GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, 1918 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



tSe realization of the best in beekeeping is 

 self evident, for we learn from one another 

 as vrell as from books and experience, and 

 sometimes more quickly, especially if in- 

 struction comes thru w^atching a skilled 

 demonstrator. There are scores of perj^lexi- 

 ties vv^hich present themselves constantly, no 

 matter how long one has been in the busi- 

 ness. Many of these are of a purely local 

 nature, and therefore ought to be considered 

 by the local association for the benefit of 

 its members. Often upon the right kind of 

 information at the proper time depends the 

 siiccess of the year. It is especially in solv- 

 ing local problems and furnishing helpful 

 information when it is needed, that the as- 

 sociation ought to be of great benefit. 



Let me be more specific. Each beekeeper 

 naturally wishes to receive the best price 

 for his honey, especially if he has a good 

 grade . But, if he lives in the country, how 

 is he going to find out when prices have ad- 

 vanced? His customers will not tell him. 

 Not until he has well nigh sold out his sup- 

 jdy does he, perhaps, discover that he ought 

 to have received at least 50 cents more for 

 each dozen jars than he did receive. Had 

 he received a card from the secretary of the 

 association, stating the local price of the 

 best grade of honey, it might have meant to 

 him the price of his membership in that as- 

 sociation a dozen times over. It is worth 

 while to belong to an organization that con- 

 siders your profit as well as your pleasure. 



Beekeepers ought also to meet more often 

 and to know each other better. As a rule, 

 they are an intelligent class of people whom 

 it is worth while to know. One great "field 

 meet" is not enough for extensive informa- 

 tion and good fellowship. A day is too 

 short in which to consider various subjects 

 which deserve attention. As each season of 

 the year has its special problems a timely 

 meeting should be planned to discuss 

 those problems. Already a helpful meet- 

 ing should be planned for the fall or early 

 winter, at which meeting each member 

 should report as to his observations and ex- 

 periences of the beekeeping season just clos- 

 ed, giving any new lessons learned. 



Perhaps somebody may say that to do all 

 that ought to be done by an association 

 costs money. Very true; but who would ob- 

 ject to an extra charge, if the benefit was 

 commensurate with it? Show a man the 

 value of a thing, and, as a rule, he will not 

 begrudge the spending of a few dollars. If, 

 however, he gets little or no return, his in- 

 terest soon lags and his fist tightens. In 

 order to make the association of value to its 

 members there must be mutual interest; it 

 must be freely and liberally supported, and, 

 in return, it should give to its members time- 

 ly and necessary information. 



Warren^ E. I, H. W. Watjen. 



THE QUADRUPLE CASE DEFENDED 



How a Little Modification Makes It Inexpensive 

 and Labor-saving 



Some appear to think the quadruple win- 

 ter case is very unhandy, since there is a 

 great amount of work in packing and un- 

 packing. The way I use the cases, I do not 

 think it unhandy or that it takes as much 

 time as some other methods of packing for 

 outdoor wintering. I use a permanent plat- 

 form under each four hives made out of 

 1-in. rough pine fastened together by three 

 pieces 1 in. by 4 in. and resting on three 

 pieces of 2 in. by 3 in. The platform keeps 

 the bottom-boards dry, which is a consider- 

 able saving, and incidentally keeps down 

 weeds and grass between the hives where it 

 is hard to cut. 



The hives are arranged in a row of fours 

 between two hedges of raspberry bushes, 

 which make a fair windbreak. The entrances 

 face east and west, and the row runs east 

 and west, thus making it possible to work up 

 or down the row without passing in front 

 of any hive. 



In all the descriptions of this system that 

 I have seen in Gleanings, I notice that the 

 hives are moved off the platforms, and some- 

 times moved to a row or changed in some 

 other way. 



One of the great advantages of the per- 

 manent platform is that the bees are not 

 disturbed and confusion is avoided. An- 

 other is that the hives face east and west 

 instead of north and soutli, thus giving 

 every hive the same advantage and avoiding 

 drifting. 



In packing I simply move the hives to- 

 gether, fasten the sides of the case together, 

 and slip the case over the hives. The case 

 telescopes over the platform about an inch. 

 I arrange the covers over the entrances and 

 put in the shavings up to the level of the 

 hives. Then the hives are covered with an 

 old sack, and the covers are put back until 

 ready for final packing. The hive covers 

 are put back upside down, as the hives are 

 close together; but that doesn't matter as 

 the roof of the case will keep them dry. I 

 aim to have this packing done early in Sep- 

 tember because I find early protection 

 means lots of fall-hatched bees, which spells 

 surplus next year. It also does away with 

 any winter-nest bother, as I find that nine 

 times out of ten the bees have the honey 

 carried over from the two outside frames, 

 which I take out of any hive that is not 

 strong and replace with a division-board. 

 I plan to do this with all hives and put in a 

 chaff division-board which will give two 

 inches more protection. 



In feeding I turn up the corners of the 

 quilts (as shown in Pig. 1), and invert a 10- 

 pound pail of syrup. You do not have to put 



