SEPTEMBER 15, 1913 



seemed in June, 1910, that is not candied 

 yet. It is v,ei'y light amber now, bnt water- 

 white when tirst extracted. The fiavoi' is 

 very pleasant, and it does not detract from 

 the flavor of white clover. The plant grows 

 everywhere here, from (i in. to 4 ft. high. 

 Pheasants and cattle eat the berries. The 

 cattle also browse on the tender twigs in 

 summer. It has been reported to me that 

 the same bush beais I'ed berries in northern 

 Missouri. They are white here, and they 

 have a mild, sweet, bitter taste. 

 Fraser, Ida. 



^••-•^ 



AN OPEN FENCE FOR A WINDBREAK 



I!Y GEORGE SHIBER 



After carefully reading all that had ap- 

 Iieart'd in the journals on the subject, 1 

 I)uilt a windbreak last fall in order to shel- 

 ter my bees from the winter winds. 1 de- 

 cided to have it 7 feet high; and knowing 

 that it would have to withstand hard wind 

 pressure 1 selected 4 x 4-inch posts imbed- 

 ded three feet in the ground, with two 

 cross-pieces of 2 x 6-ineh stuff. 



Then the question was, whether it should 

 be tight or open ; and if open, how much 

 so? After considering the matter on both 

 sides 1 decided to have it open — that is, the 

 boards were 7 feet high, and separated two 

 inches. I concluded that, if it should ap- 

 pear that the tight fence was better, it could 

 be easily changed. 



I was agi'eeably surprised to note the 

 difference in a strong wind, the inside being 

 comparatively calm. The air was just in 

 motion. The entrances to the hives pointed 

 away from the wind also. 



Well, I concluded that the colonies ought 

 to winter well. They were abundantly fed 

 last fall; and now I am reminded of some- 

 thing Mr. Byer wrote Jan. 1, p. 10, to the 

 effect that the paramount question in win- 

 tering by any method is that of having 

 plenty of stores in the hives. From my ex- 

 perience I would most emphatically say 

 that he need not guess again. 



I used planer shavings for packing, plac- 

 ing a hive-bodyful above the frames, and 

 that is all the packing they have. No pa- 

 per or packing is around the sides of the 

 hives at all. 



Of course, up to date, Jan. 20, we have 

 had a very mild winter, and we may have 

 some severe weather yet, but so far every 

 colony has wintered well — T might say per- 

 fectly. 



I do not think my windbreak will have 

 the disastrous effect mentioned by A. J. 

 Halter, p. 55; for when there is a wind the 

 cool air is in motion inside. The enclosure 



Snowdrop, or buckLush — a honey-plant in Idaho, 



is sufficient, I think, to keep them in tiie 

 hives when too windy to fly safely. 



The editor is, I think, entitled to credit 

 for bringing up this point strongly. It 

 seems, therefore, to me that a windbreak, of 

 whatever kind it is, should be somewhat 

 open; and yet subsequent experience may 

 prove it to be wrong. 



Inside the windbreak the snow is distrib- 

 uted evenly, not drifted at all. 



I do not like to have the snow drift 

 around the hives, as it has a tendency to 

 make the inside of them damp. I want 

 perfect dryness to pi'evail in the hives. 



Randolph, N. Y. 



THE NEW TEXAS FOUL-BROOD LAW 



BY WILMON NEWELL 



The new Texas law relative to bee dis- 

 eases, mention of which lias heretofore been 

 made in these columns, went into effect July 

 1, and is, perhaps one of the most comj^re- 

 hensive laws on the subject that have yet 

 been enacted. Briefly stated, its main pro- 

 visions are as follows : 



