744 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



December, 1918 



and Wales, and to investigate the epidemic 

 diseases of the bee, more especially the 

 disease or group of diseases which pass un- 

 der the name of ' ' Isle of Wight. ' ' — Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, October, 1918. 

 » * * 



E. G. LeStourgeon, October Beekeepers ' 

 Item, believes that if the Texas beekeepers 

 would winter in one story with a good wind- 

 break, contracted entrance, hives facing 

 south or southeast, and earth piled about 

 the hive to prevent winds from circulating 

 under them, the 24 per cent loss of last 

 winter would be greatly reduced, and the 

 bees would use 30 per cent less stores than 



last winter. 



* * * 



Joseph (J. Scott, American Bee Journal for 

 November, tells of losing brood in the South 

 from some unknown cause. At first the un- 

 sealed larvEe turned purplish. It then died, 

 turned white, and, if not removed, became 

 black and had somewhat the appearance of 

 foul brood. He believes this was caused by 

 the juice of fermenting, rotting fruit. 



Texas has a foul-brood law that requires 

 an inspection certificate to accompany all 

 shipments of honey and apiarian products. 

 Since combs from box hives can not be in- 

 spected, this law, if enforced, will soon 

 eliminate the box hive from the State, ac- 

 cording to E. G. LeStourgeon, in the Bee- 

 keepers ' Item for October. 

 « * * 



In the October Canadian Horticulturist 

 and Beekeeper is the following: 



"Do not put weak colonies away for the winter. 

 They consunie more stores, so valuable now, than 

 stronig- ones, and even then are more likely to die." 



This is a little misleading. It would be 

 nearer correct to say that these weak colo- 

 nies consume more stores in comparison to 

 their size than strong colonies. 



* * « 



Under the subject of transferring, Septem- 

 ber Western Honeybee suggests that, if pos- 

 sible, the side of the old box should be re- 

 moved so as to get at the sides, not the ends, 

 of the combs. This is a good point usually 

 overlooked in discussions on transferring. 



* * * 



Morley Pettit, in the October Canadian 

 Horticulturist and Beekeeper, estimates that 

 Ontario alone produces annually 10,000 tons 

 of honey. He further states that, aside 

 from Quebec, the other provinces have their 

 honey resources practically untouched. 



* » * 



The editor in the October New Zealand 

 Beekeepers' Journal says it has been esti- 

 mated that in a good year a colony consumes 

 from 200 to 600 pounds of honey, and he 

 believes that an average amount might be 

 conservatively placed at 400 pounds. 



tor 's colonies in government four-colony 

 winter cases, winter in better condition than 

 they have for the last four winters, all such 

 cases in his yards will be discarded in favor 

 of tarred paper cases. Altho we have heard 

 excellent reports from many, we too feel 

 that the quadruple case has been somewhat 

 disappointing. 



* * * 



Arthur C. Miller, in November American 

 Bee Journal, says in his opinion the current 

 belief that queens raised under the swarming 

 impulse transmit the swarming tendency to 

 their jDrogeny, is quite erroneous. He con- 

 siders such queens among the best and says 

 after using thousands of ' * swarming cells ' ' 

 he has never yet been able to detect any 

 sign of inheritance of the swarming impulse. 

 In fact, while using such cells he has, during 

 late years, reduced swarming to less than 

 two per cent of his colonies. 



* * * 



Even in as warm a State as Texas we find 

 an advocate of the small entrance. Frank 

 Talbot, in the Beekeepers' Item for Octo-, 

 ber, recommends an opening % by 4 inches. 

 In this same connection we call attention to 

 the fact that Colon P. Campbell (President 

 Michigan Beekeepers' Association) in No- 

 vember Domestic Beekeeper contracts the 

 entrances only % of an inch by the full 

 width of the hive. 



C. S. Enab, in the October Beekeepers ' 

 Item, reports that the Western Honey Pro- 

 ducers of Sioux City, Iowa., have been elimi- 

 nating the box hive from their locality, in 

 some cases by persuasion or buying, and in 

 others by running such apiaries on shares. 



* * * 



In the September Western Honey Bee the 

 e<Litor says he uses two drawn combs instead 

 of brood to hold new swarms, for in case 

 young brood is used and the colony is dis- 

 satisfied, the bees build queen-cells and soon 



leave. 



* * * 



E. G. Ward, in the August New Zealand 

 Beekeepers ' Journal, states that, on open- 

 ing a hive, he rarely smokes the bees at the 

 entrance, as he considers it does more harm 

 than ijood. 



* * * 



* » » 



It is in The Domestic Beekeeper for No- 

 vember that we learn that unless the edi- 



' ' Any colony that goes into the winter 

 with a first-class queen will come thru in 

 much the best condition. ' ' — Prof. F. B. Pad- 

 dock in Beekeepers' Item, October. 



* * * 



Under the heading, ' ' Let Us Be Honest, ' ' 

 British Bee Journal, is the statement that 

 the "reputed pound" or 14-ounce bottles 

 should be eliminated. 



* * * 



A temporary windbreak of surplus supers 

 placed in pairs of piles is being tried out by 

 Louis H. Scholl, as stated in the Beekeepers' 

 Item for October. 



