588 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 15 



control of swarming, but colonies may be 

 made as strong- as desired, with little 

 probability of swarming. 

 \b 

 This is the season when foul brood flour- 

 ishes like a "get- rich-quick" joint. Like- 

 wise, it is the time when it can be extin- 

 guished with the least damage to the api- 

 arj'. Prevention is easier and better than 

 cure — keep a sharp lookout for it, and 

 handle it promptly when found. 



"What wages are paid to assistant api- 

 arists in Colorado?" — is the substance of 

 an inquiry from an eastern correspondent. 

 I reply here, as, no doubt, many others are 

 interested. Twenty to thirty dollars per 

 month and board, dependent upon age, ex- 

 perience, and general qualifications. 



Shook-swarms, to be successful, should 

 simulate natural swarming as nearly as pos- 

 sible. In this relation it is of the utmost 

 importance that the bees be caused to fill 

 themselves with honey just before shaking. 

 Neglect of this is a fruitful cause of the ab- 

 sconding of such swarms, A swarm liter- 

 ally gorged with honey will usually stay 

 where it is put, and go right to work. 



\ir 



Lots of bee-keepers throughout the West 

 are realizing this season the iruth of that 

 old, old proverb, "In time of peace prepare 

 for war." The scramble for supplies is 

 simp y tremendous. Hives can hardly be 

 had; bees are swarming, and the honey- 

 flow is right at hand. It is the old story. 

 I congratulate Morehouse every time I think 

 of the 300 hives and 50,000 sections I have 

 ready for the fray. 



\«< 



PEAR-GROWERS AND THE BEES. 



Recently the pear-growers of Paonia, 

 Delta Co., Col., bought up all the bees with- 

 in flying distance of their orchards (some 

 400 colonies), and sold them at auction, the 

 condition being that they be removed from 

 that neighborhood. This action was taken 

 on the supposition, supposedly pi oven, that 

 the bees were instrumental in spreading 

 the blight. This is not only a unique but 

 a very sensible way to get rid of the bees, 

 dui — I very much doubt the efficacy of the 

 remedy. The blight will continue to spread, 

 as other insects are more guilty than the 

 bees. It is not unlikely that the loss in 

 quantity and quality of the fruit, due to 

 non-fertilization of the blossoms, will be 

 greater than from the blight incidentally 

 spread by the bees, and I should not be sur- 

 prised to see our little friends returned in 

 triumph to "where rolls" the Gunnison. 

 \h 

 CHEAP INCREASE. 



One of the problems in many parts of our 

 country this season is the replenishment of 

 winter losses. This can be done rapidly 

 and cheaply by the nucleus method, and its 



simplicity commends it to those not highly 

 skilled in apicultural manipulations. Take 

 a frame of hatching brood, well covered 

 with bees, a laying queen, or a ripe cell, 

 and place them in the center of a hive of 

 drawn combs. Aframe of honeyor sugar syr- 

 up should also be included. The earlier after 

 the weather becomes warm and settled these 

 nuclei can be formed, the better, though in 

 Colorado they will succeed if started as 

 late as the first of Julj', without feeding. 

 It requires from six to seven weeks to de- 

 velop them into full colonies, and they will 

 be in prime condition to gather surplus hon- 

 ey from the fall flow. Fifteen or twenty 

 gocd colonies may be easily increased to a 

 hundred in this manner; and, if the season 

 is fairly good, they will more than return 

 their cost. They make the very best colo- 

 nies for the succeeding year, as the queens 

 are young and will be at their best. I 

 made nearly one hundred such nuclei be- 

 tween June firs* and July first, last year. 

 With the exception of one, all wintered, and 

 to day they are among my best colonies. 

 it< 



THE CROP PROSPECT. 



The outlook for a crop of honey through- 

 out the irrigated regions is generally good, 

 excepting in Arizona and New Mexico, 

 where the almost total absence of snowfall 

 and spring rains has practically blighted 

 all chances for a crop of surplus honey this 

 season. In Colorado the winter loss amount- 

 ed to about ten per cent, due very largely 

 to queenlessness. The spring has been 

 fairly favorable, and the colonies are in 

 prime condition for the flow, which promis- 

 es to open about June 15. Mosture conditions 

 are highly satisfactorj', the government 

 station in Denver reporting a more than 

 normal amount of precipitation since Janu- 

 ary 1. The only apparent drawback is, in 

 some localities the alfalfa is badly winter- 

 killed — not by cold weather, but by 

 warm dry winds. Sweet clover is doing 

 well, and in most localities is more than 

 usually abundant. Conditions in Utah and 

 Idaho are even better; the winter losses 

 were trivial, and the few reports I have had 

 indicate that the crop will be fully up to 

 the average. 



Viewing the situation as a whole, with 

 the exceptions noted above, the outlook is 

 very bright, and honey- buyers "^ill not be 

 disappointed if they depend upon shipments 

 from the arid States for their supply of this 

 toothsome sweetness. 



I also believe that our bee-keepers will 

 receive a fair price for their product, which, 

 if the flow is good, and care is taken, will 

 grade high. Considerable of last year's 

 crop is still in the hands of dealers, but I 

 note that it is nearly all "oft" grade," and 

 will by no means compete with the new 

 crop. In Colorado we export only the two 

 grades, No. 1 and No. 2, and in the East 

 they usually pass as fancy and No. 1. 

 The "off grades" are either extracted or 

 sold at home at a lower price. 



