1044 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



and in lieu of it a six-penny finishing- nail 

 is driven into the frame about half an inch 

 below its top. Mr. Terrill has tried it one 

 season, and is very favorably impressed 

 vrith it. I tried this arrangement myself, 

 but found that the nails would break out or 

 make the hole egg^-shaped sometimes when 

 the frames were heavily loaded with honey. 

 Then I did have just the difficulty Mr. 

 Hutchinson fears — that the frames would 

 not hang true. But perhaps I didn't try the 

 arrangement long enough; but I recall that 

 several have spoken of using this device; 

 but, if I mistake not, they sooner or later 

 abandoned it. If not, will they please let 

 us hear from them? • 



COVERS FOR hives; why the old flat 



CLEATED COVER IS NOT NOW FUR- 

 NISHED. 



In the November Review Mr. Hutchinson 

 says, " A plain board ior bottom and cover, 

 with cleats at the ends to prevent warping, 

 is all right for a large majority of locali- 

 ties. It is exactly what I should choose for 

 this locality." I agree with him exactly. 

 There is nothing better than the old flat cov- 

 er; but his inference is that such a cover is 

 cheaper than some other of more complicat- 

 ed construction. The fact is, clear wide 

 boards in sufficient quantities to care for the 

 trade for such covers can not be bought at 

 any price. The big pine trees are nearly 

 all gone. Manufacturers have simply been 

 compelled to adopt a roof covered with pa- 

 per or metal or some form of three-piece de- 

 sign that would permit of the use of one or 

 more narrow boards spanned by a ridge- 

 piece to close up the cracks. Such boards 

 are readily obtainable at a moderate price 

 because the small trees are not all cut out 

 yet. 



CANDIED honey; SOME THINGS WE NEED 

 TO KNOW. 



On page 326 of our issue for April 15 ap- 

 peared an editorial on the subject of the 

 candying of honey — what we do and do not 

 know about it. At that time I asked for 

 more information, and especially about stir- 

 ring — how much of it would cause honey to 

 granulate, etc., but received almost no re- 

 sponse. Now that many bee-men are try- 

 ing to put up their extracted honey in pa- 

 per bags, it is a matter of supreme impor- 

 tance to know how to make their liquid prod- 

 uct assume a solid condition as rapidly as 

 possible. 



At our Chicago office our honey-men are 

 conducting some experiments along this 

 line; and we suggest that our readers do 

 some experimenting also. I will pay $10.00 

 for the best article on this subject. 



In Colorado it is no trick at all to make 

 alfalfa honey granulate; and it may be 

 said that the problem is easy enough in the 

 East in the winter. Yes, but it will not 

 candy ya^^ enough or solid enough in many 

 cases, I fear, to make the putting-up of hon- 

 ey in paper bags a commercial success. 



Many facts have already shown that stir- 

 ring greatly hastens the process of solidi- 

 fying. Let us have some facts from actual 

 experience. A knowledge of how to keep 

 honey indefinitely in a liquid condition, 

 in a freezing atmosphere, sealed and un- 

 sealed, and also how to make it turn solid, 

 is something that bee-keepers need at the 

 present time. 



HOW TO KEEP HONEY INDEFINITELY. 



Mr. Charles Weber, son of C. H. W. 

 Weber, of Cincinnati, told me that it was 

 no trick at all to keep all honey except al- 

 falfa liquid indefinitely under all condi- 

 tions. The temperature must be brought 

 up to 145 Fahr., and kept there continuous- 

 ly, without variation, for 36 hours. That 

 is the whole secret. "But," said I, "will 

 this not darken the honey ?" 



"No, sir, if you do it right. Long heat- 

 ing, co7iiinuoiisly applied at a moderate 

 temperature, is much more efl^ective than a 

 high temperature for a short time. The 

 latter spoils the flavor of the honey, as well 

 as darkens it, while the former leaves it 

 with its original delicacy of flavor, and 

 with no darkening of color." 



He emphatically stated, however, that his 

 formula would not apply in the case of al- 

 falfa. He could liquefy it, of course, but 

 it would not keep in a liquid condition 

 nearly so long. 



This is a very interesting and profitable 

 subject for discussion, and I should be glad 

 to hear from our subscribers. Some of us, 

 as I have pointed out elsewhere, desire to 

 make their honey candy, and candy hard, 

 in a short sp .ce of time ; but the rest of us — 

 and I presume a great majority — desire to 

 know most of all how to keep it in a liquid 

 condition so it will not "turn into sugar," 

 in the language of their customers, thus 

 bringing up the hue and cry of adultera- 

 tion. 



GIVING THE PAGE NUMBER. 



If our correspondents would invariably, 

 in referring to something that has been pre- 

 viously written, mention the page or the is- 

 sue of- the matter under consideration, it 

 would not only facilitate reference, but en- 

 able one to find all the places where that 

 subject is discussed in any given volume by 

 finding only one index page. It is not al- 

 ways possible to cross-index in such a way 

 as to give all the pages on any one subject. 

 Dr. Miller, in his Straws, is a model in 

 this respect, and I wish that all our corre- 

 spondents would follow after him. 



To illustrate what I mean, let us take 

 an example. I wish to know what is said 

 about queens being stung when balled, as 

 I wish to write an article on that subject. 

 I look under the head of " Stings," and do 

 not find any reference. I look under "Ball- 

 ing," and do not find any thing there. 

 Finally I turn to "Queens," and, looking 

 down the column, I see " Queens Stung in 

 Ball," and only one reference. I turn to 

 the page indicated, and there find what Dr. 



