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 $i»°ptRYEAR. 'Xs'Meoina-Ohio- 



Vol. XXXIII. 



DEC. 15, 1905. 



No 24 



Referring to that alfalfa question, p. 124 1, 

 would it not be well to emphasize the need 

 of bees to secure alfalfa seed? 



Look out Ernest, or you'll get a lot of 

 Canucks after you for hinting that bees will 

 not winter well on combs sealed clear down 

 to the bottom, p. 1250. They're probably 

 all right if you have plenty of room for 

 ihe bees to cluster under the bottom-bars. 



Latest fashion in this locality demands 

 hay-racks as level as a floor ; so this year 

 my bees were brought home on a hay-rack, 

 48 hives on the floor, and 11 under it — 59 

 at a load. Strips nailed down to keep hives 

 apart; no hay or other packing, but a pair of 

 heavy springs under all. 



S. E. Miller, in Progressive, objects to 

 calling honey "white" — wants it called "clear." 

 Of course, we'll tell him to go and sit down 

 in a corner and keep quiet; but when he 

 goes off grumbling that his cistern isn't 

 filled with white water, and asks, "Why does 

 not the poet or novelist speak of the white 

 babbling brook?" what under the sun can we 

 reply to such a man ? 



Wm. M. Whitney, p. 1240, -raises the 

 tanging question again. As I think you art 

 a bee-keeper rather than a naturalist, friend 

 Whitney, I venture the remark that it is not 

 a question as to whether bees hear; it is 

 pretty certain that they do hear, and that 

 they hear sounds inaudible to the human 

 ear ; but the question is whether those sounds 

 have the slightest effect in making swarm- 

 ing bees cluster. 



Dr. D. E. Lyon writes that not only are 

 his Caucasians of almost incredible gentle- 

 ness, but good gatherers, and good defend- 

 ers of their homes. One colony took up 



25 or 30 pounds of syrup in a night and 

 part of a day. Per contra, a queen-breeder 

 who got a queen direct from Washington 

 speaks unfavorably of them. Are there Cau- 

 casians and Caucasians? 



[Yes, just the same as there are Italians 

 and Italians. While their reputation is most 

 excellent for gentleness, there may be some 

 specimens quite the reverse. — Ed.] 



Is there not a difference between comb 

 and extracted as to early sales? "New comb 

 honey" is a common sign in grocers' windows, 

 but I never saw a sign "New extracted 

 honey." 



[No, for the reason that the word " ex- 

 tracted " is not even yet commonly known to 

 the public. If new liquid honey were for 

 sale it probably would be denominated " new 

 honey." But I suspect that locality has 

 something to do in the matter. In your vi- 

 cinity comb honey only is produced, hence 

 you would not be likely to see the sign 

 " New Extracted." — Ed." 



Notches for spacing frames like those on 

 p. 1249 are objectionable, but I don't believe. 

 Mr. Editor, there would be any unequal 

 spacing from hauling. Remember that a 

 frame must move sidewise more than 5-8 

 inch before it can get into the wrong notch, 

 and there's no need to have that much play. 

 Even if there were so much play, it would 

 take a tremendous jolt to throw a frame out 

 that much. 



[I do not think you quite understood. 1 

 meant that a jolt of the wagon might cause 

 several frames to hop out of their notches, 

 resting on the rabbet between the notches 

 or into other notches not their own. This, 

 however, was a minor objection. — Ed.] 



Prof. Cook says, p. 1122, that Irish farm- 

 ers pay $5 an acre annually for rent and 

 taxes, and asks, "Whai would our Ameri- 

 can farmers do under like circumstances?" 

 When I read that I went down to the road 

 and asked a farmer, "What cash rent do 

 farms bring?" He answered, "Well, rent 

 isn't so high here as further off— maybe $4 

 on the average. I'm offered $15 an acre 

 for some that's 2V2 miles from town; but 



