May, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



R 



E P O RT S 

 coming to 

 G l,e a n i n g s 

 during the last 

 month do not 

 lead us to 

 change material- 

 ly our estimate 

 of winter losses 

 and the condi- 

 tions of bees prevailing thruout the country, 

 as told in the April number of this journal. 

 The northeastern part of the country was 

 generally hard hit by winter losses. Tiie 

 Southern States, excepting Kentucky and 

 Tennessee, seem to have experienced uonnnl 

 wintering conditions, with the bees in North 

 Carolina, Georgia, and Florida having done 

 exceptionally well. Varying reports, good and 

 bad, come from the middle North and the 

 i?orthern Mississippi Valley. The goou re- 

 ports coming from the Eocky Mountain and 

 Pacific Goast regions early in the season are 

 not contradicted by later word from those 

 sections. 



The National Food Administration, thru 

 the deputy state administrators thruout the 

 Nation, has made it easy for beekeepers to 

 secure s:igar for their bees — wherever any 

 sugar at all can be secured. Some States 

 still report a serious shortage of sugar, but 

 generally thruout the country the sugar con- 

 ditions have much improved during the last 

 month. 



As before noted in this department, bee- 

 keeping is coming on more and more in Mon- 

 tana. The fourth annual meeting of the bee- 

 keepers ' association of that State was held 

 at Billings on March 7, when a number of 

 very enthusiastic beekeepers were in attend- 

 ance. The new officers of this association 

 are: President, B. F. Smith, Jr., of From- 

 berg; secretary-treasurer, Frank E. Clift 

 of Huntley. An executive committee, con- 

 sisting of the officers of the association and 

 several members, was instructed to formu- 

 late and issue from time to time during the 

 season recommendations to the members -^f 

 the Association as to the prices at which 

 their honey crop should be sold. A very in- 

 teresting program was carried out at the 

 meeting. 



Nebiaska is another State that is taking 

 a decidedly' laj'ger interest in beekeeping, 

 and the county ngents there aie generally 

 giving 'every encouragement to. tiie wrrk. 

 H. C. Cook of Omaha, an enthusiastic and 

 successful beekeeper, is giving much of his 

 time and expcrii^nce to the jirornotion of 

 good beekeeping in his state. The Ne- 

 braska Beekeepers' Association is also lend- 

 ing aid to bettei' beekeeping and a more 

 general interest in the craft thiuout the 

 State. 



An important gathering of the beekeepers 

 of Massachusetts was held March 23 at Wor- 

 cester where there was a wide and repre- 

 sentative attendance, among them the presi 

 dents of each of the five local beekeepers' 

 societies of the State together with sec- 



297 



retaries. Abso- 

 lute unity, en- 

 thusiasm, and 

 earnestness pre- 

 vailed, having in 

 view the forma- 

 tion of a "Fed- 

 erated Massachu- 

 setts Beekeep- 

 e r s ' Associa- 

 tions," for which bylaws were formulated 

 and adopted. It was voted to incorporate 

 this association. O. N. Smith of Florence 

 is presidcMit, and Miss Dorothy Quincy 

 Wright of Chelmsford is the secretary- 

 treasurer of the new organization. This 

 movement looks to a bigger and better day 

 for the beekeepers of the old Bay State. 



Texas now claims to have the most com- 

 prehensive foul-brood eradication system in 

 the United States, and the factor of eo-oper- 

 a.tive county organizations plays a large roh; 

 in it. F. B. Paddock, State Entomologist of 

 Texas, speaking of the efficiency of the work 

 donethere,says: " When we discover foul brood 

 we try our best to get the beekeepers them- 

 selves sufficiently interested to form county 

 associations. Each inspector is chosen jointly 

 by the county association and this office. 

 He is not, therefore, a foreign element in the 

 county. He is nominated by the beekeepers 

 and is as much responsible to them as to us. 

 It is a frequent occurence for the president 

 of an association to get behind an inspector 

 and see that he does things properly. On 

 the other hand, the association is an ever- 

 present help to the inspector in enforcing 

 the regulations. If a beekeeper is ordered 

 to clean up and fails to do so, the associa- 

 tion, by its inlluence, sees that directions are 

 carried out." 



The second annual beekeeping short course 

 of Iowa State College will be held at Ames, 

 May 13 to 18. The course will be made very 

 practical, several successful commercial 

 apiarists assisting in instru'^tion. Programs 

 can be obtained from F. Eric Millen, Ames. 

 No fees will be charged. 



The Panhandle Beekeepers ' Association 

 held its annual winter meet at the Market 

 House auditorium. Wheeling, W. Va., on 

 March 27. About 50 enthusiastic beekeepers 

 Avere in attendance, and an excellent pro- 

 gram was carried out. The officers are one 

 of the livest lot of beekeepers anywhere, and 

 they purpose to build up a large mem.ber- 

 ship. They are in a fair way to do it. 

 Charles A .Reese of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, Charleston, is one of the big helpers 

 in advancing beekeepihg in the Panhandle 

 region. 



The beekeepers of Western Pennsylvania 

 will meet at the home of F. J. Lillie," 336 E. 

 Pleasant St., Corry, Pa., on May 15. Geo. 

 Rea, State Bee Inspector of Pennsylvania, 

 will be present to demonstrate. 



Francis Jager, former president of the Na- 

 tional Beekeepers' Association, left America 

 on Ai)r. 16, in charge of another Red Cross 

 expedition to Servia.* 



