THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



339 



Here is the way to get work in this 

 line Write two or three articles on 

 some practical subject, ;ind send them 

 to some agricultural journal. Write 

 a letter to the editor, asking- him if he 

 would like to have you furnish articles 

 on bee-keeping for his paper, and how 

 much he would pay 3'ou for such as he 

 uses. Tell him that the articles en- 

 closed are sent as samples, and, if not 

 available, may be returned. Don't be 

 discouraged if articles are not always 

 accepted promptly, but send them to 

 some other paper. Perhaps many 

 may hesitate about writing because of 

 lack of education. To such I will say 

 that you will be surprised at the 

 amount of "fixing up" needed by a 

 large share of the contributions receiv- 

 ed by agricultural journals. If the 

 ideas are only there it is an easy mat- 

 ter for the editor to "lick them into 

 shape. " 



^"^•^•.^K^Km*. 



THE INFLUENCE OF LOCALITY. 



In my early bee-keeping years, I 

 was often sorely puzzled at the diamet- 

 rically opposite views often expressed 

 by the different correspondents for the 

 journals. In extenuation of that state 

 of mind I ma\' say that at that time I 

 did not dream of the wonderful differ- 

 ence of locality in its relation to the 

 management of bees. I saw, meas- 

 ured, weighed, compared, and consid- 

 ered all things apicultural by the 

 standard of my own home — Genesee 

 County, Michigan. It was not until I 

 had seen the fields of New York white 

 with buckwheat, admired the luxuri- 

 ance of sweet clover growth in the sub- 

 urbs of Chicago, followed for miles the 

 great irrigating ditches of Colorado 

 where they give life to thero3'al purple 

 of the alfalfa bloom, and climbed moun- 

 tains in California, pulling myself up 

 by grasping the sage brush, that I 

 fully realized the great amount of api- 

 cultural meaning stored up in that one 

 little word — locality. 



The basic principles of apiculture 

 are the same the world over, but the 

 management must be varied according 

 to the locality. In the South and ex- 

 treme West, the wintering of bees is 

 easily accomplished; it being necessary 

 only, to see that they have sufficient 

 food. As we go North, some protec- 

 tion must be given — either by packing 

 or by the use of chaff hives. As we 

 go still farther North, successful win- 

 tering is secured, as a rule, onlj' by 

 the use of first-class winter-stores, and 

 putting the bees into a cellar. 



In Cuba and Florida the honey har- 

 vest comes in the cooler part of the 

 year, or what corresponds to our 

 Northern winter, and those varieties 

 of bees that will breed late in the sum- 

 mer, even though little or no honey is 

 coming in, are more desirable; as more 

 populous colonies are thus secured at 

 the opening of winter. In the North- 

 ern States, east of the Mississippi, 

 the main honey-flow comes, as a rule, 

 early in the summer. It may be very 

 abundant, but is seldom of long dura- 

 tion; for this reason those varieties of 

 bees are preferable that rear brood 

 very abundantly early in the season, 

 and then slacken breeding as soon as 

 the main harvest begins. In some 

 parts of the West the honey harvest is 

 much longer than in the East. There 

 are no such rapid flows as we have 

 here sometimes from basswood, but 

 there is a steady flow that may last 

 for months; the conditions being ideal 

 for the production of comb honey, as 

 there is abundant time i*^ which to 

 build combs for the storage of the 

 honey, fill them and seal them over. 



In the white clover and basswood 

 regions, swarming and the main honej^ 

 harvest come at the same time; in some 

 parts of the Southwest, swarming 

 comes on with the flow from the early, 

 minor honey plants, and is almost en- 

 tirely abandoned with the advent of 

 the heavy honey flow that comes on 

 later. 



