1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



127 



"Millions in it!" he muttered, fever- 

 ishly setting down the final additions 

 on a fresh bit of margin. " Why didn't 

 you tell me ?" 



" Never had a chance," I retorted. 



But my neighbor characteristically 

 waved all past losses, in favor of future 

 gains. "Three million, four hundred 

 thousand prunes!" he repeated, "and 

 with 40 prunes to the pound " 



" The more you get the smaller they'll 

 be," I reminded him. 



" ■ will make 85,000 pounds — three 



times last year's crop — and if the price 

 should go to 15 cents a pound, they'll 

 be worth $12,750. Gee; I'll lift the 

 mortgage and buy a Ford!" 



" I don't think I care to move my 

 bees," I concluded. 



" W-w-hy ? Plenty of room, and 

 you're welcome to it." 



" Truck man charges two bits apiece 

 to haul 'em, and bees get around pretty 

 lively by themselves, for nothing." 



"I'll pay the truck man," he argued. 



" Nothing doing. Bees prefer areo- 

 planing." 



"I'll pay you rent for 'em, too," he 

 urged. "With all that money I'll have 

 a bully stake." 



" Providing the weather man per- 

 mits," I amended. " Bees don't fly in 

 wind or fog, and prune blossoms last 

 only a week at the longest. Besides, 

 there are 21,000 acres of prunes in 

 Santa Clara county, and only 6500 colo- 

 nies to do the pollinating!" 



But those basic truths that I had 

 hoped would act as ballast in my neigh- 

 bor's flights, were cast overboard with 

 the remark, "Some job for the bees! 

 What this county needs is more colo- 

 nies." 



The sun's slanting rays had tinged 

 the valley's gauzy robes with gold ; a 

 few belated bees were flying slowly 

 hiveward ; and still my neighbor 

 soared. He was doing the sums all 

 over again to include statistics on bee- 

 pollination under possible adverse 

 weather conditions. 



Los Gatos, Calif. 



April Beekeeping Problems in 

 the North 



BY L. V. FRANCE. 



[The following summary of reports re- 

 ceived and advice given to the beekeeoers 

 of Minnesota, by L. V. France, of the Uni- 

 versity Farm, will find practical application 

 in most of our northern States during this 

 month. This problem does not apply south 

 of the 4ist degree, except in very backward 

 springs— Editor.] 



IN the Preliminary 1916 Beekeeping 

 Survey of Minnesota, conducted by 

 the University, Division of Bee 

 Culture, reports gave information on 

 the greatest April beekeeping problems. 

 Bad weather, cold, rain, cloudy and 

 windy, seemed to be the greatest evil, 

 as 35.7 percent of the reports indicated. 

 Twenty-five other reports named con- 

 ditions that may be also directly in- 

 fluenced by bad weather, as to build up 

 colonies; to keep them warm; to keep 

 them strong; spring dwindling; to 

 guard against sudden changes of tem- 

 perature ;• lack of bloom until May, and 

 inability to keep bees in the hives on 

 sunny cold days. Seven reports con- 

 sidered proper windbreaks a spring 

 problem ; the brood gets cold and the 

 queen stops laying. Over half, 56.0 per- 

 cent, of the reports thus accuse bad 



weather as the greatest April beekeep- 

 ing problem. 



Food and feeding follow next in ap- 

 parent importance, as eighteen or 11.4 

 percent of the reports indicated. Eleven 

 of these reports were classified as 

 "Lack of food"; six, " To keep bees 

 supplied with stores," and one reports 

 "Bees all right if honey lasts through 

 April." Thirteen report 18.2 percent 

 gave robbing as their greatest April 

 problem. One answer tells its own 

 story, "No April problems if I feed 

 with narrow entrance." Lack of pol- 

 len was of sufficient importance as a 

 spring problem to claim first attention 

 in six reports, 3.8 percent. This lack 

 of pollen probably is of more impor- 

 tance than indicated. " No April prob- 

 lems" is definitely reported by six 

 parties. 



Important miscellaneous and inter- 

 esting questions follow: When to put 

 on summer stands; queenless colonies; 

 trying to handle bees in cold, damp 

 weather; lack of knowing what to do 

 in time ; spring dwindling ; rush of 

 farm work causes bees to be neglected, 

 and some die from robbing or starva- 

 tion ; many perish when searching for 

 water; cover the hives to protect brood 

 from chills; keep the hives sheltered; 

 see that bees get water and pollen ; no 

 problems if fall feeding is adequate; 

 old bees die too soon, etc. 



WHAT SHALL I DO IN APRIL ? 



If the bees are all right in the cellar 

 do not take them out until there is 

 plenty of pollen, willow, soft maple, 

 etc. Many bees are lost hunting for 

 pollen when none is available close by. 



until .May 20, give them at oncf enough 

 warm sugar syrup, or better, combs of 

 honey saved from last year, to last till 

 June 1. Don't be afraid to give a col- 

 ony too much food ; they won't dump 

 it out of the hive or waste it. 



To prevent robbing keep all en- 

 trances very small, and don't spill any 

 sugar syrup or honey outside of any 

 hive anywhere. If robber bees pounce 

 into a hive when it is opened, close it 

 immediately and wait three-quarters of 

 an hour, or until the bees quiet down. 

 If a very weak, worthless colony has 

 begun to be robbed, remove everything 

 from the hive but one comb containing 

 a little honey, contract entrance to one 

 bee space and let the robber bees 

 gradually take it. Usually the little 

 honey will be robbed out and the rob- 

 bers will be satisfied. If the whole hive 

 being robbed is removed, the robbers 

 may attack in force the next adjacent 

 colony. 



Protect your bees from bad weather 

 until about May 15 or 20, by wrapping 

 each hive closely with several thick- 

 nesses of heavy wrapping or building 

 paper or tar paper, leaving the entrance 

 open. When bees are used to the pro- 

 tection afforded by the cellar from the 

 cold and wind ; they do not " build up " 

 readily. Their "overcoats" are re- 

 moved and the larger percent of the 

 population, made up of already old 

 bees, cannot withstand sudden temper- 

 ature changes and spring winds and 

 storms. If you cannot protect all of 

 your colonies, try it on every other col- 

 ony in your bee-yard. See if it pays in 

 honey returns. 



Queenless colonies should be united 



"THE PRUNES THAT MY BEES WOULD MAKE FOR HIM' 

 (Photo by John R. Douglass) 



If the bees demand removal from the 

 cellar before pollen is available, keep 

 them busy carrying in rye flour from a 

 warm nook in the edge of the bee-yard. 

 In another nook, provide good clean 

 water. Don't let them fly far away in 

 the cold for water. Many perish on 

 such trips. Contract entrances so only 

 two or three bees can pass at a time. 



Examine your bees the first warm 

 day after removal from the cellar, and 

 if they have not food enough to last 



with good colonies by placing them 

 above the good colonies with a thick- 

 ness of newspaper between and protect- 

 ing the entire two stories with paper. 

 The second story may be removed in 

 four or five days. Keep the colony 

 protected. A small number of colonies, 

 well cared for in the spring, will 

 usually bring more honey returns with 

 less work than a large number with lit- 

 tle or no care. 

 April beekeeping problems will prob- 



