Gleanings in Bee Culture 





Two-foot log split open, exposing large colony of 

 bees. 



Unfortunately, the weather broke up and 

 continued showery and cool until July, 

 when we again enjoyed a glorious period of 

 sunshine, which lasted more or less until 

 the end of August. The fierce heat some- 

 what scorched up the clover; but a fair 

 quantity was collected from that source, 

 and also from the lime-trees, which yielded 

 well this year. From my own bees I secur- 

 ed an average of 85 lbs. per hive of comb 

 and extracted honey, and also obtained a 

 "io-per-cent increase. The strongest colony 

 yielded 100 lbs. of extracted honey; the 

 next, 85 lbs.; and from the remainder, quan- 

 tities varying down to 10 sections. 



When getting wet combs cleaned up after 

 the last extracting I have found it advan- 

 tageous to place them under the colonies 

 instead of above, as is usually practiced. My 

 method is to remove the colony from its 

 floor-board, and put on two or three supers 

 containing wet combs, then replace the col- 

 ony on the top. The entrance is contracted 

 to avoid robbing; and when honey has all 

 been carried above, the supers are removed. 



In this country bees are usually covered 

 ■with quilts made of a coarse material such 

 as felt carpet, or even cast-off garments; but 

 I use a wooden quilt of my own manufac- 

 ture, which answers the purpose admirably; 

 for not only does it afford protection against 

 both cold and damp, but it also provides a 

 perfect winter passage. The excellent way 



in which bees winter when covered with this 

 quilt has proved to me its very great value. 

 I should like to convey to your readers some 

 idea of the quiet beauty of the Cotswold, 

 especially in September. Nature is then at 

 her best; the cold bleak hills are clothed 

 with the warmth of golden stubble, and the 

 autumnal haze softens the landscape with 

 those lights and shades which add so much 

 of loveliness to a hill country; and suddenly, 

 as we ramble along, a lovely valley is seen 

 below; old-world farmhouses and ivy-cover- 

 ed cottages come into view, nestling among 

 stately elms and beech-trees. On descend- 

 ing we come into a typical Cotswold village, 

 with its manor house and Norman church, 

 which stands out against the russet-tinted 

 woods in the background. Passing through 

 the village you will come across here and 

 there in the cottage garden half a dozen 

 skeps raised from the ground on logs of 

 wood, and covered with a miscellaneous as- 

 sortment of crocks, old sacks, tins, or any 

 thing else which can be pressed into service. 

 With the " gintlemen that pays the rint," 

 and the proceeds from the sale of honey, cot- 

 tagers are able to supplement their some- 

 what scanty wage. 



But the great changes which are sweeping 

 over our land have already invaded even 

 such secluded Cotswold villages as these, 

 and very soon the skep and thatched cottage 

 will be a thing of the past. 



Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng. 



A LARGE COLONY TAKEN FROM A TWO- 

 FOOT LOG. 



BY A. W. AAMODT. 



Inclosed you will find a picture. This 

 view of the split bee-log shown herewith 

 was taken during the fore part of October. 

 After some hard work we managed to get 

 this log cut from a bee-tree which was two 

 feet in diameter. We saved the bees and 

 got a good strong colony. We gave them 

 combs containing about 20 lbs. of honey, 

 and, besides that, we got 19 lbs. for home 

 use. The bees were hybrids, but we intro- 

 duced a pure Italian queen, and by next 

 summer we shall probably have a pure Ital- 

 ian colony. 



St. Paul, Minn. 



MEETING OF THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA 

 BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



A Plea for a State-wide Association. 



BY W. A. H. GILSTRAP. 



The sixth annual convention of the North- 

 ern California Bee-keepers' Association was 

 held in Sacramento, Dec. 27 and 28, 1911. 

 It was one of the most important meetings 

 of honey-producers ever held on the coast. 

 A veteran in the pursuit, who was unable to 

 attend, thinks there have been few if any 

 conventions of honey-producers in the Unit- 

 ed States which has had so beneficial results 



