Letters to the Editors: Autumn 2010
The Buzz on Bees
To the Editors:
The article in the summer issue on lining bees brought back some pleasant memories. My grandfather was what we would today call a subsistence farmer. He grew, hunted, dug, or captured most everything the family ate. Locating a honeybee hive was an annual event.
The box we used to capture and hold the bees had two compartments, one for capturing the bee and one to hold the simple syrup. We used a piece of paraffin with holes drilled in it to serve as a honeycomb. We would capture 10 or a dozen bees before we introduced the syrup. If we were in a good place within a short time we would have dozens of bees at the box. Once we had a line of bees coming and going, we would mark a bee so we could calculate the distance from the hive. We used blue carpenter’s chalk mixed with a drop of water and applied with a small paint brush to mark a single bee. We figured a bee would fly about a quarter of a mile a minute. Allowing time for the bee to unload, we could get a rough estimate of the distance we were from the hive.
Some years ago I was standing at the counter in my office attending to an elderly gentleman as he was writing a check for his insurance policy. My future brother-in-law came bouncing in and asked if he could use my bee box. He said he wanted to show his girlfriend (now wife) how to line bees. I told him where to find it in my barn, and wished him a good day. I turned my attention back to my customer and was startled by his obvious sense of regret and missed opportunity. He blurted out to no one in particular, “Damn! I wish I had thought of that. I always tried to get ’em to go pick blueberries!”
Peter Koson, Alstead, New Hampshire
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The Buzz on Bees
Your article in the Summer 2010 issue on Bee Lining by David Brown contains some very interesting historical background.
Most beekeepers feel that the European honeybee has been wiped out in the wild by varroa mites, nosema, hive beetles, and other problems. An old bee tree in my woods has been empty for a few years.
Maybe some bees can be found outside beekeepers’ hive boxes, like those that have recently swarmed, but I’m afraid they will die off in a year or so without treatments to reduce varroa mites.
Maybe someday bees will be bred with a resistance to varroa, but those that have this tendency are too prone to swarm and this would cause other problems in the wild.
Peter Grant, Bristol, Vermont
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Recycling 2-cycle
To the Editors:
In reading the article by Chuck Wooster, Getting Cranked About Ethanol, two questions come to mind.
First, can I use a stabilizer in my gas if I have access to nonethanol fuel (which I do)?
Second, won’t running 2-cycle fuel (gas and oil) through a 4-cycle lawnmower cause problems with the carburetor? Since I own three chainsaws the article really got me wondering.
Richard Diefenbach, Danville, Vermont
Chuck Wooster responds: The answer to your first question is yes and to the second is maybe. Running 2-cycle fuel mix through a 4- cycle carburetor (or fuel injector or catalytic converter) is certainly not good for it, but in small quantities, may not be bad for it, either.
I fill my empty mower tank about 10 percent full with old 2-cycle mixture and then fill it the rest of the way with fresh gasoline. No problems to report, though I have nothing but this empirical data to offer. Dumping the old gas on the ground or burning it or storing it for long periods seem like even less attractive options.
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Golden Maple
To the Editors:
I enjoyed your article entitled “Ballad of the Golden Maple,” and recognized that load of logs from my scale ticket. I’ve scaled and shipped a lot of maple veneer, but that load stood out enough that I snapped a couple of pictures of it.
I’ve generally found that when maple reaches 18-20 inches dbh it has reached its potential unless it is on a super site. Often a single defoliation, wind storm, or other outside cause creates problems inside that are minor to a sawmill but major to a veneer mill. These trees were the exception.
Keep up the good work.
Bill Sargent, North Bennington, Vermont
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Keeping Track in Bagram
A big hello to all of you at Northern Woodlands from Afghanistan, and thanks very much for the magazines you sent our way. As soon as the newest magazine arrived, I turned directly to Susan Morse’s column on Tracking Tips.
I like the way she writes, plus I’ve been lucky enough to take one of her tracking courses. Bobcats (and bears) are my favorite critters to track – check out this picture that was taken outside our base.
Thanks for your giving kindness. When I’m home I’ll have Northern Woodlands sent directly to my house.
Sfc Cynthia Clemens, Bagram, Afghanistan
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No Cover Needed
To the Editors:
I liked “Seasoning Firewood” by Carl Demrow (Summer 2010), and my remarks merely offer a variation.
I find that whole wood does not need to be covered when seasoning. In fact, covering impedes airflow and the sun baking the wood. Wind is the biggest drying agent, next aridity, and finally the sun’s heat. Low density wood (red maple, for example) stacked outside in October is seasoned by April largely because of the wind and aridity of winter. Avoid curing stacks in the woods: the shade holds moisture, and reduces airflow.
Time is an ally, and two years will season better than a single year, particularly with dense wood such as hophornbeam and hickory. My final phase is to shift all wood to a shed in May, where it is sheltered from rain until called upon in October.
Jonathan Fairbanks, Potsdam, New York
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