10 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1919 



on exhibition at the beekeepers' meeting 

 recently held in San Diego. That queens 

 have laid eggs in it and that bees will raise 

 nice brood and seal it over is equally proved 

 by sample combs that were shown at the 

 same time and place. That bees will always 

 fill it with brood or honey is claimed by 

 some who have tried it, to be untrue. In- 

 deed, as stated in December Gleanings, our 

 own bees rejected such comb given them in 

 late fall at Medina. Such a test at such a 

 time, however, we would not regard as con- 

 elusive. The fact that bees and queens have 

 used the substitute comb leads to presump- 

 tion that the new all-metal combs when per- 

 fected may prove a success, so far as the 

 bees are concerned. Whether the new arti- 

 cle can be made a commercial success, that 

 is, can be put on the market at a price that 

 will compete with combs built from comb 

 foundation, remains to be seen. The pres- 

 ent price for 10 all-metal combs, Langstroth 

 size, is $6.00 f. o. b.. Uplands, Calif. The 

 makers believe that this price can be re- 

 duced when the present war price of alumi- 

 num reaches a more normal figure. 



While the advantages claimed for the 

 metal comb are not as yet proved, it would 

 seem that actual tests might prove a part or 

 possibly all of them. If so, will the public, 

 assuming that they cost twice as much as 

 wax combs, pay the extra price? Perhaps 

 so. 



In a future issue we shall have some illus- 

 trations showing the details of construction. 



In connection with this subject of metal 

 comb, it is interesting to know that Quinby 

 succeeded many years ago in making artifi- 

 cial comb out of tin in which the queen 

 laid and bees were reared. But Quinby 's 

 conclusion was that metal combs were im- 

 practicable because of weight and expen- 

 siveness. Aluminum for commercial uses 

 did not exist in Quinby 's day, else he might 

 not have condemned metal comb as being 

 either too heavy or too expensive. See 

 ' ' Quinby 's New Beekeeping, ' ' edited by 

 L. C. Eoot, pages 193-195. A. I. Root more 

 than 40 years ago experimented with metal 

 comb and found that bees would occupy the 

 cells when coated with wax. L. C. Eoot in 

 his revision of Quinby 's work on beekeeping 

 expresses his ' ' belief in the future success 

 of complete artificial comb." 



VERY RECENTLY we were in a piece of 

 woods down in a gully that we thought 

 would afford an 

 Windbreaks ideal spot for a 

 on all winter apiary. The 



Four Sides. very day we look- 



ed over the loca- 

 tion there was a strong wind. Remarkable 

 to relate, the sweep of wind thru this gully, 

 in spite of the trees, was strong. The more 

 we have studied into this matter of wind- 

 breaks, the more we feel that the fences 

 used by R. F. Holtermann, entirely sur- 

 rounding an apiary, as shown on pages 591 



and 592 of our issue for October, are better 

 than an enclosure of trees not closely plac- 

 ed. For example, a north wind could not 

 glance up and then down and out. It will 

 sweep over the top because there is no outlet 

 on any one side. 



The Holtermann fence is made of cheap 

 boards 10 feet long, altho longer might be 

 better. They are nailed upright on cross- 

 pieces fastened to posts. His apiaries cover 

 a relatively smaU plot of ground and are 

 surrounded on aU four sides, for the reason, 

 we suspect, that south and east winds are 

 sometimes as destructive as those from 

 north and west. 



Usually shelter on the north and the west 

 sides has been considered sufficient. During 

 the past winter two of our yards had an ex- 

 posure from the southwest of a couple of 

 miles, with absolutely nothing to stop the 

 wind. In both there was considerable loss, 

 and in one over half the covers were blown 

 off, notwithstanding there was good protec- 

 tion on the north and the west. This blow 

 was followed by a heavy rain that soaked 

 into the packing and later froze. The re- 

 sult can be imagined. 



For years we have noticed that where 

 there is a long windsweep from the south 

 or the east there were liable to be some 

 losses; and we have come to the conclusion 

 that it is almost as important to protect an 

 apiary from the south and the east as it is 

 from the west and the north. 



Coming back to the form of fence adopted 

 by Mr. Holtermann — upright boards nailed 

 on to cross-pieces — it is cheap and effective. 

 The boards should not be placed nearer to 

 each other than half an inch. The theory 

 of a windbreak is to break the force of the 

 wind rather than to put up a solid slab 

 against which the wind may glance and then 

 curve downward. When a blast of air filters 

 slowly thru an obstruction its force is 

 broken. 



As already mentioned, another secret of 

 Mr. Holtermann 's success is that his yards 

 surrounded by board fences are relatively 

 small. He usually selects an apjile orchard 

 and then surrounds it with his fence. The 

 colonies are placed in groups of four; and 

 this arrangement makes it possible to put 

 a large number of colonies in a small space. 

 When it comes time to pack, the hives are 

 moved close together, in groups of four, 

 six or eight inches apart and then packed. 



We dare not tell you the big crops of hon- 

 ey Mr. Holtermann has secured. It should 

 be made clear that it is not the location 

 (which is good), but it is the man and his 

 methods that really make these yields possi- 

 ble. If there is any one factor that has 

 contributed to his remarkable success it is 

 his good wintering, and no small part of 

 that wintering is his scheme of windbreaks. 



We are adopting the Holtermann form of 

 fence; and where we have a long wind- 

 sweep we have decided to protect all four 

 sides — east and south as well as west and 

 north. 



