424 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



SIFTINGS. 



By J. E. Crane, Middlebury, Vt. 



Louis H. Scholl's views on spring cleaning, 

 page 156, Marcli 15, are just as applicable to 

 the Northland as to Texas— saves lots of 

 bother during the busy season. 



That new trick ,on robbers by Louis H. 

 Scholl, page 227, April 5, is well worth re- 

 membering for it seems usually those quaker- 

 like colonies that give us the most trouble in 

 being robbed. This seems to be a world 

 where Providence appears to favor such as 

 stand up for their rights, and bees are no ex- 

 ception to the rule. 



<?> 



The World's Work for June opens a health 

 department; and it is an interesting fact that 

 in their list of foods in the order of their ex- 

 cellence for general purposes they place hon- 

 ey fourth in the list of 24 kinds — only fruits, 

 nuts, and grains, including bread, coming 

 ahead of honey. Pretty good! They do not 

 even include glucose i excuse me— I mean 

 corn syrup I in the list. 



I have been surprised this spring, in look- 

 ing over my bees for queens, to find so large 

 a number of young last-year queens, even 

 where there was very little swarming. This 

 shows there must have been a good many 

 supersedures lasl season after the heavy flow 

 of honey. Still we find my old queens fail- 

 ing this spring, showing that not as many 

 old queens were superseded as should have 

 been. 



.*. 



Another thing in this connection would be 

 to furnish leaflets giving complete informa- 

 tion as to the great value of alsike clover and 

 its cultivation, and printed so as to be placed 

 in the local seed-stores for gratuitous distri- 

 bution to farmers. Something of this sort 

 has been gotten out; but, as I remember, it 

 was more largely extracts from agricultural 

 publications rather than giving its great value 

 as a forage-plant. The same course might 

 be pursued with buckwheat. 



Speaking of clovers reminds me of the 

 very sensible editorial on artificial pasturage, 

 page 187, April 1. I believe no better invest- 

 ment can be made by extensive bee-keepers 

 than by pushing the cultivation of Swedish 

 clover and buckwheat where the soils are 

 suitable. I believe it would be good business 

 policy to furnish the seed at half cost to all 

 within one and a half miles, or even two 

 miles, as I am satisfied we should find it 

 much to our advantage to do so. 



On page 190, April 1, Dr. Miller favors a 

 tight board fence for windbreak, as it will be 

 helpful twenty days to one that it will be dis- 

 advantageous. Yes, doctor; but that one 

 day may ruin your colony. Better by far a 

 picket fence, or, best of all, a run of ever- 



greens or a forest that will break the winds 

 but will preserve a somewhat uniform tem- 

 perature. In two of our well-protected yards 

 numbering 149 colonies we have lost but one 

 colony, and that from starvation; and we are 

 making artificial swarms to prevent natural 

 swarming (June 1) . 



I was, as doubtless many other bee-keep- 

 ers were, interested in the article by Mr. 

 Morrison, page 242, on the life and death of 

 E. L. Pratt. He was a kind of enigma to me, 

 as he did not, so far as I know, write under 

 his own name, and some way we had not fully 

 understood him. Many thanks to Mr. 

 Morrison. One can not easily forget the life- 

 like photograph of Mr. Hooker and Mr. Pratt 

 on the same page. Somehow I enjoy the 

 pictures in Gleanings quite as much as any 

 part, and wish I had earlier learned the art 

 of picture-making. The bee-keeper of the 

 future should learn to take pictures as a part 

 of his profession. 



A great deal has been written during the 

 last few months as to the drouth or winter- 

 killing of clover. We can judge now better 

 than ever as to the results of last year's 

 drouth. We find that, where tlie drouth was 

 most severe, we have the least clover, espe- 

 cially white, of which there is little. Alsike 

 or red, where it was able to get down into 

 the earth deep enough to find moisture, fared 

 better; but much of the alsike from seed 

 sown a year ago, from which we expect our 

 best yields of honey, was badly killed by the 

 excessively dry weather of last summer. A 

 few miles to the north or south or east it has, 

 owing to showers at the most critical time, 

 come out much better. We have had one of 

 the most favorable winters for clovers; and, 

 followed by a wet spring, it makes the pros- 

 pects much brighter than would otherwise 

 be possible. 



QUEENS DIE IN CELLS BECAUSE OF POOR FEED. 



Last August we had some frames of queen-cells die 

 just after being capped over, and we attributed the 

 cause to some sugar syrup that had been standing in a 

 tin can for some time. The trouble disappeared when 

 we used fresh syrup, and all the cells we are raising 

 now are healthy. We wrote Mr. Gates in regard to 

 the matter, and he replied that he had experienced the 

 same trouble, and had not ascertained the cause. Have 

 you ever had any thing of this nature occur in your 

 yard? W. W. Gary & Son. 



Lyonsville, Mass. 



iWe referred the matter to our Mr. Bain, of the home 

 yard, and Mr. Pritchard. of the north yard, who are 

 rearing our (lueens. They have experienced no trou- 

 ble such as you describe. Our Mr. Bain, however, 

 says that he has occasionally had queens die in the 

 ceils, and always attributed the cause to the queen. 

 When he tried other queens he experienced no further 

 trouble.— Ed. I 



QUEENS INJURED BY SHAKING. 



Is there much danger of injuring a queen when 

 heavy with eggs by shaking her and the bees promis- 

 cuously on the hard ground? 



Moorpark, Cal. C. A. EVERETT. 



'If a queen is shaken with a lot of bees on the grass 

 there will usually be no damage done. If the shaking 

 is to take place over hard-packed ground or over a 

 board we would advise picking her off the comb first. 

 -ED.: 



