-13 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



The meeting was called to order at ten 

 o'clock, when we listened to an address by 

 President Henry S. Barker, formerly judge 

 of the Supreme Court of Kentucky. While 

 he has not, perhaps, had the training that 

 a college president is usually supposed to 

 have, he is a practical business man as well 

 as a man of affairs; and we understand that 

 the institution has prospered under his 

 administration. In his address of welcome, 

 he paid a glowing tribute to Kentucky, its 

 resources, its products, and its future. He 

 is greatly interested in every thing that 

 pertains to making two blades of grass 

 grow where only one grew before. He is a 

 lover of the farm and of the soil, and of its 

 possibilities; and last, but not least, he 

 believes there is a great future for the 

 honeybee in Kentucky now that sweet 

 clover has taken such a foothold in that 

 State. We shall refer to this further on. 



Other addresses were given by the editor 

 of Gleanings; by Attorney Richard P. 

 Dietzman, of Louisville, on the laws relat- 

 ing to bees; by H. C. Clemons, of Boyd, 

 Ky., on the Kentucky inspection law, and 

 by C. F. Stiles on beekeeping in Mississippi. 

 In the discussion that took place on the 

 bee-inspection law of Kentucky, it appeared 

 that the law was unconstitutional, and 

 therefore it was without effect. While it is 

 only a county law, an effort will be made 

 to get it re-enacted. The beekeepers would 

 much prefer to have a State-wide law, but 

 the legislature absolutely will not provide 

 the necessary appropriation for such a law. 

 Foul brood is making some little headway 

 in the State, and there is urgent need of 

 protection. A committee was appointed to 

 present some sort of bill for the next gen- 

 eral assembly at its coming session, and it 

 is hoped something can be done. 



Wintering in Big Quadruple Winter 

 Cases; Sealed Covers versus Ab- 

 sorbents 



On page 2 of our last issue we gave a 

 preliminary report of how the bees were 

 wintering in the large quadruple winter 

 cases. We have made another examination 

 to-day, Jan. 9, going over a large number 

 of colonies, and we find that, almost with- 

 out exception, the bees under the glass cov- 

 ers are showing up a little nicer and bright- 

 er than those under wired screens with 

 absorbing cushions above. In the case of 

 the former the bees are well up toward the 

 top. In the case of the latter they are 

 clustered much closer, as if they were not 

 as warm and comfortable as their neighbors 

 in the other side of the ease under glass 



covers. While this showing is by no means 

 conclusive, it makes us feel that, for the 

 climate of Medina at least, a plain board 

 laid on top of the brood-nest, with a bee- 

 space under it, making a sort of semi-sealed 

 eovei', is better than a cushion held up by a 

 Hill device oi- any thing that will make a 

 bee-space under it. Glass covers or the 

 board covers are not sealed ; but they shut 

 off the escape of moisture and hot air a 

 little more, apparently, than the absorbing 

 cushions that let both heat and moisture 

 ascend up into them. Other colonies in the 

 same yard are in single, double-walled, or 

 old-style chaff hives. Bees in these do not 

 look quite as well as those under glass in 

 big winter cases. The difference, however, 

 is not very great. We have also a number 

 of colonies in single-walled hives alongside 

 of the others. While these colonies are 

 looking well, they show quite a sprinkling 

 of dead bees in front of them. It would look 

 at this time as if the shrinkage of the 

 clusters, numerically considered, will be 

 much greater in single-walled hives than 

 where protection is afforded. This, of course, 

 is to be expected. With reasonable protec- 

 tion it looks as if there woiild be good 

 wintering this year. 



The Wonderful Developiment of Sweet 

 Clover in Kentucky ; a Trutli that 

 is More Wonderful than Fiction 



This plant is making gi-eat progress in 

 Kentucky, and already sweet-clover seed, 

 both yellow and white, is being shipped 

 out of the State to all parts of this country 

 in carlots. The amazing thing is that all 

 the territory in three counties — Pendleton, 

 Bracken, and Robertson — is devoted to the 

 growing of sweet-clover pasturage and 

 sweet-clover seed. In fact, we were reli- 

 ably informed by E. E. Barton, of the 

 Bokhara Seed Co., and by others also, that 

 these counties grow almost nothing else. It 

 is making rapid headway in other counties. 

 So profitable has become the gi'owing of 

 this legume that it has crowded out all other 

 crops, even tobacco. Now, tobacco (whei'e 

 it can be grown) is generally considered to 

 be a profitable crop; but it appears that 

 sweet clover on these Kentucky hills gives 

 even larger returns to the farmer. Just 

 suggest for a moment to any one of these 

 farmers that the plant is a weed and you 

 will find yourself bumping up against a 

 bees' nest at once. 



In a few years, comparatively, the gi'ow- 

 iiig of sweet clover will be one of the main 

 agricultural industries of Kentucky. It is 

 not only profitable for the growing of seed, 



