frame Langstroth hive. 

 My theory has always been that such a hive 

 so nearly approaches the compact form of a 

 cube that it has, to all intents and purposes, 

 all the advantages without the disadvantages ; 

 but the two- frame Langstroth nucleus is so 

 outlandish in shape, so badly proportioned, 

 that, notwithstanding it is a great deal larg- 

 er, the smaller box of bees is able to stand 

 the strain of weather conditions better. 



I admit that a perfect cube may be a little 

 better for wintering; but when bees winter 

 well in Langstroth hives the country over I 

 don't knov? what more we could ask. The 

 secret of good wintering is not so much in 

 the shape as the relative size of the hive to 

 the cluster. A small colony in a large cu- 

 bical hive will not winter as well as a hive 

 that can be contracted to the size of the 

 cluster no matter what its shape. 



WHAT HAS THE HARVEST BEEN? 



Conditions for the clover belt, including 

 the Northern States as far West as Minne- 

 sota and Iowa, have materialy improved. 

 We are getting reports now from quite a 

 large number who have secured fair crops 

 of honey. Many report half a crop; still 

 others a fourth, and not a few a total failure. 

 The States that seem to lead off in order 

 are about as follows: 



Michigan has had a good season generally 

 —rather better than last year. Ontario re- 

 ports a good yield. New York sends in a 

 variety of reports, all the way from a total 

 failure to a big crop. I should judge the ag- 

 gregate would be something under half a 

 a crop for New York. Reports are some- 

 what unfavorable from Pennsylvania, al- 

 though a few show a good season. The ag- 

 gregate of reports from Wisconsin and Min- 

 nesota is all the way from a fourth to half 

 a crop. A few from these States report an 

 immense yield; but the great majority re- 

 port poor. 



The season in Northern Illinois has been 

 fairly good, but poor in the southern part. 

 Iowa reports from a fourth to half a crop. 

 Vermont may have a fair yield. We have 

 had no reports from the other New England 

 States. The honey season has been general- 

 ly poor in the South-central and Southeast- 

 ern States, especially in the Southeast. Re- 



