108 



GLKANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1918 



THE inspector 

 o f apiaries 

 for Massa- 

 chusetts, Burton 

 N. Gates, in send- 

 i n g out direc- 

 t i n s recently 

 for " Feeding 

 and Saving 

 Bees, ' ' gives the 

 following: " Candy is procurable in paper 

 pie plates or paper dishes. These are to be 

 inverted (candy side down) directly over the 

 bees, ,on top of the frames, in an empty su- 

 per. A two pound package is estimated to 

 serve a colony about three weeks. One or 

 more slabs of candy may thus be placed in 

 a super and replaced as often as necessary. 

 Over the candy, fill the super, with insulative 

 packing (any dry, warm material) in order 

 to conserve all the heat possible. Keep every- 

 thing dry. If it is a cold day work rapidly, 

 but feed rather than to starve your bees. 

 Do not delay feeding." 



* * * 



Under date of Jan. 15, John C. Bull, secre- 

 tary-treasurer of the National Beekeepers' 

 Association, sends word that the program 

 for the National meeting could not be com- 

 pleted at that date. He says the following 

 speakers are expected to be present or ■send 

 papers: E. E. Eoot, " Present and Future 

 of Beekeeping"; F. Erie Millen, " The State 

 Agricultural College and Beekeeping in 

 1918"; Dr. E. F. Phillips, " Extension 

 Work"; E. D. Townsend, " Some Proposed 

 National Work for 1918"; C. P. Da- 

 dant,, " Making Honey a Staple"; J. 

 W. Stine, " Legislation — What Can Our 

 Government Do to Help the Industry?" 

 Geo. W. Williams, " A Merger of All 

 Beekeepers' Societies"; E. S. Miller, " The 

 Future of the National"; John C. Bull, 

 " Government Aid for Beekeeping." As be- 

 fore announced the National Convention is to 

 be held at Burlington, la., Feb. 19 to 21. 

 But arrangements have been so changed that 

 instead of the convention meeting in Eemey 

 Hall it will have headquarters and hold ses- 

 sions in the banquet room of the Burlington 

 Hotel. There will be an evening session on 

 Feb. 19, three sessions on Feb. 20 and two 

 sessions on Feb. 21. The secretary gives no- 

 tice that all who expect to attend should 

 make reservations for rooms in advance so 

 that the hotel management will be able to 

 take care of the beekeepers attending. Ad- 

 dress the secretary at Valparaiso, Ind., for a 

 program which may be had for the asking. 



* * * 



Michigan beekeepers are being lined up 

 for a larger honey production in 1918 than 

 ever before. State Inspector of Apiaries B. 

 F. Kindig, co-operating with the special field 

 agent of the U. S. Dep 't of Agriculture, P. 

 W. Erbaugh, has been holding a series of 

 county meetings. Up to Jan. 16 meetings 

 had been held in the counties of Marshall, 

 Mason, Williamston, Muiiith, Adrian, Hills- 



dale, Coldwater, 

 W h,i t e Pigeon, 

 Fenton, Birming- 

 ham and Ypsi- 

 lanti. One of the 

 objects of these 

 meetings has 

 been the organi- 

 zation of county 

 beekeepers' asso- 

 ciations, and many counties have organized 

 such associations. The following places had 

 been scheduled for meetings during the rest 

 of January: Jackson, East Lansing, Grand Eap- 

 ids, Scottville, Big Bear Lake, Elk Eapids, 

 Traverse City, Tawas City, Caro, Saginaw and 

 Owosso. The severe storms experienced in- 

 terfered somewhat with the attendance, but 

 all meetings were held as scheduled. The at- 

 tendance has been very satisfactory. The 

 matter of organization has been taken up en- 

 thusiastically and the fact that interested 

 and public-spirited beekeepers have been 

 made the ofiicers of the associations assures 

 the success of the organizations. In many 

 cases local beekeepers have taken part in 

 the program. Mr. Erbaugh and State Inspec- 

 tor Kindig have spoken on ' ' Wintering, ' ' 

 ' ' Spring Management, " " Swarm Control, ' ' 

 " The Necessity for Increased Production" 

 " Foul Brood " and " Extracted Honey Pro- 

 duction. ' ' It will be necessary to discon- 

 tinue these meetings during the month of 

 February because the state inspector also 

 teaches apiculture at the Agricultural Col- 

 lege. The work will be taken up again in 



March. 



* * * 



Word comes from Los Angeles, date of 

 Jan. 12, that many bees are being fed in the 

 sage districts, but the eucalyptus is bearing 

 wonderfully, and all bees in the eucalyptus 

 districts are building up very rapidly. 



* * » 



Of the 2,000 tons of honey shipped to Italy 

 last fall, as mentioned in September Glean- 

 ings, 1,200 tons were lost. This honey was 

 originally loaded into a comparatively small 

 boat. We infer that the pitching of the boat, 

 due to heavy seas, caused the packages to be 

 jammed against each other, with the result 

 that they sprang aleak. It is reported that 

 the bottom of the boat was a veritable lake 

 of honey — and such a mess. The incident 

 emphasizes the importance of using better 

 cans and better barrels, and bracing them in 

 the hold of 'the boat. Why the consignee 

 did not cleanse and use the honey afloat in 

 the hold of the boat, we don 't know, unless 

 it was mixed with other commodities of a 

 character that would ruin it. 



In connection with the effort to increase 

 food production, the Bureau of Entomology, 

 U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, has enlarged its 

 extension work in beekeeping by the ap- 

 pointment of several new men. During the 

 winter months, an effort will be made to 

 reacli beekeepers with the message that an 



