GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



WANTED— SOME BEEKEEPERS 



BY W. J. ROUNDTREE 



Referring to your editorial, page 260, 

 March 1, " Beekeeping in the Great West," 

 I want to say that we have here some 

 virgin territory that is practically untouch- 

 ed. There are thousands and thousands of 

 acres of alfalfa on irrigated lands, and 

 sweet clover on all the roadsides and ditches, 

 all wasting its sweetness on the desert air. 

 It is not everywhere that additional bee- 

 keepers would find a welcome; but I would 

 welcome some additional beekeepers here 

 in Wyoming for the following reasons: 



Beekeeping is in its infancy. There are 

 only a few small producers with from 30 to 

 50 stands. We produce more honey than 

 the local market will consume, but not 

 enough to make a combined shipment of a 

 carload. Freight rates are such that we 

 cannot ship in any other way. 



This territory is irrigated by a govern- 

 ment canal known as the Pathfinder Project, 

 which waters some 150,000 acres of land in 

 the valley of the North Platte, in eastern 

 Wyoming and western Nebraska. I hold 

 no brief for the people of Nebraska, and do 

 not know whether they would welcome more 

 beekeepers or not; but here in Wyoming 

 there are over 30,000 acres of alfalfa land 

 in which I do not think there are 200 colo- 

 nies of bees. Neither have I any bee loca- 

 tions to sell nor any ax to gi'ind, except that 

 personally I should like to see enough hon- 

 ey produced so we could ship to market in 

 car lots. 



The altitude of this valley is 4200 feet. 



The climate is about that of Colorado. The 

 land is particularly adapted to growing al- 

 falfa. Sweet clover grows whenever it is 

 permitted to establish itself, but is not 

 cultivated as a crop. These are almost the 

 entire sources of nectar. The honey is as 

 fine as can be produced anywhere. 



Winteis are usually bright, dry, and not 

 excessively cold. My bees winter in single- 

 walled hives without protection, and so far 

 my loss has been insignificant. Without 

 having investigated the matter enough to 

 say positively, I think locations can be se- 

 cured up and down the river from Old Ft. 

 Laramie to the state line. Possibly, also, 

 below in western Nebraska. 



So far we produce only comb honey. The 

 percentage of increase in Wyoming has 

 been very large in the last few years. There 

 are no expert beekeepers among us as yet, 

 and I do not know just what the yield is 

 per colony. The government, I believe, 

 gives it at 75 lbs. At Wheatland, in Platte 

 Co., they have shipped a carload for the 

 past two years; but that territory has been 

 settled longer than here. The past few 

 years the cultivation of sugar beets has cut 

 down the acreage of alfalfa somewhat, but 

 still there are thousands of acres, and al- 

 ways will be, since the crop rotation here is 

 sugar beets three years, and then back to 

 alfalfa again. I think there is a great fu- 

 ture here for the bee. 



Lingie, Wyo. 



CATCHING AND CLIPPING QUEENS 



BY E. S. MILES 



Presuming that all up-to-date beekeepers, 

 and all beginners who wish to succeed, prac- 

 tice clipping, and that some may not have 

 a satisfactory way, I wish to give my meth- 

 od. While, doubtless, there may be better 

 ways, if any one is not satisfied with his 

 present practice let him try this one. 



Queens are clipped primarily to prevent 

 swarms lodging in tall trees and other in- 

 accessible places; but I would clip so as to 

 know absolutely without mistake the age of 

 my queens, even if there were no other 

 reasons. I want longevity in bees, and it 

 seems reasonable to me to expect it from 

 strains whose queens live long rather than 

 from those whose queens are shorter lived. 

 There may be other ways to mar-k queens; 

 but as tliis is easy, effective, and at the 



same time gives a chance for absolute con- 

 trol of the colony, and, so far as my obser- 

 vation goes, does no harm, I think it advis- 

 able and profitable. 



When I started clipping I caught the 

 queen by the wings with the right hand and 

 held her with the thorax between the thumb 

 and first and second finger of the left hand 

 while clipping. It made me rather nervous 

 to hold her this way, as I was afraid 1 

 might squeeze her too hard. At this time 

 I happened to read that the bees would be 

 more likely to attack and kill a queeH held 

 in the fingers, on account of the strange 

 scent left upon her, and that the only way 

 was to clip her as siie walked on the combs. 

 I wish that writer had told us to try it on 

 drones or workers for a dozen times or so 



