Ol.£ANINGvS 



IN 



5EE CULTUKE 



Published by The A. I. Root Company, Medina. Ohio 



E. R. Root, Editor A. L. Boyden, Advertislnff Mgr 



H. H. Root. Asst. Ed. J. T. Calvert, Business Mgr 



A. I. Ro«t, Editor of Home Department 



Vol. XXXV. 



SEPTEMBER 1, 1907. 



No. 17. 



I MEASURED worker-comb built by the bees 

 at their own sweet will. Transversely there 

 were from 23| to 24 cells in 5 inches; diago- 

 nally there were 24J^ to 25 cells in 5 inches. 



Cold watek is recommended {Schwciz. 

 Bztg., 258) as better than smoke to subdue 

 bees. Apply in a line spray with a large at- 

 omizer; use only in hot weather, and have 

 the water always fresh. I tried it without 

 great success. 



Saltpeter rags are not so good if made 

 too strong with saltpeter When lighted 

 there is too nearly an explosion, and the fuel 

 has not time to light. Don't know just what 

 is right; perhaps half a pound of saltpeter to 

 a gallon of water. 



"Don't try to winter weak colonies . . . 

 for a weak colony in the fall is usually a 

 dead one in the spring," says E. W. Alexan- 

 dei", p. 1080. I can't say it any better, but I 

 can say it over again, for some of you young 

 chaps need to have it thrust in your faces at 

 every turn, and then you can't be persuaded 

 till you lose a good many colonies for several 

 winters. 



" Bees are believed to hustle in with gi'eat- 

 er energy to fill a vacant space made between 

 partly filled sections in which they are at 

 work than they will do where they are al- 

 lowed to have their own way of working, or 

 continually adding from the outside," page 

 1075. Yet, Bro. Doolittle. 1 understand that 

 you have lately come to the conclusion it is 

 always best to add empty sec^tions over the 

 others. Please tell us wby. 



That hay cure of Bro. SchoU for rob- 

 bing, p. 1078, is the favorite one in this local- 

 ity, only the hay is piled to the top of the 

 hive. [We have used a good many times 



this same kind of cure, only it happens to be 

 wet grass. If roljbers get to l)e very^ba<l 

 around a hive, clustering in festoons around 

 the cracks between the cover and hive-body, 

 we go around with a small dipper and a pill 

 of water, and dash a little on each little clus- 

 ter. A wet cloth laid over the top of the 

 hive will do much to cool the ardor of such 

 persistent robbers. Robber bees do not like 

 to crawl under a wet cloth nor through wet 

 grass. See editorial on this subject else- 

 where. — Ed.] 



Dr. Ohnmals secured for analysis 12 sam- 

 ples of foundation from 12 foundation-man- 

 ufacturers. Only 4 samples were of pure 

 beeswax; 2 labeled "Guaranteed of pure 

 beeswax" contained ceresin; and 6 contain- 

 ed from 40 to 75 per cent of ceresin. — 

 Deutsche Bzcht. German bee-keepers better 

 emigrate to this country, where adulteration 

 of foundation is practically unknown. [The 

 makers of foundation in this country have 

 always felt that, if they desire to kill their 

 business, the quickest way to do it is to send 

 out adulterated wax. Our national pure-food 

 law now in force would make it very hazard- 

 ous business to put out any but a strictly 

 pure wax. — Ed ] 



"Has any one ever claimed that young 

 bees spent their whole time in brood-rear- 

 ing?" quoth ye editor, page 1007. I always 

 supposed so, that and housework in general. 

 And I always supposed that evei*y bee did its 

 stunt at it up to about 16 days of age. Kra- 

 mer's point is that some never do housework 

 — just loaf till time for field work. [How 

 does Kramer knoiv that these identical young 

 bees never do any housewoi-k? Why, he 

 "would have to sit up night and day, and 

 watch these same bees every minute of the 

 time — a thing practically impossible unless 

 it were done by a relay of ditTerent people. 

 —Ed.] 



The year 1907 keeps up its reputation as 

 a freak year. The first white-clover blossom 

 appeared June 8, but no indication of storing 

 from it till June 28, when honey shook from 

 brood-combs, and storing continued more or 

 less weakly till July 21. Then bees barely 



