June, 1913. 



American Vee Jonrnal 



The Season of 1912 



In order to give a true picture, we must 

 EC baclt to the fall of iqii. which was about 

 the most discouraging fall I ever saw as far 

 as bee-keeping is concerned We had noth- 

 ing but rain and cola weather all through 

 August. September, and part of October, 

 and by the middle of November consider- 

 able snow which stayed until spring, conse- 

 quently the Queens stopped laying in Sep- 

 tember. This, coupled with the fact that 

 during August considerable honey-dew 

 was gathered, and that for weeks the ther- 

 mometer never went higher than 30 degrees 

 above zero, is it any wonder that the ma- 

 jority of our bees died ? 



Had we bee-keepers been smart enough 

 to take away all the honey and feed sugar 

 syrup, we could have saved our bees, but as 

 the honey-dew was not of a very dark color, 

 aud did not taste bad. no one had any idea 

 it would be so detrimental to the bees. The 

 majority of bee-keepers lost neat ly all their 

 bees, many of them every colony they had. 

 When my 46 colonies were taken out of the 

 cellar (March 21) they were all alive but one. 

 but on examining them the next day. I knew 

 that half of them would not pull through. In 

 many hives I found but a small handful of 

 bees and right here let me say that if we 

 bee-keepers of the North could have sent to 

 the South for bees by the pound, we could 

 have saved most of those colonies). The 

 hives were spotted so that not even the 

 numbers could be read, and the odor was 

 fearful. 



By uniting the number of my colonies was 

 reduced to 26. They were then well pro- 

 tected with tar paper, and as we had very 

 nice weather for about two weeks. I fed 

 thin sugar syrup, and also pollen, in a warm, 

 sheltered place. The pollen was corn meal. 

 oat meal, rye and graham meal mixed. If 

 there had been a natural flow those bees 

 could not have worked better. The queens 

 started to lay at once, and though the spring 

 was cold and backward, they kept laying 

 more or less until the white clover flow 

 started in earnest. When bees started to 

 build queen-cells, and swarming commenced 

 in earnest, they were divided artificially and 

 increased to =3 colonies. The white clover 

 flow lasted nearly two months, and tons and 

 tons of nectar went to waste because there 

 were not enough bees to gather it. These 53 

 colonies gathered a little over 3200 pounds of 

 the finest honey I ever had. and they would 

 have done much better had they been as 

 strong in numbers as in other years. 



After the clover flow stopped the golden- 

 rod and fall flowers commenced to secrete 

 nectar. All of a sudden, on Sept. 15. it 

 stopped and no more honey came in. Dur- 

 ing the fall the bees started swarming again. 

 As late as Sept. 26. a fine stray swarm came 

 to my apiary. On examining this colony 



later I found the brood-chamber filled with 

 young bees and brood, but very little honey. 



The bee-keepers that did not heed the 

 warning of the bee journals, and did not 

 feed their bees will find to their sorrow this 

 spring their bees have starved to death in 

 spite of the splendid flow we had last sum- 

 mer. My 53 colonies were fed over ooo 

 pounds of sugar. G. A. Barbisch. 



La Crescent. Minn. 



A Washington Letter 



Bees have wintered splendidly, although 

 nearly three months in the cellar without 

 a flight. Cellar wintering is much to be pre- 

 ferred to any outdoor plan in this part of the 

 State, for the reason that while we have 

 many bright, calm days that entice the bees 

 from the hives, it is seldom that the air is 

 balmy enough for successful flights, and 

 many of them soon drop and perish in the 

 snow. 



Only 100 miles south of here bees winter 

 successfully on the summer stands with no 

 protection; while we. being nearer the Cas- 

 cades, sometimes have sleighing from the 

 beginning of December until March. 



Bees are doing better each year, as more 

 young orchards reach the blossoming age. 

 and as the fruit-growers realize the impor- 

 tance of cover crops among the trees. 

 Alfalfa, vetch, and clovers are used mostly 

 for this purpose, and being first-class honey 

 plants are welcomed by the bee-keeper. 

 Bee-pasturage, outside of the irrigated dis- 

 tricts, is rather scant. Millions of flowers, 

 blossoming in early spring, that would be 

 valuable nectar producers if they came at a 

 more congenial season. " waste their sweet- 

 ness on the desert air." while the bees re- 

 main impatient prisoners at home, waiting 

 for the few calm, bright days with which 

 we are blessed at this time. How they seem 

 to appreciate each warm day as they start 

 forth joyously on their circling flights, pros- 

 pecting for pollen in the tops of the pussy 

 willows: while, in many places, tardy snow- 

 banks still cover their roots. 



J. D. Yancey. 

 Port Columbia. Wash.. March 27. 



his bees two years ago. and was going out o ^ 



the business, but now he is increasing his 

 number very fast. He is putting in an 

 apiary within one-half mile from another 

 apiary. He has also put one within a half 

 mile of my apiary. I guess he figures that 

 his bees will not fly very far. Within a ra- 

 dius of i miles there arewo colonies of bees, 

 and only one-half of the range is alfalfa. 

 The other is mesquite along the canal. Any 

 one wfio has been thinking of coming to this 

 valley to locate can get some idea of how 

 many bees there are here. 



Albert J. Ross. 

 Buckeye. Ariz.. May iS- 



Too Many Bees in One Locality 



Some people may think this Buckeye val' 

 ley is a great place for bees, where the farm- 

 ers raise so much alfalfa seed each year. 

 The bees do fairly well, but there are so 

 many bees here now it cuts the honey crop 

 down low. and there is not as much profit in 

 it as there used to be. There are no bees 

 for sale here, and no good locations for bees 

 that 1 know of but what are already taken 

 up. 



One of the bee-men sold about one-half of 



Feeding Sugar Candy 



I saw a discussion in the bee-papers lately 

 regarding the use of dry sugar for feedinc 

 bees during winter. I have practiced candy 

 feeding for the purpose of carrying colonies 

 through the winter that are short of honey. 

 1 don't often have them myself, but I find 

 plenty among my neighbors that I buy for 

 a " song," and take through the winter on 

 candy. They make fine colonies the next 

 year. I use granulated sugar for the candy, 

 and add about one cupof honey to 10 pounds 

 of sugar, as I think this makes a softer 

 candy, and bees can use it better in dry 

 freezing weather. I have fed the cube 

 candy, and lost 4 colonies; all I fed with it 

 in the winter of 1011-12. I find it too hard 

 and dry. 



In making the candy I am careful not to 

 have it scorched, and this is easily avoided 

 by stirring it all the time, and keeping the 

 fire low at the last. When, by the usual 

 methods. I find it hasboiled enough I remove 

 it from the fire, and continue to stir it until 

 it begins to thicken a little, when I pour it 

 into wooden butter dishes that hold about 3 

 pounds. I use it when cold by placing the 

 plates upside down on top of the frames 

 over the cluster of bees. 



I have brought through to this day one of 

 the smallest colonies of bees I ever tried to 

 winter; a small 2-frame nucleus, and they 

 have not a drop of honey in the hive; noth- 

 ing but cakes of sugar candy. These bees 

 are as bright and clean as any bees could be. 



The only loss of bees in this locality this 

 winter is from starvation, and that among 

 the careless who keep a few colonies in any 

 old box. A Boy, 



Ashland, Ohio. 



Foul Brood Bad in Wisconsin 



My bees came through the winter fine, I 

 have not lo-^t a single colony, and never be- 

 fore except one in [911-12. I winter my bees 

 outdoors in chaff hives, and if they are 

 packed right they will go through all right. 

 I have 40 colonies now, and should we get a 

 good honev season I will increase to 50 colo- 

 nies. That is all I care to have. If 1 attend 

 properly to 50 I have more protit than other- 

 wise from too colonies. For the last three 

 years we have had poor honey crops. 



We hive very few bees around here. We 

 had several bee-men with 100 to 200 colonies, 

 bst today they have none— all killed by 

 American foul brood. I do not think we 

 have2co colonies in our county. I hope our 

 new law will help us to get rid of that pest; 

 that is, if it will be enforced by the ofticers. 

 If not. then a few years more and we will 

 have no more bees in this county. I think I 

 don't say too much if I say there are more 

 than 1000 foul-broody hives standing around. 

 So vou can judge for yourself what the re- 

 sult will be. I have fought against the dis- 

 ease since it started here, but under these 

 conditions I will never get rid of it. 



Grafton. Wis.. May Wm. Nierode. 



Flood Does Damage 



I have almost been swept out of business. 

 On March 2=, we had the worst flood in 35 

 years. I lost nearly all of my bees and 

 and had my bee-supplies ruined The water 

 was almost in the house. I am washing the 

 mud out of the hives that have a few bees in 

 them in order to secure a few colonies 



Loris Werner. 



Edwardsville, HI., April 2, 



Apiakv of .1. H. Kneser. of Barrington, li.l,. 



■Very Small Loss 



Our bees are all out of the cellar, and I am 

 examining them very carefully. Hardly any 

 winter loss. Our north yard had just one. 

 and that one was queenless. Bees are gath- 

 ering pollen today from the poplar and as- 

 pen, and also the maple. 



Frank F. France. 



Plattevil'.e. Wis,. May i. 



