170 



GLEANING S IN BEE CULTURE 



Makch, 1918 



for sweetening coffee. ' ' — Ida C. Bailey Al- 

 len, Specialist in Home Economics, New 

 York City, Jan. 18. 



' ' So far this has been a very hard winter 

 in this section of the country, deep snows, 

 very cold winds and even blizzards. A large 

 beekeeper here says he believes the bees 

 will freeze. ' ' — Claude Barber, Jasper Co., 

 Mo., Jan. 20. 



' ' I put 80 swarms in the cellar and they 

 are doing fine. Temperature is 45, and on 

 outside today is 20 below. We have about 

 nine inches of snow. Hope this stays on as 

 it protects the white clover."- — W. W. Bou- 

 tilier, Hancock Co., Iowa. 



* ' My bees flew Nov. 15, but have not 

 flown since. The blizzard of Jan. 12 covered 

 nearly all of my colonies with snow, but the 

 snow melted from the entrances and all 

 colonies are still alive. ' ' — Will L. Tower, 

 Oakland Co., Mich., Jan. 20. 



"I have taken Gleanings since and before 

 'Blue Eyes' was a baby, and I can't do 

 witliout it. I am up in the '70 's and am the 

 father of nine children, now scattered all 

 over the United States. ' ' — J. W. Sweetwood, 

 Soldiers' Home, Erie, Pa., Jan. 14. 



"Looking for great things to come from 

 America in connection with the great war to 

 help us secure a great and lasting peace 

 when the final blow has been struck against 

 German brute force and barbarism." — S. T. 

 Main, New South Wales, Australia, Dec. 1. 



' ' Wherever the raspberry flourishes the 

 honey bee will be found when it is in bloom. 

 Seeing a thatch in blossom at my daughter 's 

 place suggested to me that here is a fine 

 plant for waste places in all jjarts of the 

 country. ' ' — Dr. A. F. Bonney, Buck Grove, 

 la. 



' ' There is a big opportunity for beekeep- 

 ing in Montana, but some experimental work 

 should be done to make somewhat more def- 

 inite the information on wintering of bees 

 and for some other purposes." — R. A. 

 Cooley, State Entomologist, Bozeman, Mont., 

 Jan. 25. 



' ' Today we are having the first good rain 

 for this season. Not in 16 years has the 

 rainy season lagged so far behind. Good 

 rains in February and March will make the 

 outlook for bee men very promising. ' ' 

 • — G. W. Bercaw, Los Angeles Co., Calif., 

 Jan. 26. 



"I have extracted 30,000 pounds of honey 

 since the first of November last during one 

 of the coldest winters that the South has 

 experienced in a long time. Have realized 

 13 cents per pound in barrels, F. O. B. 

 Shreveport. "- — G. Frank Pease, Shreveport, 

 La., Jan, 29. 



' ' The Snake River Valley is experiencing 

 an extremely mild winter, the result of 

 which is that the bees are in fine shape. 

 Last week the bees had a full flight. Made 

 a trip around my yai'd and failed to find any 



colonies that showed the least sign of suffer- 

 ing from confinement. ' ' — R. D. Bradshaw, 

 Canyon Co., Idaho. 



"It seems that all books on bees are writ- 

 ten by Northern beekeepers, and some fel- 

 low down South said that a 10-frame hive 

 was not big enough for us. Well, it seems 

 he is right. My bees are ready to swarm by 

 May 1." — J. Lloyd Sterling, Somerset Co., 

 Md. 



"Bees in bad shape down here, I am 

 afraid. Poor flow last fall; could not buy 

 sugar, and the coldest winter ever known. 

 Zero again this forenoon; has once been 8 

 below. Only one flight since early Decem- 

 ber. ' ' — Parkin Scott, Hanover Co., Va., 

 Feb. 6. 



"There is no question in my mind that 

 the sjjring of 1918 will find pound packages 

 as well as whole colonies of bees higher. 

 Therefore it behooves us to take the best 

 possible care of our bees now and to build 

 up wisely in the spring. ' ' — Lewis L. Win- 

 ship, Erie Co., N. Y., Jan. 21. 



"I found a large, tame silver gray bee 

 working peacefully right under the roar of 

 the cannon and am bringing two home. They 

 may be the famous Hymettus bee; anyway, 

 Mt. Olympus is plainly visible across the 

 bay." — Francis Jager, American Red Cross, 

 "Somewhere in Greece," Oct. 7, 1917. 



"Today for the first time in eight weeki 

 it is warm enough to look thru my bees and 

 note conditions since early December. We 

 have had continued cold weather. We have 

 no trouble in getting all the sugar we 

 want here at 8% cents. We are asked no 

 questions. ' ' — S. A. Fuller, Phillips Co., Ark., 

 Feb. 3. 



' ' Luckily I always leave six full combs of 

 honey above besides what they have below, aid 

 I think it pays big, for if the bees do not 

 need it it can be extracted in the spring. 

 It is unusual that at this time of the year 

 there are no wild flowers in bloom or started 

 growing in this section. ' ' — Francis J. Cala- 

 han, San Diego Co., Calif., Jan. 22. 



"In December of 1882 and January of 

 1883 cattle and sheep were starving in the 

 hills and pastures; and then February, 

 March and April rains gave us a fair flow 

 of nectar. Reports come in now of stock 

 starving in the hills. Beekeepers neoul not 

 worry over the rains holding off.^ — M. H. 

 Mendleson, Ventura Co., Calif., Jan. 8. 



' ' Held a meeting at Bradentown, Fla., 

 where your father and I talked. Most of 

 the things I advocated from the government 

 standpoint, your father endorsed as what he 

 had been preaching for 30 years. Wonderful 

 opportunities at places in Florida, but much 

 of it is poor bee country. I have never 

 seen more apathy to better methods than 

 most Florida bee men show. ' ' — Kennith 

 Hawkins, Special Agent in Apiculture, to E. 

 II. Root, Jan. 16. 



