JUNE 15, 1915 



477 



state are approaching a disease-free condi- 

 tion. Dr. Gates is now looking forward to 

 the time when the state will be relatively 

 rid of infection altogether. 



That the activities of the states for the 

 benefit of beekeepers are tending in every 

 case toward a centralization similar to the 

 policy of Massachusetts is the beljef of 

 Gleanings. Only by concentrating efforts 

 in this manner can each department realize 

 the full benefit of co-operation with every 

 other department and the complete efficien- 

 cy we all look forward to in beekeeping be 

 attained. 



Death of Prominent People in the 

 Bee-supply Line 



Since our last issue, three people promi- 

 nently connected with the bee-supply busi- 

 ness have died. The first was Mrs. H. G. 

 Aeklin, in charge of the A. I. Root branch 

 at San Francisco. The next was Mr. 0. E. 

 Mayfield, of the Toeppei-wein & Mayfield 

 Co., San Antonio, Texas; and the last, Mr. 

 W. T. Falconer, of the W. T. Falconer Mfg. 

 Co., Falconer, N. Y. It is not often that 

 three people so prominently connected with 

 the business have passed away in so short 

 a period. 



Referring to the San Francisco office, a 

 competent person is in charge there, and the 

 business will continue as heretofore. The 

 Toepperwein & Mayfield Co., when Mr. 

 Mayfield became indisposed on account of 

 overwork, installed a manager, and the 

 office has been in good hands for some time 

 back. Its policies will be continued as here- 

 tofore. The W. T. Falconer Co. is a strong 

 organization ; and even though it has lost 

 its founder, after whom it was named, it 

 goes without saying that there will be no 

 change in its policies. 



"We will try to have a more elaborate 

 sketch of the persons named in our next or 

 subsequent issues. It only remains for us 

 to say that our sympatliies go out to all the 

 friends and relatives of the parties named. 



Aster Stores not necessarily bad for 

 Wintering 



While this subject is, perhaps, a little 

 out of date, yet because the discussion of it 

 is so fresh in our minds it may be proper to 

 call attention to some new developments 

 just now brought to the surface which may 

 be forgotten or overlooked. 



There has been a general consensus of 

 opinion to the effect that aster stores, while 

 not necessarily bad, are undesirable for 

 winter, to say the least. There has been 



considerable conflict in the testimony. A 

 careful analysis of the reports goes to show 

 that when bees winter poorly on the aster 

 there is usually something else mixed with 

 it. That " something else " may be golden- 

 rod or swamp-milkweed, or both. The 

 combination is evidently bad. Unfortunate- 

 ly one or two of our yards had aster, 

 swamp-milkweed, and goldenrod all to- 

 gether. One beekeeper reported that a 

 combination of goldenrod and aster was 

 very bad. This last year he had the com- 

 bination and lost heavily. In some previous 

 years he had only aster, and his bees win- 

 tered nicely. At one of our yards we had 

 considerable milkweed with the aster, and 

 the bees showed signs of dysentery as early 

 as February. 



Mr. A. C. Ames, of Peninsula, Ohio, one 

 of our state foul-brood inspectors, was 

 located near the aster swamp. He had 

 neither goldenrod nor swamp-milkweed, and 

 yet his bees wintered well. 



We shall be glad to hear from any of our 

 readers on this proposition. We will hold 

 the reports when they come in for fall dis- 

 cussion. If it is shown that a combination 

 of aster and goldenrod is bad, then the rem- 

 edy is to extract before the bees go into 

 winter quarters, and feed sugar syrup or 

 some honey of good quality, and then use 

 this combination of aster and goldenrod or 

 swamp-milkweed, or both, for spring or 

 summer feeding. 



Freaks of the Weather 



Some two or three weeks ago it was 

 getting to be very dry in and about Medina. 

 Some days it would cloud up, and we could 

 hear rumblings of distant thunder, but nary 

 a drop of rain at Medina. Sometimes the 

 dark clouds would be north of us, and at 

 other times south; but every time we seemed 

 to be missed. The tables are now turned. 

 Everj' time there is rain anywhere along the 

 central and eastern states, Medina gets a 

 dose. The United States Weather Bureau 

 maps to which we referred on p. 349 of our 

 May 1st issue that are coming in to us every 

 day, show some peculiar freaks of the 

 storm-bound area. They are now showing 

 that Medina for the last few days has been 

 on the edge of the areas of precipitation. 

 Sometimes we are in the center of it; but 

 we always get it if any place does. 



The weather maps show that Dame Na- 

 ture has a way of equalizing. If any par- 

 ticular spot has been " neglected " or skip- 

 ped, there come times a little later when 

 that neglected spot will get rains if any 

 place within 200 or 300 miles gets it at all. 



