1040 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



rsiiim frdDm Different Fields 



Tlie Backlot Buzzer 



BY J. H. DONAHEY 



It's a good thing she's a lee or the mother queen 

 would lose her patience talcing care of her flock 

 when they are all tucked in for the winter. Remem- 

 ber how you used to yell, " Mother, make these kids 

 behave; they've got all the covers"? 



Did They Stop Laying for Want of PoUen? 



Having ten years' experience in handling bees I 

 have never experienced a scarcity of pollen at this 

 time of the year. I have noticed for the last six 

 weeks or more that my queens — all young ones — 

 stopped laying. I also tried to force them by feed- 

 ing, and that had no effect. It was only last week 

 that I came to a decision on the pollen question. 



I should like to have you tell me the reason the 

 queens stopped laying if other than that there was 

 no pollen in the hives, and also how to save them 

 till spring, as I do not care about losing a single 

 queen. All are of good stock, there being sixteen 

 in all. I had thought of packing all in large single- 

 row tenement hives with six inches of leaves or shav- 

 ings around the outside of the hives, and filling one 

 comb solid with rye flour and putting it to one side 

 ■of the cluster to form a division-board. 



Philadelphia, Pa. Samuel K. Johnson. 



[As a general proposition, all queens will stop 

 laying, whether young or old, by about the first or 

 middle of October. Old queens will stop laying 

 shortly after the harvest in most of the northern 

 localities. Much will depend upon whether there is 

 a fall flow from asters X)r other sources. If honey 

 comes in from natural sources queens will start lay- 

 ing and will keep it up until about the 15th of 

 October, or about the time that cool nights begin to 

 come on. Young queens — that is, queens 30 or 60 

 days old, will lay very much better than old ones. 



Perhaps your trouble was because you began feeding 

 too late. If the nights are cool, queens don't lay 

 much — pollen or no pollen. 



In the case you have here cited, it is not altogeth- 

 er clear that a lack of pollen was the reason for 

 the queens failing to lay. As a general thing there 

 will be a little pollen in some of the combs in the 

 hive; and if the bees are given stimulative feeding, 

 if no honey is coming in from natural sources, 

 queens will usually start laying, providing they are 

 young enough. Old queens may not lay, even if 

 they are fed, at that time of the year. 



Your scheme of packing in long rows is good; but 

 if your colonies are not strong you will have to 

 unite until they are. This may mean the sacrifice 

 of some queens. 



We do not know of any way of giving artificial 

 pollen in the combs that will give any satisfactory 

 results. — Ed.] 



Devil's Paint-brush, or Orange Hawkweed 



I should like to find out about a weed we have 

 here. It is an annual, and is known as " Devil's 

 paint-brush," or orange hawkweed. The pastures, 

 old meadows, and roadsides are red with it the last 

 two weeks in June, and the bees seem to like it 

 better than clover. The pollen is a dark-orange col- 

 or, and the honey water-white and quite heavy and 

 thick. I have been unable to find a single fact 

 about the weed. Can you give me any information ? 



Laurens, N. Y. C. L. Williams. 



[We referred this inquiry to Mr. John H. Lovell, 

 who replies as follows. — Ed.] 



Orange hawkweed, " Devil's paint-brusih," or 

 " Grim the collier," was introduced into this coun- 

 try from Europe some fifteen or twenty years ago. 

 The botanical name is Hieracium aurantiacum L. 

 It is a pernicious weed, rapidly spreading in sandy 

 soil, and driving out the pasture grasses ; but the 

 flowers are showy, and it is sometimes, I believe, 

 cultivated for ornament. I have it growing in my 

 grounds, and it occurs wild in the fields, but is not 

 well adapted to our heavy clay soil. Bees visit it to 

 some extent — chiefly, I think, for pollen, and I 

 regard it as of little value as a honey-plant. It 

 may yield nectar more freely, possibly, in New York, 

 but I am inclined to believe that Mr. Williams is 

 mistaken in thinking he obtained a considerable 

 quantity of water-white honey from this source. 



Waldoboro, Me. John H. Lovell. 



Concerning the Net-weight Law 



I should like to ask you some questions concern- 

 ing the net-weight law. Is it necessary to stamp 

 the net weight and label each i^ lb. (6^^ oz.) tum- 

 bler of extracted honey, or stamp the net weight or 

 label each %-lb. tumbler when shipped to Ohio, or 

 just stamp the net weight, or label each case or 

 barrel of them as the case may be ? 



Brooks-ville, Ky. Adam Kalb. 



[ It will be necessary to mark the net weight on 

 each half-pound package of honey. Marking the net 

 weight on each case or barrel would not answer the 

 requirements of the federal law. If each package of 

 honey weighs 6V2 ounces it will not be proper to 

 niiik t ono-half pound. If the honey weighs only 5 

 ounces, for example, it will have to be marked 5 

 ounces; but it would not be permissible for you to 

 mark a package 17 ounces, because that would be 

 contrary to the ruling. You would have to mark 

 it 1 lb. and 1 oz. Any thing that weighs under one 

 pound should be marked in terms of ounces. — Ed.] 



