GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



April, 1919 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



point. This will, if granted, be a very im- 

 portant concession, as delays in customs 

 have been one of the worst nuisances con- 

 nected with the pound-package business, es- 

 pecially when bees have come a long dis- 

 tance and have been on the road a long 

 time. 



With practically no snow all winter and 

 none at this date (March 7), naturally we 

 have been much interested in the clover sit- 

 uation. In many localities, including our 

 own, alsike is the main source of nectar. 

 The clover is alive yet, for altho we have 

 had no snow to cover it, on the other hand 

 we have had no very severely cold weather, 

 nor alternate freezing and thawing to heave 

 it out of the ground. The critical time is 

 ahead, and the next few weeks will tell the 

 tale. But the clover was well rooted and 

 had a fair top last fall. J. L. Byer. 



Markham, Ont. 



« » « 



In Minnesota This state has experi- 



euced the mildest win- 

 ter in 25 years. In spite of this fact we are 

 receiving n ports which indicate that in 

 some localities, at least, bees are not winter- 

 ing well. This is no doubt largely due to 

 the fact that honey was of a poor quality 

 for wintering, and many did not feed sugar 

 on account of the high price and the difficul- 

 ty in procuring it. Reports show that sugar- 

 fed bees are wintering better. 



By the time this number reaches the bee- 

 keepers most of the bees in Minnesota will 

 have been taken from the cellars. Did you 

 save those combs of honey to give the needy 

 colonies this spring? If you did, now is the 

 time to use them. Place under the brood- 

 chamber, next to the bottom-board, a hive 

 body containing combs with more or less 

 honey in them according to the needs of the 

 colony. This leaves the colony in the warm 

 part of the hive with the cover sealed. 

 About the time of fruit bloom or later, when 

 the upper division is getting well filled with 

 brood, you can reverse the divisions, and, if 

 the queen is a good one, all you will lack 

 is a honey flow to give you a good crop of 

 honey. Oh! you haven't the combs of 

 honey. Well, in that ease feed sugar syrup 

 and sufficient at one time to carry the colony 

 thru to the honey flow. I feel that this 

 should be emphasized. Stimulative feeding 

 may be all right for the experienced bee- 

 keeper after settled warm weather has set 

 in, but let the beginner beware. 



No doubt many colonies will come out of 

 the cellar this spring in a weak condition. 

 Many of these can be saved by the exercise 

 of a little care and trouble. The writer has 

 used the Alexander plan with good success. 

 As soon as the weak colony has some uncap- 

 ped brood in the hive, place it on a strong 

 colony with a queen-excluder between. This 

 should be done without the use of smoke. 

 After placing the excluder on the strong 



colony leave it uncovered for an hour or 

 more until the bees have quieted down. 

 Then quietly lift the weak colony from its 

 bottom-board and place it on the strong one. 

 In about 30 days these can be separated by 

 setting the strongest colony on another 

 stand and at the same time giving it some 

 of the bees from the colony left on the old 

 stand to make up for the loss of bees that 

 will leave and return to the old location. 



Professor Jaeger is fjlanning to raise 

 queens for Minnesota beekeepers the coming 

 season as usual. The queen-rearing apiary 

 will be in a new and better locality. All 

 inquiries concerning queens should be sent 

 to the Bee Culture Division, University 

 Farm, St. Paul. Chas. D. Blaker. 



Minneapolis, Minn. 



* • « 



Tj, 'Texas Reports from practically 



every section indicate that 

 the native honey plants are now in excellent 

 condition. A late frost is yet possible, al- 

 tho recent cold spells lead one to believe 

 that a killing frost may be escaped. In 

 every section the bees are building up rapid- 

 ly, and a big increase is expected to replace 

 partly the severe losses of the past two 

 years. Much increase will be made this 

 year in bees at a possible sacrifice of honey 

 surplus. Therefore, the improved conditions 

 will not react so much upon the honey mar- 

 ket as might be supposed on first considera- 

 tion. Every professional beekeeper will re- 

 plenish his stock during the coming year in 

 preference to producing a large surplus of 

 honey. 



The excollent brood-rearing during the 

 first part of March made inspection work 

 possible and necessary in several counties. 

 There is an increased demand for inspection 

 work each year. The shippers of early 

 queens were very anxious to have their cer- 

 tificates to accompany their first orders. 



The cost of bee supplies seems to be in- 

 creasing without much evidence of relief 

 in sight. Many, last year, withheld much- 

 needed orders for equipment, considering 

 the price prohibitive and thinking that con- 

 ditions would be better this year. However, 

 the increased value of bees and all their 

 products is supposed to make up for this 

 increased cost of supplies. Transferring 

 should not be neglected because new equip- 

 ment seems so high. The increased returns 

 of the transferred colony will certainly pay 

 for the equipment. The high cost of sup- 

 plies has not kept all beekeepers from buy- 

 ing, since every supply house is running to 

 full capacity to fill all orders. 



Those who were interested in the bill es- 

 tablishing the experimental apiaries will be 

 glad to know that it received favorable sup- 

 port of the agricultural committees of both 

 branches of the Legislature. Many beekeep- 

 ers in the State have interested themselves 

 in securing the passage of this bill, and 



