GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Pebruarv. 1919 



from the "Echo des Alpes. " He has been 

 trying out Fabre 's experiments along this 

 line, but has drawn a somewhat different in- 

 ference. A few bees were marked, put in 

 paper bags, and liberated at different dis- 

 tances from their hives. At about half a 

 mile distant the bees all returned; at two 

 miles a small number were lost; at four 

 miles 17 out of 20 returned; and at eight 

 miles none returned- Professor Jung be- 

 lieves this indicates no sixth sense of direc- 

 tion, but that the bees return only when 

 they are able to find landmarks which they 

 recognize. This seems borne out by the 

 fact that of bees liberated two miles out in 

 the lake none returned. 



VALUE OF DOUBLE-WALLED HIVES. 



Double-walled hives have been quite neg- 

 lected in recent discussions on wintering, as- 

 serts W. A. Chrysler in the December Can- 

 adian Horticulturist and Beekeeper. The 

 main argument against these hives, he says, 

 is their cost, weight in handling, and 

 greater liability to cause poor wintering. 

 The first point rather fades away when we 

 consider the cost of a winter case. In re- 

 gard to weight, he says the double-walled 

 hive does not need to be lifted; but he es- 

 timates that packing and unpacking the sin- 

 gle-walled hives in an apiary of 100 colo- 

 nies would require 14,000 pounds of lifting. 

 In refutation of the third point he says 

 that, after an experience of 30 years with 

 various kinds of wintering (except cellar 

 wintering), he has found the double-walled 

 hives much the safest and most practical. 

 He also adds that 28 years ago he visited 

 an apiary of 200 colonies, all in double- 

 walled hives. This fall he again visited the 

 same yard and found the owner still as well 

 pleased as ever with this kind of wintering. 

 [In even as severe a winter as last, one can 

 winter several hundred colonies in double- 

 walled hives with less than one per cent loss 

 if he knows how.] 



* ♦ * 



CHAMPION OF SMALL HIVE. 



Large hives are commented on by Miss 

 Emma M. Wilson in the January American 

 Bee Journal. She says that, tho Dr. Miller, 

 if he were beginning again, would have a 

 larger hive than the eight-frame, his helper 

 does not agree with him on this point, since 

 the eight-frame is much easier to handle; 

 and, as for the danger of starving in winter, 

 she says those women not willing to give 

 the necessary attention in the fall should 

 either use larger hives or let bees alone. 



LOCATIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 



Forest-reserve locations in California have 

 been investigated, and range for thousands of 

 colonies found, according to the December 

 Western Honeybee. This work has been 

 done by the United States Bureau of En- 

 tomology and Forest Eeserve. The best of 

 the localities that are at all accessible are 

 already occupied; but there will be many 



other good ones available as soon as facili- 

 ties can be provided for reaching them. 

 These ranges are to be classified according 

 to their value as bee-pasturage, and the li- 

 censes will be so granted that beekeepers 

 will be able to locate no closer to each other 

 than three miles- In some other parts of Cali- 

 fornia that are already overcrowded there 

 has also been some talk of requesting the 

 legislature to place a limit to the number 

 of apiaries that may be established within 



a certain space. 



* * » 



LIMITING BOUNDARIES. 



Among resolutions lately passed by the 

 Auckland branch of the National Beekeep- 

 ers ' Association may be found in the No- 

 vember New Zealand Beekeepers' Journal 

 one recommending that the Grovernment 

 limit boundaries so as to prevent overlap- 

 ping of beekeepers ' territory, and that the 

 law forbid the removal of bees from one 

 locality to another unless the proposed loca- 

 tion be certified by the Gov-ernment inspect- 

 or to be suitable for the purpose. 

 » * » 



STEEL DRUMS FOR CONTAINERS. 



An effort to secure more dependable con- 

 tainers for shipping extracted honey is men- 

 tioned in the December Western Honeybee. 

 Fifteen-gallon steel drums are proposed, and 

 a rate of $1.12i/^ per 100 pounds suggested 

 as a carload minimum of 50,000 pounds. 

 These drums are practically indestructible 

 and may be handled with ease and safety. 



* * « 



PROPHECY ON PRICES. 



• ' We do not see how prices can drop very 

 much before the next crop comes on, as 

 there is such a small amount left in the 

 hands of the producer- Our idea now is that 

 the market will stiffen just as soon as ship- 

 ping space becomes a little more easily avail- 

 able. " — M. G. Dadant, January American 



Bee Journal. 



* » « 



GIVING BEES TO SOLDIERS. 



Maimed soldiers and sailors are each of- 

 fered a colony of bees and hive complete by 

 W. Ion in the British Bee Journal for Nov. 

 21. He says, if thruout the United Kingdom 

 999 other beekeepers would do the same, 

 that the returning soldier beekeepers could 

 immediately restart in beekeeping. 



* » » 



ANOTHER PROPHECY ON PRICES. 



Honey, being a luxury, may be one of the 

 first food products to drop in price, says 

 the editor of the Domestic Beekeeper in the 

 December issue, yet he does not look for 

 . much of any reduction from present prices 

 for a year or two at least. 

 » * « 



BEES ON SHARES. 



Keeping bees on shares,J- B. Lundie, in 

 the Australian Beekeeper, considers to be 

 worth more than is usually paid. He thinks 

 such work should command as much as two- 

 thirds of the honey and wax. 



