1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



663 



cuit-tins, 9x8 H, and 10 inches deep, with a 

 plain Hd. These tins prove a handy recep- 

 tacle, easy to use, excluding the air so that 

 the atmospheric changes have no influence 

 on the honey, thus retaining the aroma un- 

 til the honey has solidified. 



Honey put up by this method becomes a 

 most attractive article for the breakfast-table 

 for those who do not care for liquid honey. 

 Neither wood nor cardboard will resist the 

 atmosphere the same as tin, hence the rea- 

 son for its use in the biscuit trade. By the 

 use of a shelf, 50 of these small rolls can be 

 placed in one tin. 



To facilitate the opening of so small a bag 

 ready for filling, we place them in a warm 

 temperature, and use a cardboard cylinder 

 to open and shape the bag. This allows the 

 air to drive out through the center. 



Long Eaton, England. 



BEE-KEEPING IN OKLAHOMA. 



The Conditions in the Central Portion 



Ideal for Outdoor Wintering in 



Single-walled Hives. 



BY W. F. ROLLER. 



Mr. G. E. Lemon's statement that bees do 

 not winter well in Oklahoma, p. 39, Jan. 1, is 

 not in accord with my experience, nor with 

 that of bee-keepers generally, I believe, in 

 this portion of the State, which is just south 

 of the center. The difficulty here is not in 

 wintering, but in carrying the colonies safe- 

 ly through the cool spring months. Condi- 

 tions here are ideal for outdoor wintering. 

 The hives are seldom moved from their sum- 

 mer stands, and double-walled hives and 

 packing are not necessary. The severe cold 

 spells of weather seldom last longer than 

 two or three days. In nearly every week 

 there are one or more days warm enough 

 for the bees to take a good flight. These 

 frequent flights enable them to stay content- 

 edly in the hives, flying out only on days 

 warm enough for them to get back without 

 danger of getting chilled and lost. 



The critical period with us is the spring 

 season, from early in March to about the 

 middle of May. During the larger portion 

 of this time the weather is cool, the winds 

 are high, and though the flowers furnish only 

 a small amount of nectar the bees seem un- 

 able to get what little there is. Brood-rearing 

 continues throughout this period, and unless 

 there is an abundance of winter stores left 

 over or ample feeding resorted lo, many col- 

 onies dwindle down to a mere nucleus or die 

 from actual starvation. 



The summers are long and usually favor- 

 able for the gathering ot nectar. With three 

 or four successive crops of alfalfa and many 

 other nectar-bearing flowers, there is more 

 or less of a light, continuous honey-flow from 

 May to October. Foul brood and other bee 

 diseases are almost unknown here 



In Cleveland County there are a number 

 of bee-keepers who have apiaries number- 

 ing from five to one hundred colonies each, 



and they all regard the business as profitable, 

 yielding an ample return for the time, labor, 

 and money expended. At the Oklahoma 

 State fair held in Oklahoma City last Octo- 

 ber were exhibits of bees and honey well 

 worthy of the efforts of some of the older 

 States. 

 Norman, Okla. 



♦ • ^ • ♦ 



JUSTICE TO OKLAHOMA. 



A Continuous Flow from Alfalfa. 

 BY GEO. H. COULSON. 



The article entitled "Conditions in Okla- 

 homa" hardly does justice to our young 

 growing State. I will admit that there was a 

 time when but little else than short buffalo 

 grass, seasoned with high winds, prevailed, 

 and it was then that the cattleman and the In- 

 dian had undisputed sway; but a great chano-e 

 has been wrought, not only in Oklahoma but 

 in Southern Kansas as well. It was 27 years 

 ago this winter, when I owned a nice little 

 apiary of 75 colonies in Northeastern Ohio, 

 that I contracted the western fever, and sold 

 my farm, bees, and fixtures, except two of 

 my best Italian colonies in Simplicity hives. 

 I swung them to the ceiling of a car filled 

 with furniture and a little stock, and landed 

 in the county in Kansas named by Mr. Lem- 

 on in the article I referred to above. Alfal 

 fa was then unknown in that region. My 

 bees seemed to be lost from the start. I kept 

 feeding them to keep them alive, and the 

 following spring one colony cast the largest 

 swarm I ever saw from one hive. It v/as- 

 their death-knell exertion. My queen, being 

 an extra prolific one, and combs being emjv 

 ty, she filled them with eggs while I kept 

 feeding from above in sufficient quantity tO' 

 raise the brood. I was so determined to 

 succeed that I fed as regularly as I did my 

 cattle and horses, using rye flour for pollen. 

 I soon decided that my pocketbook would 

 not admit of this, so quit feeding, and they 

 soon dwindled away. But since that day 

 God has especially blessed that country as 

 well as Oklahoma. I now live in Oklah jma 

 in the county adjoining where Mr. Lemon 

 lives; and had he visited our State fair this 

 fall he would have seen a display of honey 

 and bees that but few of the older States 

 could excel. 



The county in which I live is especially 

 favored as a location for bees. Alfalfa being 

 one of the leading crops, in the division of 

 the State into counties it was named Alfal a 

 by reason of the large amount of that c. np 

 raised. There are two large mills in this 

 city that grind the alfalfa hay into meal and 

 ship it all over the United States, much of it 

 going to the dairying localities in the New 

 England States. A good market is thus cre- 

 ated for the hay, and therefore but little pas- 

 turing is done. Much seed is raised; and as 

 four lull crops of blooming aTaUa are cut 

 during the season a continued flow of nectar 

 is assured, while white clover and other bee 

 pasture are rapidly c. niijig in. From two 



