356 



GLEAJ^INGS IN BEE CULTURE 



-EEKEEPING AMONG THE MOCKIE! 



Earlj' in Februai-y bees were 

 wintering almost perfectly ; but 

 March was a cold and stormy- 

 month, and colonies are weaker at 

 present than tAvo months ago. The 

 weather has now warmed up, and 

 most colonies are breeding well. 

 The average colony has brood in three 

 combs. It is still early; and with good 

 weather breeding will go on at a rapid rate. 

 We have had a great deal of spring mois- 

 ture, and the precipitation so far this year 

 is an inch above normal. The snow in the 

 mountains is short, and August will prob- 

 ably be a dry month unless we have rains, 

 which is not likely. Losses have been re- 

 ported to me from western Colorado as 

 arising from gi-anulated honey in the hives. 



MONTANA FAILS TO SECURE APIARY INSPEC- 

 TION, 



Word has just reached me that the 

 apiary-inspection bill before the Montana 

 legislature was smothered in committee. 

 This bill was drawn by the legislative com- 

 mittee of the Montana Beekeepers' Associa- 

 tion, and with the help of Prof. R. A. 

 Cooley, State Entomologist. It was intro- 

 duced rather late; but the opposition, it 

 seems, came from a small number of bee- 

 keepers who have the idea that it is more 

 profitable to let foul brood clean out the 

 small farmer beekeeper, and leave the terri- 

 tory free for the specialist. 



« « « 



HOW FAR BEES WILL FLY AND GATHER HONEY. 



My experience seems to show that bees 

 will not go three miles and gather nectar 

 successfully from alfalfa. I have had apia- 

 ries less than three miles apart that would 

 vary from no surplus to 60 lbs. of comb 

 honey — a mesa a mile wide intervening. I 

 have seen a hailstorm extend its ravages 

 several miles in extent and a mile wide, and 

 reduce the surplus of apiaries in its path 

 by 50 per cent. I do not believe bees work 

 successfully on alfalfa much more tlian a 

 mile and a half. The reason probably is 

 that bees have to work a long time to get a 

 load; and if they have to fly too far from 

 home thej' decide it is too much sugar for 



a cent. 



• * « 



SPRAYING-COVER-CROPS AMENDMENT LOST. 



The amendment to the Colorado apiary- 

 inspection law failed of passage. This 



amendment provided for cutting of cover 

 crops that might be in bloom before or- 

 chards in which they grow are sprayed. 

 There was opposition to the bill among 

 some fruit-growers. It is possible that, with 

 more work, the bill might have been passed. 

 All that now can be done is to carry on a 

 campaign of education and publicity. Every 

 county association should have a committee 

 to look after the interests of the beekeepers 

 and confer with the fruit-growers, so that 

 no needless losses may be sustained. By 

 careful selection of tactful beekeepers much 

 good can be done and damage averted if 

 work is begun in time. 



Losses Avill undoubtedly be suffered this 

 year, and the support and co-operation of 

 all beekeepers should go to the beekeepers 

 located in the commercial-fruit districts. 



Many beekeepers will doubtless help their 

 fruit-growing neighbors cut the clover, and 

 others will only need to confer with the 

 fruitmen to avert the trouble. 



EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING NECESSARY FOR 

 INSPECTORS. 



I have seen a few cases where inspectors 

 have caused unnecessary loss by their zeal. 

 Let me say that an inspector must be zeal- 

 ous, but in some cases the cure has been 

 worse than the disease. Inspectors who 

 have had ten years' experience with foul 

 brood are not unduly drastic in their orders. 

 Burning up hives and combs of all diseased 

 colonies is unnecessary unless the owner re- 

 fuses to care for the treated colonies. Rad- 

 ically different tactics should be used if foul 

 brood is found in a new and uninfected 

 district than if it is found in an old infect- 

 ed area. Severe measures are defensible to 

 protect clean districts. I have known cases 

 where beekeepers have been fined, and their 

 infected hives and combs burned, because 

 they had not treated diseased material that 

 was stored in a safe place where bees could 

 not get at it. A reasonable length of time 

 should be given to clean up, and the owner 

 should be allowed to save the hives and wax 

 if he is competent. An officious inspector 

 is not a credit to the beekeeping fraternity. 

 It would be a fine thing if every inspector 

 could be given a month of coaching before 

 taking up his duties. 



If some method of federal inspection for 

 all interstate shipments of bees could be 

 secured it would help control the spread of 

 bee diseases. 



