1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



161 



of America. It is hoped, also, to create a 

 jelly, jam, and preserves industry, now that 

 buyers are sure of the purity of the product. 

 Other agricultural industries will similarly 

 be benefited, hence the farmer is very much 

 interested in a rigid enforcement of the law, 

 and we think we knovv the bee-keepers of 

 the country well enough to say they will be 

 very earnest supporters of the new law, and 

 will work with the Department of Agricul- 

 ture in enforcing it. Unless all signs fail, it 

 is only a matter of time when every State in 

 the Union will possess a pure-food law 

 framed in strict conformity with the nation- 

 al law. Vermont has a new pure-food law 

 based on the national or Hepburn law. In- 

 diana, Louisiana, Colorado, California, Mis- 

 souri, and Kansas are getting in line to pass 

 similar laws. 



It may seem to some that Gleanings has 

 harped rather too much on this matter; but 

 the adulteration evil threatened to destroy 

 our industry, and we shall feel safer when 

 every State has an efficient pure-food law. 



Honey is one of the finest foods known, 

 hence it has everything to gain and nothing 

 to lose by the enforcement of pure food laws, 

 which is practically all the protection we re- 

 quire to establish our industry on a safe and 

 sound basis. 



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BROOD-REARING IN WINTER. 



Last March 1 told of having found brood 

 in a number of hives in February. January 

 10th I found quite a patch of brood in all 

 stages in a colony that had been moved a 

 couple of weeks before. Dec. 15th I found 

 brood in all stages in a strong colony that 

 was in a normal condition and had not been 

 disturbed previously. Apparently, under 

 some conditions some colonies of bees will 

 breed more or less all winter. Whether this 

 is injurious or the I'everse is something I am 

 trying to find out. 



CAPPINGS COLORED BY LAMPBLACK. 



Last fall I found a few sections which had 

 a curious gray appearance, shading down- 

 ward from the top of the comb. At first I 

 thought it had been caused by ashes from the 

 smoker, but close investigation showed that 

 the one who put in the starters had carelessly 

 allowed the lamp to smoke. The lampblack, 

 mixing with the melted wax, had smeared the 

 inside of the top of the section with black wax; 

 and, though there wasonly a very small quan- 

 tity of it, the bees had carried enough of it out 

 and mixed it with the capping to color it con- 

 sijierably. This is a good thing to avoid. 



FEATHERS FOR BRUSHING BEES. 



E. W. Alexander, on page 1357, says he 

 has always thought that there was nothing 

 that would irritate bees to the stinging-point 

 like brushing them with feathers, and inti- 

 mates that one who uses feathers for that 

 purpose must be ignorant in handling bees. 

 If I am not mistaken, the editor of one of 

 our bee journals recently administered a 

 similar castigation to some one who express- 

 ed a preference for feathers. I wonder how 

 much of this is real observation and how 

 much the survival of an old notion — I might 

 almost call it a superstition. I would not 

 recommend a turkey wing for brushing bees, 

 as some do; but for a limited amount of 

 brushing I know of nothing better than one 

 of the stiff quill feathers from the left wing 

 of a goose or turkey. A feather from the 

 right wing is all right for a left-handed man. 

 The whole wing is not desirable, because on- 

 ly the outside feathers on one edge can be 

 properly used for brushing. A feather will 

 not stand rough usage. When it becomes 

 daubed with honey, or the barbs become so 

 mussed up that bees become entangled in 

 them, or so broken down that the bees are 

 brushed with the stiff midrib instead of with 

 the soft barb or plume, the bees are natural- 

 ly irritated, not l)ecause it is a feather, but 

 because the bee-keeper is careless. I have 

 never seen the slightest indication that the 

 right kind of feather, properly used, angered 

 bees, and I know of a number of old bee- 

 keepers who prefer feathers for brushing 

 bees. 



HIVE-LIFTING DEVICES. 



Frank McGlade's symposium on hive-lift- 

 ing devices, page 1506, is rather amusing; but 

 such things should not be allowed to distract 

 the bee-keeper's attention from the fact that 

 such devices are badly needed by some, and 

 that they are bound to come into more or less 

 general use. The devices that have been il- 

 lustrated are undoubtedly practical to a cer- 

 tain extent; but they have the disadvantage of 

 being somewhat clumsy and difficult to move 

 around and adjust under all circumstances, 

 and in some apiaries none of them could be 

 used. They require more room and clear 

 space for operation than some bee-keepers can 

 readily allow for each hive. Some of them 

 can not be used except on level ground, and 

 all of them hinder work with the hive to a con- 

 siderable extent. A more practical plan for 

 many would be to utilize the shade-shed in 

 common use in many parts of the West as a 

 support for a lifting device. Pictures of these 

 have been frequently given, and most of the 

 readers of Gleanings doubtless know how 

 they are arranged. The hives are set in long 

 rows, generally two rows back to back, with 

 space sufficient for working between. Over- 

 head is erected a shed, the roof consisting of 

 brush or similar material laid over a frame- 

 work of poles or wire. To adapt these for 

 hive-lifting devices, all that is necessary is to 

 have the timbers directly over the line of hives 

 substantial enough to support the weight of 



