1028 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



tandem clear around the field. The cost of 

 the mowers and of the men is enough less 

 in the investment to make mowing by the 

 use of horses more profitable than to use a 

 traction engine in connection with a large 

 machine such as I illustrated and described 

 some little time ago. 



Mr. Vatson has also prairie grass; and 

 while he says it makes good hay, it does 

 not begin to have the same amount of nutri- 

 ment that alfalfa does; nor is there the same 

 tonnage to the acre. His neighbors all 

 along have been content to cut prairie grass 

 year after year, as thej' said alfalfa would 

 not grow; but here, as he pointed out tome, 

 he had 2800 acres growing luxuriantly. It 

 was beautiful alfalfa as far as the eye could 

 reach; and if he had told me there were 

 2800 square miles of it I should have been 

 quite ready to believe him, fori could not 

 see to the other side on either side. In 

 P^igs. 3 and 4 you can see something how 

 the field spread out, and how the stacks, 

 full^' as large as those in Fig. 2, were scat- 

 tered over the country. More anon. 



CA.TCHTNG SWARMS. 



On p. 73S I read an article about catch- 

 ing swarms. I think I can show an easier 

 way, which is always successful with me. 

 I take a hive containing frames filled with 

 combs. On this hive I fasten a pail-han- 

 dle, the ends of which will just fit in the 

 hand-holes in the long side of the hive. 

 The cover and bottom-board of the hive are 

 not needed; but I lay a mat or qui it on the 

 top to keep out the light. Now, when the 

 swarming should occur, 'no matter how hi>4h 

 the swarm hangs, I hook a long pole on, 

 having a tripod or sharp cord to bind on 

 the limb of the tree. Adjust it so that the 

 hive hangs directly over the swarm, and 

 the bees will go into their new quarters. 

 Next morning I have to set it down; cover 

 and bottom-board are in use, and the new 

 colony hived without trouble. 



Rudolph Lichtwer. 



Milltown, N. J., Oct. 8. 



[Your scheme of catching s swarm is per- 

 fectly feasible and practicable. I have used 

 somewhat the same method, but without the 

 bail handle and the pole. In our yards the 

 bees very often cluster very low on bushes. 

 Then it is eas}' to put a hive with combs, in- 

 cluding one with eggs and unsealed larva; 

 on a box just high enough so that the bees 

 can be shaken right down on to the combs. 

 Where the trees are reasonabl3^ high, a long 

 handle with a bail attachment to the hive 

 would be very convenient. — Ed.] 



A LOCAL ORDINANCE AGAINST FOUL BROOD. 



We are now making a hard fight against 

 foul brood in this county (where you ex- 

 amined J. D. Flory's bees). I send mark- 

 ed paper containing ordinance recently 

 passed to check diseased bees being import- 

 ed. Others may do well to follow our ex- 

 ample. My neighborhood is healthy. 



W. A. H. GiLSTRAP. 



Modesto, Cal., Oct. 29. 



In the matter of a petilion for the appointment of 

 an Inspector of Apiaries: 



This matter being presented on the petition of ten and 

 more residents and tax-payers of Stanislaus County, 

 praying for the appointment of an Inspector of Apia- 

 ries, J. G. Gilstrap and others appeared before this 

 Board, said parties having been fully heard, and the 

 Board being fully advised, orders that H. JI. Cole be. 

 and he is hereby appointed, Inspec'or of Apiaries of 

 Stanislaus County, State of California, for the term of 

 one year, provided, hovv'ever, that he shall be paid for 

 not to exceed 60 days in one year. 



ORDINANCE NO. 47. 



Be it ordained by the Board of Supervisors of the 

 County of Stanislaus, State of California as follows: 



Any person or persons who move or cause to be 

 moved any bees into this county shall, within thirty- 

 days prior to said removal, procure a certificate from a 

 legally authorized Inspect .r of Apiaries, showing that 

 they are free from the disease known as 'foul brood," 

 " bee paralysis," or other contagious diseases, and said 

 certificate sliall be filed with the Inspector of Apiaries 

 of this county before said Ixes are brought to this 

 county, at the lime of filing the afore.said^ certifica'e 

 the owner or manager shall notify the Inspector of 

 Apiaries of this county of the time mid place when and 

 where it i-; intended to locate said bees. Any violation 

 of this ordinance shall be a misdemeanor, and punish- 

 able therefor. This ordinance shall take effect lo days 

 after passage and publication. 



Adopted this I3th day of October, 1002. 



T. J. Carmichael. Chiirman. 

 A. S. DiNGLEY, Clerk. 



THE THICK TOP-BAR VS. THE THIN; ARE 



THICK TOP-BARS INCONVENIENT FOR 



THE BEES? 



Mr. Root: — I want to thank you for con- 

 sidering my temperature "hobby " so kind- 

 ly. I am more and more convinced (every 

 time I ' ' operate ' ' among my bees ) that there 

 is a great deal to be learned about tempera- 

 ture as it aft'ects bees and honey. 



In answer to your question as to \\\y ex- 

 perience with deep and shallow top-bars 

 I have some very shallow top- bars (;^g of an 

 inch), strengthened by a wooden center- 

 piece nailed perpendicularly in the center 

 of the frame. I notice that the bees never, 

 in a sing-le instance, cluster on this center- 

 piece, but build comb (in squads) on each 

 side of it, beginning in the center of each 

 side, and building out to the frame. They 

 also, in almost every instance, cover this 

 shallow top-bar with wax in the shape of 

 small cells, and in a number of instances I 

 find honey all over this top-bar, with the 

 wood completely covered up; but I have not 

 found the above conditions with deep top- 

 bars in a single instance; but I note that 

 the bar is free from wax on the sides, and 

 that there is comparatively little wax on top 

 under the sheet at any time, showing, I 

 think, that the bees do not so readily climb 

 over the wide wooden space as the narrow 

 one; and especially do they prefer a rough 

 surface of their own construction to travel 

 over to anything we can give them. I agree 



I 



