' 44 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Jan. 15 



If one can not be sure of getting a ready- 

 mixed paint that is pure he nad better buy 

 pure white lead and oil and mix them as di- 

 rected in this article. But perhaps the read- 

 er would like to know what lead paste is 

 pure. There are several good brands, among 

 which we might mention Morley, The Na- 

 tional Lead Co., and Sherwin & Williams.— 

 Ed.] 



AN APPEAL TO NEW JERSEY BEE-KEEP- 

 ERS. 



BY ALBERT G. HANN. 



On Dec. 18, at the last annual meeting of 

 the New Jersey Bee-keepers' Association 

 our foul-brood bill was thoroughly discussed, 

 section by section, and approved; and the 

 members present determined to do all they 

 can to get the bill enacted into law at the 

 present session of the legislature. But there 

 remains much to be done by all other bee- 

 keepers in the State. In the first place we 

 should like all other members who nave not 

 done so to send us their annual dues of 50 cts. 

 for 1910, and ask for a printed copy of our bill. 

 Then we want all the other readers of Glean- 

 ings to join our association, send us the an- 

 nual dues of 50 cts., and get a copy of our 

 bill and enjoy the privileges of membership. 



If there are any readers who do not see fit 

 to join us we should like to have them write 

 us, enclosing a stamp, asking for a printed 

 copy of our foul-brood bill, and tell us if there 

 is any disease among their bees, or if there 

 are any careless bee-keepers around them, 

 or if there are any box hives. 



We are asking the readers to join our as- 

 sociation, for, the larger our numbers, the 

 greater prestige it will give us in asking for 

 a bill. K only a few ask for this bill it will 

 look as if they were trying to create an office 

 for one of them. Then the association needs 

 more funds to carry on the work properly. 

 There is considerable expense connected 

 with getting a new piece oi legislation enact- 

 ed like this, such as postage, printing, tele- 

 phone fees, and traveling expenses. It is not 

 fair that this should be l)orne by a few bee- 

 keepers, as the law benefits bee-keepers 

 throughout the whole State. 



By tne time you read this, our bill will have 

 been introduced. We want to urge every 

 reader of Gleanings to write to their sena- 

 iors and assemblymen from their respective 

 -counties to support our bill. Write a short 

 ifeusiness-like letter; explain briefly what foul 

 brood is— that it is a germ disease; how it 

 '.spreads by infected honey; what a danger the 

 •careless bee-keeper is, and how our bill will 

 help eradicate the disease. Compare our in- 

 iterests with the dairyman's interests, and 

 explain that the bee-keeper's property has 

 just as good a claim to protection against con- 

 tagious diseases as the cattle-raiser has to 

 protection of his herds against contagious 

 diseases by legislation. We have laws pro- 

 tecting cattle against contagious disease. 

 Mention further that California, Colorado, 



Idaho, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, 

 New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Washington, 

 and Wisconsin have foul-brood laws; that 

 Connecticut and South Dakota passed foul- 

 brood laws last winter, and other States are 

 trying. 



We should like to ask especially those in- 

 terested in bees in Essex Co., Hudson Co., 

 and Union Co., to see and to write to their 

 assemblymen and senators from their respec- 

 tive counties. Those three counties contain 

 a majority of the members of the assembly, 

 and therefore we must get them to favor our 

 bill. Without the favorable action of the as- 

 semblymen from those three counties our bill 

 will fail. 



I trust that this will be our last effort, and 

 that we shall succeed, as, indeed, we will if 

 each bee-keeper will do his part. 



Join our association now. 



Pittstown, New Jersey. 



VENTILATION BY RAISING THE HIVE- 

 BODY OFF THE BOTTOM. 



By its Use all Loss can be Prevented in the ■ 

 Winter, and Almost all Swarming done ■ 

 Away with in the Summer. 



BY A. A. CLARKE. 



I have been interested in the discussion 

 on the subject of ventilation of hives by J. 

 A. Yeoman, page 638, Oct. 15, and the article 

 by the editor on page 504, Aug. 15th issue. 

 This confirms what I wrote in Gleanings, 

 page 970, July 15, 1907, when I sent my meth- 

 od of ventilating in the summer time. I have 

 been using a similar method of ventilation 

 in the cellar, as that is where we are com- 

 pelled to winter our bees in this latitude. 

 I have adopted this scheme of ventilation as 

 being the most practical and sure way of 

 wintering for our uncertain winters. I am 

 after results, not theory. I have demon- 

 strated that, with sealed covers, plenty of 

 stores, and young queens combined with 

 proper ventilation, there is no fear of weak 

 colonies in the spring. When my bees are 

 put into the cellar every hive is weighed; 

 then the regular entrance is placed next to 

 the wall, and the body of each hive is loos- 

 ened from the bottom-board, and, with the 

 hive-tool, is pushed backward until the same 

 width of entrance is secured at the back of 

 the hive. My cellar is so constructed that I 

 can keep the temperature within one or two 

 degrees of 45 continuously until the bees 

 are put on summer stands. I have not lost 

 a colony since I have first used this method; 

 and last spring, which all know was a severe 

 one on bees in this locality, my bees were 

 as strong when removed from the cellar as 

 when put in; and they were all strong 

 enough to gather a nice surplus from fruit 

 bloom and dandelion. Perhaps it will be 

 as well for me to say that I have very little 

 time during the season to attend to my bees, 

 and that is the main reason why I had to 

 study out some plan to get the best results 

 in honey from them. 



