JANUARY 15, 19i:; 



57 



severe north and northwest winds coming 

 in contact with fences and buildings on the 

 east was forced back and scooped down to 

 the surface of the ground only to rise again 

 in accordance with laws of distribution. 

 Tliis was probably only an incident in ac- 

 cordance with directions and velocity of 

 storm; but would it be wise to reconstnict 

 the situation thus, providing a repetition 

 might come from some other direction? 

 This idea of windbreaks seems about as 

 perplexing to me as the swarming question. 

 When all looks well, something is sure to 

 be wrong. If we knew of coming weather 

 conditions it could be solved accoi'dingly ; 

 but as most of our storms or cold winds 

 come from the west or northwest, we nat- 

 urally UTake provision accordingly; but 

 wlien an eastern storm comes we simply 

 say, " It won't last long." 



My idea of a windbreak is a location 

 where severe and cold winds are elevated 

 1o pass over a certain obstacle, which is 

 more natural where hills or valleys are nat- 

 ural landscapes. An apiary located on a 

 side hill with this natural protection would 

 be the ideal; but. unfortunately, only a 

 small number of beekeepers are so located, 

 and these must adopt the artificial to the 

 best of their judginent and surroundings. 

 A light breeze in an apiary located back 

 of a windbreak is, I believe, essential, as it 

 will bring pure air and destroy dampness, 

 and is less apt to lure bees from the hives 

 until conditions are safe for a general flight. 

 My obseiTations along this line lead me to 

 believe that careful study of climatic con- 

 tlitions and surrounding-s are the main fac- 

 tors in consti-ueting windbreaks, and that 

 success can be obtained only under favor- 

 able conditions. 



Akron, 0., Dec. 10. 



[See editorial. — Ed.] 



EXPERIENCES OF A FOUL-BROOD INSPECIOR 



Superstition and Ignorance 



BY J. E. CRANE 



BEES BURIED UNDER A FOOT OF SNOW 

 AND ICE 



BY F. J. LILLIE 



The photograph shows how I dug my 

 hiv«s out of the snow March 1, after they 

 bad been buried under a foot of snow, hav- 

 ing a heavy coat of ice for four weeks. I 

 (lought the bees would be all dead; but T 

 lost only one colony out of ten. All seem- 

 ed well supplied Avifh stores. 



Corry, Pa., April I. 



Continued from page 21, January 1. 



The ignorance of the great mass of bee- 

 keejjers is past comprehension. So far as 

 I can judge not more than one in six in 

 some sections ever reads a bee journal of 

 any kind. Most of them know little and 

 seem to care less. One family on whom 

 I called told me that the reason their bees 

 had done so poorly was because they had 

 sold bees and had taken money for them. 

 No argument on my part could convince 

 them to the contrary. It was of no use to 

 tell them that the season had been unfa- 

 yorable. No; they had sold bees and had 

 taken money for them, and thev must suf- 

 fer. 



Many seem to think that, if they succeed 

 in hiving a swarm, and then place it on a 

 stand in the back yard among the bushes, 

 or over by the hog-pen, or leave it sitting 

 on the ground, their work is done. 



Somewhere I tipped \\y> a hive from the 

 bottom-board, and began scraping off what 

 appeared to be a scab from the bottom of 

 the combs so as to get into them to examine 

 them, when the proprietor informed me 

 that I was tearing off what remained of 

 the old bottom-board that had stood or 

 rested on the ground until it was rotten, 

 after which the hive, rotten bottom-board 

 and all, was set on a new board and given 

 a stand. 



One man declared to me that the apide 

 worms (tent caterpillar's) got into liis hives 

 and spoiled combs. "Do you know they were 

 tent caterpillars f I asked. He said he 

 did, for he could see the cocoors they had 

 left ! A friend of mine, an inspector in 

 another State, tells about finding a luve 

 standing on the ground, and weeds gi'ow- 

 ing up through it; also of another where 

 the combs had been cut out and old burlaii 

 stuffed in to fill the empty space. 



An experienced beekeeper was telling me 

 how one of his neighbors came to him in 

 trouble. His bees had been getting something 

 that made them drunk. He Avent over to 

 see what Avas the matter, and found that 

 the liives were standing about tAvo feet 

 above the ground Avhile the day was cool, 

 and all of the bees that missed the entrance 

 fell to the ground, and, being chilled, were 

 unable to rise again, so they crawled aim- 

 lessly around to be reported by an ignorant 

 beekeeper as drn^k. What a shame! I have 

 said to myself many times, "If bees will live 

 u: cer such conditions, what would they do 



