GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, 1918 



meet nie here by the assertion that good 

 colonies are not common. I have my doubts 

 on that point also; but it is fair to say, 

 however, that a good beekeeper in a poor 

 locality will do better, probably, than a poor 

 beekeeper in a good locality. Now, then, 

 when we put the combination of a good man 

 in a good place we get results like those se- 

 cured by David Running, Leonard S. Griggs, 

 Ira D. Bartlett, E. F. Holtermann, Dr. C. C. 

 Miller (when he has a favorable season), 

 and dozens and dozens more whom I could 

 name, if I did not fear that the mention 

 of those names would call down upon my 

 head censure for letting other people know 

 that they are in a good locality. Even as it 

 is, I may get my ears boxed, metaphorically 

 speaking; but I will venture the assertion 

 that there is not a man who can go into 

 the localities I have mentioned and compete 

 with them, for the reason that they already 

 know the locality. Don't forget that, Mr. 

 Prospective Poacher. It would take you a 

 good while to learn to know them as well. 

 You would get left in the race badly if you 

 made the attempt. It goes without saying, 

 that all these men and other good men in 

 good territory should be left in possession 

 of that territory within at least three miles 

 of any one of their yards. But why crowd 

 or overstock a locality? There is some fine 

 territory where there are no bees; and if 

 any of our readers wish to know where it is, 

 if they will write me I will put them next 

 to it. There is no reason under the sun why 

 one beekeeper, in the eastern States at least. 

 should encroach (or poach) on another; and 

 a good man will not do so, even when he con- 

 sults his own interests. 



Now there are several important points 

 that I wish to emphasize, for upon these ' 

 points hangs the success or failure of bee- 

 keeping. First of all, skyscraper beekeep- 

 ing requires good wintering. Colonies that 

 just squeeze thru, wintering Avith only about 

 two or three frames of brood and bees, may 

 not amount to very much. Good wintering- 

 means strong colonies in the spring. I do 

 not care how good the honey flow is, if the 

 colonies are not large, they will not give 

 good results. Good wintering largely solves 

 the springing problem. 



In the production of comb honey it is pos- 

 sibly true that colonies abnormally strong at 

 the beginning of the season will not do as 

 well as medium colonies, on account of the 

 fact that a colony too populous may waste 

 its time in trying to swarm before the hon- 

 ey flow is actually under way. Some very 

 good comb-honey producers have given ex- 

 pression to that sentiment; but now that 

 nearly every one is running to the produc- 

 tion of extracted honey on account of the 

 war, it is hardly possible to winter too well 

 nor to have colonies too strong; and the les- 

 son is that all the beekeepers in the United 

 States should follow the instructions given 

 in these pages in the Se])tember and October 

 issues and in this one also. No man can go 

 into the skyscraper class unless he winters 



well. Many won 't follow directions because 

 it "costs too much" — penny wise and pound 

 foolish. 



The importance of knowing the locality; 

 of being in a good locality in the first place; 

 and last, but not least, being a good bee- 

 keeper, is so obvious that I do not need to 

 enijjhasize it further here. The importance 

 of good . wintering — and that, of course, 

 means good springing — has not been em- 

 phasized enough; and because this fact was 

 hammered into my head in going over the 

 country last summer I feel it my jjatriotic 

 duty to my country to hammer and continue 



Pig. 2. — Details of one of Mr. Griggs' skyscrapers. 

 There were eight combs to the super, bulged out, of 

 course, in a ten-frame hive-body. In the eight- 

 frame supers it is customary to have six or seven 

 frames to the super. The super shown in the en- 

 graving ran about 45 pounds to the super for the 

 entire number of colonies, or an aggregate of 45,000 

 pounds fur 300 colonies. 



to hammer on the importance of good win- 

 tering thru these columns until next spring. 

 One thing more: I'll be criticised for 

 making beekeeping appear too rosy. The 

 average man, either because he does not live 

 in a good locality or because he does not 

 have the requisite ability, can not get into 

 the sky.sci'aper class; but the good man in a 

 good locality can and ouglit to get tliere. 



