1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



137 



examines many colonies frequently. The 

 more colonies weighed, the more definite 

 would be the index. 



HONEY SECRETION BEFORE A THUNDER- 

 STORM. 



I find that there is a difference in the show- 

 ing of the scale colony as between here and 

 Iowa, in reference to weather conditions. I 

 remember how, years ago, a cloud would show 

 in a long line across the northwest, and gath- 

 er and slowly rise for hours, and at last it 

 would overspread the heavens and give us a 

 wind, rain, and thunder storm. Preceding 

 these general storms the weather was usually 

 hot, and more or less sultry. These storms 

 would be several hours in approaching after 

 the first long line of dark cloud appeared above 

 the horizon, and frequently the rain and thun- 

 der and lightning would continue from one to 

 four hours. If such a storm came late in the 

 evening we would expect the next day to follow 

 it with a cool northwest bracing wind. The 

 greatest gains in nectar were always just pre- 

 ceding these storms, while the day after usu- 

 ally gave not one ounce of gain. If the storm 

 was quite general and severe, very little would 

 be done till the third or fourth day after. 



Notice that the conditions were, first, gath- 

 ering storm-conditions, apparentl)^ for a gen- 

 eral or far-reaching storm, behind it coming a 

 general clearing push of cool air from the 

 northwest. I suppose Hicks would call it a 

 change from low to high barometer, the change 

 following the storm being the inrush of polar 

 air. As already stated, the greatest gain 

 shown was just precedinjj these general storms 

 — usually the last day preceding, while the 

 day after usually showed a loss, indicating 

 that not enough was gathered to equal the 

 evaporation of that already in, the flow sel- 

 dom reaching a normal strength till the third 

 or fourth day after the storm. 



I think I hear many saying the nectar was 

 "washed out." I do not think so. How 

 could it wash out ? Does not almost every 

 flower turn its face from the storm, especially 

 if there be wind, as there nearly always was ? 

 If it was washed out, why did not the next 

 day secrete more—even the second and third 

 days? Then, too, why was the secretion 

 greater just before? My observation shows 

 that a sweeping change of weather conditions 

 stops — more or less in proportion to intensity 

 of the change — nectar secretion, even though 

 no precipitation be present to wash out the 

 nectar. Thermometers are very cheap, so that 

 all may study nectar-secretion as regards tem- 

 perature; but a good barometer we can not all 

 afford. I believe the use of a barometer 

 would far exceed in value the thermometer as 

 a help in studying conditions governing nec- 

 tar-secretion. 



Last winter, while in Iowa, I held a bee 

 convention with Mr. J. L. Strong, of Clarinda, 

 in the southwest part of the State. He has 

 for jears kept a written record of scale colony, 

 showing daily gain, temperature, precipita- 

 tion, and general weather conditions. His 

 records are quite complete and interesting. 

 They show that rain does not necessarily stop 

 secretion of nectar. If the ground is already 



too dry, and plants suffering for moisture, rain 

 rather increases than diminishes the secretion. 

 Notice, I do not say a storm, but rain increas- 

 es secretion if the plants are neediiig the rain. 

 Local showers are quite different from the 

 sweeping storms previously described. On 

 the other hand, his record shows that rain in 

 excess of needs unfavorably affects secretion. 



It will not do, however, to apply the princi- 

 ples in the preceding paragraph too loosely. 

 Some plants require more moisture than oth- 

 ers. The foregoing conditions have particular 

 reference to white clover. I feel quite confi- 

 dent that heartsease will bear more moisture 

 than the clover, though I am not positive of 

 this. Our Colorado cleome will yield when 

 growing out of ground that would seem too 

 hard and dry for any thing to succeed in, and 

 I think it also delights in a rather cool atmos- 

 phere. 



RAPID CHANGES IN WEATHER --^ND TEMPER- 

 ATURE IN COLORADO. 



Weather conditions are much more rapid in 

 their changes here near the mountains than 

 elsewhere, and changes are harder to forecast. 

 We have at our postoffice a government signal- 

 service report or forecast. The mountains so 

 affect storms by deflecting or breaking the air- 

 currents, and in other ways affecting the con- 

 ditions, that the forecasts are not nearly so 

 certain as at points more remote from the 

 mountain districts. Our general storms east 

 of the mountains, that come with a steady 

 sweep and lasting effects, almost invariably 

 come from the northeast, with damp and chil- 

 ly winds, laden with moisture, I suppose from 

 the lake regions. By all odds the bulk of 

 precipitation conies from these northeasters, 

 and, as well, our changes to cold. One would 

 naturally expect the west winds coming from 

 the snow-clad mountains to be cold ; but the 

 fact is, such bring a rise in temperature. I 

 am drifting from my subject, and will return. 



I find that there is quite a difference between 

 here and the Missouri Valley. Changes here, 

 particularly in temperature, are very rapid. 

 We think very little of a change of 40 or r50 

 degrees in 24 hours. Even in June and July, 

 in the midst of the honey season, the ther- 

 mometer will often register 40 to 60 in the ear- 

 ly morn, and at noon lae from 80 to 90, and an 

 equally rapid fall in the evening. You would 

 naturally expect these extreme changes to af- 

 fect the bees very unfavorably; but you should 

 not forget that neither cold nor heat is as pen- 

 etrating in this very dry atmosphere as in more 

 moist climes. In a calm clear day bees fly 

 freely at 40 to 50 degrees, yet snow not expos- 

 ed to direct rays of the sun will scarcely melt 

 at all. As I write this the first days of January, 

 the thermometer on the north side of the house 

 has been registering, several times, between 

 50 and 60, bees flying freely, yet snow of a 

 two or three inch fall is yet visible on that 

 same north side, not many feet from the ther- 

 mometer. I will here give a statement in 

 brief of part of the temperature records for 

 the past summer. 



The honey-flow began June 12th. The 31 

 days from June 13th to July 13th, inclusive, 

 was the extent of my alfalfa honey-flow. The 



