May, 1916. 



155 



American l^ee Journa^^^^^^ ^^»,j 



third of their combs empty, on which 

 to cluster. In addition it is well to 

 have an empty super over the brood- 

 chamber for the bees to cluster in also. 

 They must be sheltered from a possible 

 exposure to the sun's rays. Protective 

 cleats must be nailed at both top and 

 bottom, to maintain a space between 

 the hive and the floor, or between the 

 different hives if piled on top of each 

 other in transit. 



W. Z. Hutchinson wrote in the 

 American Bee Journal, in November, 

 1885: 



"A strong colony confined to its 

 hive and disturbed, in warm weather, 

 generates a large amount of heat, and 

 combs that are heavy with honey are 

 almost certain to become so soft as to 

 break down unless they are very old 

 and tough. 



"In hot weather, or if the bees are to 

 be confined any great length of time, 

 there must be openings in the bottom 

 as well as the top of the hive, in order 

 that there may be a current of air to 

 carry away the superabundant of heat." 

 In 1881 we transported 110 colonies 

 from the hills north of our home to 

 the Mississippi river lowlands, 24 miles 

 away, about July 25. The hives were 

 dry, as far as honey was concerned, 

 and they had very little brood. They 

 were entirely confined, with the excep- 

 tion of the cracks or joints of the bot- 

 tom and top. But they had each an 

 entire empty super in which to cluster, 

 and the transporting was done at night, 

 starting from the apiary at midnight 

 and getting to the destination ten 

 hours later. Not a single colony suf- 

 fered, no bees were lost. 



In 1915, 10 colonies were transported 

 four miles on an automobile truck, 

 without any other ventilation than 

 above mentioned, on a hot July even- 

 ing, but they were light with honey 

 and had an entire super in which to 

 cluster. 



Not only is a hive heavy with honey 

 difficult to transport unless the combs 

 are very old, the honey all sealed and a 

 current of air supplied from top to 

 bottom; but even swarms of bees may 

 suffer from confinement in hot weather. 

 Mr. Langstroth wrote some 65 years 

 ago: 



"I have several times examined the 

 bees of new swarms which were 

 brought to my apiary, so closely con- 

 fined that they had died of suffocation. 

 In each instance their bodies were dis- 

 tended with a yellow and noisome sub- 

 stance, as though they had perished 

 from dysentery. A few were still alive, 

 and although the colony had been shut 

 up only a few hours, the bodies of both 

 the living and the dead were filled with 

 this same disgusting fluid, instead of the 

 honey they had when they swarmed." 



Demand for Sweet Clover 



Among the number of 1916 bee-sup- 



ply catalogs we have seen, only one 

 mentions sweet clover orlists the seed. 

 New articles on which there is doubt- 

 ful pecuniary gain do not readily find 

 their way into a catalog, but sweet 

 clover is so valuable that no catalog 

 should fail to offer the seed. Promi- 

 nence, a cut, and brief hints about the 

 plant, will not call for more space con- 

 sidering its value than common articles 

 needed by beekeepers. The seed can 

 be handled at a reasonable profit. 



There has been a long felt want; in 

 fact, a demand among beekeepers for a 

 plant that would produce nectar and 

 otherwise be worth while cultivating. 

 Sweet clover answers this demand. 



What bee-supply dealer has not been 

 requested for information about the 

 best plant to grow for the bees ? Sweet 

 clover can be universally recommended 

 as it will grow well in almost any 

 locality, and abundant authority can be 

 given to show its great value for culti- 

 vation. 



Iowa Inspector Report 



It is hardly proper to praise people 

 who are of our own staff. Yet we 

 would make a mistake not to recom- 

 mend Mr. Pellett's Report for the year 

 1915. It is just as full of information 

 as the report of the previous year, and 

 we predict that the edition will be ex- 

 hausted before everybody gets a copy 

 who ought to have one. It may be had 

 from Frank C. Pellett, Atlantic, Iowa. 



and in fuel value sweet clover stands 

 twice as high as timothy, alsike or 

 red clover, and nearly twice as high 

 even as alfalfa. It has more ash and 

 more carbohydrites than any of the 

 above mentioned plants and only a 

 little less protein and fat than alfalfa. 



The bulletin gives a clear and com- 

 prehensive description of the nature, 

 distribution, habits and management 

 • of this valuable plant. 



About its value as bee-pasture, the 

 author says, "On account of the pro- 

 longed blooming season — from June 

 until frost in autumn— sweet clover 

 proves an ideal honey plant. The 

 honey obtained is colorless and of 

 fine flavor. The name of this plant, 

 Melilotus, comes from the Greek and 

 means honey or syrup of lotus. Hence, 

 at the time the plant was named it was 

 recognized as a leading source of 

 honey." 



The bulletin is well illustrated, and 

 we presume is for free distribution, at 

 least in Canada. 



Don't Let Them Starve 



There seems to be a general short- 

 age of honey in the hives this spring, 

 in some locations, owing to the great 

 strength of the colonies. They have 

 bred plentifully and might suffer before 

 the clover flow, if the fruit blossoms 

 fail to yield honey. In the Middle 

 States, the beekeeper will do well to 

 watch closely his colonies until the 

 crop is on. 



More About Sweet Clover 



Bulletin No. 235, of the Ontario De- 

 partment of Agriculture, has for its 

 title "Sweet Clover" (,Mililotus). It 

 is a 32-page bulletin, and was written 

 by H. L. Fulmer, B. S. A., Lecturer in 

 Chemistry. 



Being a chemist, the author devoted 

 a considerable portion of the booklet 

 to the discussion of feeding value, 

 manurial value, digestibility, proper 

 stages for cutting, nutrients, etc., and 

 he accomplished what he did, too, in a 

 manner that should leave little doubt in 

 the minds of the readers of this bulletin 

 as to the future value of sweet clover. 

 For instance, in its contained nutrients 



Those Compound Words 



In the literature of our favorite pur- 

 suit, a number of compound words 

 occur, and there has been a lack of en- 

 tire uniformity as to the appearance of 

 these words on the printed page; 

 which, indeed, may be said to be true 

 regarding compound words in general. 

 Some time ago. Dr. E. F. Phillips 

 opened a conference with Editors E. 

 R. Root and C. P. Dadant, with the 

 writer as assistant counsel, with the 

 design of securing greater uniformity, 

 and a list was made out in which there 

 was more or less agreement. 



The Beekeepers' Review has thought 

 this list of sufficient importance to pub- 

 lish it, and one of its associate editors, 

 Prof. E. G. Baldwin, has made some 

 comments upon it, in which he says: 

 "The effort is probably a worthy one, 

 inasmuch as it is a step toward unifica- 

 tion of usage." He asks, " Is it too 

 much to add that many obvious com- 

 pounds have been omitted from this 

 list ? Or is this merely intended as a 

 starter, and others are to follow if 

 these are accepted ?" Hardly as a starter, 

 Professor, for nothing was said about 

 further additions, yet it is not at all 

 claimed that the list is complete. At 

 the same time it is doubtful if a single 

 " obvious compound " was omitted ; 

 that is, that was obvious to either of 

 us. Frankly, I'm glad you give that 

 hint, for I hereby challenge you to 

 give us a list of the "many " that are 

 obvious to you. I'll be glad of the out- 

 come either way ; if you can't think of 

 half a dozen additional, I'll be glad of 

 the joke on you; if you give quite a 



