Fkbki .\i;\-, 1918 



G L E .\ N T N G S IN B E E C U I. T U K E 



vided thorn with suflieient stores. Fortunate- 

 ly, as noted elsewhere, the sugar situation 

 is likely to so improve that beekeepers 

 will be able to get all the sugar they need 

 to feed tlidso coloiiios that are short of sup- 

 plies. 



Ol lO ^^ a ::^:ig 



THERE HAVE BEEN various eonflicting 

 reports in regard to drifting when bees are 

 wintered in pack- 

 Drifting ing-cases, four colo- 

 Nuisance nies to the case, 

 in Winter. E. F. Holterniann 

 and others who 

 have used the plan extensively in Canada 

 say they experience no trouble with them. 

 Others, however, who have tried it out com- 

 plain that they have a good deal of drifting, 

 with the result that one colony will have 

 many bees and the other will have too few. 

 The former may be starving and the latter 

 may be dying of winter cold. 



The cause of this drifting is plain. There 

 will be little or no drifting providing the 

 colonies are put into winter cases early in 

 September. This is not so much because 

 they need protection at this time as to get 

 the bees to become accustomed to the chang- 

 ed appearance of their home. During the 

 fall months they wall gather pollen and 

 nectar; and, with packing, all the brood 

 will liatch. The result is that the early pack- 

 ing means young bees early in the fall. With 

 lots of packing, young bees, and plenty of 

 stores, a colony is almost sure to winter, 

 and there will be little or no drifting. 



But when bees are packed in November 

 and December there will be more or less con- 

 fusion and drifting. It is our rule, when we 

 pack bees in quadruple cases, in November 

 to move them in from an outyard and put 

 them in the home yard or at another outyard 

 in these big cases. Thej^ then have to mark 

 their locations anew. 



GC 



THE ORDEE of the United States Fuel Ad- 

 ministration, dated Jan. 16, placing a first 

 five-dav a n d a n 

 Coal in every-Monday pro- 



Bee Supplies hibition of the use 

 Manufacture. of coal for all in- 

 dustries east of the 

 Mississippi (except a comparatively few- 

 enumerated in the order) found beekeei)ers' 

 supply manufacturers in an exceptionaiiy 

 fortunate position. We say this, judging 

 I'-om the manufacturing conditions of the 

 A. T. Eoot Co., and presuming these condi- 

 tions are the same in the other supply nianu- 

 fp.ftories. This fortunate position is that 

 Ihe ])lant can run full fo/"i /; and consume f.ir 

 less coal than if it lie idle and r.se on\v 

 ihe coal necessary to avoid injury to the 

 plant from cold and freezing. This is be 

 cause the plant, while running full, produces 

 enough shavings, wood dust and wood waste 

 to fire the boilers with the use of less coal 



in addition than is necessary to use whyn not 

 lunning full but merely to keep the plant 

 warm and from injury. Accordingly, at this 

 writing, it does not seem that the manufac- 

 ture of beekeepers' supplies should be inter- 

 fered with by this drastic order of the U. 

 S. Fuel Administrator issued to conserve 

 coal. It is ])i'obably a necessary order, and 

 will work no harm in closing many places of 

 doubtful use (and worse) one day each week. 



.os= 



IN CASE of long continued cold weather, 

 so extreme that the cluster is unable to move 

 to the adjacent 



This May Save 



Your Bees. 



combs of honey, 

 the bees will starve 

 with quantities of 

 honey but a few inches away. Altho open- 

 ing hives in cold weather is always attended 

 with more or less risk, and tho we do not 

 care to be quoted as generally advocating 

 such practice, still under the above condi- 

 tions and having no other feed, it might be 

 a good plan to remove an outer frame of 

 honey filling the extra space with a chaff 

 division board or packing, lay the comb over 

 the cluster and again cover warmly. During 

 this operation great care should be taken 

 not to let too much heat escape, and not to 

 jar the hive or disturb the cluster in the 

 slightest. The beginner is specially caution- 

 ed concerning these last two points. 



BEESWAX, the important by-product of the 

 ajiiary, after having remained almost as con- 

 stant in price as 

 Attention gold itself, has now 



to Saving of for the first time 

 Beeswax. in more than 30 



years, jumped in 

 price very considerably. In keeping with 

 the increasing number of plans for saving 

 and conserving, it is quite fitting that bee- 

 keepers pay special attention to the saving 

 of beeswax, for there is danger (in the mad 

 rush for more tons of honey) of forgetting 

 the ounces of beeswax. Gleanings believes 

 that this is a mistake, and therefore is glad 

 to give extra space to the discussion of bees- 

 w^ax — ways and means of obtaining it cheap- 

 ly — that appear in this number. 



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BUSINESS MANAGER, 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture. 



