166 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Beekeeping Among the Rockies 



Wesley Poster, Boulder, Col. 



WILD FLOWERS IN THE FOOTHILLS IN APRIL. 



Bees located near the mountains have the 

 advantage over those out on the plains. The 

 wild flowers are in bloom in the foothills 

 during the fore part of April, and the bees 

 that reach this bloom are well sui^plied with 

 pollen, and breed up faster. 



RYE GRAHAM FLOUR FOR BEES. 



I would urge every beekeeper whose colo- 

 nies may cause the neighbors trouble in the 

 spi'ing to put out rye gxaham flour. Many 

 farmers hold a prejudice against bees be- 

 cause they frequent watering-troughs, feed- 

 stalls, etc. The beekeeper owes it to his 

 neighbors to cause them just as little incon- 

 venience as possible. One of the marks of 

 a good neighbor is neighborliness; and the 

 beekeeper can manifest this spirit by keep- 

 ing the bees so well supplied with the best 

 water easily obtainable near the apiary that 

 they will not frequent other places; and by 

 putting out flour or meal the bees may be 

 kept away from the sheep and cattle feed- 

 ing-bins of the farmers. Put out the flour 

 and water before the bees get to frequenting 

 other places. 



* * * 



SLOW GERMINATION OF SWEET-CLOVER SEED. 



The interest in sweet clover is uncovering 

 some important facts regarding the plant, 

 one of the most important of which is the 

 slow germination of the seed. That this is 

 not understood generally has been shown to 

 me by the letters received from prospective 

 customers and from others who have bought 

 seed. One man wrote to me, asking if I 

 could guarantee 80 per cent germination of 

 the seed. The chances are that very little 

 seed (if any new seed) will test that high. 

 Old seed seems to germinate better than 

 new. The amount of seed required to soav 

 to the acre could be greatly reduced if the 

 germination percentage were higher the first 

 year. The slow germination is caused by 

 the hard seed coat that is so impervious to 

 water that the seed can not sprout readily. 

 All who are intending to sow sweet clover 

 should thoroughly post themselves upon the 

 characteristics of the plant, and the seeds- 

 men should furnish all possible help also. 

 The sweet-clover bulletin by J. M. Westgate, 

 published by the Department of Agi'icul- 

 ture, Washington, will be of great help to 

 those interested. 



HOJrE-MADE BEE SUPPLIES. 



Mr. W. L. Porter diifers with me on the 

 fjuestion of home-made bee-supplies. It is 

 probable that, if we both had the same set 

 of facts placed before us, we would agree. 

 The average beekeeper can keep bees just 

 as well in a box or home-made hive as in a 

 factory-made hive; and as he makes no 

 profit to speak of from his bees he is better 

 off than if he had them in factory-made 

 hives, because he has less money invested. 

 However, the readers of Gleanings or the 

 Review, where my article originally appear- 

 ed, are not average beekeepers. I believe 

 from my observation and acquaintance 

 among beemen that the majority of up-to- 

 date beekeepers have been well satisfied with 

 their results in making some of their sup- 

 plies. No one beekeeper is so situated that 

 he can make all his supplies, and this was 

 stated in my original article, I believe. I 

 would distinguish between the average bee- 

 keeper and the average reader of the bee 

 journals. 



Most of the western beemen who make 

 any of their supplies have them made at a 

 planing-mill, so that they are only partially 

 home-made. In the actual making of home- 

 made goods there is little of it done ; but by 

 having hand or power saw the beekeeper 

 will find it a wonderful convenience. The 

 way the sun warjjs lumber in the West soon 

 makes factory and home-made hives look 

 much alike, both requiring constant renail- 

 ing and painting. 



Quite a large proportion of our most 

 successful beemen figure that it pays to have 

 some supplies made at home to their order. 

 Several beekeei^ers I know, who count their 

 colonies by the hundreds, make their own 

 and their neighbors' foundation. One of 

 them who made up several hundred pounds 

 of brood foundation last winter told me it 

 was his first e.xperience, and that it was 

 about as difficult as turning a clothes-wring- 

 er. 



Personally I do not want any homo-made 

 frames or section-holders or other inside 

 hive furniture; but I am using some hive- 

 bodies, super-bodies, covers, and bottoms 

 that are giving me as good satisfaction as 

 any factory-made goods I ever owned. I 

 have made mistakes, and always shall; but 

 \he man who can not correct his first mis- 

 takes will not make a beekeeper. 



