1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



91 



HIVES WRAPPED WITH PAINTED CANVAS; TALL 



HIVE-STANDS USED ON ACCOUNT OF DEEP 



SNOWS. 



To prepare my hives for winter I wrap them 

 with burlap and then cover this with a square 

 piece of painted canvas or tar paper folded down 

 so as to shed the water. I formerly covered the 

 hive with a drygoods-box, but I do not like that 

 plan, as the inside of the hive seems to get too 

 warm. The method of wrapping the hives pro- 

 vides a covering that is wind and water proof. 



We have very deep snows, and I keep all my 

 hives on high stands on this account. I lower 

 them, however, to stands only eight inches high 

 in the spring, keeping each colony in its previous 

 location. C. A. Mangus. 



Altoona, Pa. 



[Vou do not say any thing about any method 

 for holding the folds of painted canvas or tarred 

 paper tightly down around the hives; but we sup- 

 pose you use, of course, either a stiing or strips 

 of wood tacked on the sides and ends of the hive. 



As you say, a tight water- proof cover of paint- 

 ed canvas or tarred paper is better than a dry- 

 goods-box. Unless said box has some sort of 

 roof to keep snow or rain from leaking through, 

 it is worse than nothing. — Ed.] 



MOVING BEES. 



I shall move my bees about 100 yards this win- 

 ter and would like to have your advice. 

 Wofford, S. C, Dec. 12 S Cheatham. 



[It is difficult to move bees a short distance in 

 a warm climate like yours, for we assume that 

 the bees can fly nearly every day in winter; but 

 it can be done in this way: Move the whole api- 

 ary to a point some two miles away from their 

 present location and keep it there about a month; 

 two or three months would be better. Then 

 move them back to the spot where you desire 

 them. This would be the only practical way to 

 move them 100 yards. By taking the bees away 

 two miles or more and keeping them, say, for at 

 least a month or two months, you would cause 

 them to 1( se their sense of the old location; and 

 when you put them back they will go to their 

 new stands, although probably a few m'ght re- 

 turn to the old location, but we think not many. 

 —Ed.] 



bees DISINCLINED TO STORE IN DRONE COMBS. 



On page 1425, Dec. 1, you ask for information 

 regarding the use of drone comb for extracted 

 honey. I have had considerable experiencealong 

 this line, and my conclusions are against drone 

 comb as a rule. I have several times underesti- 

 mated the amount of foundation needed, and had 

 to start swarms on starters. Result, a lot of drone 

 combs which I placed above excluders in extract- 

 ing-supers As a general thing, bees store in the 

 worker-cells, leaving the drone-cells clean and 

 polished, ready for the queen to lay in if she can 

 get at them. If they are crowded they will store 

 in them; and, indeed, they generally start to fill 

 them about as soon as they start capping the work- 

 er-cells. The only exception to this rule, I have 

 noticed, is in the case of a freshly hived swarm, 

 which will store in drone comb freely. I fancy 



I may be missing the point in this letter. Per- 

 haps it is intended that all extracting-combs 

 should be drone only. Probably in that case 

 bees would store all right. Drone comb does 

 certainly extract a little cleaner than worker. 

 Wm. L. Couper. 

 Cannington Manor, Sask. , Dec. 17. 



THE LEBANON BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



Our association was organized two years ago 

 with eleven members, and now has a membership 

 of 46. They control 1350 colonies which pro- 

 duced, in the season of 1908, 20 tons of nice comb 

 and extracted honey which finds ready sale in our 

 local markets. The ruling price is 20 cents. 



The following officers were elected to serve for 

 the year 1909: President, H. K. Beard; Vice-pres- 

 ident, Wayne D. Shilling; Secretary-treasurer, E. 

 L. Brown; Directors, J. H. Miller, A. M. SchaflE- 

 ner, and W. H. Marks. 



Lebanon, Pa. E. L. Brown, Sec. 



MEETING OF MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY OF BEE- 

 KEEPERS. 



The third regular meeting of the Massachu- 

 setts Society of Bee-keepers was held in Ford 

 Building, Jan. 2, with a large number present. 



President Reed introduced Mr. W. R. Brooks, 

 of the Amherst experiment station, who spoke on 

 certain crops with reference to their value to bee- 

 keepers. Among others he spoke of the high 

 value of the clovers from two standpoints — one 

 as a honey crop, and the other as a crop by which 

 old worn-out land might be renewed. He gave 

 a very detailed account of the fertilizers to be 

 used and those not to be used, and spoke of the 

 different kinds of clover for various purposes. 



Lists of wild flowers were given — early spring 

 ones for pollen, and others for pollen and honey. 



After Mr. Brooks" lecture some time was occu- 

 pied in discussion of a proposed law for the ex- 

 termination of bee diseases. 



The next meeting will be on the evening of 

 February 6, Ford Building, Ashburton Place, 

 Boston. X. A. Reed. 



questions CONCERNING THE SPIDER PLANT. 



On page 1262, Oct. 15, 1 notice reference to the 

 spider plant for honey. I am interested in that 

 plant, and wish to grow it. What ails the plant.? 

 Why do not more bee-men grow it for honey.'' 

 Is there any thing about it that will hurt the 

 bees.' Theo. Rvckman. 



Ithaca, Mich., Dec. 15. 



[The spider plant is a beautiful ornamental as 

 well as a honey plant. It requires good soil, and 

 in most localities it will not grow spontaneously. 

 It must be cultivated, and the weeds must be 

 kept away until the plant has attained a fair 

 growth. Its near relative, the Rocky Mountain 

 bee-plant, grows wild in a mountainous country. 

 You can grow the regular spider plant in Ohio 

 or in most of the Northern States; but you will 

 not be able to grow large fields of it and make 

 the venture pay from a honey or a money point 

 of view either. We tried it some 25 years ago 

 on our honey-farm, but it did not pay in dollars 

 and cents. — Ed.] 



