1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



949 



during a single wintei". is one that brings 

 back a tremendous dividend. We conclude 

 that it never pays in our cold northern lati- 

 tudes to winter outdoors in single-walled 

 hives, for the reason that too many times the 

 bees will actually starve to death with plenty 

 of stores in the hive. Why? Because the 

 hive is too cold to allow the cluster to move 

 over to where the stores are. 



THE PEOPLE W^ANT TO KNOW. 



The following was uttered by Dr. Wiley 

 at the meeting of the Inter-State Cotton-seed 

 Crushers' Association, held at Jamestown, 

 Virginia, quite recently. There can be no 

 doubt he is right on this matter, more par- 

 ticularly when he states the people are deter- 

 mined to know what they are eating every 

 time they sit down to a meal. 



There is no longer any excuse for trying to cover up 

 matters of this kind. We should recognize the dic- 

 tum that the days of delusion and deception are done. 

 The people of this country are in earnest about this 

 matter. This sentiment for correct names, for free- 

 dom from adulteration, is no mere brain storm which 

 is sweeping over the country — it is the legitimate 

 growth of education and a revival of the ethical prin- 

 ciple of justice and of right. The people want to 

 know, the people are determined to know, and the 

 people can not always be deceived. I do not believe 

 that any one of you here would care to continue to 

 promote a business which was not worthy of your sup- 

 port. 



FINDING AND CATCHING QUEENS, AND CLIP- 

 PING THEIR WINGS, WITHOUT 

 HANDLING A FRAME, 



Apparently there has been a good deal 

 of correspondence on this subject since the 

 article by Mr. J. E. Hand appeared in oUr 

 issue for June 15. Mr. Hand finds it neces- 

 sary to say something more on the subject, 

 which he does right here. 



^fl■. Soot:— Resfurding the clipping of queens' wings 

 in sectional hives, as described and illustrated in my 

 article in Gleanosigs for June 1.5, I fear I have not 

 made my mode of operation plain enough; and for the 

 benefit of those who wish to try this method of find- 

 ing queens I would further add that, in case the colo- 

 ny is very strong in bees, we remove the top brood- 

 section after driving the bees up, and place the queen- 

 excluder on the next section and place the top brood- 

 section on the queen-excluder before removing the 

 cover. This should be done quickly before the reac- 

 tion takes place, so that the bees will pass through 

 the zinc into the hive below instead of boiling over 

 the sides of the hives. A few puffs of smoke, and one 

 or two shakes, with a quick jerking motion, will de- 

 posit the bees and queens upon the queen-excluder, 

 through which the bees will quickly pass, leaving the 

 queen in plain sight. 



We used this method altogether this season, 1907, 

 and. although our colonies were very strong, each 

 having tnree brood-sections full of bees from top to 

 bottom, we did not experience the least difficulty in 

 quickly finding the (lueens without handling the 

 frames. About half the queens will usually be found 

 either on the tops of frames or on the under side of 

 the cover. J. E. Hand. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



CUTTING ALFALFA BEFORE IT BLOOMS — A 

 BAD PRACTICE. 



We have already published matter from a 

 variety of sources showing that the early cut- 

 ting of alfalfa, before it blooms, is a wrong 

 practice, hurtful alike to stockman and bee- 

 keeper. The following additional item ap- 

 peared in the National Farmer and Stock- 

 groiver, and speaks for itself: 



Many start out with erroneous impressions about 

 cutting alfalfa. They have been induced to put in the 

 crop because of its great feeding value, and that three 

 or four cuttings may be taken from the field during 

 one season. If you want a strong vigorous stand of 

 alfalfa, don't be in too big a hurry to clip it to get rid 

 of weeds, and don't cut the crop from a newly seeded 

 field too .soon. The crop should be pretty well ma- 

 tured before it is cut. It is important that the plant 

 be well established and the crown buds set for subse- 

 quent crops before the first crop is taken off. After 

 the first year, three or four cuttings may be made pro- 

 viding each one is done at the right time. 



HONEST HELPFUL CRITICISM. 



The following, on the subject of criticism, 

 in the last Bee-keepers' Reriew, so exactly 

 echoes our' own sentiments that we are glad 

 to place it before our readers: 



Criticism, to be of any use, should be helpful. There 

 is no great benefit in telling a man that he is doing 

 something wrong unless we can also tell him how to do 

 it better. Then there ought to be a kind, helpful spirit 

 shown in criticism. Occasionally criticism is made in 

 such a way as to lead one to believe that the chief pleas- 

 ure or object of the critic is to show that some one is in 

 the wrong — made in such a caustic manner as to rouse 

 the combativeness of the one criticised. Criticism 

 ought to be frank and free, but it need not be insult- 

 ing nor insinuating in tone. 



No firm or person is perfect. Many of 

 them are ignorant of their own weaknesses, 

 and to have those weaknesses pointed out is 

 a real kindness. 



SPRAYING AFTER BLOSSOMS FALL. 



Whenever an advertiser of spraying-out- 

 fits or chemical mixtures advocates in any of 

 his printed literature the spraying of fruit- 

 trees while they are in bloom, we generally 

 send in a friendly protest, calling his atten- 

 tion to the fact that experiment stations ev- 

 erywhere have condemned the practice, both 

 from the standpoint of the fruit-grower him- 

 self and the bee-keeper. One of these com- 

 panies to whom we addressed such a protest 

 was the Merrimac Chemical Co., 33 Broad 

 St., Boston, Mass. Their reply was so satis- 

 factory that we are glad to place it before 

 our readers, even if it does give a free adver- 

 tisement to this company. And in this con- 

 nection we are of the opinion that bee-keep- 

 ers will be glad to patronize any company 

 that regards their interests as well as those 

 of the fruit-growers. The letter is as follows: 



The A. I. Boot Co.:— We are in receipt of your favor 

 of the 17th inst..and contents duly noted. Replying 

 we would say that we have always advocated sprayisg 

 after the blossoms fall, and are perfectly aware that 

 it is the only proper time to spray. Unfortunately, 

 however, by a mistake on the part of our printer, and 

 an oversight on ours as well, we did not notice the er- 

 ror in our booklet, where it says, " Spray ju^t before 

 the blossoms fall." We intended to say "just after 

 the blossoms fall." We have sent these books to all 

 the different colleges in the country, as well as nu- 

 merous other people, and it has apparently escaped 

 everybody's attention until it was brought to your no- 

 tice. We shall certainly correct this on all literature 

 which we send out in the future, as we do not wish to 

 convey a wrong impression. 



Boston, Mass. Merrimac Chemicai. Co. 



This is iu splendid contrast to the attitude 

 of another prominent manufacturer of spray- 

 ing outfits whom we might name. None 30 

 blind as those who won't see. But the intel- 

 ligent fruit-grower and bee-keeper won't be 



