180 Gleanings in Bee Culture 



Artificial Pasturage for Bees ; Plants that Can be 

 Grown Profitably 



What is the best known plant that can be raised 

 for bee pasture? I am thinking of sowing one or 

 two acres of mignonette. Do you think that bees 

 will stop on that, and neglect gathering honey 

 from basswood or white clover one-half to three 

 miles distant? 



Oakfield, Wis., Feb. 22. F. W. Wells. 



[As a general rule we may say that it is not ad- 

 visable to grow any plants for the honey alone. If, 

 therefore, you wish to put out artificial pastures 

 for the bees, grow some plant that will yield seed 

 or hay in addition to the honey. For this purpose 

 we know of nothing better than nor quite the 

 equal of alslke clover that Is now being grown so 

 extensively all over the United States. Next in 

 order we would place buckwheat, red clover, sweet 

 clover, and (in the Western States) alfalfa. Bass- 

 wood is, of course, one of the greatest honey plants 

 or trees in the world; but it takes so many years 

 before it begins to yield nectar and lumber that the 

 one who puts it out must have an idea for future 

 generations. 



Ordinary white clover is, of course, a splendid 

 honey plant, and it yields a good forage for pas- 

 ture. It is also being grown to a considerable ex- 

 tent. Red clover and peavine red clover yield con- 

 siderable nectar; but the corolla tubes are so long 

 that the average bee can not get very much honey 

 from them. If, therefore, you desire to produce 

 honey and hay you had better, by all means, grow 

 alsike, sweet clover, or white clover, rather than 

 either of the red clovers mentioned. 



Sweet clover is one of the most valuable honey 

 plants we know of, and, when cut early enough, it 

 yields valuable hay for stock. In many sections of 

 the country sweet clover is being put in to prepare 

 the soil for other clovers ; and on some waste 

 lands where no other clover will thrive it will 

 make fine pasturage for stock. 



Mignonette is a wonderful honey plant, but that 

 is about all that can be said of it. There is only a 

 limited demand for the seed. There would not be 

 enough of it grown to pull the bees off from clover, 

 if it were within three miles. 



Perhaps it would be well to explain that, in order 

 to get any considerable amount of honey from arti- 

 ficial pasturage, we have to figure on anywhere 

 from five to ten acres of pasturage to a colony of 

 bees. In some cases, and particularly some sea- 

 sons, a much less acreage would be necessary. — 

 ED.] 



Beehunting Pays 



In reply to P. C. Chadwlck, p. 39, 1 beg to say that 

 any one would certainly know better than to save 

 a swarm of bees from a tree if they are affected with 

 foul brood. Right here the same law should apply, 

 and should Impose a fine of $5.00 and costs for cut- 

 ling a tree Infected with foul brood, and saving 

 either bees or honey, and also for failure or neg- 

 lect to destroy effectually the entire contents of 

 such a tree by burning, so that other bees near it 

 may have no chance to convey any of the honey 

 therefrom, and thus spread the disease. As to 

 whether beehunting pays In a financial way or not 

 is wholly at the option of the operator. Would It 

 pay to buy bees in the spring, and kill them in the 

 fall to get their honey? Does it pay to cut down 

 the apple tree to get the apples? Does it pay to 

 cut the hickory tree to get the nuts? Does it pay 

 to kill the sheep to get the wool? In fact, does it 

 pay to kill the goose that lays the golden egg? All 

 bosh! I have made no misstatement. It pays me 

 to hunt bees, and under the same management it 

 would pay Mr. Chadwick or any one else. I should 

 like to live In a country where I could find nine 

 beetrees while walking a distance of two miles. I 

 would soon have the bees in hives, or destroyed if 

 diseased. 



Union Center, Wis. Elias Fox. 



the apple bloom was in condition to poison the 

 bees. It is true that the early apple bloom had 

 fallen; but Rome Beauty was in full bloom, and 

 the bees were working busily on the blossoms. My 

 bees were very strong at that time. They died by 

 the thousand, the ground near the hives and close 

 to the alighting-board being covered with dead 

 bees. There was a great Increase in the number of 

 dead bees at the time of spraying, as the colonies 

 were then very strong. 



The bees did not starve to death, for some of the 

 hives contained 25 pounds of honey at the time the 

 bees died. Others had more than that amount. 



The bees that did not die at once lingered in a 

 weak condition. Moths fixed many; and others 

 went into winter quarters with enough old honey 

 for wintering, but not enough bees to cluster and 

 keep warm. I do not understand why the bees 

 that were weakened by the poison did not build up 

 strong during the season. Many died in a few 

 weeks after the spraying. 



Of 48 colonies but 12 are living. I think that 

 three-fourths of all the bees in Pleasant Co. and in 

 Wood Co. went the same route because of careless 

 spraying. 



Salaraa, W. Va. Martin Wilkinson. 



Queen-rearing in Florida or Texas 



I am interested in the queen-rearing business, 

 and would like to know of a place where 1 can rear 

 early queens. How would the west coast of Flori- 

 da or Southwestern Texas do for that business? Do 

 you know of a better place than either of these? 

 Can you suggest a definite location in either of the 

 above or any other section of the country ? 



Bradford, Ky. M. A. Aulick. 



[The west coast of Florida would be a very good 

 place to rear queens if you could get away from the 

 water and rivers where there are mosquito hawks. 

 One great difficulty in rearing queens in Florida is 

 these hawks, and the large red ants that have 

 nests in trees. The mosquito hawks will some- 

 times paralyze queen-rearing operations in a few 

 days, while the red ants will destroy whole colo- 

 nies. There is no remedy for the mosquito hawks 

 except to get into a locality where they have never 

 been known to come in droves. You would have 

 to get well away from water. In doing that you 

 would get into desert country, probably where there 

 would be no flora for bees. The nu isance of red ants 

 can be overcome to some extent by plac'ng the 

 hives on leveled-off ground where there is no vege- 

 tation nor rubbish. Hives must be put up on stilts 

 or framework. Grass or rubbish of any sort must 

 be kept entirely away from the apiary for a dis- 

 tance of 25 or 30 feet. Do not leave boards of any 

 kind on the ground. The apiary should be in the 

 open, away from any trees. 



Southwestern Texas might and probably would 

 present better conditions for queen-rearing than 

 any place in Florida. — Ed.] 



Bees Poisoned by Careless Spraying at an Experi- 

 ment Station 



Some time ago I wrote you that my bees were 

 killed as a result of our experiment station spray- 

 ing apple trees while in bloom. They deny that 



Paper Protection Not Sufficient in Cold Climates 



Mr. Miller's paper protection, p. 73, Feb. 1, maybe 

 sufficient to carry bees through winter in Rhode 

 Island; but my experience here in Central Wiscon- 

 sin has proved it to be a failure in severe winters. 

 To satisfy myself as to the merits of the black pa- 

 per as a winter protection, 1 prepared two colonies 

 in the fall of 1910 by placing a super on top, filled 

 with planer shavings: then the cover, and then 

 over and around the hive and super, not common 

 tarred paper, but a heavy tarred felt. One of the 

 colonies so prepared was strong in bees, the other 

 having a less quantity. The entrances were >^ in. 

 deep by 7 in. long. The result was as follows: The 

 stronger colony pulled through in a weak condi- 

 tion with a heavy loss of bees. The other pulled 

 through the cold weather; but before the first of 

 April there was not a live bee in the hive. During 

 the same winter I had 15 colonies in my cellar, a 

 part of which were light, both in stores and bees; 

 but all wintered well. During the past few sea- 

 sons I have adopted the Alexander plan of wrap- 

 ping my hives with felt on removing them from the 

 cellar; and this with me has proved to be very val- 

 uable. While I do not wish in any way to criticise 

 Mr. Miller, yet I feel that I ought to sound a warn- 

 ing to the inexperienced beekeeper not to attempt 



