86 



Marcn, 191i^ 



American ISec JonrnafI 



he could fill such a position with honor 

 to the State, but because I did not 

 know he was running for office. A 

 personal letter from him at Boise, re- 

 minds me of the many friendly chats 

 we had by letter when he was editor 

 of this Journal, and of the good time 

 at Detroit when we " bunked " together 

 for three nights during convention. 

 Our best wishes go out to him in his 

 new field. I feel sure that hosts of 

 readers of the American Bee Journal 

 will join in these felicitations. 



High Board Fences About an Apiary 

 for Proteclion 



An 8-foot fence around an apiary is 

 the subject of a short debate in Glean- 

 ings in Bee Culture between the two 

 well known veterans, J. E. Crane and 

 R. F. Holtermann. Mr. Holtermann 

 deems these fences "almost impera- 

 tive " in places where no other shelter 



Byer's' 'Cashel" apiary; hives facing west— Same direction that tlie land slopes. 



ters as well as the most sheltered api- 

 aries. Yet this yard is in a field, ex- 

 posed to t le west, north and south, 

 with buildings on the east. After 

 watching this exposed apiary year 

 after year, I wonder if we do not some- 

 times over-rate the value of wind- 

 breaks for winter protection. Yet 1 like 

 a protected apiary for solid comfort, 

 with the hives situated under large 

 apple trees. It is the ideal position. 



Another Byer apiary. Natural shelter, bush and high land, surround this apiary, 



good drainage to the south 



with 



for the bees is available, while friend 

 Crane speaks of a yard being " hope- 

 lessly ruined " in the spring because of 

 one of these fences. I hope they will 

 pardon me for thinking them both ex- 

 treme in their views. I dislike such a 

 fence, and at the home yard I have re- 

 peatedly seen hundreds of bees fall on 

 the north side of a board fence during 

 days when the sun was shining brightly 

 and a cold north wind blowing. They 

 would fly to the north side of the fence, 

 the wind would strike them and down 

 they would go. 



But I can hardly imagine things so 

 bad, that the apiary would be ruined 

 from this cause. Natural shelters, as 

 orchards, evergreen hedges or forests, 

 are much better, but as Mr. Holter- 

 mann says, these are not always avail- 

 able. As to the fences being impera- 

 tive for wintering, it would be a toss 

 up for my decision. I want some kind 

 of shelter when working at the hives 

 in the summer. Any one who has 

 wrestled with a (juilt trying to get it to 

 stay on the hive until the cover was in 

 place, can well understand this, espe- 

 cially ii the wind is blowing about -lO 

 miles an hour. 



Within three miles of my home is an 



apiary that has wintered outside for 30 

 years or thereabouts, and always win- 



North Carolina as a Bee Country 



A subscriber from England asks, 

 page 64, Feb. 1, whether North Caro- 

 lina is a good bee country. I have 

 never been there, but my father has 

 " wintered " for two years not far from 

 Asheville. that State, and is there now. 

 He thinks it a beekeepers' paradise. 

 His letters during winter sometimes 

 make me wish I was there, but when 

 the "good old summertime" comes, 

 the land of the Maple Leaf is good 

 enough for me. From what he tells 

 me, the mountain slopes have wonder- 

 ful bee pasture, and it is undoubtedly 

 a first-class bee country. 



Caufornia ^ Bee-I^eping 



Conducted by .J. E. Pleasants. Orange. Calif. 



Iowa's Annual Report 



We are in receipt of Mr. Frank C. 

 Pellett's Annual Report as Bee Inspec- 

 tor of Iowa. It is a most interesting 

 work, containing besides his personal 

 report, which is excellent, many val- 

 uable papers by leading bee-men and 

 working scientists. The Report is 

 beautifully illustrated. 



Mr. Pellett urges county inspection 

 of bees in his State. This has worked 

 very successfully in California. It 

 seems but just that the counties of a 

 State that are in need of an inspector 

 should bear the expense, as some 



counties have no bees, or so few that 

 there is no need for an inspector. As 

 Mr. Pellett very correctly points out, 

 inspection can be much more thor- 

 oughly done in this way. Our county 

 inspectors here make it a rule to look 

 over practically all the bees in their 

 counties each year. Where disease is 

 known or suspected, every colony is 

 looked through, and every comb con- 

 taining brood. 



This method has met with the hearty 

 cooperation of the beekeepers, and 

 where men of average ability to do 

 competent and conscientious work 

 have been appointed as inspectors 



