804 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



THAT BIG SWARM OF BEES. 



I send you my photo of bees taken June 

 8. The main cluster measured a little over 

 6 feet, and a small cluster besides. It came 

 out of a two-story sixteen-frame hive. 

 There might have been two swarms that 

 went together. I was not present till they 

 had clustered. My folks said they thought 

 they came from only one hive. 



The photographer was afraid of getting 

 stung. He took two proofs. I will send 

 you one of each. I look more like a negro 

 than a white man. I am quite light-com- 

 plexioned, and have light hair. 



Bees have been doing well up to present 

 writing. The white clover has been the 

 best for years. Sweet clover is in full 

 bloom now, and bees are busy yet. We 

 have no fall pasture here — no buckwheat 

 nor goldenrod. The frost or something else 

 killed the bloom on basswood in my neigh- 

 borhood last spring. L. J. Bergh. 



Mount Horeb, Wis., Aug. 4. 



[The variety and shapes of the clusters 

 of bees that one will run across is surpris- 

 ing. Sometimes a swarm will hang like 

 an inverted cone; at other times it is like 

 a long cylinder, in which case it will re- 

 semble the swarm shown in the illustration 

 shown on the previous page. The proba- 

 bilities are that the two clusters that are 

 shown form one swarm, for it is not un- 

 common for bees to divide up into two clus- 

 ters, both near at hand. — Ed.] 



FORMALDEHYDE OF AMERICAN MANUFAC- 

 TURE. 



The accompanying note is of general in- 

 terest. I can only repeat that the statements 

 I made were copied from circulars of Scher- 

 ing & Glatz, and given on their authority. 

 It is gratifying to know that we can have 

 something as good (and perhaps at less 

 cost) of American manufacture. Why not 

 have something fitted to the case of the 

 every-day bee-keeper quoted among bee- 

 supplies? C. C. Miller. 



[The letter referred to is as follows:] 



Dear Doctor: -^In your reference to my 

 note in Gleanings, July 15, you say for- 

 malin is a40-per-cent preparation {oiwhatf). 

 My statement, to which you refer, that it is 

 an aqueous solution of formic aldehyde, is 

 correct, and I don't see that you amend it 

 at all. You say it is made by the Sobering 

 Chemical Works; but, in fact, it is made by 

 the Chemische Fabrik auf Actien, formerly 

 E. Sobering, Berlin, Germany. You say 

 the word "formalin" is patented. Is it? 



I know the method oj vaporizing formalitt 

 pastils, etc., is patented. This necessitates 

 the purchase of their rather expensive ap- 

 paratus. For this reason, and knowing 

 from several years' use of the pastiles that 

 they will deteriorate, I would not advise 

 their use to bee-keepers. 



The device of Mr. J. M. Thomson, p. 391, 

 has all the requisites of a formaldehyde- 

 generator, and can be made very cheaply. 

 You seem to attach much importance to the 

 word "formalin," while I regard the sub- 

 stance, formaldehyde solution, of greatest 

 moment; and this, made by American man- 

 ufacturing chemists, can be relied upon, 

 fully as well as that of foreign makers. 

 H. O. Vassmer. 



Excelsior Springs, Mo., July 23. 



A BAD mess; why BEES DO KOT WORK IN 

 SECTIONS. 



I recently purchased four two-story eight- 

 frame hives of bees. The party from whom 

 I purchased assured me that sections had 

 been placed properly in the top story. A 

 few days after I got them home I discover- 

 ed that he had prevaricated, as there was 

 nary a section in any of the supers. I found 

 that comb had been built from the cover, 

 and extended down, and was fastened to 

 the top of the brood-chambers, in the lower 

 story. I undertook to remove the honey and 

 clean out the super. In doing so I found a 

 great quantity of brood in with the honey 

 in the super. When would be the best time 

 to take this honey out, and in what way 

 would it be best to proceed? If brood is 

 found in all of them, what can be done with 

 it? Why will bees not work in the sections 

 of a super newly put on, when the bottom 

 part is full? What can I do to induce them? 

 C, P. Savage. 



Dunmore, Pa., Aug. 17. 



[The only thing you can do is to smoke 

 the bees down so that you can get at the 

 combs with a long thin-bladed knife. Cut 

 out all the brood-combs, and use the rest 

 for chunk honey to be used on the table or 

 to be sold among your neighbors. The 

 brood may be fitted into brood-frames and 

 allowed to hatch out. 



As to why bees seem disinclined to work 

 in sections is a question not easy to answer 

 for all conditions. It is evident that they 

 do not like individual compartments where 

 individual combs separated from the rest of 

 the brood-nest are to be built. They much 

 prefer to work on large surfaces going 

 through the brood-nest without obstruction. 

 This is more especially true of pure Italians. 

 But no matter what their preference, man 

 prefers his comb built in little boxes so he 

 can conveniently handle them for purposes 

 of retailing. The time may come when con- 

 sumers will be willing to accept chunk hon- 

 ey; but the laws will have to be much more 

 rigid than now or else adulterators will 

 take combs and mix them with pure glucose, 

 and palm them off for pure honey. Bees 



