692 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



especially interesting to bee-keepers, as it 

 means pasturage for thousands of colonies 

 of bees. Other irrigation projects of vast 

 proportions are under way in various parts 

 of the West, which I will bring before the 

 readers of this department from time to 

 time. 



Fastening foundation in brood- frames 

 with melted wax is so far superior to the 

 wedge-and- groove method now in vogue that 

 I am surprised to see it no more generally 

 recommended. In Colorado the wedges 

 shrink to such an extent, even when nailed 

 in, that the weight of a swarm will invari- 

 ably pull down some of the starters. When 

 they are cemented to the frame with melt- 

 ed wax they stay, and the operation is 

 performed much faster than by putting in 

 the wedges. A little tool, the Van Deusen 

 wax-tube fastener, was constructed for this 

 purpose, and works perfectl}'. 



Shallow divisible- brood-chamber hives 

 are gradually winning their way into pop- 

 ular favor. 1 formerly entertained a strong 

 prejudice against them; but a trial has 

 convinced me of their great merit; and if 

 the system of management I am using in 

 connection with them proves a success this 

 season, I shall be ready to shout " Eure- 

 ka! " Last year I hived about 25 swarms 

 in such hives. They gave a fine crop of 

 section honey, wintered well, and have built 

 up nicely for this season's flow. At pres- 

 ent writing they are storing in the supers, 

 and have shown no inclination to swarm. 

 I have not yet realized my friend Gill's ob- 

 jections to "so many sticks ai d spaces." 

 The hive I am using is two ideal supers 

 holding ten hanging frames each. 



COLORADO CROP PROSPECTS NOT FLATTER- 

 ING. 



At this date, July 5, I am sorry to have 

 to write a report under the above caption; 

 but in justice to the bee-keeping public at 

 large, the truth must be told. The cold 

 wet weather of early June not only delayed 

 the blossoms but gave brood- rearing a seri- 

 ous setback. As a consequence, many col- 

 onies are not in condition to store in the 

 supers. With the exception of four or five 

 days during the week of June 26, the weath- 

 er has continued cold, cloudy, and highly 

 unfavorable to nectar secretion, giving a 

 light slow flow. The first crop of alfalfa 

 is now all cut. Sweet clover is abundant, 

 is blooming freely, and would yield satis- 

 factorily if weather conditions were only 

 right. With our long season of honey- flow, 

 there is still a chance for a pretty fair 

 crop; so we are hoping that every day will 

 bring the hot sunshine, so necessary to a 

 good honey- flow. 



I have received a few reports from various 

 parts of the State, and, without exception, 

 all complain of bad weather and no nectar 

 in the flowers. Fears are freely expressed 

 that the crop will be a total failure. 



SERIOUS LOSSES OF BEES IN UTAH — WHO 

 CAN SUGGEST A REMEDY? 



I have received the following communica- 

 tion from a friend in Utah, which speaks 

 for itself. Is this a new and strange bee- 

 disease, or is it a very malignant type of 

 paralysis? Possibly some purely local 

 cause is responsible for the great mortality 

 among the bees of that locality. Who can 

 give us some light? 



There seems to be great danger in Utah of a total 

 loss of the entire bee industry. I shall give you, as 

 nearly as I can, the conditions, both in the past and at 

 the present time. 



In this valley and in the one 50 miles north of here, 

 called Cache Valley, there have been for many years a 

 great many bees, both in the hands of skilled opera- 

 tors and in the hands of many farmers and small own- 

 ers. A year ago tbis spring there vs^ere upward of 

 2000 colonies ot bees lost. It was thought a year ago 

 it was ov ing to the very cold winter weather and 

 changeable weather in the spring; but the strange 

 part of it is that, in some localities not any warmer, 

 but, if any thing, co'der, the bees survived all right 

 with scircely any loss at all. 



I lost last year HOO colonies of bees, and in some lo- 

 calities in Cache Valley the e were upward of 500 colo- 

 nies that went under; and in this valley (Salt Lake) 

 last year there were fully 800 colonies that perished. 

 It was thought by all those who were interested that 

 it was due to the hard winter and cold spring, and 

 was let go at that; but in Cache Valley a gentleman by 

 the name of Bullock, who has been in the business at 

 least 15 years, and had 500 colonies of bees, came 

 through with his last year with not more than 10 per 

 cent loss. He took excellent care of them last winter 

 earlier than usual; but he now has but 10 per cent of 

 his bees alive. Since I heard this I made a visit to 

 where I had my bee-grounds, and will say in explana- 

 tion, after loss of my entire number last year, 

 that I went into Melal Valley, where there had been 

 no loss at any time, and is none at the present tim- 

 and purchased 225 colonies of very strong bees, and 

 had them moved into Cache Valley, where I had the 

 loss last year, and expected that I would accomplish a 

 great deal with them; but when I heard of Mr. Bul- 

 lock's loss in that locality I at once made an investiga- 

 tion. I was there yesterday, and a large part of the 

 entire 225 colonies are affected with what appears to 

 be paralysis. While there is no trembling, they drop 

 down in the grass in front of the hives, and are unable 

 to fly; and thev seem to mount the grass and twigs 

 w^ith great difficulty, and in taking them up in my 

 hands they were unable to fly away, and, if^ thrown 

 into the air. would drop to the ground. They seemed 

 to have no desire even to sting. It appears to be con- 

 tagious, for it seems to affect t certain part of a row, 

 while another section of the row seems to be strong 

 and swarming. A number of hives have all gone un- 

 der. The entire yard, of course, is exposed, for the 

 reason that a few, perhaps 20 colonies from what were 

 left of the lot last year, were put with them without 

 any thought of any thing being wrong, except that 

 they were weak. 



I am fully satisfied now the loss last year, which 

 would number at least 2000 colonies in Cache Valley, 

 was due entirely to this condition. I am now anxious 

 for some remedy to overcome this difficulty, and shall 

 appreciate very much instructions and information 

 which will enable me to overcome it. 



I have advised my partner in the business to sprin- 

 kle powdered suphur in the hives at night. He has 

 been using salt and water, but that does not seem to 

 have verj' much effect. B. P. Critchlow. 



Ogden, Utah, June 24. 



REPLACING SUPERANNUATED QUEENS. 



The foundation for a crop of honey in 

 1905 may be laid now by providing each 

 colony with a young queen, or at least 

 weeding out all queens more than one year 

 old. Many writers have asserted that this 

 function may be safely entrusted to the 

 bees; that they will invariably supersede 

 queens when they begin to fail from old 

 age. I have not found it to be true in ac- 



