AUGUST 15, 1912 



505 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Craxe, Middlebury, Vt. 



No more correct statement was ever 

 made than that of Mr. Holtermann on 

 1 age 228, April 15, that the best place to 

 get foundation drawn out is in a super 

 over the brood-chamber of a strong colony. 



The Editor says, April 15, p. 223, "It is 

 true that still air, although the temperature 

 be much colder, is not nearly as severe on 

 bees as a warmer temperature when a gale 

 is on." Quite true. The same rule applies 

 to bees as to human beings. 



* * * 



Passing under some basswood trees yes- 

 tei'day by the sidewalk I noticed they had 

 cropped their blossom buds before open- 

 ir;g; and, in fact, the entire flower stem, 

 lie sidewalk being nearly covered with 

 tl;em — something I have never before seen. 

 « • • 



Mr. Foster's description of his early 

 home on page 330 was profitable as well as 

 I'Joasant reading. Every such home is 

 worth to the country more than a gold- 

 niine. If beekeeping makes such homes 

 possible, hurrah for beekeeping! 



* • • 



Dr. Miller, Apr. 15, p. 223, says that 

 poultry in the United States in 1910 was 

 worth 14.79 times as much as bees, "ac- 

 cording to tJie Bureau of Census." Pretty 

 poor authority on bees. Some time ago a 

 man taking the census refused to take my 



bees at all. ' 



* * * 



One of the charming sights the beekeeper 

 enjoys in late June is the luxuriant fields 

 of alsike clover with its innumerable blos- 

 soms of every shade, from wliite to red; 

 and their fragrance! how delightful! Sure- 

 ly "Its smell is as the smell of a field that 

 tl.e Lord hath blessed." 



* * * 



Testimony as to the value of sweet clover 

 continues to accumulate, and I dream of 

 the time when in som.e measure it will take 

 the place Avith the beekeeper that basswood 

 has filled, as it blooms at about the same 

 time. I believe that, when the present 

 prejudice has died out, sweet clover will 

 1 rove of great value to both farmer and 



beekeeper. 



* * * 



I wonder if we beekeepers half apjire- 

 eiate the care the editors of our journals 

 take to give us just the information we 

 need at this season. Just look over the ]\Iay 

 numbers of Gleanings and see how many 



articles there are on making incrase, put- 

 ting on supers, etc., by such authorities as 

 Doolittle, Townsend, Dr. Miller, and others. 



* » * 



I was rather surprised at the statement 

 of P. C. Chadwick, p. 297, May 15, that 

 sealed brood will stand a temperature as 

 low as 40 degrees. I am glad to know it, 

 for the advice about spreading brood is 

 just as good here in the East as in Cali- 

 fornia. I have found that a good way to 

 build up those weak colonies is to change 

 eggs or young larvae for mature brood, and 

 so quickly get them in good order. 



There was a good show of clover the past 

 spring ; but the weather was cold and rough 

 until June 22, and by July 1 we were in 

 the grip of a severe drouth with tropical 

 heat; and by July 10 apparently most clo- 

 ver was dried up ; but bees have done very 

 well. I think it must be one of those years 

 Mr. 0. 0. Poppleton, of Florida, tells of, 

 when the bees make honey from fence 

 posts. But I notice it has the flavor of 



clover. 



* * * 



The theory and practice of putting on 

 supers by Dr. Miller, page 281, May 1, is 

 not only worth careful reading by begin- 

 ners, but careful study until thoroughly 

 understood. A good deal of light has been 

 thrown on tliis subject in comparatively 

 recent years. I used to think it unneces- 

 sary to put on a second super until the first 

 was about two-thirds or three-fourths full, 

 so that, while the bees were finisliing the 

 first super, they could begin on the second; 

 but I have found in recent years that in a 

 good flow a good colony will sometimes fill 

 two moderate-sized supers almost as soon 



as they will one. 



* * « 



I greatly fear the article on p. 275, May 

 1, on extra rapid increase, will mislead be- 

 ginners in beekee23ing. Thirty colonies from 

 one, and that in a poor season, Ave are in- 

 formed ! I am naturally skeptical, and so 

 doubt if one experienced beekeeper in fifty 

 or even a hundred could do as well, and 

 produce thirty colonies from one that would 

 be worth wintering, even in a good season. 

 Much more helpful to me are "Lessons 

 Learned from Mistakes in Beekeeping," 

 page 283. A child learns to walk quite as 

 fast when he falls as when he stands erect. 

 We must Avin strength by struggle in this 

 world. I haven't much use for the man 

 who is so angelic he never makes a mistake. 



