1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



577 



HEADS OF Grain 



From Different Fields 



A CASE WHERE BEES FLEW SIX OR SEVEN MILES IN 

 SEARCH OF NECTAR. 



I have noted with interest the controversy that has 

 been noinjr on as to the distance bees habitually fly for 

 nectar. About twenty-tive years atro I had a brother 

 livintr in the town of Milton, 111. He is a physician, 

 and an intellitrent bee-keeper of much experience. 

 Milton lies exactly four miles west of the west bank of 

 the Illinois River. At this point the bottom lands are 

 all on the east side of the river, and are fully three 

 miles wide. In the fall of the year these lands are 

 'hickly covered with Spanish needle, asters of various 

 kinds, Koldenrod — in fact, with all the usual autumn 

 flowers that bees like so well. 



My brother once noticed that his bees were very 

 busy; and after a moment's observation he discovered 

 that they were comintr from the east; and on leavintr 

 the hives they went to the east. There is a lartre pub- 

 lic hitrhway leading from Milton directly east to Mon- 

 tezuma, on the river bank. My brother, beins a phy- 

 sician in the daily practice of his profession, was trav- 

 eling that road almost every day. He soon discovered 

 that, high up over his head, there was a perfect stream 

 of bees going to and coming from the bottom lands 

 east of the river. This led to further investigation, 

 which proved that those bees were working the whole 

 territory of bottom lands ranging from six to seven 

 miles, from home. Italian bees were not very com- 

 mon in those days; and the people living on the east 

 side of the river, discovering the yellow bees, were 

 very curious to know where they came from. When 

 it became known that there were none except in Mil- 

 ton, four to seven miles away, of course they were 

 much astonished. 



About the truth of the above statement there can be 

 no question. My brother now lives in California, but 

 was visiting me a few weeks ago, when he gave me all 

 the particulars. This settles the matter with me, be- 

 cause I know the source from which the information 

 comes is absolutely reliable. 



White Hall, 111., May 8. A. W. FOREMAN. 



[Years ago we had a well-auth^ticated report where 

 bees tlew seven miles across a body of water for 

 stores. There can be no doubt that the facts given by 

 Dr. Foreman are just as authentic. 



We still cling to the opinion that where bees have 

 an unobstructed vision, as across a valley or over a 

 body of water, they will fly much further than when 

 that vision is obstructed by intervening woods, build- 

 ings, or shrubbery on level country.— Ed.] 



BEE-FLIGHT ON PLAINS AND HILL COUNTRY. 



Having noticed considerable controversy in the bee- 

 journals of late, regarding the distance a bee goes 

 in search of nectar, I should like to offer some evi- 

 dence on that point. 



Last spring I purchased two colonies of yellow Ital- 

 ians, these being the only bees within seven miles of 

 here. I had a good chance for observation along 

 these lines. In May I saw these bees at a distance of a 

 mile and a half from the hives. We are located in a 

 valley, and the bees went either up or down in search 

 of pasturage. At this date I have good reason to be- 

 lieve that they go as far as four miles, because there is 

 no pasturage within that distance; yet they are stor- 

 ing honey from some source that I have as yet been 

 unable to locate. We have several kinds of sage here, 

 but I have not seen a bee on any of it this season. The 

 variety of sage that is most plentiful in this vicinity 

 does not blossom at all. but has a kind of bud on it 

 that does not open up. We have some alfalfa, but not 

 enough to make sufficient pasturage for bees. 



Mohler, Wash., July 30. C. L. SNIDER. 



(Where bees are located down in a valley, up on a 

 hiil. or near a body of water, they will fly much fur- 

 ther in quest of stores than where they are situated on 

 a plain. The evidence thus far submitted goes to 

 show that quite conclusively now. It is also shown 

 that, in level or slightly rolling country, they seldom 

 go beyond a mile and a half.— ED.j 



ular flat or Higginsville cover, and later brgan using 

 what we call a Gill cover. In the winter of 1902 we lost 

 fully half of our bees with the flat cover, which was 

 sealed down; and but for discovering the conditions 

 early in January, and raising these covers so as to 

 place an eight-penny nail under the edges, and raising 

 the hives from the bottoms about the same space, 1 

 feel sure we would have lost nearly all, as there was a 

 thaw about that time; and so much water had con- 

 densed, that, when the hive was raised, a stream as 

 large as a goose-quill would run out. The Gill cover 

 has a space of about % inch at each end where it pro- 

 jects beyond the end of the hives, and a two-inch 

 space above the frames, the frames being covered with 

 two thicknesses of burlap, allowing constant ventila- 

 tion over the burlap-covered frames. The hives were 

 dry under the Gill covers, and the bees in good condi- 

 tion. This Gill cover is about the same as the Colora- 

 do cover in principle, but I am not sure that the latter 

 allows as much space at the ends. kiis. 



Since that winter we have changed to this form of 

 cover, and have no trouble from moisture. 



I am, however, of the opinion that more packing is 

 needed. Early in spring, about the time brood-rear- 

 ing begins, we usually put on paperor other extra cov- 

 ering over the frames, under the cover. We have 

 tried the plan of putting tarred paper over the entire 

 hive, putting it on both in early fall and near spring, 

 but have been unable to see any benefit from it. It is 

 possible that, since we began using it, our seasons 

 have been so favorable to early brood-rearing, it has 

 not been a fair test of what it might do in a cold back- 

 ward spring. The proportion lost in wintering has 

 not been different when it was used from where it was 

 not. 



Berthoud, Col., March 26. W. HiCKOX. 



SEALED COVERS VS. THOSE THAT PERMIT THE ESCAPE 

 OF .MOTSTfRE. 

 I shall have to vote with Mr. Cogrshail, p. 174. March 

 1.1, in regard to covers. We began here with the reg- 



DRONES REARED ABOVE PERFORATED ZINC. 



Referring to my question in your issue for Aug. 1, p. 

 477, your answer did not quite cover the situation. 

 The question was: Last spring I had a colony of gold- 

 en Adel bees which had run short of stores during the 

 winter, and I had some brood-combs, left from last 

 year, so I placed the combs containing honey in a 

 hive-body and put them on the yellow colony with a 

 queen and drone excluder between the two. In two 

 or three weeks I examined them again, and found 

 some drone brood in the upper story. Some had 

 hatched, and were as black as could be. Where did 

 the black drones come from when the drones below 

 were as yellow as they could be ? The excluder was 

 queen and drone excluding, any way. 



Pierceton, Ind., Aug. 16. JACOB Garber. 



[We beg to acknowledge your special reference to 

 the use of perforated zinc between the upper and low- 

 er story, which fact we overlooked, perhaps, in our 

 previous reply. We could account for the drones 

 above this metal by the presence of laying workers. 

 Sometimes these bees will begin laying eggs in an up- 

 per story that is separated from the lower one where a 

 queen is present. Cases of this kind, however, are 

 very rare. There is no other way by which the drones 

 could get above the metal. The very fact that you 

 found some drone brood strengthens this theory. If 

 you examine again, you might lind a plurality of eggs 

 in some of the cells, for this is one of the characteris- 

 tics of laying workers. 



Laying workers are more inclined to get in their 

 work in colonies of Cyprian, Holy Land, and Syrian 

 bees. The so-called Adel bees, we think, are a sport 

 from one of these Eastern races. If that is a fact, it is 

 not surprising that laying workers should be found in 

 the upper story. Of course, you understand that such 

 workers can pass through perforated zinc the same as 

 any workers. While the Adels are yellow bees, yet 

 drones from laying workers of the same stock might 

 be black. — ED.] 



TO PREVENT COMBS FROM BREAKING IN AN EXTRACTOR. 



I have made an improvement on the baskets of my 

 honey-extractor. I have arranged an auxiliary sup- 

 port for the comb in the shape of a piece of heavy wire 

 netting supported in the basket in such a way that the 

 frame completely surrounds it and fits over it. The 

 comb can rest squarely against this wire netting so it 

 is not strained by the centrifugal force. Hoffman 

 frames, on account of their projections, often break 

 the combs. 



My machine is old-style, and geared pretty high — 4 

 to 1. I made the comb support smaller than the frame 

 so that the frame could project over it around the 

 sides, as mentioned above. 



Bedford Station, N. Y. G. A. M.\thf.v\s. 



