E 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



1 



EDITORIAL 



IN VIEW of the heavy winter losses, and 

 the difficulty of sending bees bv express, 

 Dr. E. F. Pliillips 

 Big News — of the Bureau of 



Bees by Mail. Entomology and 

 the Editor of this 

 journal recently appeared before the Post- 

 office Department, three different times, 

 asking that the privilege of sending bees 

 in pound lots by parcel post be granted. 

 At the last interview we submitted letters 

 from shippers of bees, explaining their trou- 

 bles in sending by express and the need of 

 the parcel post privilege. We were receiv- 

 ed favorably at each interview, and on June 

 18 a new ruling permitting bees to be sent 

 by mail in suitable cages was issued from 

 the office of the Postmaster General. 



For style and form of cage see particulars 

 in our department of "Just News." We 

 will have illustrations in our next issue, 

 showing a non-patented cage that meets the 

 conditions of the Department. It uses no 

 wire cloth, ventilation being secured thru 

 saw cuts thru the sides of the box one- 

 eighth of an inch wide and three-eighths of 

 an inch apart. If the reader can 't wait till 

 next issue, we will send particulars by mail. 

 We wish to emphasize here that the mail- 

 ing conditions must be met absolutely or we 

 may lose this invaluable privilege. One bad 

 mailing package sent by a careless shipper, 

 allowing bees to get loose in the mail, might 

 cause this ruUng, so important to beekeep- 

 ers, to be revoked. 



MOEE AND MOEE come reports showing 

 that the winter losses east of the Mississip- 

 pi during 1917 and 



"Winter Losses 



Make Need 



of Increase. 



1918 are probably 

 much more severe 

 than those of the 

 winter of 1881 and 

 1882. That winter, up to this time, was the 

 most severe on bees ever known; but last 

 winter has proved even worse, if the reports 

 that we are constantly getting are true. 



The unfortunate thing about it is that 

 some good beekeepers, who have wintered 

 year after year with an average mortality 

 of from three to five per cent, lost last year 

 anywhere from 50 to 75 per cent. 



Practically all bee-breeders thruout the 

 United States have been flooded with orders 

 for bees in nucleus or package form. Ee- 

 ports from breeders in the South show that 



the demand for bees has been far greater 

 than the supply. Some of them evidently 

 cashed the checks sent for bees thinking 

 they would have no difficulty in buying 

 more. This they have been unable to do, for 

 the losses in some of the Southern States 

 have been severe. While colonies in the 

 South did not die outright, the weather con- 

 ditions were so unfavorable that brood-rear- 

 ing could not progress. 



In view of the conditions reported, all 

 patriotic beekeepers should make prepara- 

 tions for increase next year. This may re- 

 quire sugar. The mistake should not be 

 made of splitting up a colony into five, for 

 only an expert can build up the whole five 

 so they will be strong enough for winter, 

 and many experts even would fail to do this. 

 The most one should try to do is to make 

 two colonies out of one; and be sure they 

 are good ones and abundantly supplied with 

 stores in October at the latest. 



One reason for the severe winter losses 

 was the inability to buy sugar last fall. The 

 result was that many colonies went into 

 winter quarters with barely enough stores 

 to carry them thru till spring. 



The lesson that comes to the beekeeper 

 this year is not to extract too closely. 

 Leave the brood-nest full, and then lay aside 

 a lot of reserve combs of stores. The pres- 

 ent price of extracted honey will cause many 

 to yield to the temptation to extract closely 

 and substitute a nine-cent syrup, which, 

 with the water added, will make the syrup 

 cost about seven cents to replace honey at 

 20 to 25 cents. It looks like a good trade; 

 but — look out. 



A YEAE AGO this time the honey-container 

 situation was a serious one for the honey 

 producer. During 

 The Honey- the summer of 1917 



Container no one could be cer- 



Situation. tain of securing 



either glass or tin 

 containers. A year ago this month Glean- 

 ings summed up the container situation for 

 both glass and tin in these words: "The 

 glass manufacturers are not putting out 

 any glass containers except for use in pre- 

 serving perishable food stuffs. What glass 

 containers for honey can be secured by even 

 the largest honey bottlers are secured 'hit 

 or miss,' 'catch as catch can.' The manu- 

 facturers generally are turning down the 



