648 



GLEANINGS IN BLE CULTURE. 



July 1 



da. The good foul-brood law which Neva- 

 da has was due to his influence, for in 

 every way he is a practical business man. 

 His locality is pretty well overstocked, so 

 he has his bees in yards of about 100 each. 

 His principal honey source seems to be 

 alfalfa. This is the whitest and best hon- 

 ey in body we ever saw. He finds a ready 

 market east for what he produces. 



[The picture sugg'ests a number of inter- 

 rogation-points. Why these big stones, one 

 on each hive? To answer my own ques- 

 tion, I infer that there are some heavy 

 winds occasionally in that part of the coun- 

 try, rendering their use necessary. But 

 our friend Mr. Aitkin uses quilts or cloths 

 on top of the frames. While these are pro- 

 polized down, the covers are not, thus mak- 

 ing it a matter of necessity to put a heavy 

 weight on top to hold the CDvers in place. 

 But why lift these heavy stones? Why not 

 dispense with the quilts and the cloths, and 

 let the bees seal the covers down? Every 

 stone can then be dispensed with, and the 

 frames will be cleaner on top. 



The trees on one side, the sheds and 

 buildings at the end, and the fence on the 

 right, are possibly windbreaks; but the 

 fence is hardly high enough to accomplish 

 much; and the presumption is, it is used to 

 keep off stock. 



I notice that the hives are in regular 

 rows. D^es this not C"infu^e the bef s more 

 or Ies5? In my own experience. wh°re each 



hive is like its neighbor, and thej' are ar- 

 ranged in regular rows, robbing will be 

 much worse, for the reason that the bees 

 are not always able to determine who are 

 their friends and who are foes. Young 

 field- bees will go into the wrong hive, and 

 are often killed. The result of this is, there 

 is a reduction in the working force. My 

 way would be to put the hives in groups of 

 1, 2, 3, and 5, each group different from the 

 one next to it. Then I prefer, where it is 

 possible, to have some distinguishing ob- 

 ject near each group, such as a shade-tree 

 or a bush. I believe that in Cuba where 

 the hives are all alike it has been found 

 that regular rows are not to be recommend- 

 ed, on account of the loss of bees, and rob- 

 bing. — Ed.] 



HAS THE STRAW HIVE A FUTURE IN AMERICA? 



How the Straw Hive is Almost Universal in Ger- 

 many. 



BY F. GRKINER. 



It is funny, isn't it? The symbolic bee- 

 hive as used everywhere, even on our hon- 

 ey-labels and bottles, is a hive made of 

 straw. The bee-keepers of our time have 

 never seen a straw hive, and might not rec- 

 ognize the conical thing as such should they 

 chance to see one; and yet straw is one of 

 the very best materials a bee-hive can be 

 made of. Onr h°e-Vppppr<5 h^re who are 



AN OUT-APIARY OF J. F. AITKIN, NE4R RF.NO. NEVADV. 



