1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



643 



that the crop was nearly double that of the 

 previous year. The apiarists number more 

 than 15,000. To-day there is probably a 

 much greater number of bee-keepers. The 

 old-style, careless, or shiftless bee-keeping 

 is fast giving way to commercial methods. 



Under the Apiaries Act of a few years ago 

 there are employed two inspectors, Messrs. 

 Gibb and Bray, who are greatly concerned 

 in the advancement of apiculture. Much of 

 the honey which is produced is consumed 

 locally, but shipments to England promise 

 good prices if they are made early. 



The progressiveness of these people is in- 

 dicated in several ways. There are not only 

 five thriving bee-keepers' associations, but 

 there are model apiaries, and opportunities 

 for instruction in oee-keeping, all of which 

 are utilized to the best possible advantage. 

 There are three of these model ^.piaries lo- 

 cated at the experiment stations. At all of 

 them there are visitors constantly receiving 

 information. 



The ridding of the country of box hives is 

 another important step, which sets many 

 parts of the United States a good example. 

 This good work is being accomplished by the 

 inspectors under the Apiaries Act. Owing 

 to the tiemendous demand for hives, there 

 has been difficulty in securing frame hives 

 from the manufacturers; consequently, the 

 box-hive apiaries where disease occurs have 

 been attended to first. Gradually every box 

 hive in the country will be put out of com- 

 mission. 



This act, providing for the control of infec- 

 tious and contagious diseases of bees, is prov- 

 ing immensely satisfactory. Gradually the 

 disease situation is being cleaned up. Mr. 

 Isaac Hopkins, Expert Apiarist in charge of 

 the bee interests of New Zealand, deserves 

 great credit for his strikingly energetic ef- 

 fort to promote bee-keeping. His accom- 

 plishments, even so far, stand as a shining 

 example to the rest of the world. 



It is interesting to note in his report, from 

 which these notes are extracted, that, in the 

 parts of the country where rainfall is the 

 greatest, there the diseases of bees appear 

 to be worst. Where the rainfall is less, the 

 diseases are not so prominent. 



Worcester, Mass. 



PURE AIR FOR BEE-CELLARS. 



An Entire Change of Air Occasionally Nec- 

 essary. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



Last winter was very mild in this section, 

 and outdoor-wintered bees had frequent 

 cleansing flights, and this means that they 

 were in excellent condition. There was 

 some loss of bees that dropped on the snow, 

 it is true; but we reduced tne loss to a mini- 

 mum by the peculiar construction of our 

 hive-entrances. An inclined board reaches 

 from the ground to the under side of the 

 bottom-board, which is six inches from the 

 ground. The bees pass through the bottom- 



board at a distance of 3 inches from the front 

 end. This construction admits 2 inches of 

 packing around the hive without bridging 

 the entrance. It can not become clogged 

 with ice nor snow; neither can the sun shine 

 into them to entice the bees from a hive at a 

 time when they are likely to become chilled 

 and perish. The manufacturers of chaff 

 hives may, perhaps, gather a suggestion 

 along this hne. 



The bee-keeper who labored under the de- 

 lusion that fresh pure air is not essential 

 to successful wintering of bees in a cellar 

 likely got an object-lesson last winter that he 

 will not soon forget, for he doubtless had 

 more bees on the cellar bottom in the spring 

 than in his hives. 



We put 100 colonies of bees in a cellar 

 about Nov. 20, a year ago, with a temperature 

 outdoors of 38°. The next day was warm, 

 and each succeeding day was warmer than 

 the last, until the mercury reached 70. This 

 period lasted with little variation for 2 weeks. 

 The temperature within the cellar went up 

 to 58. I was afraid to open the windows lest 

 the warm air pouring into the cellar would 

 throw the bees into a panic and cause them 

 to leave the hive. However, it became evi- 

 dent that something had to be done soon, so 

 we opened an outside door at night. This 

 made the bees still worse; and the way they 

 roared, and came out on the outside of the 

 hive, was remarkable. However, I was de- 

 termined to see the thing through, so I open- 

 ed another door on another side of the cellar. 

 This created a sharp draft of pure air. The 

 next morning the bees were perfectly quiet. 

 After that I opened the doors at frequent in- 

 tervals, leaving them open during the night 

 and closing them in the morning. The re- 

 svilt of these experiments would seem to in- 

 dicate that pure air is a good medicine for 

 bees as well as for human beings. A uni- 

 form temperature is not necessary; indeed, 

 the bees seem to welcome an occasional 

 change. 



ABSORBENT CUSHIONS OR JUST CUSHIONS. 



Mr. Editor, I note what you say about ab- 

 sorbents over hives not having sealed covers 

 becoming saturated with moisture. I have 

 found that this condition exists only when 

 the cover rests upon the chaff in such a way 

 as to prevent a free passage of moisture- 

 laden air, so that the said chaff becomes an 

 absorbent instead of a conductor of moisture, 

 which it is when a current of air is allowed 

 to circulate between it and the covers. It is 

 impossible to tell by the condition of the 

 packing over the brood-chamber of my hives 

 m winter which hives have the sealed covers 

 and which the absorbing-cushion plan. 



Where there is a free circulation of air 

 above the chaff, the word "absorbent" is a 

 misnomer. 



Birmingham, Ohio, March 6. 



[Our experience, covering years of obser- 

 vation on this question of absorbents in this 

 locality, does not agree with yours quite, and 

 our absorbing cushions we thought had good 

 ventilation over them too. We should be 

 glad to know the experience of others. — Eto.] 



