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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Wavelets of News. 



stray Straws. 



Good-nature seems to be one of the 

 prominent features that characterize the 

 discussions of bee-keepers now-a-days. 



Do bees sleep ? The Centrallblatt 

 thinks they have no need of sleep, at 

 least not in Summer. I wouldn't be a 

 bee. 



Don't be fooled by one or two warm 

 days into bringing your bees out of the 

 cellar too soon. Let 'em roar in the 

 cellar if they want to. Just open all up 

 at night and give them a good airing. 



The Congress of Paris agreed upon 

 three frames as standard — a "high" 

 frame, 30x40 centimetres; a "low" 

 frame, 40x30, and "square" frame, 

 85x35. The high frame is for mount- 

 ainous or cold regions ; the low one for 

 hot, and the square for medium climates. 

 The square frame is about 13% inches 

 square. — Dr. C. C. Miller, in Olemiings. 



Sainfoin as a Honey-Producer. 



Esparcette, or sainfoin, grows well in 

 the mountain counties of California 

 without water, and on the rockiest kind 

 of soil. There is not enough of it near 

 my apiary to determine its value as a 

 honey-plant, but the bees work upon it 

 first-rate. A bee-keeper in Marin county 

 informed me that it is destined to be- 

 come one of the leading forage and 

 honey-producing plants of the country. 

 — S. L. Watkins, in the Rural Press. 



Locating' an Apiary. 



In beginning bee-keeping the location 

 is one of the most important things to 

 be considered. As bees ascend with 

 difficulty when heavily laden, it would 

 be better to have the apiary located in a 

 valley, that after obtaining a load of 

 stores on the neighboring hills, they 

 may, as they return with their load, 

 have a descending flight. Low ground 

 is also better protected from high winds. 

 Learn which are the best honey-yielding 

 plants and trees, and try if possible to 

 locate within reach of reliable pastur- 

 age. While bees will go three or four 

 miles if necessary, the best results are 

 obtained, as a rule, by having an abun- 

 dant pasturage within at least two 

 miles. 



Look well to the immediate surround- 

 ings. A location near ponds or large 



bodies of water is not generally desir- 

 able. Bees become fatigued while on 

 the wing, especially when flying against 

 the wind, and by dropping in the water 

 often become chilled and drown. 



It is a great advantage to have a strip 

 of timber on the windward side of the 

 apiary, to shelter hives from cold, 

 heavy winds. If no natural protection 

 is afforded, a close, high board fence 

 should be put up for the purpose. In 

 building the fence, the nails should not 

 be driven in firmly, but should be so left 

 that they may be easily drawn, so that 

 more or less of the boards may be re- 

 moved during the hottest weather, to 

 permit a free circulation of air. 



When the hives are not protected from 

 wind, the bees when returning with 

 heavy loads are frequently unable to 

 strike the hive, are blown to the ground, 

 become chilled and die. It is especially 

 necessary to protect bees during the 

 Spring months, because the colonies 

 then contain fewer bees than at any 

 other time ; and every bee is needed to 

 keep the brood warm. 



If one is located where there is but 

 little natural pasturage for bees, much 

 can be done to improve such a locality 

 by furnishing artificial pasturage, and 

 for this there is no better crop than 

 alfalfa. Honey from wild flowers in 

 Colorado, as elsewhere, is not so good as 

 alfalfa. Cleome is the next best. — Field 

 and Farm. 



Manipulation of Bees. 



A friend asks, " What temperature is 

 it safe to manipulate a colony of bees ?" 

 As this is quite an important matter, I 

 wish to mention it here. The mercury 

 ought to register at least 60° in the 

 shade, and then no colony should be 

 opened until the bees have had a flight. 

 At the approach of Spring, on warm 

 days, you will notice that while some 

 colonies ai'e quite lively, others will 

 seem to be dead from all outward ap- 

 pearance ; these may be in just as good 

 condition as the others, but to open such 

 colonies and arouse them from their 

 state of quietude, is bound to do them 

 harm, even though the temperature be 

 70-" in the shade. 



From all reports received here, bees 

 are wintering well, and the season 

 promises to be a prosperous one, yet it 

 is early to predict with any degree of 

 accuracy. Winter losses can generally 

 be traced back to one of these three 

 causes : lack of stores, leaky cover or 

 leaving empty surplus arrangements on 

 the hive. — W. S. Pouder, in Ind. Farmer. 



