1921 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



91 



Attending Conventions 



It is delightful to attend a conven- 

 tion of beemen in a strange locality 

 and find smiling faces at the station. 

 The first man that greeted me at 

 Wilmington was Mr. C. L. Sams, who 

 recognized me at the station. I was 

 not left by myself a single minute 

 after I reached my destination. 



Wild Beasts in North Carolina 



Bears, deer, wild cats are not rare 

 in some districts. W. B. Robinson, of 

 Belvidere, N. C, had a lot of beehives 

 destroyed by the depredations of 

 bears. 



Pollen in January 



W. W. King and C. L. Sams saw 

 bees carrying pollen January 5 to 10 

 near Wilmington. Some say it is 

 alder, others credit it to soft maple. 

 The gallberry here gives the best 

 honey crop. They have also a plant 

 which they call "love vine," which 

 yields honey. 



Tin Pans to Settle Swarms 



Mr. J. A. Ratclitt'e, of Washington, 

 N. C, told of seeing a swarm pass 

 over the church roof and arresting it 

 with the beating of a bread pan with 

 a big spoon. It not only settled the 

 swarm, but broke up the church 

 meeting, which ended in confusion 

 and laughter. Did the bees hear the 



Quebec Beekeeping _ 



The report of the Minister of Agri- 

 culture, for the Province of Quebec, 

 for the season 1919-20, contains a de- 

 tail of the work done in b.eekeeping 

 schools and demonstrations in Levis, 

 Montreal and Joliette, by Messrs. 

 Vaillancourt and Prudhomme. As 

 many as 250 persons attended the 

 beekeeping course in Montreal. 



To those who might imagine that 

 the Province of Quebec is too cold Tor 

 good results in beekeeping, we will 

 say that this report shows that the 

 best crop in Quebec was harvested at 

 Roberval, in the apiary of the Ursu- 

 line Sisters, and was of 4,020 pounds 

 for 22 colonies. 



Errors in Renewals 



It is not our custom to "talk shop" 

 to our readers. But it is important to 

 suggest to them that there are mis- 

 takes made by everybody in this 

 world and that we are not infallible 

 ourselves. So if any errors are made 

 concerning your subscription, please 

 drop us a card, with as much good 

 nature as you are able to assume, and 

 we will endeavor to correct mistakes. 

 Other publishers make mistakes also. 



Organization Wins 



A very good argument in favor of 

 a Honey Producers" League may be 

 seen in the fact that the industries 

 which arc best lOTganized secure best 

 recognition. See the Railroad Broth- 

 erhoods. They got about everything 

 they wanted during the war, while 

 many industries went a-begging. 

 UNITED WE STAND. 



Cause of Foulbrood 



It looks quite evident now that Ba- 

 cillus alvei is a bacillus of putrefac- 

 tion and not the cause of the death 

 of the larva:, in foulbrood. Cheshire 

 must evidently have made some err-or 

 in the test mentioned by him on 

 pages 554-5 of his work, as he also 

 made a very evident error when he 

 stated that honey was not likely the 

 means of transmitting it. 



Altitude and Nectar Secretion 



In our February issue Mr. Small 

 brought out an interesting point con- 

 cerning the behavior of alfalfa in 

 Kansas. The fact that below 1,000 

 feet it secretes little nectar, while 

 yielding abundantly above that alti- 

 tude is worthy of more than passing 

 note. It stands to reason that if al- 

 falfa behaves differently under such 

 conditions lother plants may do so 

 also. Careful study of the influence 

 of altitude as well as sioil and climate 

 on the secretion of nectar is import- 

 ant. 



The Miller Memorial 



We would call attention again to 

 the memorial to Doctor Miller. The de- 

 cision as to the form it shall take will 

 be left to the committee in charge 

 and will be influenced by the amount 

 raised. It is hoped to have all funds 

 in hand by June 10, which is the anni- 

 versary of the Doctor's birth. Mem- 

 bers of the committee are anxious 

 that every beekeeper who admired 

 Doctor Miller shall be represented in 

 the tnemorial, whether his contribu- 

 tion amounts to a dime or a dollar. 

 Contributions may be sent to this 

 office or to any member of the com- 

 mittee, which was announced in our 

 last issue. 



Marketing 



Just now conditions looking to the 

 future of the honey market are in 

 the balance. There is a large surplus 

 of extracted honey in certain quar- 

 ters, while many local markets are 

 bare. It is important that the bee- 

 keeper who has sold his own crop re- 

 alize that the future market de- 

 pends upon his assistance in moving 

 the unsold honey. If the beekeepers 

 who have sold out will help to handle 

 this surplus the market will be sta- 

 bilized at a higher price than will be 

 the case if it is dumped upon the city 

 markets to bring what it will. 



The bottlers and big buyers gener- 

 ally are interested in buying at the 

 lowest possible price. Should any 

 considerable amount of honey be 

 dumped onto the market under pres- 

 ent conditions the price is likely to be 

 depressed to the old-time low levels. 

 There never was a time when it was 

 more important to cultivate the local 

 market. 



with the opportunities thus presented, 

 there is nothing better than a careful 

 plat of your territory. 



Topographical maps of most sec- 

 tions are available and may be ob- 

 tained either by writing your State 

 Geological Survey or the U. S. Geo- 

 logical Survey. These maps give alti- 

 tudes of all points. Your own map, 

 based upon these and including all in- 

 formation you already have, com- 

 bined with actual trips for observa- 

 tion when the principal plants are in 

 bloom should provide data worth a 

 great deal Get in touch with your 

 county agent. He may apprise you of 

 areas of sweet clover or alsike worth 

 moving for. 



Acquaintance With 

 Your Territory 



The automobile and truck make it 

 possible to take advantage of a honey 

 crop located as far as fifty miles or 

 more from your present apiary sites. 

 In order to be thoroughly conversant 



Watch for Shortage 

 of Food 



With the extremely mild winter we 

 have had so far there is danger that 

 the inexperienced beekeeper may 

 allow his bees to become short of feed 

 this spring. A mild winter means in- 

 creased activity of the bees, and m- 

 creased activity means increased con- 

 sumption of honey. Bees which were 

 put into winter quarters with a su- 

 per-abundance will not yet be in 

 need, but there are many cases where, 

 for some reason or other, bees went 

 into winter with only moderate stores. 



The danger of starvation is not the- 

 only danger. When stores become 

 short in spring, the queens stop lay- 

 ing, no more young bees hatch, and 

 unless remedial steps are taken, the 

 colony may dwindle away; or if it 

 doesn't completely dwindle, its value 

 for nectar gathering is seriousOy im- 

 paired. 



Now is the time to see that your 

 colonies have plenty of stores, not 

 only to keep them alive, but to allow 

 brood rearing to proceed uninterrupt- 

 edly. 



Unseasonable Weather 



The past winter has been unusually 

 mild and for that reason bees with 

 plenty of stores have wintered well. 

 However, there is an element of dan- 

 ger for the spring season. As this is 

 written (February 15) the weather is 

 balmy as May, and the first of the 

 soft maples are in full bloom at Ham- 

 ilton. Fruit buds are swelling and 

 there is every reason to expect severe 

 iniury to the fruit crop by later froists. 



The bees are humming merrily 

 among the blossoms of the maples, 

 and this new nectar and pollen will 

 start brood rearing in earnest. Un- 

 less the beekeeper have a care, the 

 brood-nests will be expanded beyond 

 the ability of the clusters to protect 

 when a change of weather comes, and 

 there will be much chilled broiod. 

 Bees protected wth suitable packmg 

 material are not likely to be seri- 

 ously aflfected. 



Brood rearing requires large quan- 

 tities of honey, and this undue ex- 

 pansion so early in the season will 

 rapidly deplete the supplies. It is very 

 important tjiat all colonies with a 

 short supply be fed liberally to save 

 from later disaster. 



