Wrens Valuable The little wren birds to Beekeepers are one of nature's best exterminators of the wax moth that we have. The wax worm that hatches from the egg laid by the moth and feeds on and destroys the comb is one of the parasites of the honeybee. In the daytime the moth lies quiet in obscure spots around the beehive. The mother wren gathers them by the mouthful to feed her young. A few wren houses put up around the apiary are a good investment. If you make your own wren houses make the opening just the size of a 25-cent piece so the larger birds will not molest the little wrens. Clear Lake, Iowa.

Selling Granulated Honey

E. N. Renz.

Should we educate the publie to use granulated honey, or should we spend much time and money liquefying it? The latter is an expensive process with a lot of us. Of course, our bottled honey requires liquefying, but why go to the trouble of liquefying honey for 22, 5, and 10 pound pails? Why not take the time and money we spend liquefying honey and teach the people the purity and nature of honey?

The big honey-producer is generally prepared to liquefy honey at a small expense, but this isn't true of the smaller producer. He isn't prepared and often makes a failure of things. He finds competing with the big fellow hard sledding. It is a shame how little the majority of people know about honey, and the merchants are not an exception in this case. Time after time I have had my attention called to the fact (?) by some merchant that my honey isn't pure, that it has gone to sugar and people will not buy it. Of course, they should know better, but they don't. It is up to the honey-producers to teach them. Leroy Churchman.

Eureka, Kan.

Fall Treatment Dr. Hutzelman's solufor American tion enables the beeFoul Brood keeper-large or small -to control American foul brood and produce large crops of honey more cheaply than formerly. With our long severe winters and very often late unfavorable springs, a colony with just a few cells showing disease in the late fall should be destroyed and the combs disinfected. A careful late fall inspection is necessary, since not one out

of six such colonies will winter under ordinary conditions, and the risk is too great to justify keeping them. Much of this loss is classed as winter loss. And the hives and combs are used the following season, forming an endless chain of disease. Beware of weak colonies in the spring. They very often contain this disease carried over from previous fall. To avoid spring tinkering, reserve enough full frames of early honey for spring feeding, then disinfect all empty combs removed in feeding. Later a thorough inspection

can be made. Beginners should make a careful study of American foul brood before engaging in beekeeping. If they do not their experience will be the same as that of many South Dakota small beekeepers - interesting and exciting, but not profitable. Hawarden, Ia.

A. McBride.

Does Not Recommend [The following 8-Frame Hive letter to Morley Pettit, with his reply, should clear up any misunderstanding regarding Mr. Pettit's article on pages 360, 361, and 362, June issue of this journal.-Editor.]

Dear Sir: I am impressed with the statement in Gleanings that you prefer the 8-frame hive in producing section honey while most beekeepers are condemning it as being inferior to the 10-frame hive. In a few words, kindly tell me the deciding advantages of the 8-frame hive. W. E. Pickett. Michigan.

Dear Sir-I am afraid you will have to give me chapter and verse. I never intentionally advised anyone to use 8-frame hives for any purpose. In fact, my ar ticle in June Gleanings was not meant as advice on how to produce comb honey, but on the advisability of producing it instead of so much extracted honey. Then I told how we used to produce it some years ago. We did not use 8-frame hives but at a certain time in the season we reduced the brood-chamber space to force more workers into the supers. I explained that we did this only with swarms that we did not intend to winter. We produced more and better sections at the expense of the colonies, counting on swarms to keep up our numbers. Now I would count on southern packages instead of natural swarming.

I find the 10-frame L hive very satisfactory by running it with the broodchamber double most of the year, and prefer it to any other hive on the market. Georgetown, Ont. Morley Pettit.

Bees Killed in Fruit District

There has been considerable loss of bees again this year in the fruit sections of this state due to the arsenical sprays. The experiment station at the State College of Washington has been working spasmodically on this question but to date has not found a practical, economical method of prevention. Some of the beekeepers are moving to other sections, and, I am sorry to say, some to other states. The dearth of bees is being felt by the fruit-growers, especially in the Wenatchee district. I spent two days, about a year ago, in the district and found only 25 colonies in that length of time. They are having difficulty in securing a perfect set. By that I mean a large number of lop-sided apples are found upon the trees, due to imperfect pollination. Some fruit-growers are buying bees just for pollination purposes, knowing that they will be killed during the year. B. A. Slocum.

Pullman, Wash.

Brood Killed by Boiled Honey

In reading in the July issue of Gleanings Mr. Byer's experience in feeding boiled honey to bees in the spring, I am reminded of an experience I had along this line some years ago. It happened one spring when practically no honey came in up to the time the clover honey flow began. Naturally some of my bees were running short of stores, and having on hand some foul-broodcontaminated honey, I fed this to them after I diluted it with water, equal parts, and boiled it for one hour, then let it cool and boiled it another hour before I fed it to the bees. On examining the bees about a week afterward I found everything all right, with the exception of two colonies which were totally void of any living unsealed brood. Then I remembered that these two colonies were just at the end of their stores when they were fed. I then took the hint, made some sugar syrup and mixed it equal parts with the boiled honey, and fed it to these two colonies. From that time on brood-rearing went on as usual and everything was perfectly normal as far as I could see. Consequently I conclude that boiled honey alone is not fit feed for bees. Moody Brenneman.

Berne, Ind.

Colony living in the open in South Africa.

cial formaldehyde added to four times its volume of water will disinfect combs infected with American foul brood. All honey should be washed from such combs, the combs air-dried, and then allowed to soak for 100 hours in the solution. In making this statement I have as its proof some 600 brood-combs so treated that have stood the test of this season, and some of them have passed two years' inspection. I am quite certain that a 48-hour dipping is insufficient, for in a few cases re-infection occurred even after 60 hours. R. W. Stratton. Delhi, Calif.

[It is unfortunate that Dr. Hutzelman did not write up fully the research work he did in the development of a method of sterilizing combs containing American foul brood, since he went over the same ground several years ago in experimenting with the water-formalin solution that is now being gone over by research men in various colleges and by beekeepHowever, the continued research by many workers may bring some important developments in finding a cheaper vehicle than alcohol to carry the formalin that will penetrate the diseased material in a reasonable length of time.-Editor.j

ers.

During September and early October the bees complete the shaping of their affairs for winter. If they are able to gather nectar from fall flowers they now store more of it in the brood-chamber, sometimes crowding the brood-nest until but little room for brood is left. The honey is stored in the upper and back portions of the combs away from the entrance, the reduced brood-nest being crowded toward the entrance. Late in September or early in Octobter there is usually left only a small sphere of brood in the lower front portion of the broodchamber if the colony is well provisioned with honey.

The queen then ceases laying entirely or the bees refuse to care for the few eggs she does lay, and brood-rearing is suspended for the winter. This usually occurs about October 1 in the North and a few weeks later in South, the exact time varying from year to year according to weather conditions and the presence or absence of nectar. When the last of the brood emerges there is left a somewhat spherical portion of the broodchamber in which the combs have vacant cells. This becomes the center of the winter cluster if the interior of the hive becomes so cold that the bees are compelled to form a compact cluster to maintain the required temperature within.

As a rule, it is not advisable to break up this arrangement of the winter stores and vacant cells unless necessary. If combs are taken out of the brood-chamber during this month, they should, as a rule, be put back in the same position. It is not often necessary to handle the combs of the brood-chamber during September except for some special manipulation. If the colony had a young queen that was laying in a normal manner last month, one may be reasonably sure that she is still present and at work if conditions are favorable for brood-rearing. The amount of honey can be estimated by lifting the hive or by looking in at the top. Lifting up a single frame from the middle of the brood-chamber often enables the beekeeper to judge as to the condition of the colony without examining other combs, since the amount of brood and the amount of honey the colony has at this time tells most of the story regarding the condition of the col

ony.

Honey Plants That Bloom in the Fall Many nectar-bearing fall flowers come into bloom in September, and in localities where these are abundant the bees are often able to store considerable hon

ey during the month. In the buckwheat region, buckwheat often continues to yield during the first week or ten days of September. In portions of the northeastern states, goldenrod often yields enough nectar so that the bees are able to store surplus honey from this source. In swampy places many fall flowers come into bloom early in September, sometimes furnishing enough nectar to cause the bees to work well in the supers. In the corn belt of the Mississippi Valley heartsease (commonly known as smartweed) is sometimes abundant during wet seasons and continues to furnish nectar well into September. In some localities surplus honey is often secured from this source. Later in the month the asters come into bloom and continue until frost. In some localities they enable the bees to fill up their hives late in the season.

The recent rains throughout most of the eastern portion of the United States have greatly benefited the fall nectarbearing plants, so that in some localities it may be necessary to put on more supers to give the bees room to store the fall honey; but in most localities there is but little fall honey, and often the bees gather less than they consume during the remainder of the season. Sometimes the fall honey flow is so light that the bees spend so much energy in searching that the colonies become greatly depleted, the bees wearing themselves out by ceaseless searching. In such cases it would probably be better if there were a dearth of nectar instead of just enough to cause the bees to wear themselves out in this way.

Supplying Room for Fall Honey

Where there is enough fall honey to cause the bees to store some surplus the work in the supers should be watched closely to be sure that the bees will have all of the room they need for storing. If an upper story of empty combs or frames with full sheets of foundation was given at the beginning of the fall honey flow, as advised last month, it may not be necessary to give a third story unless there should come a rapid honey flow. If more room is needed, some of the combs that have been filled and sealed can be taken from the middle of the upper story, the honey extracted, and the combs put back. When this is done it is well to move the partly-finished honey to the middle of the upper story and place the empty combs at the sides. If the upper story is to be left as a food-chamber, it is usually best not to take away any of the honey, especially if it is filled with

white honey that was gathered early, since the white honey is, as a rule, better for winter stores than the fall-gathered honey. In this case, if more room is needed, it will be necessary to give a third story.

Owing to the shorter days and cooler nights, together with the natural inclination of the bees to store the honey in the brood-chamber instead of in the supers, it is difficult to produce comb honey in the fall unless the fall honey flow is heavy. However, during a good fall honey flow comb honey can be produced even in September, and in such cases it is advisable for those who do not have an extractor to put on combhoney supers in order to supply sufficient room during a good fall honey flow. As a rule, it is much better to take the fall honey in the extracted form.

Importance of Brood-Rearing in

September

The fate of the colonies during the winter and their prosperity next spring depends to a large extent upon the amount of brood reared this month. Where there is a fall honey flow there is usually enough brood reared in August and September to insure a good colony for winter. But if there is a dearth of nectar, other conditions must be favorable if the colonies are to have enough young bees for successful wintering and building up in the spring. Colonies that are too weak to take care of at least two or three frames of brood, colonies that run short of stores, colonies that have old or otherwise poor queens, and colonies that become queenless during this period, will be in poor condition for winter. In order to have all the colonies in good condition for winter it is necessary to be sure that each has enough bees, plenty of honey, and a good queen at this time, so that fall brood-rearing shall not be interfered with in any way. Where brood-rearing has been stimulated by a fall honey flow, the colonies should have brood in six or more combs at this time. If there is a dearth of nectar there will be less, but if the bees have plenty of honey and a good queen they will still rear enough brood during September to make a good colony for winter. The equivalent of three of four frames well filled with brood in September is about as much as can be expected where there is no fall honey flow. nies that have poor queens or that are short of stores will have still less and therefore be in poor condition for winter.

Colo

What to do With Weak Colonies One of the most common mistakes made by beginners is that of attempting to winter colonies that are too weak. Often excessive swarming or artificially

dividing colonies results in having many little colonies for winter. If conditions are favorable, even two-frame nuclei can be built up to sufficient strength for winter after the middle of August; but after the middle of September small colonies are not able to build up in time for winter in the North. In case there are several small colonies that are able to take care of only two or three combs of brood the middle of this month, it is better to unite them to form one or two good colonies instead of trying to winter them separately. If this uniting is done this month, the united colony will still have time to arrange affairs in the broodchamber for winter. There are also some advantages in uniting the brood instead of waiting until the brood emerges and uniting the resulting bees.

To unite two or three weak colonies, the cover of the strongest one may be removed and a newspaper having a few pinholes punched through it spread over the frames, then the hive of another colony with the bottom-board taken off set directly on top of the paper. A third colony can be put on top of the second in a like manner, if desired. The bees will gnaw away the newspaper and unite peaceably, after which the combs can be sorted and those containing brood put into a single hive body. If the other combs contain only a little honey it may be well to place the hive body containing them below the one containing brood, in order to induce the bees to carry the honey up and store it in the chamber containing the brood. It will be necessary to uncap sealed honey to induce the bees to carry it up. If there

are several frames filled with honey, these should be arranged in a second story immediately above the brood if the colony is to be wintered in two stories.

Should Have Plenty of Honey

If any colonies are found to be short of stores at this time and not gathering more than a living from the fields, they should be given at least two combs of honey taken from another colony, if it can be spared. If not, such colonies should be immediately fed ten or fifteen pounds of sugar syrup made by stirring together about equal parts (either by weight or by volume) of sugar and water. This can be mixed cold and sugar added until no more will be dissolved. This is not intended to be the winter stores of the colony, but simply a reserve to prevent a reduction in brood-rearing at this time. If there is no nectar in the flowers it may be necessary to repeat this later in the month. If feeding for winter is necessary, this should usually be done early in October after broodrearing has ceased.