166 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



visited me, who claimed that it would have been 

 incredible 1o them if they had not heard the noise 

 and smelled the honey in my meadow when it is in 

 full bloom. I have about 100 acres in yellow bien- 

 ial sweet clover. 



^^^len I began to experiment with it every one said 

 my farm had gone to the dogs. It frightened me 

 somewhat, as it was so dazzlingly yellow, and all vol- 

 unteer. If it had been white sweet clover, which 

 grows eleven or twelve feet high, I should have been 

 ruined. But mine grows about three feet high, and 

 it is not as hard as wheat straw when ripe. Every 

 thing eats it. 



I am not a beeman, but furnish others much hon- 

 ey. One German claims a medium colony made 45 

 lbs. of sweet-clover honey in two weeks six miles 

 from my meadow. I say rely on biennial yellow 

 sweet clover. It is the best we have ever heard of 

 or seen. 



Sturgis, S. Da., Dec. 18. John Fredrick. 



Defense of the Ames Bottom-board 



In Heads of Grain, Jan. 15, 1915, "Subscriber" 

 says the Ames bottom-board for four hives is faulty 

 because, when the colonies are strong, the weather 

 very hot, and a sudden check occurs in the honey 

 flow, the bees will " scrap " with their next-door 

 neighbors. 



Now, is it not the custom of most beekeepers to 

 set their hives in pairs? While my bees are set 

 four in a cluster they are really in pairs, for two 

 face east and two west. Will they scrap more on 

 these bottoms than on single bottoms set in pairs ? 

 Certainly not. I have had bees on these bottoms 

 for several years, and never had any scraps from 

 Mich a cause. 



As for young queens returning to the wrong hive, 

 that is possible under any arrangement one may use. 

 But how often will they mistake right and left? So 

 far as I know they never do. 



As for removing cleats and placing them at the 

 edge for summer and back to the center for winter, 

 such work is useless, and useless work is what I am 

 trying to get rid of. 



It would be far better to use a single bottom- 

 board for each hive on top of a plain platform, which 

 would be the bottom of the case. 



Peninsula, O. A. C. Ames. 



Wheat Shorts and Candy in Place of Pollen 



I liave been using common wheat shorts as a 

 substitute for pollen, and I think it is the best I 

 have ever heard of. I have given every suggestion 

 a trial. 



My candy is made along the lines of the Good 

 process. I use honey and granulated sugar until 

 the ma.ss is thick enough to knead like soft dough. 

 Finally I work in the shorts, leaving some on the 

 outside of the candy to prevent sticking the bees 

 and the frames. 



I lay between half a pound and a pound on top 

 of the brood-frames. The bees will utilize all, none 

 will be stuck up with it, and no candy will be left 

 on top of the frames. 



This quantity of feed is enough for an ordinary 

 colony for two weeks. More should be used as need- 

 ed. Mrs. S. C. Thornton Ceomwell. 



North Yakima, Wash. 



Pear Blight Not Traceable to Bees? 



.\s to bees and pear-blight, page 974, Dec. 15, 

 1914, I would not maintain very stoutly that bees 

 are responsible for blight-infection getting into the 

 pear-blossoms, for I am not convinced that they are. 

 However, that the infection does get into the blos- 

 soms is undeniable. Possibly the ants carry it there, 

 and doulilless they and other insects carry it from 

 blossom to blossom ; but after it is in the blossoms, 



to say that bees arc not responsible for carrying it 

 from blossom to blossom is absurd, except where 

 there are no bees. The nectar in an infected blos- 

 som quickly becomes an active blight-virus ; and no 

 insect, bee or other, can eat from an infected flower 

 and then from uninfected blooms without transplant- 

 ing the disease. No puncturing of the flower is 

 necessary, as the nectar itself is a highly susceptible 

 culture medium (Burrill, University of Illinois), and 

 tlie infection readily transfers itself from the nectar 

 into the tissues of the blossom. 



Carthage, Mo. BENJAMIN C. AxjTEN. 



Finds Bee-hunting Profitable 



My experience with bee-trees I believe confirms the 

 statements of Elias Fox which he made in his article 

 on page 32, Jan. 1. Late in August, 1913, I trans- 

 ferred a hybrid colony from a tree, wintered them 

 in a cellar with my other bees, and last summer 

 secured two colonies increase, not to speak of 75 lbs. 

 of extracted honey from the parent colony. 



Last October I captured a fine colony of three- 

 banded Italians. A few of them showed four bands. 

 Now while I have them nicely tucked awa}' in my 

 cellar I am looking forward to better returns from 

 the Italians than I secured from the hybrids, if 

 weather conditions prove as favorable. 



Beginners and those who are not thoroughly 

 si-hooled in the art of handling bees would be likely 

 to have this performance end in utter failure. 



EIroy, Wis. Charles Sheldox. 



Successful Wintering on Aster Honey 



Hurrah ! the bees got a good fly yesterday, the first 

 since early November. They show no dysentery, and 

 have nothing but aster honey. They seem to be in 

 Lne condition. 



Last year my bees wintered on aster honey and 

 came through in fine shape, though they were not 

 confined more than three weeks at a time, as com- 

 pared with the recent nine weeks' confinement. 



I had the finest aster honey this year I ever had. 

 It beat clover, both in color and in flavor. 



Underwood, Ind. Raleigh Thompson. 



Comb Honey Fumigated with Moth-balls 



Last >ear we sold some comb honey to a number 

 of different stores ; and after they had disposed of 

 tliis consignment to their customers they received 

 complaints that the honey had a bad taste and smell. 

 We investigated and found that the honey was some 

 that we had bought to meet the demands of our 

 trade. It had a peculiar taste and smell, similar to 

 tar and moth-balls. 



Cleveland, Ohio. J. C. ZabOE. 



A Warm Day in Winter 



BY GRACE ALLEN 



This must be Spring's own day of days, 

 The earth looks up in mild amaze ; 

 The sun is warm — a soft wind blows 

 From out the mystic Land of Rose 

 Where days to come in spring lie bound. 

 This day our gallant Winter found. 

 And loosed her bands and set her free, 

 And frolics with her merrily. 



And here within her magic glow 

 Our hives are gleaming in a row. 

 Out fly the bees from every hive — 

 " -Vlivel" I cry, "they're still alive!" 

 I kneel beside each narrow door. 

 And then my heart sings out no more; 

 For some are flying overhead. 

 And some are dragging out the dead. 



