February. 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CITLTURE 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



tain data, information, and suggestions of 

 particular importance to Michigan beekeep- 

 ers. If you are not already on the list of 

 j)ersons who receive the circular letters from 

 the State Beekeepers' Association, then 

 please send in your name. 



The Legislature is now in session. Many 

 of the members are in favor of increasing 

 the appropriation for inspection work. There 

 are many who are "neutral" and some who 

 are against it. Now is the time to get right 

 after the representatives and let them 

 know your sentiments if it is to do any 

 good at this session. One letter to one 

 representative might save the day. One 

 "kicker" in the Legislature frequently up- 

 sets the program of a dozen others. Be 

 sure that YOUR representative is informed 

 of the need of a further appropriation. 



A short course for beginners and ama- 

 teurs in beekeeping will be given at the 

 Agricultural College beginning Feb. 24 and 

 continuing till noon of March 1. Eight 

 hours a day will be devoted to lectures and 

 laboratory exercises in beekeeping. The 

 course will deal chiefl}^ with the particular 

 information of which the beginner feels in 

 need. The instructors at the College will be 

 assisted by a well-known honey producer 

 who will lecture chiefly on methods of pro- 

 duction. This course is in no way intended 

 for professionals. The object is to get the 

 beginners started along the right path. 

 For further particulars, write to A- M. 

 Berridge, Director of Short Courses, East 

 Lansing, Mich. 



On Dec. 17, a joint meeting of the Lamb- 

 ton County Beekeepers' Association of On- 

 tario and the St. Clair County Beekeepers' 

 Association of Michigan was held at Port 

 Huron. This meeting was one of unusual in- 

 terest and enthusiasm. Mr. Armstrong from 

 the Ontario Agricultural College and Mr. 

 Eumford, Deputy Provincial Inspector, both 

 gave very helpful addresses. One of the 

 best features of the meeting was the ban- 

 quet which was held in the evening. The 

 toastmaster, John Farrell of Ontario, 

 was a master in his position and so conduct- 

 ed the program of toasts that every person 

 present felt fortunate in being there. We 

 need more of such meetings as this one. 

 The very energetic County Agent, C. L. 

 Brody of Port Huron, was largely responsi- 

 ble for the success of the meeting. Meet- 

 ings were also held during the month in 

 Lapeer, Genesee, and Jackson Counties. 

 The continued epidemic of "flu" compelled 

 the abandoning of most of the program of 

 meetings- B. F. Kindig. 



East Lansing, Mich. 



* * » 



In Ontario ^^^'^ month of December 



here in Ontario has been 

 much milder than usual for this time of the 

 season. About 10 above zero was the cold- 

 est — quite a contrast to the December of 



1P17 when we had several days away below 

 zero. Generally speaking, milder weather 

 earlier in season, with the extreme cold 

 later on, is better for the outdoor bees than 

 with conditions reversed; but too long a 

 spell of very mild weather late in January 

 is often harmful, ,as brood-rearing is apt to 

 start. As a rule, we have our coldest wea- 

 ther here in February; and, with much 

 brood in hives in January, an extremely 

 cold spell lasting for weeks, following the 

 mild weather of the previous month, often 

 causes colonies to go to pieces badly. Janu- 

 ary to date (8th) has been moderately cold 

 with two days below zero. On the whole, 

 I should say that the winter season so far 

 has been fine for the bees, altho they did 

 not have so late a flight as we would have 

 liked. After all is said and done, the main 

 factor in good wintering for our locality 

 isn 't so much a question of weather condi- 

 tions as one of stores, because an abundant 

 provision of stores of good quality will 

 generally bring the bees thru all right even 

 if weather is bad; while, on the other hand, 

 if stores are light or poor in quality, all the 

 good weather conditions and good prepara- 

 tions in the way of packing, etc., are all for 

 naught. 



A very mild January when, as intimated, 

 bees are inclined to start brood-rearing 

 heavily, is the kind of a season when the 

 brood-nest is about solid with honey. Such 

 a condition proves a real bonanza, as the 

 brood-rearing space is so restricted that the 

 queen has little space to deposit eggs. That 

 was the theory that the late Mr. McEvoy 

 worked on, and the longer I keep bees the 

 more I am convinced of the soundness of 

 the plan in practice as well as in theory. To 

 all who say that colonies can have too much 

 honey and too little "winter nest" for good 

 outdoor wintering in a climate similar to 

 ours, I respectfully suggest that they try 

 the matter out. Restrict the brood-nest in 

 the fall and then feed these colonies so 

 that combs are literally solid, and let that 

 condition remain as long as it is possible 

 to get the bees to take the feed (this for 

 an extreme test), and if the colonies are 

 reasonably strong in bees and reasonably 

 protected, I feel almost like saying that I 

 will stand the loss in wintering if loss oc- 

 curs. As to this question of freezing the 

 bees by reason of too much honey in the 

 brood-nest, claims have been made that 

 cannot be verified by experiment. No, we 

 do not prepare all our colonies in that way, 

 not even the majority of them. Reasons are 

 obvious, for with so many bees it would 

 take too much work. But one thing I am 

 sure of is this, that all colonies thus pre- 

 pared have always wintered in good shape, 

 while many others, in the same winters, not 

 thus prepared have not done so. 



Owing to the influenza epidemic and other 

 contributing circumstances, the date of the 



