48 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. 15 



provided winter snows and spring rains follow in 

 proper succession. 



There are some among the number who say 

 that, where the drouth began in August and con- 

 tinued up till cold weather, the probabilities are 

 that the old clovers have been killed. 



One writer goes so far as to say that the drouth 

 has been so severe in his locality that he predicts 

 there will be no yield of clover next season, and 

 he has, therefore, moved his bees to pastures new. 



All agree that the young clovers, if the old 

 ones are icilled, would, with a proper spring and 

 summer, spring up, but that tney would not 

 yield much honey. Their time for furnishing 

 nectar would not be due until the season follow- 

 ing. 



On the subject of winter-killing, as to what it 

 means, it is explained that a rainy winter, follow- 

 ed by alternate freezing and thawing, during 

 which the soil assumes the appearance of a hon- 

 ey-comb, will destroy the clovers, because the 

 action of the expanding and contracting of the 

 soil results in separating the top from the roots, 

 and the fine roots from the main ones. The gen- 

 eral effect of this is to injure or kill the plant 

 outright. 



Thus far the winter throughout has been dry 

 in most of the Northern States. Needed rains 

 and snows have fallen pretty generally; and there 

 has been, therefore, but little of the destructive 

 honey-combing of the soil by which the clovers 

 are dismembered. If deep snows should now 

 come on, there would probably be no serious 

 damage to the clovers. 



! As nearly as we can glean from the various re- 

 ports published in this issue, it is apparent in 

 some localities that some of the clovers have been 

 killed, so that there will not be much honey from 

 ' clover next year. In most places the plants have 

 not been destroyed. It is our opinion, based on 

 the majority of reports, that there will be a fair 

 crop of clover honey next year in the country 

 generally, although in some sections, of course, 

 there will be practically none. 



DEATH OF MR. C. H. W. WEBER. 



It is with much regret that we record the death 

 of Mr. Charles H. W. Weber, of Cincinnati, on 

 New Year's day. Those who attended the De- 

 troit convention will remember seeing him at 

 that meeting; but, unfortunately, he was not 

 well, as he said that he was afraid he would have 

 to get under the care of the doctor as soon as he 

 could get home. Shortly after that, we learned 

 that he had undergone a serious surgical opera- 

 tion, but he apparently recovered from that. 

 When in Cincinnati some weeks ago we called 

 to see him at the hospital, and found him doing 

 quite well, and anxious to get home. As we had 

 had some hospital experience of our own we cau- 

 tioned him to make haste slowly. We left him 

 with the belief that his recovery would be com- 

 plete. Some weeks afterward we received news 

 from his family, to the effect that his condition 

 had taken a sudden turn for the worse, and it was 

 feared that he would not be able to recover; he 

 apparently rallied somewhat from this, but it was 

 for only a short time, and just as the new year 

 dawned he passed away. 



Mr. Weber was born in Lemfoerde, Germany, 

 April 1, 1844. In May, 1899, he bought out C. 



F. Muth & Son. Although well advanced in 

 years at the time, he took up the general subject 

 of bee-keeping with an enthusiasm seldom shown 

 by one of his years. He began the selling of 

 supplies, and of bees and queens., He had quite 

 an apiary on the roof of his building. His busi- 

 ness continued to grow, and In the mean time he 

 had good help in the persons of his son and 

 daughters. Mr. C. W. Weber, a son, has had 

 practical charge of the business for the last six or 

 seven years. He is an energetic young business 

 man, having sold honey extensively all over the 

 country ; and it goes without saying, that the 

 business in the future will go on as before. 



In the line of bottling honey the Webers have 

 a very complete plant. When I called there last, 

 Charley showed me a special invention of his own 

 for bottling honey in a wholesale way. So ex- 

 tensive is his bottling business that he used a ro- 

 tary pump for pumping honey from one tank to 

 another. Indeed, he is in position to do and 

 does do a large business. 



We are sure that the sympathy of all our read- 

 ers will go out to the surviving members of the 

 Weber family, especially to his son Charles, up- 

 on whom the responsibility and management of 

 the business has fallen. The junior Weber is no 

 novice in the business, having grown up in it as 

 the practical manager of both the supply and 

 honey departments. 



INCREASING THE WORKING ENERGY OF BEES BY 

 SHAKING; IS THE PLAN A JOKE .'' 



In the Bee-keeper's Re-uieiv for December ap- 

 pears an article by Mr. G. W. Williams on the 

 subject as above. In this the writer says he be- 

 lieves that new life can be shaken into bees when- 

 ever they show a tendency to loaf. From some 

 experiments that he has conducted in a small 

 way he is inclined to think there are big things 

 for the future in scientific jarring. 



He bought six colonies of bees of a neighbor 

 which he desired to hive about fifty feet away 

 on his own premises. To prevent their going 

 back he shook all the bees in front of their re- 

 spective entrances after the hives had been moved. 

 Nearly every bee stayed. When it came time to 

 put on supers he shook the bees in front of their 

 entrances again. It became apparent that those 

 that had been shaken were in advance of his oth- 

 er colonies not so treated. One colony in pa'- 

 ticular that had not received the "quakes" was 

 sulking; but after it had been "dumped" he said 

 it started immediately to work. At other times 

 when he found a colony hanging out he would 

 rap on the hives to induce the bees to fill them- 

 selves. Then he would shake the bees off the 

 frames and out of the supers, when, presto! new 

 energy seemed to be imparted 



He goes on to tell how he shook his bees in 

 the spring; how he shook them to stimulate 

 them; shook them to make them go into the 

 sections; shook them when they loafed; shook 

 them when he introduced queens; in short, he 

 shook them on i^eneral principles. 



At first Editor Hutchinson was inclined to be- 

 lieve that this jolting business was a fancy or 

 a joke; but on further reflection he believes there 

 may be something in it. 



Those who attended the Detroit convention 

 will remember that the editor of Gleanings gave 



