1901 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



897 



hausen (p. 840. 1900). I have found that, as 

 a rule, this method of swarming of normal 

 colonies toward tlie time of natural swarm- 

 inff obtains the best results in comb honey, 

 and is a. tiptop method in mj^ locality, where 

 the only surplus comes froin clover and bass- 

 wood, if done at the right time. I followed 

 almost precisely the same method as Mr. 

 Stachelhausen, at the beg-inning- of the flow; 

 but I added, during" fruit-bloom, another 

 story of eig'ht empt}' combs below the brood- 

 chamber to prevent swarining" until clover 

 bloomed. I think this had a tendency to 

 make colonies build up faster and stronger 

 than if I had not added the empty combs 

 below. 



When the time came to put on the supers 

 (each one had a few baits) a new hive with 

 starters in six frames, and some with only 

 five frames, was placed on a stand of the 

 colony to be operated on, and every bee was 

 shaken trom the combs into a new hive. A 

 frame of brood I put in the new hive for a 

 few days to hold bees; but this comb of un- 

 sealed brood served a double purpose — it 

 kept the pollen out of the sections, for I no- 

 ticed when this comb was not added the 

 bees carried pollen into the sections. Mr. 

 Stachelhausen used half-story bodies, while 

 mine were full-size eight-frame. I like the 

 plan first rate. It is just what I want; for, 

 with very near neighbors, on each side of 

 the apiary, it's not just the thing to have 

 swarms come off, filling the air in the neigh- 

 borhood with bees. 



One colony so treated gave me 146 filled 

 sections (3>s X 5) of white-clover honey. My 

 average was 91 sections to the colony. 



I have tried the Ideal sections this year 

 for the first time. I iim pleased with them. 

 It is my opinion that a super of 30 of them 

 will be filled about as quickly as a 24-sec- 

 tion 4'4X4'4 super. 



Speaking about red-clover queens reminds 

 me that this year both black and yellow 

 bees worked on red clover in July. 



I think the effort for breeding longer 

 tongues is all right. But if we will use a 

 little logic that we used to study in school, 

 we shall find that queens have always been 

 raised with the one thing in view; i. e., bet- 

 ter workers. The queen-breeders and hon- 

 e3'-producers, large and small, have always 

 bred from their best queen, the one whose 

 bees have done the best, and tliat's just 

 what is being done now. All that we gain 

 is the knocC'lcdg'c that the "long tongue " is 

 what does it: so the matter can be summed 

 up by the following syllogism : All good 

 workers (bees) have long tongues. These 

 workers (bees) have long tongues. There- 

 fore they are good workers. So all we 

 have gained is that we know what makes 

 good workers, provided it is entirely long 

 tongues that do the trick. 



Since writing the above, Gleanings for 

 Oct. 15 has come to hand, and I see that 

 Mr. Gr. B. Howe (page 822) gives two eight- 

 frame bodies to his colonies to enable them 

 to build up in the spring; and I suppose we 

 are to understand that he leaves them the 16 



combs when he puts on the supers. I have 

 used only the one body when the sections 

 were put on. But anyliow, I think the 

 practice of giving colonies two bodies in 

 which to build in the spring is all right, 

 and has a very great tendency to dela}- 

 swarming until the time of the flow, and 

 makes booming colonies. 

 Franklinville, N. Y. 



[It is not yet proved that long tongues 

 "will do the trick." All we know is that 

 some good workers have extra-long tongues; 

 but we have no absolute, proof yet that the 

 amount of honey is in proportion to the length 

 of the tongue. But even if long tongues are 

 an important factor, there will have to be 

 o^//6';- factors in order to produce a good all- 

 around worker-bee. 



I do not know what is the practice of Mr. 

 Howe; but at our out-yard we sometimes 

 leave on the two stories; but as a general 

 rule we take off one story and put in its 

 place supers of empty sections with founda- 

 tion. — Ed.] 



HONEY STATISTICS NEEDED. 

 Seeking Governinent Aid ; how shall it be Done ? 



BY W. A. H. GILSTKAP. 



Some time after the honey crop for this 

 year in Central California made such a 

 poor record, it occurred to the writer that 

 all honey-producers and dealers should 

 know it. Some way the dealers learned 

 there was a large crop in the southern 

 counties. They failed to learn that com- 

 paratively few bees were left to gather it. 

 Gleanings kept the actual facts before the 

 public eye, or tried to, but who saw it ? A 

 few dealers and a sprinkle of the honey- 

 producers. How many dealers believe such 

 reports from an apicultural editor? Not 

 very man}-, perhaps. To my mind, a 

 "long-felt want" would be supplied by 

 having- the Deiiartment of Agriculture re- 

 port the condition of bees and yield of hone}' 

 at proper times of the year. A statement 

 of the need of such information, with some 

 reasons for the same, was sent to the Sta- 

 tistician of the Department. His reply ex- 

 pressed a desire to take up the work when 

 Congress places sufficient funds in the De- 

 partment's hands for the work. My reply 

 contained the following: 



"While thanking you for your kind let- 

 ter in regard to reports of honey-bees and 

 their chief product, I am especially pleased 

 that you state why reports are not made; 

 and it seems to me that such objection could 

 and should be overcome. When Congress 

 becomes convinced that the measure is de- 

 cidedly for the public good, the funds will 

 be placed in your hands with which to con- 

 duct the work. 



"If 3'ou will kindly give me some esti- 

 mate or data to work on I shall place the 

 same before those most interested, and en- 

 deavor to have the matter brought before 



