Gleanings In Bee Culture 



Published by The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio 



H. H. Root, Assistant Editor E. R. ROOT, Editor A. L. BOVDEN, Advertisinii Manager 



A. I. Root, Editor Home Department J. T. Calvert, Business Manager 



Kutered at the Postomee, Meillim. Ohio, as Seeond-ulass Matter. 



VOL. XXXVII 



NOVEMBER 1, 1909 



NO. 21 



Editorial 



By E. R. Root. 



FALL DROUTH AND CLOVER. 



In the American Bee Journal for October, 

 Mr. J. L. Byer, in his department, "Cana- 

 dian Beedom," says: 



Somehow, those who are saying 'I told you so,' when 

 the matter of drouth killintr clover is mentioned, would 

 better explain how Ontario has a real good crop (bar- 

 ring a few localitiesi , this season, after one of the 

 worst drouths last year that has ever been experienced. 

 To help them out a bit, I might say that most of the 

 honey referred to was gathered from the alsike clover. 

 However, it was not last year's drouth that stopped the 

 white clover from blooming in this season, as last 

 spring the clovers showed up as well as ever in April 

 or May. Since the latter end of May, though, the 

 drouth in Ontario had been very severe, and clover 

 never came to the blooming stage. Alsike in the cul- 

 tivated fields stood the dry weather better, and yielded 

 very heavily a few days. 



But over against this, Mr. C. P. Dadant, 

 in the same journal, says : 



Of all the wise men who have tried to forecast pos- 

 sible large crops, I have the most faith in the one who 

 said that the best white-clover crop comes when the 

 clover is in its second year following seasons of entire 

 dearth. I have noticed this several times ; but, of 

 course, there had to be a sufficient amount of moisture 

 to keep the plants growing. 



SHADE AND THE ARRANGEMENT OF HIVES. 



At our Clark yard we have our hives ar- 

 ranged in several groups in the form of a 

 circle around the apple-trees. In each cir- 

 cle, or around each tree, there will be any- 

 where from five to ten colonies. 



The arrangement is very convenient for 

 working with the hives, because one can 

 have his feeders, his chaff trays, his division- 

 boards, or a supply of syrup in the center 

 almost within reaching distance of any one of 

 the hives in the group. But it is not alto- 

 gether advantageous to the individual col- 

 onies, for the reason that the bees mingle 

 more or less, the stronger stocks absorbing 

 from the weak (because the entrances are 

 so nearly alike), and for the further reason 

 that those hives on the north side of the 

 tree get too much shade. This reminds 

 us that we found those colonies which had 

 the larger amount of stores were located 

 more out in the open, where the shade was 

 scant or entirely lacking; while those under 

 the dense shade or on the north side of the 

 trees had a less amount of stores, thus prov- 

 ing out the observation and experience of 

 our Mr. Bain at our home yard. 



GETTING HONEY OUT OF PARTLY FILLED EX- 



TRACTING-COMBS INTO IllVES NEEDING 



STORES, WITHOUT THE USE OF THE 



EXTRACTOR OR FEEDER. 



Mr. Friedman Greiner, in the Bee Journal, 

 solves this problem very nicely by making a 

 pile of supers, containing such combs, and 

 placing the same on a regular bottom-board. 

 This pile he stations in the rear of a hive 

 that needs stores, then shoves the needy 

 hive backward on its bottom, and close to 

 the supers so that there is an opening be- 

 tween the needy hive and the combs to be 

 emptied. Although he does not say so in just 

 so many words, we take it that this stack of 

 supers is shut out to all bees except the col- 

 ony to be fed. 



This pile of supers, he explains, should be 

 arranged at night when the bees have ceased 

 flying, otherwise a case of robbing would 

 ensue. By morning the bees will have partly 

 cleaned up, and be on their guard. 



These combs may be thus left until it is 

 time to take the bees into the cellar. The 

 needy colony will be supplied with stores 

 from the partly filled combs, and in addition 

 the combs themselves are protected from the 

 moth-miller until they are otherwise dis- 

 posed of. 



"hefting" hives to determine the amount 

 OF feeding necessary. 



Sometimes, if it is a little late, we "heft " 

 the hives in our outyards by lifting up the 

 front or rear to determine the relative weights 

 — that is, whether they have sufficient stores 

 for winter. A little experience will enable 

 one to arrive at a fair conclusion provided the 

 colony is not too strong in bees. Note that 

 we put in a proviso. Right here hefting 

 would very greatly mislead unless the "heft- 

 er " had an accurate knowledge of the bee 

 force within the hive. Hives might be heavy, 

 and, in fact, contain considerable honey, but 

 an amount altogether inadequate for a large 

 force of bees; so for this hefting we must 

 have some idea of the number of bees. 



But some one says this guess-so method of 

 determining the amount of stores in a hive 

 is all wrong, and that a pair of scales must 

 be used instead. But even scales are mis- 

 leading. If one has been working an out- 

 yard pretty much all the season, and the rec- 

 ords are available, he can determine, by lift- 

 ing, the relative amount of stores required 

 for each hive. 



