1907 



GLEANINGS IN ,BEE CULTURE. 



87 



In regard to the two locations I referred 

 to, p. 1173, I have kept bees in each place 

 about 13 years, and believe I have stated the 

 matter correctly. Still, I am not sure but 

 Mr. Green's advice, p. 1431, is good when he 

 advises moving my bees nearer to my best 

 pasturage, although further from home. 



It is risky to praise one article only when 

 thei'e are so many of value in Dec. 1 Glean- 

 ings; but that by E. W. Alexander seems so 

 full of good sense 1 must call attention to it, 

 and commend it, especially to our younger 

 bee-keepers. I believe no one will go astray 

 who follows his advice. 



And again the pound-section question bobs 

 up. Well, this is not to settle it, but rather 

 to hinder its solution. Most of my No. 1 

 honey this year ran 23 and 24 lbs. to the case 

 of 24 sections; but the honey from one yard 

 of black bees will go fully a pound lighter. 

 Shall we have one size of section for pure 

 and grade Italians, and another for black 

 bees V 



^' 



Dr. Miller is undoubtedly right in saying 

 that mice will more readily destroy empty 

 combs than those with honey, but he does 

 not, I think, give us the full reason for it. 

 Mice are fond of honey, but with it they 

 want some nitrogenous food, which the scat- 

 tering cells of pollen in empty combs supply; 

 and by working through the empty combs, 

 or chewing them up they are able to get a 

 well-balanced diet. Besides this, the empty 

 combs are warm, and make a most excellent 

 place for nests. 



.^ 



"Honey selling in Great Britain at 48 cts. V" 

 Pray tell us where; who sells it ? how much 

 at that price? Is it a little Ijought by some 

 lord, or aristocrat, or by the king himself for 

 his royal family ? How much will it take to 

 break the market ? I have shipped honey to 

 England several times, but was able to real- 

 ize only about enough more than honey was 

 selling in this country to pay the extra cost 

 for cartage, wharfage, freight, insurance, 

 exchange, etc., which amounted to two or 

 three cents per pound, I should say, but I 

 had the satisfaction of knowing I could do it. 

 [See our answer to Dr. Miller, on page 1556 

 of last year. Our British cousins are suspi- 

 cious ot foreign honey; and consequently 

 such honey, even though just as good, will 

 not begin to bring the prices ot English 

 heather. — Ed.] 



Mr. Greene, on page 1420, is right in think- 

 ing that longevity a most important trait or 

 quality of bees. When I said that "greater 

 endurance means longevity" I meant what 

 I said — that, if you haye endurance, you have 

 longer-lived bees. They will not so soon 

 wear themselves out, and consequently will 

 live longer. I can conceive of a colony of 

 bees of very great endurance; but, associated 

 with it, greater activity, so that their greater 

 activity would wear them out as fast as less 

 industrious colonies with less constitutional 

 vigor; but I believe these are exceptions. 



E. D. Townsend, in a most excellent article 

 in Gleanings for Nov. 15, tells how to get 

 better prices for extracted honey; yet in one 

 thing I want, good naturedly, to disagree 

 with him. He says, "It is estimated, and I 

 have never seen it contradicted, that if comb 

 honey sold through the commission man 

 brings 14 cts. a pound, the freight, cartage, 

 and commission will bring the price down to 

 10 cts. for the bee-keeper." Now, I have 

 sold a good many tons — yes, carloads— of 

 honey through commission men, and the 

 amount paid for freight, commission, etc , 

 rarely goes above two cents a pound. About 

 I cent is for freight, \ cent for cartage, and 

 on cent for commission, although I have had 

 it cost much less and sometimes more. [You 

 are able to do better than most bee-keepers. 

 —Ed.] 



Quite right is the editor of Gleanings in 

 thinking theoutlook for the future of bee-keep- 

 ing is bright. The pure-food law can not 

 but make a sight of difference in the sale of 

 extracted honey; and improved methods in 

 marketing will add immensely to the demand 

 for comb honey, I feel sure. "Up against 

 500 lawsuits in the State of New York, did 

 you say the glucose people were, and that 

 just after settling vip for their adulterations in 

 Pennsylvania for half a million dollars? This 

 giant has looked with supreme indifference 

 upon the discomfort of the honest producers 

 of honey; but the day of reckoning has come 

 I am reminded of a conversation between 

 two little girls. One says to the other, "Do 

 you know what becomes of bad folks when 

 they die?" 



"No; what is it ? " 



"Why, don't you see they will go to hell 

 and be burned up? But they won't be burn- 

 ed up right off, but will sizzle and sizzle and 

 sizzle for a great while." 



The adulteration business is evidently in 

 the tire, and for one I shall enjoy seeing it 

 sizzle and sizzle and sizzle for a great while. 



Allen Latham, Dr. Miller, and the rest who 

 have had lots of clover with but little honey 

 from it, have my sincere sympathy. What 

 is the cause ? W^e know that the weather has 

 mvich to do with it, but not all by any means, 

 for our friend Latham could hardly have no 

 good weather for clover, or but two or three 

 days during the past 22 years, while he has 



