GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



deal of fear of sweet clover as a noxious 

 weed comparable with quack grass and 

 Canada thistle. In Northr.up King & Co.'s 

 catalog for 1914, sweet clover is called 

 "alfalfa's twin sister;" but at the very 

 ending of the praise and recommendation 

 of this plant occur these two significant 

 sentences : " We suggest that you do not let 



it go to seed. It can then be controlled at 

 all times." Thus if any good were done by 

 what had preceded, at the very close it was 

 all undone. If sweet clover possesses so 

 many good qualities, why be afraid to let it 

 go to seed ? 

 Cadott, Wis. 



PAINTED HIVES NOT BAD FOR GEORGIA BEES 



BY L. W. CROVATT 



At the risk of being " harpooned " by Dr. 

 C. C. Miller, and being pronounced a com- 

 mon nuisance by the editor, I want to take 

 another shot at this question of painted or 

 unpainted hives. 



Dr. Miller, in Stray Straws, p. 85, Feb. 

 1, admits that advocates of unpainted hives 

 " agree that paint is good for the hive, but 

 they think it isn't good for the bees." 



Well, now, doctor, let us see. Admitting 

 that I know nothing of climate and general 

 conditions of your locality, I am discussing 

 the question from a southeastern viewpoint. 

 As it happened, I last year had the oppor- 

 tunity to make a study of this same ques- 

 tion — the painted and the unpainted hive — 

 in my own yard, and I can say with empha- 

 sis that there wasn't the least apparent dif- 

 ference in the relative strength, conduct, or 

 storing ability of the bees in the painted 

 hives and those which were unpainted. 



This, then, would seemingly be reassuring 

 to the Southern beekeeper. The insects in 

 the unpainted hive were in no way different 

 from the bees that were housed in liives 

 resplendent with white paint. They most 

 assuredly were not enjoying any advantages 

 derived from an unpainted hive; were no 

 more energetic; did not store any more sur- 

 plus than the " fellows in the painted 

 houses," and, so far as wintering is con- 

 cerned, seem to be no better and no worse 

 off than the other colonies in my yard, and 

 we had a severe snowstorm here on Feb. 25 

 — the first since 1899. So far as I could see, 

 the health of the bees in both the painted 

 and unpainted hives was about the same, so 

 the theory advanced is incorrect — here. 



But, doctor (and I submit this as a big 

 but), you should have seen the condition of 

 those unpainted hives. Here, you know, 

 we have a damp climate, taking it as a 

 general thing. The sun shines hot, and wood 

 exposed soon begins to decay. The un- 

 painted hive-bodies had split ; " shakes," as 

 the lumbermen call the odd-appearing 

 breaks from exposure, were so thick all over 

 the outer surface that there wasn't a space 

 of half an inch free and unblemished; and 



the water, getting into these scarred places, 

 had already begun the work of decay on the 

 hives. They had turned black, and were a 

 sight to see. They had been in use for one 

 season. Painted hives to the number of 150 

 were in the same yard, and showed no great 

 wear and tear after several years' exposure. 



Xow, considering the advance in lumber, 

 which, of course, causes a corresponding- 

 increase in hive quotations, don't you thirik 

 it would be prudent to paint, when by 

 painting we may lengthen the life of the 

 hive? Would it not decrease, or at least 

 keep down, operating costs for the apiarisi.? 

 Would it not be, let us say, " good business 

 judgment " to paint, if by painting we may 

 cut down our supply costs? I confess that 

 I may, perhaps, be mercenary to a certain 

 degree; but this thing of allowing the 

 weather to rot and destroy the hives is some- 

 thing which does not appeal to me, at least; 

 and it is an established fact that practically 

 99 per cent of the beekeepers in this region 

 insist upon painting, and I assure you that 

 they do have rousing colonies. 



As a strenuous advocate of paint I also 

 want to go on record as being a champion 

 of the metal i^oof-cover. This is the cover 

 for this region, for the excelsior, gable, and 

 other devices heretofore given to the public 

 by the A. I. Root Co. have been unable to 

 withstand the climate and checking, soon 

 replaced by gaping breaks; and, inciden- 

 tally, rotting brood-frame top-bars may all 

 now be avoided by using the metal roof- 

 cover. Assuredly I paint the cover too — 

 from the under side of the telescope to the 

 last fraction of an inch of the metal cover. 



The question of paint may be another of 

 those matters covered by the expression 

 " territory or locality," but you would have 

 to talk with a mighty convincing and loud 

 voice to make any one in this section quit 

 painting hives. I honestly believe that paint 

 does not interfere with the inmates of the 

 hive " in this locality," nor is it prudent to 

 be sparing with the paint-pot and brush. 



Savannah, Ga. 



