294 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



like ;i watermelon or orange, or any kind of indi- 

 vidual fruit or luxury, not bj' its weight. There is 

 not one purchaser in 500 who cares whether the 

 comb of honey he buys weighs 14 or 16 oz. so long 

 as it appeals to his fancy in looks and flavor ; so, 

 why should we beekeepers be hampered with such an 

 unreasonable ruling when the public can see what 

 they are buying before they buy it. Unless some- 

 thing is done to have this regulation withdrawn I 

 fear that comb honey will be even a scarcer luxury 

 on the market of 1916 than it is now. 



Clairemont, Texas. Basil C. Cairns. 



Few Swarmed Out After All 



I see that Dr. Miller says, page 1.37, Feb. 15, as 

 to my plan what to do when a swarm issues, that 

 he would expect them to swarm again in twenty- 

 four hours. I treated twenty-seven colonies that 

 way in 1914, killing cells and taking four or live 

 frames of brood, and only two swarmed out the next 

 day. I had fifty queen-cells, although we had a 

 rather poor season in 1914. 



The colonies treated in this way all gave some 

 surplus, from 35 to 50 sections of comb honey, 

 while the swarms that were hived on full sheets of 

 foundation gave ten to twenty sections, and some not 

 any. In using this plan I think it best to put the 

 brood in one side, as they will work in the sections 

 sooner. 



I am going to use this plan in 1915, and will 

 report what success I have. 



Juda, Wis. .Tame.s G. Benson. 



Bees Working on Eed Clover 



My bees are common hybrids, but last summer 

 they worked on the second crop of red clover. While 

 they stored but little or no honey, yet the hives in- 

 creased in weight very much during the time red 

 clover was in bloom ; and if it had not been for red 

 clover we would have had to feed in midsummer, as 

 there was no white-clover hone}', and the hives were 

 very light August 1. 



Some 25 years ago, when first coming on this 

 farm I bought a colony of bees which died the first 

 winter. I let the hive remain on its stand, and the 

 second summer a stray swarm took possession, and 

 my present vstock of bees is from this stray swarm. 

 T suppose that my bees are not better than hybrids 

 at most, for, so far as I know, we have only one 

 man for many miles around who has ever introduced 

 Italian queens, and he introduced only one or two 

 at most. At different times I have noticed my bees 

 on red clover; but not up till last year did they get 

 much nectar. Last year the hives were very light 

 when the second crop of red clover began to bloom. 

 I noticed that the bees were hustling out early in 

 the morning, and working all day during August, 

 in spite of the fact that we were having a very se- 

 vere drouth. At first I could not tell the source 

 from which they were gathering their stores; but 

 I finally traced them to the red-clover fields, where 

 I found many of them working on the red-clover 

 bloom. And I know further that the hives increased 

 very materially in weight during this August drouth 

 while the bees were working on the red clover. We 

 had good July rains that gave the second crop of 

 red clover a good start, so that we had a good 

 growth of stalk and head. It was very hot and 

 dry in August when the clover was blooming. 



Mendon, Mo., Nov. 2. Nathan Clair. 



South Winds Diminish the Honey Crop 



Much is said about the shortage in the honey crop 

 last year, and the blame appears to be laid to di-y 

 weather. If you have ever rustled sap in a /sugar- 

 camp you have learned that south winds dry the 

 flow of sap. I have noticed that, when the prevail- 



ing wiiul.s arc .southerly, the bees gather but little 

 nectar. I have noticed this for a number of years. 

 Here in northern-central Iowa the winds were most- 

 ly from a southern direction last summer, and our 

 crop of honey was light. In 1913 it was almost as 

 dryj but we had very little south wind, and there- 

 fore a bounteous crop of nectar. 



Moorland, Iowa, Oct. 5. Uncle Joe. 



Aster Honey has Done No Harm So Far 



Thinking perhaps you would like to hear how 

 bees are wintering in northern Michigan, where the 

 mercury often drops down to 40 below, I will say 

 I placed 59 colonies into winter quarters (in cases 

 out of doors), and to-day, Feb. 22, every colony 

 took a nice flight, and seems as strong in bees as 

 when placed away. I tell you it made me feel pret- 

 ty good to see them out so nice. Some of them had 

 flown before, where they were back in the brush, 

 and were more favored with the sun. 



I was afraid of aster honey, as much of it was 

 not sealed. 



Mio, Mich. John A. Stevens. 



White Clover Poor because of Drouth Last 

 Year 



Honey prospects in this locality are very poor for 

 this season. In my inspection last year I traveled 

 all over the western part of this state, and found 

 very little white clover started, on account of dry 

 weather. Some places have considerable sweet 

 clover, and there will be some honey-flow in local- 

 ities along rivers ; but generall)' the prospects are 

 poor. 



Most of the bees I inspected last season were 

 short of stores, and weak in bees; and unless they 

 were fed and protected there is sure to be a heavy 

 winter loss. 



Altona, III, Feb. 28. W. B. MoORE. 



The Farmer a Beekeeper 



As to farmers keeping bees, p. 81, .Jan. 15, I 

 should say if there are none of the contagious dis- 

 eases in the neighborhood every farmer should by 

 all means have one or more stands. They require 

 but little care, and are a diversion and added inter- 

 est to him, and an education to the children, besides 

 being the source of a delightful addition to the bill 

 of fare of the home. 



Where the contagious bee diseases are prevalent, 

 however, I consider it utterly useless if not a crime 

 against neighboring beekeepers, unless the farmer 

 intends to turn beekeeper, or have the bees looked 

 after by some one who is a beekeeper. 



Carthage, Mo. B. C. AuTEN. 



Oregon Basks in Sunshine 



Bees are now working on chickweed, crocus, and 

 pussy willows when the weather permits. People 

 are playing croquet out of doors. There has been 

 no snow this winter, and the lowest temperature 

 was 15 degrees. A brood of nine chicks, hatched 

 about Feb. 1, have spent the greater part of the 

 time out of doors, and all are alive and happy, not- 

 ^vithstanding Oregon is " dry." 



Forest Grove, Ore., March 2. S. T. Walker. 



Repoits Successful Wintering 



Bees have wintered well, and arc in excellent con- 

 dition at this time. A heavy aster flow last fall 

 made plenty of stores for winter, and spring feeding 

 will be unnecessary. Although it is early to pre- 

 dict, the clovers do not look promising here. 



.lacobsburg, O., Mar. 2. A. W. McMaster. 



