September, 1916. 



313 



American liee Journal 



)'^=^es^ I 



energy in swarming. 



A queen may be introduced almost 

 any time when bees are in flight, and 

 there is no better time, other things 

 being equal, than near or after the 

 close of the honey harvest. 



Bees Hanging Out -Ventilation 



An Illinois sister writes : 



Please say what causes bees to hang 

 around entrance, with good ventilation 

 and shade the hottest part of the day. 

 I have a colony that has done this for 

 two summers. They will fill brood- 

 combs with honey, but will not work 

 at sections in supers. They were 

 treated for foulbrood early in the sea- 

 son, but are strong now. This is the 

 second year. Ought I to requeen ? 



Do you advise the cover of hive to 

 be raised a little for better ventilation 

 on hot days ? 



Do you advise crossing with other 

 strains of bees ? Mrs. V. A. 



When bees hang out at the entrance 

 in considerable numbers.it is generally 

 because it is too hot and close for them 

 in the hive, or else because there is 

 nothing for them to do in the fields. 

 You say they have good ventilation, 

 but it is just possible that you haven't 

 as large ideas of ventilation as you 

 might have. We give our bees venti- 

 lation by having the entrance two 

 inches deep the whole width of the 

 hive, also allowing '4 -inch opening at 

 the top of the hive at the back end. In 

 the daytime there is rarely any hanging 

 out, even when there is very little to 

 be done in the fields, but in the hottest 

 weather they hang out at nights. It is 

 just possible that more ventilation 

 would help in your case. Raising the 

 cover might help, but sections near 

 such an opening are often slow of 

 completion. 



You would probably find that one or 

 more baits in a section-super would be 

 a great help in starting the bees at 

 storing. If you have sections that 

 have been partly filled previously, that's 

 just the thing for a bait. Even any 

 piece of comb, old or new, put in a 

 section in the middle of the super will 

 do. 



Yes, it is a fine thing to introduce a 

 fresh strain of blood, provided it is 

 better than what you have already, a 

 thing easily possible in your case, for 

 it looks a little as if the bees you now 

 have are troubled with downright lazi- 

 ness. 



*-•-•. — 



Polit County Association Meets 



The Beekeepers' Association of Polk 

 Co., Iowa, held its annual summer 

 meeting and picnic at Union Park, Des 

 Moines Friday, July 28. The following 

 program was given, after which a busi- 

 ness meeting was called. At this meet- 

 ing the oflicers were elected for the 

 coming year and routine business at- 

 tended to: 



Addresses by A. L. Clinite, of Des 

 Moines, and Hamlin Miller, of Mar- 

 shalltown. Readings, Misses Alice 

 Hoare and Vasie Crow, of Des Moines. 

 Folk games by children. Demonstra- 

 tions were given in queen clipping, 

 shaking to prevent swarming, and ex- 

 tracting of honey. 



Belle McConnell, Sec. 



The Social Side of the Honeybee 



One cannot ride a hobby horse for 

 long without offering a lift to wistful 

 pedestrians or being overtaken by 

 other riders on similar steeds, until 

 quite a company is collected. In such 

 wise the Los Gatos Bee Club was 

 formed, and now our various steeds 

 are engaged in a friendly race along 

 the by paths of bee-culture, of which 

 the study of honey flora, queen-rearing, 

 increase in colonies and honey produc- 

 tion are among the most popular. 



The Club is somewhat loosely or- 

 ganized, its members being called to- 

 gether now and then by its one officer. 

 Dr. Annie M. Anderson, secretary. 

 There is no regular place of meeting 

 and no financial obligations except to 

 be present on the rare occasions when 

 the hat is passed for postage. The 

 Club, judging from the meetings which 

 in fair weather are held at the apiaries 

 of the different members, is a sort of 

 clearing house for ideas either original 

 or gathered from bee literature, as well 

 as the weird and wonderful experiences 

 of the members. 



One enthusiast with an artistic eye, 

 proudly exhibited a brood-frame filled 

 with pollen in which the reds, blues 

 and yellows had been blended by the 

 bees into a mosaic of the most exqui- 

 site pastel shades; another can hardly 

 make and paint hives fast enough for 

 his increasing colonies; another has 

 taken 100 pounds of comb honey from 

 a single hive — a phenomenal yield in a 

 locality that has no special honey flows, 

 but where, on the contrary, the nectar 



is secreted in small quantities from a 

 variety of plants and shrubs both culti- 

 vated and wild, almost every month in 

 the year; and still another member 

 has reared a number of fine Italian 

 queens. 



At the June meeting of the Club a 

 praciical demonstration of queen-cell 

 grafting was conducted by Dr. Ander- 

 son, who, by the way, has discovered a 

 safe method of approach to the most 

 belligerent colony. She merely says, 

 "Now, little friends!" and calmly pro- 

 ceeds to business. Other members are 

 trying out the formula. 



C. D. Stl'art. 



Clearly, this Club is not a one-man 

 affair, but it looks a little like a one- 

 woman affair, having a woman for its 

 sole officer, and evidently depending 

 largely upon her for its inspiration. It 

 is easy to believe that when the Club 

 gathers at the call of the leader a good 

 time is had, baby and all. 



It may be well to mention that Dr. 

 Miller, as well as the conductor of this 

 department, has for some time been 

 using a hat very like the one worn by 

 the lady in the center of the picture, 

 only we do not have the veil sewed to 

 the brim of the hat, but the veil is the 

 common form of bee veil, an open bag 

 with an elastic cord at each opening, 

 and the veil drawn down over the hat, 

 the elastic cord fitting close at the 

 place of the hatband. When worn 

 without the veil, the brim may be 

 turned up, when the hat gives up its 

 dejected appearance and looks alto- 

 gether like a different hat. Cost 25 

 cents. 



Miscellaneous ^ News Items 



Better Queens Produce Better Bees. 



—Stencil Bulletin No. 11, of the Exten- 

 sion Department of the University of 

 Wisconsin, under the direction of Prof. 

 H. F. Wilson, declares that successful 

 beekeepers have found that pure bees, 

 better queens, clean honey, neat pack- 

 ages bring more honey, less disease, 

 better price, larger profits. We quote 

 from the bulletin as follows : 



The most important individual in 

 every colony of bees is the queen. 

 Why ? Because upon the queen you 

 have depends the kind of bees you will 

 get. Also, she is the producing factor, 

 and the strength and vitality of each 

 colony depends upon its queen. 



We have asked many beekeepers, 

 "What, in your opinion, are the re- 

 quirements for a satisfactory strain of 

 bees ?" The answers received may be 

 summed up : 



Bees that will gather the maxium of 

 honey and produce well-filled cells with 

 clean, white combs and cappings ; bees 

 that build few queen cells and do not 

 swarm excessively; bees that do not 

 require too much care; bees that are 

 gentle and do not run on the combs; 

 bees that keep their hives clean and do 



not smear everything with propolis 

 (bee glue) ; practically all of these an- 

 swers include health, vigor and resis- 

 tance to disease. 



BEES, TOO, CAN BE BRED FOR PRODUCTION. 



Is it possible to secure a strain of 

 bees that have all of these good quali- 

 ties without undesirable traits? Yes. 



Through breeding and selection, the 

 characters of plants and animals can 

 be changed to meet any desire of the 

 breeder. No character, whether it be 

 desirable or undesirable, is so strong 

 but that in time it may be improved or 

 eliminated. 



At present there are perhaps a dozen 

 or more strains of the common honey- 

 bee, each one having developed under 

 conditions that have given rise to con- 

 siderable variation both in color and 

 temperament. Phillips, of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, men- 

 tions four of these as having some de- 

 sirable characters; the Italians, Ger- 

 mans, Carniolans and Caucasians. He 

 has found that it is the almost universal 

 verdict of American beekeepers that 

 the Italians are the best. 



WHY KEEP MONGREL BEES ? 



Settling upon this strain as the one 

 having the most desirable characters, 



