Vol. XXXV. 



MAR. I, 1907. 



Na5. 



Speaking of propolis, p. 262, is it not gen- 

 erally the resinous substance from the buds 

 of trees? Any thing appi'oaching that na- 

 ture would naturally be used. [I believe 

 you are right. — Ed.] 



In cellar is where I am keeping some 

 section honey. I've always called a cellar 

 the worst place to keep honey, but this 

 keeps beautifully. What has dripped, in- 

 stead of being candied is thick, tough, and 

 stringy. The secret of it is that it stands 

 dose beside the furnace. 



"The expert bee-keeper can doubtless 

 get along without" bottom starters, p. 232. 

 Kind o' bai's me out of the list of expert bee- 

 keepers, doesn't it? [We are sorry to put 

 you out in the cold, so let us try again. How 

 will this do ? " Some expert bee-keepers can 

 doubtless get along without bottom starters. ' ' 

 —Ed.] 



An objection by some to divisible brood- 

 chambers is that the space between sections 

 interferes with the queen. I don't believe 

 that objection is valid, for every spring I 

 have colonies in two stories of Langstroth 

 frames, and- the queen seems to have no 

 trouble occupying both stories. Certainly 

 they should have no trouble with shallow 

 frames. 



The advice given in Gleanings, Feb. 15, 

 as to making a business of bee-keeping, is 

 wholesome and sound. Simmered down it's 

 a good deal like this: If money is your god, 

 and you are living only to get all you can of 



it, let bees alone. If you thoroughly enjoy 

 working with bees, and want to get all the 

 enjoyment out of life you can, then wade 

 right in. 



Arthur C. Miller, in American Bee- 

 keeper, says that a field-bee on returning 

 with a load "does not give her load to one 

 of the younger or nurse bees, but puts it di- 

 rectly into the cell. From this it is taken by 

 other bees and ripened and redeposited else- 

 where, or reconsumed." " Whether the cell 

 be empty or partly filled, the bee enters it 

 feet up and back down." 



Some succeed with a sheet of foundation 

 filling the entire section, and some fail, p. 

 265; I wonder if it isn't this way: If the 

 sheet is fastened at the sides as well as top, 

 and bottom, it works all right; if fastened 

 only at top and bottom, it's sure to buckle. 

 [Yes, that is what we meant. The sheet of 

 foundation that filled the entire section 

 should be fastened to all four sides, and 

 then the wax should be " thin " not " extra 

 thin." — Ed.] 



During the calendar year 1906 the people 

 of this country consumed 6,415,389,120 lbs. 

 of sugar. In 1870 the per capita consump- 

 tion was 35 lbs.; in 1880, 43; in 1890, 53; in 

 1900, 65; in 1906, 75. [You are mistaken, 

 doctor, this wasn't all sugar. Some of it 

 was lime, sulphuric acid, grape sugar (glu- 

 cose), indigo from coal tar, salts of tin, etc. 

 Both sugar and molasses received a ter- 

 rific blow by the passage of the pure-food 

 law.— W. K. M.] 



A VIVID PICTURE of dishonest commission 

 work is given on p. 235. Honest commission 

 men wouldn't do that sort of thing; but I 

 have in mind one case in which a man whom 

 I've always regarded as squai'e did what was 

 hardly the square thing. He quoted a cer- 

 tain price in "Honey Markets," but when 

 honey was offered him he replied that he 

 was stocked. In that case quoting a price 

 was misleading. [We should be glad to get 



