1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



927 



With so-called double-deckers a very large 

 brood-chamber is used at the right time. 

 When the honey -harvest commences, only one 

 story is used ; that is, the brood-nest is con- 

 tracted, and thus we have the advantage that 

 the top surface remains the same ; but I think 

 we shall hardly find the brood-co'mbs in the 

 right condition to force the bees into the sec- 

 tions. 



With a small brood-chamber the queen has 

 never before used her full powers, and is al- 

 ways eager to lay in every empty cell ; conse- 

 quently the brood- chamber wdl probably be 

 in the desired condition. Because in a large 

 hive the bee-keeper can not get this desired 

 condition, he sacrifices the full development 

 of the colony and the advantages of it. This 

 reduces the honey crop to a smaller extent 

 than a brood-chamber in a wrong condition. 



It is well known that in the production of 

 comb honey we have the least trouble, if we 

 use swarms, if they come out at just the right 

 time — that is, at the beginning of the main 

 honey crop. If a colony swarms before this 

 time, neither swarm nor the old colony will be 

 in proper condition for comb honey produo 

 tion when the main honey-flow commences. 

 How a swarm is used if it issues during the 

 honey-flow is kuown as Hutchinson's method. 

 Hereby, too, we need small brood -chambers ; 

 first, to start the bees of the parent colony 

 into the supers; and, second, to get the swarms 

 at the right time, because large hives would 

 not swarm at all or else too late. By this 

 method the swarm is hived in a contracted 

 brood-chamber ; but this has no bearing on 

 our question, because we see the advantages 

 of large hives in the season before the honey- 

 flow. 



If a large hive in spring means more surplus 

 extracted honey, and for any reason we can 

 not use this advantage for comb honey, it is a 

 proof that our managemtnt is not advanced 

 enough to overcome this difficulty ; our prob- 

 lem must be to find out a method by which all 

 advantages are utilized. 



I produce mostly extracted honey. Only a 

 few hives are worked for section honey; but 

 for two years I have used a method in accord- 

 ance with the above theory which I think is 

 worth consideration. In 1898 I got from one 

 hive, managed after this method, 120 filled 

 sections and a number of partially filled ones, 

 while my average crop of extracted honey 

 from the whole apiary was less than 100 lbs. 

 per colony. I will describe this method in 

 my next article. 



Converse, Tex. 



ALFALFA AND ALKALI WEEDS COMPARED. 



BY W. A. H. GILSTRAP. 



Few subjects interest bee-keepers more than 

 the flowers by which they are surrounded. 

 We must make a study of the vegetable king- 

 dom to make estimates of our crop before har- 

 vest. In the sage counties of this State a 

 practical honey-producer usually forms a fair 

 guess, at least, sooner than is done in this val- 

 ley in most localities. Most of the San Joa- 



quin honey is from alfalfa, and it is a very 

 unreliable source. As a general thing alfalfa 

 produces most honey with water enough to 

 make a fair growth only. Irrigation enough 

 to make a very rank growth is often detri- 

 mental to the greatest honey-yield. Of course, 

 a severe drouth is ruinous. Sometimes there 

 is very little honey secreted during one or 

 more months when alfalfa is in bloom, and no 

 certain reason can be assigned. To say "at- 

 mospheric conditions are unfavorable" is a 

 vague expression at best, when we can not see 

 or feel the exact difficulty and call it by 

 name. 



It would seem that some plant would be de- 

 sirable to supplement the alfalfa during un- 

 favorable seasons. Frequently that is easily 

 found in the vicinity of alfalfa ; it is alkali 

 weed. This may not be the proper name of 

 the weed ; but, being a very common man, I 

 use common names when they are not mis- 

 leading. Many people call it " sticker weed " 

 on account of the small piickles with which 

 it is covered. One apiarist used to call it 

 " yellow top," but has since adopted the name 

 "golden top." As bee-weed, wild sunflower, 

 goldenrod, and many other plants have yel- 

 low, more especially at the top, than the weed 

 in question, there is nothing distinguishing in 

 either of these terms. Alkali weed certainly 

 has the claim of popularity for the weed. 



It is probably a relative of the Russian this- 

 tle, though not a tumble weed. Both com- 

 mence their growth in cool wet weather, and 

 make some stock-feed early in the season, es- 

 pecially for sheep and cattle. As the weather 

 becomes warm the growth becomes more rapid, 

 the plant becomes woody, and the spines are 

 such as to protect the plant from ordinary 

 stock. 



At this point I will drop the thistle, which 

 is getting too hard and thorny for me, as it 

 was taken up only to explain better the hon- 

 ey-plant in question. These weeds frequently 

 grow as high as wheat before the latter is cut, 

 and sometimes prevent its being harvested, as 

 the weeds would decay in the stack. You 

 need not expect much bloom before July or 

 the first of August except on strong alkali 

 laud where the weeds are stunted. Then the 

 golden honey is produced until frost or early 

 rain kills the plant. This year was an excep- 

 tion, as the honey failed about Sept. 23, and 

 our first rain fell Oct. 10. Hardly enough 

 frost yet for you to see. In seven years I have 

 known two failures of this source, caused by 

 drouth. 



The flavor of this honey is pleasant, not so 

 sweet as alfalfa, classed as amber or light am- 

 ber by different dealers. It is too yellow to 

 excel as comb honey, and also granulates 

 quicker than some othe'r honey. These are 

 reasons why it is no more sought after by api- 

 arists. 



Had Mr. Wilkin (page 750) known the value 

 of these weeds he probably would not have 

 tied up to alfalfa alone, and would have har- 

 vested, very likely, from four to seven times 

 the honey which he reports. In some spots 

 near Famoso, alkali weeds sometimes grow; 

 but to see many thousands of acres turn to a 



