194 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Apb. 1 



HOW BEES ABE WINTERING. 



It is pretty early to state with certainty 

 just yet what the results of the past winter 

 are over the country. The few reports that 

 we have received have indicated that bees 

 are going to come through in good condi- 

 tion. In many parts of the North, an al- 

 most unparalleled season of cold weather in 

 December gave no chance at all for a flight; 

 but still it is certain that such a cold spell 

 is not so hard on the bees in December as it 

 would be, say, in February. 



In a good many other parts of the coun- 

 try where bees ordinarily have had flights 

 every few weeks, at least, they were hardly 

 able to leave the hives from a time late in 

 the fall until the early part of March. This 

 is a pretty hard strain on bees; but if the 

 stores are what they should be, and the 

 packing adequate, there is no serious loss. 

 Weak colonies in the fall, especially those 

 whose stores are not arranged to the best 

 advantage, will probably succumb; but 

 strong colonies with more than enough 

 sealed stores of sugar syrup seem to be in 

 very fine condition. Most of our colonies 

 at this date (March 16) have considerable 

 brood started, and young bees are in evi- 

 dence, and this in spite of the very few 

 chances for flight. 



On account of the fact that the tempera- 

 ture, as a rule, has not fluctuated a great 

 deal, the bees in the cellar are probably go- 

 ing to come through in pretty good condi- 

 tion, average conditions, etc., being favora- 

 ble. 



Last year in March there was a spell of 

 hot dry weather that started brood-rearing 

 in all colonies at a great rate. This was fol- 

 lowed by cold weather later, so that much 

 brood was killed and lost. This year the 

 conditions are quite different. Brood-rear- 

 ing is progressing normally; but so much 

 cold weather in March will probably not be 

 followed by prolonged cold spells later. 



BEWABE OF SUBSCRIBING FOR STOCK IN 

 FAKE CONCERNS. 



Thanks to their good judgment, a ma- 

 jority of bee-keepers have escaped entangle- 

 ment in se\ eral so-called opportunities that 

 have been created in the way of "Honey- 

 producing Associations," "Apiary Compa- 

 nies," and the like. While the chances for 

 profit-making in keeping bees in an intel- 

 ligent way have induced many individuals 

 to enter into this pleasing work, the indus- 

 try is fortunate in not having displayed 

 great allurements to promotive geniuses. 

 In late years all kinds of cooperative en- 

 terprises, from mail-order houses to rubber 

 and pineapple plantations, have been foist- 

 ed on the too gullible public, and in a very 

 great majority of these organizations the 

 draw-string on the promoter's money-sack 

 has been tightly pulled just before the out- 

 stretched hand of the unfortunate investor 

 was permitted to dip in. 



Just recently one or two attempts have 

 been made to dispose of stock in "honey" 

 and bee-keepers' associations. Of the men 

 back of these plans we know nothing; but 

 it seems to us that we are taking quite a 

 safe step in cautioning all readers of Glean- 

 ings at this time to beware. Of course, we 

 may be wrong; but the likelihood that our 

 friends will miss any opportunity to make 

 much money quick by refusing to invest in 

 such schemes is a very doubtful one in- 

 deed. 



Do not misunderstand us, please, and do 

 not misinterpret what we have said as hav- 

 ing reference to any distributing or produc- 

 ing association that has been recognized by 

 this or any other reputable publication or 

 individual. We simply want to remind 

 bee-keepers against temptation which may 

 be presented to them in a most enticing 

 way, but which, if embraced, will very like- 

 ly bring personal loss, and greatly discredit 

 an industry that has gained a most envia- 

 ble reputation because of the high charac- 

 ter of the men and women who have en- 

 joyed its practice. 



PARCELS POST ; HOW IT WOULD HELP THE 

 BEE-KEEPER AND THE FARMER. 



The following from The Ohio Farmer for 

 March covers the ground so well that we 

 are glad to place it before our readers: 



I want the parcels post so that I can send things 

 away from the farm to customers in town. I need 

 a parcels post right now, to bring riie some eggs for 

 incubation, to my door, instead of having to drive 

 seven miles over the roads that God forgot, to the 

 express office. While we are on the question of 

 eggs, don't you think it possible for the farmer to 

 send eggs by the dozen daily, while they are fresh, 

 to customers in the city, of course by parcels post, 

 and perhaps fresh " garden sass," all by parcels 

 post; or a nicely dressed chicken — by paixels post, 

 or a few pounds of honey, still by parcels post- 

 when we get It ? 



By soliciting orders by advertising in standard 

 journals, and securing customers who want fresh 

 stuflf while it is fresh, it will be possible for us farm- 

 ers to ship our produce by parcels post, in such 

 quantity as we can produce, in select packages of 

 corrugated paper, or some similar carrier, and 

 cut out the cause of the "high cost of living " at 

 both ends of the line: to the seller, by giving him 

 all the profit; and to the buyer, by making it possi- 

 ble for him to buy for less money. 



Aside from the question of the quality of the 

 goods when they reach the table in town — and 

 there is no question but that the quality would be 

 vastly better than now— the question of economy 

 must necessarily be considered first by every one. 

 Who pays the freight now ? I pay part of It, and 

 the man who eats the goods pays the rest. . . . 



I don't write for the man who has his country 

 place and gets his eggs fresh every day from his 

 own hens; but I do write for the poor man who 

 slaves along with the rent collector as a day dream 

 and the grocery bill for a nightmare. He Is the 

 fellow I am trying to aid. The parcels post means 

 that I can deliver him one dozen eggs which I guar- 

 antee fresh, on Friday morning, and they will be a 

 whole dozen. His wife won't have to throw out 

 three or five as the case may be, or one where the 

 veins are beginning to develop. 



It means I can send him a dressed chicken for 15 

 to 40 cents less than he pays for it now, and It will 

 be fit to eat, without giving his chidren ptomaine 

 poisoning. It means that three times a week I can 

 deliver to his door the whole list of his vegetable 

 marketing; and that it will be fresh from the gar- 

 den; that it will be sealed, and free from dirt, and 

 the possible contamination of no one knows how 

 many dirty hands in sorting and picking over in 



