288 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Mat, 1919 



the dead matter appears mainly in the seal- 

 ed cells while the unsealed larvae look a 

 little like the dead larva? of American. 



It is apparent that a microscope and ex- 

 pert bacteriologist might have to decide 

 which the disease is; but Sturtevant says 

 to apply treatment for European and if at 

 the end of two or three weeks the disease 

 comes back it may be assumed that the 

 American foul brood is the disease; but if it 

 effects a cure then it is a case of European. 

 This policy will save thousands upon thou- 

 sands of combs. 



Farmerette Beekeepers Again. 



After I showed the picture of Mendleson 's 

 farmerette beekeepers, appearing on page 

 76, February Gleanings, I received a letter 

 from one of our subscribers protesting that 

 the farmerettes were displacing men, and 

 that it was all wrong, etc. I hardly have 

 the space or the inclination to discuss the 

 right or wrong of this, any more than to 

 say, that when our wives, mothers, daugh- 

 ters, or any other girl or woman can be of 

 service in a beeyard, the should have the 

 privilege of dressing safe and sane. There 

 are some things like queen-rearing that 

 women can do just as well as men. In the 

 matter of extracting with a power outfit, 

 says Mr. Mendleson, they are just as good 

 as men and a good deal cleaner. 



The last time I told about Mr. Mendle- 

 son 's farmerettes I said that a number of 

 them had "swarmed out" meaning got mar- 

 ried, and I intimated that he might need 

 some more. This last must have been more 

 than he bargained for. Over a hundred girls 

 applied for jobs as farmerette beekeepers, 

 and the poor man, so I am told, sat up nights 

 writing letters saying he was awfully sorry 

 but he had all the girls he needed. 



Fig. 6. — Miss Marye Culver of Calexico, Imperial 

 County, Calif., in her farmerette bee suit. Her 

 father, W. W. Culver, is one of the most extensive 

 beekeepers of the Valley Last year he took 1,000 

 cases of 120 pounds of honey each from 1,100 colo- 

 nies. With not a little pride he told the editor of 

 Gleanings that his daughter Marye was his right- 

 hand man in the bee yards. Only sweet sixteen, yet 

 while her brother was in France she took his place. 



THE SWARMING PROBLEM 



LAST month I 

 J pointed out 

 the desirabil- 

 ity of securing 

 the great army 

 of workers for 

 the harvest 

 quickly and just 

 previous to the 

 honey flow in or- 

 der that most of the bees shall be young at 

 the beginning of the harvest. In our locali- 

 ty the greatest amount of brood should be 

 in the hives during the month of May, and 

 especially the latter part of the month, since 

 the honey flow from clover usually begins 

 early in June. 



This sudden and rapid expansion of brood- 

 rearing, which is so important, at this time, 

 brings prominently upon the horizon the 

 swarming problem. It seems that the 

 greater and more rapidly the increase in 

 brood-rearing, the more threatening and 



The Ounce of 'T^re-vention and the 



^ound of Cure. Some Seasons 



Both are Found Necessary 



By Eelva M. Demuth. 



baffling this new 

 menace becomes. 

 Our worst sea- 

 sons for swarm- 

 ijig have occur- 

 red when the 

 colonies had 

 built up most 

 rapidly and com- 

 pletely, and es- 

 pecially after a wet May when the field bees 

 were confined to their hives the greater por- 

 tion of the time and therefore not apprecia- 

 bly aged by work. 



Thus while good beekeeping demands a 

 fivefold increase in population within the 

 few weeks just preceding the honey flow, 

 this great spurt of brood-rearing is condu- 

 cive to a desire on the part of the bees to 

 divide their forces at this time, thus defeat- 

 ing within a few minutes the purpose to- 

 ward which we have been striving since last 

 iVugust. Furthermore, when we attempt to 



