1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



ests, and the destruction of countless acres of 

 honey-yielding raspberry-ranges may not be an 

 unmitigated loss. The pall of smoke has un- 

 doubtedly saved to the husbandman, over a vast 

 area to the east and south of the fires, his hay and 

 pasture ranges for the forthcoming season that 

 else might have been destroyed. There has thus 

 been abundant and far-reaching compensation. 



The conditions that not only carried the clover 

 safely through the drouth, but, in addition, pro- 

 moted its growth, also gave it greater powers of 

 resistance against adverse winter conditions. The 

 long warm fall and dry earth was favorable for 

 deep rooting, it being necessary for the vigorous 



MONTHLY AND ANNUAL PRECIPITATION. 



Greatest and least precipitation in italics. 



plants to strike deeper than usual into the earth 

 to obtain the needed moisture; and the soil, not 

 being saturated when winter set in, heaving will 

 be reduced to a minimum. 



^We have had an open winter down to the pres- 

 ent time, and the ground has frozen and thawed, 

 and snows have come and gone repeatedly, and 

 yet there has been practically no heaving. 

 ^It is certainly satisfying to feel that we have 

 all the clover and the conditions for good winter- 

 ing that are necessary for a good white-clover 

 honey crop; but the weather conditions for April, 

 May, and June are yet to be reckoned with; and 

 these have more to do with the crop than all oth- 

 er conditions of the year. 



MONTHLY AND ANNUAL MEAN TEMPERATURES. 



Highest and lowest temperatures in italics. 



If during April, May, and June we have the 

 normal precipitation and temperature, an absence 

 of drying and parching winds — those that too 

 rapidly counteract the effects of the normal pre- 

 cipitation — and a humid atmosphere and hot sun- 

 shiny days during the period of bloom, then shall 

 we have nectar secretion in abundance. 



Note the wide variance in honey-gathering that 

 sometimes occurs from day to day during the 

 height of bloom. These variations in nectar se- 



cretion may be traced to vanauoi.. in weather 

 conditions. 



For the better study of the conditions affecting 

 the white-clover honey crop I present herewith 

 portions of two tables from the Buffalo station of 

 the United States Weather Bureau, one showing 

 the monthly and annual mean temperature of 

 each year as well as the mean monthly and annu- 

 al temperature as determined by observations 

 over a series of years. Also a similar table com- 

 piled as to precipitation. The mean monthly 

 and annual temperatures and precipitations as de- 

 termined from observations over a series of years 

 are the standards of comparison with any one 

 season, the variation from the normal 



which it is desired to determine. These 



tables are reliable only for the territory 

 in the meteorological area surrounding 

 Buffalo. It is not likely that the data 

 of any two stations of the Weather Bu- 

 reau are identical, as ofttimes the show- 

 ers and storms are, to a great extent, 

 local, and there are also wide variations 

 in temperature for different localities. 

 The portions of the tables I have used 

 cover a period of twelve years, over 

 which period I have a pretty clear rec- 

 ollection of the honey crops, and it in- 

 cludes several bountiful white -clover 

 honey seasons as well as some seasons of 

 failure of honey from this source. The correct- 

 ness of my deductions as to the effect of April, 

 May, and June precipitation and temperature can 

 with reasonable certainty be read from these ta- 

 bles. 



Reference to the table of precipitation for the 

 year 1897 shows a very dry September and Octo- 

 ber, it is true; but this dry period was not suffi- 

 cient to destroy the clover in view of the very 

 nearly normal precipitation during theearlysum- 

 mer and the unusual rainfall in August, thus 

 making a growth that would stand a long dry 

 spell. But the year 1898 shows but a little less 

 than ~i the mean precipitation for April, May, 

 and June, and I have a vivid recollection of a 

 white-clover-honey failure. During the 



rest of the growing season, however, there 



was very nearly the mean precipitation, 

 and there was undoubtedly a fair setting 

 of clover. Again, in the spring months 

 of 1899 we have a precipitation of but 

 little more than half the mean for the 

 three months, although that for May is a 

 little above the normal. Again, the 

 lack of moisture at the right time spelled 

 failure of the white-clover honey crop. 

 That year may be said to have been dry 

 ^ nearly all through the growing season, 

 the precipitation for the five months from 

 April to August inclusive being more 

 than seven inches less than the normal. 

 It is likely that very little white clover got start- 

 ed from the seed that season, and it must have 

 been severe on the old plants. For the third suc- 

 cessive season, April, May, and June, 1900, show 

 a decreased precipitation, this time considerably 

 less than half the normal. I remember distinctly 

 the difficulties I experienced in obtaining suitable 

 honey exhibits of the crop of 1900 for show pur- 

 poses at the Pan-.\merican Exposition in 1901. 

 The failure of the white-clover honey crop 



