NOVE.MBEK. 1919 



GLEANINGS IN B ?: E CULTURE 



7.! 7 



thoro also, so that, after removing one, it 

 would be quite possible for the cluster to 

 leave for new quarters. If no other queen 

 is left with them, they would, of course, re- 

 turn to their hives. (3) Most queens are 

 too large to pass thru a bee-escape as the 

 workers do. (4) Eeports of queens stinging 

 when being clipped are very rare indeed. 

 We have clipped thousands, but never have 

 been stung by one. 



Question. — Please give me your opinion as to 

 Iiow many hives of bees could be kept profitably on 

 a five-acre orchard (apple) tract. The trees are 

 eight years old, and the tract is surrounded by 

 other orchards, perhaps a hundred acres within two 

 miles. C. R. Gale. 



Washinston. 



Answer. — Simply for fertilizing the five- 

 acre orchard you would probably not need 

 more than five colonies. If you are thinking 

 of the honey to be obtained in the spring 

 from not only the five acres but also the 

 hundred acres surrounding, we would think 

 that an apiary of perhaps 30 colonies would 

 be about right. The fruit trees would help 

 greatly in the brood-rearing in the spring, 

 but of course in order to get a good crop of 

 honey j-ou would have to have some other 

 good source of honey later on in the season, 

 since you could not depend upon your fruit 

 trees for your main source of honey. The 

 honey is good for building up colonies, but 

 is of poor grade and not very good for sur- 

 plus honey. 



Question. — A local paper had the following: "An 

 Indiana beekeeper has succeeded in breeding- a race 

 of stingless bees. They are a cross between Cyprian 

 drones and Italian queens. These bees gather more 

 and finer honey than their armed cousins, and also 

 resist disease better." Will you kindly inform me 

 what you know about them and their alleged ad- 

 vantages in industry and resistance to disease? 

 Connecticut. Raymond L. Hills. 



Answer. — The clipping you inclose has 

 already been called to our notice. There are 

 two great genera of stingless bees which 

 may be found from the southern boundary 

 of the United States as far south as Ar- 

 gentina. These bees are quite inferior to 

 the ordinary strains of hybrids and Italians, 

 producing a much smaller amount of honey. 

 Evidently the story of these stingless bees 

 has become somewhat distorted in the tell- 

 ing, for certainly we know of no cross be- 

 tween the Cyprians and Italians that is 

 stingless. In fact, Mr. Mel Pritehard says 

 his experience is that this particular 

 cross between the Cyprians and Italians is 

 among the most vicious of bees, that their 

 honey-gathering qualities are only ordinary, 

 and that they are not nearly so immune to 

 disease as the Italians. 



Question. — Would it be advisable to move bees 

 within 2% miles of a smelter? I think this is a 

 lead and zinc smelter. I understand that the gas 

 from this smelter kills the vegetation near by. What 

 would you consider a safe distance? 



Illinois. Carson Donnell. 



Answer. — It has been repeatedly shown 



that colonies of bees may be affected by gas 



from smelters anywhere within a distance 



of five miles, and therefore we would con- 



sider the location you suggest too near the 

 smelter. To be sure, if there is plenty of 

 forage for the bees near the apiary they are 

 not likely to fly a distance of five miles, and 

 yet the fact that the gases extend a con- 

 siderable distance from the smelters and 

 that the wind often blows them some dis- 

 tance further makes it desirable to locate 

 further away than five miles. 



Question. — Are theire any laws about keeping 

 colonies on a city lot ? F. A. Clark. 



Pennsylvania. 



Answer. — We do not believe you will find 

 any law preventing your keeping bees in 

 town so long as they give no trouble to 

 passersby. Of course, if they prove them- 

 selves a nuisance it would be necessary to 

 move them. According to law, if bees make 

 trouble the owner is not considered liable 

 unless he has been previously notified that 

 the bees had been making a disturbance, and 

 he has allowed them to continue to trouble 

 passersby. Then in case damage is done he 

 would be considered guilty of negligence. 



Question. — Would creosote or some of the coal- 

 tar derivations do instead of paint for hives? In 

 this climate untreated wood seems neiver to quit 

 drying up and getting smaller. Is it the usual prac- 

 tice of most beekeepers to paint the inside as well 

 as the outside of hives? J. B. Miller. 



Wyoming. 



Answer. — It is not necessary to paint the 

 inside of a hive, since the bees propolize 

 all the cracks and crevices themselves, and 

 it is not exposed to the weather. We do not 

 think that creosote or coal-tar products 

 would be very acceptable to the bees if plac- 

 ed inside the hive, since the odor would be 

 objectionable to them. We at one time used 

 coal tar on some covers, but found it very 

 unsatisfactory. In very warm weather it 

 has a disagreeable way of adhering to hands 

 and clothing. We believe most beekeepers 

 would prefer paint. 



ANSWER BY JOHN II. LOVICLL. 



Question. — I am inclosing a sample of clover I 

 have found growing in great profusion on some land 

 we recently purchased. The clover grows as vigor- 

 ously and is as large as red clover. It has all the 

 characteristics of white clover except size. The bees 

 were busy at work on it during last June. Hon 

 eybees, bumblebees, and the smaller varieties of 

 bees and butterflies were all busy. I should be glad 

 to have its name. E. G. McCormick. 



Arkansas. 



Answer. — The name of this plant is buffalo 

 clover (Trifolium reflexum). It grows wild 

 from western Pennsylvania to Texas, and 

 southward (thru Arkansas) to Texas and 

 Florida. The standard or large upper petal 

 is rose-red, while the wing and keel petals 

 are white; thus while the heads are nearly 

 as large as those of red clover, in color they 

 are suggestive of white clover. As in white 

 clover, the flowers are reflexed and turn 

 brown with age. In view of the short and 

 comparatively large corolla-tube, probably 

 all the nectar can be reached by honeybees; 

 and as it is freely visited by honeybees, 

 bumblebees, and smaller bees and butterflies, 

 it is, no doubt, a good honey plant. 



