896 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Iowa, although, like its cousin, S. orhicula- 

 tus, it is probably well known all over the 

 State, particularly in the southern part. 



While this plant has but three bunches of 

 flowers the 0. orbiculatus may have five or 

 more, and the berry is redder (coralberry). 



S. occidentaUs is a good honey-plant, but 

 the bees will not leave white clover for it. 

 When clover fails, as it did in 1912, '11, and 

 *10, the bees will store from it; and while 

 its season is short at such times it yields 

 well in drouthy weather. It is called buck- 

 bush and buckbrush here. The honey is 

 white and of fine flavor, hardly to be distin- 

 guished from white clover. 



I wi'ote to our State Botanist for a tech- 

 nical description, which I enclose: 



Buck Grove, Iowa. 



Snowberry (Symphoricarpos racemosus Michx.). 

 An upright shrub with oval short-petioled leaves, 

 downy underneath, and entire on the young branche-s ; 

 wavj--toothed or lobed; flowers in a loose and some 

 ■what leafy interrupted spike at the end of the 

 branches ; flowers white, tinged with rose color, 

 corolla bearded on the inside ; berries large, white ; 

 ripen in the autumn. This species is widely dis- 

 tributed from New England to Pennsylvania, to 

 Minnesota. The species found in Iowa is Symphori- 

 carpos occidentaUs. It sometimes goes under the 

 name of wolfberry. It is a more robust plant. The 

 flowers occur in loose terminal and axillary spikes. 

 The corolla is very hairy within, but the same color. 

 In Wisconsin and Minnesota the plant occurs in 

 rocky ground. In western Iowa, where it is most 

 abundant, it occurs on the loess soil. 



There is a third species which is common in 



The snowberry, also called " buckbush " and 

 " buckbrush." 



southern Iowa and southwest, called the Indian 

 currant, or coralberry (Symphoricarpos vulgaris), 

 or sometimes buckbush. It blooms for a long time, 

 and probably yields considerable honey. 



Ames, Iowa. L. H. Pammel. 



SHALL I BUILD MY OWN HIVES? 



BY R. J. W. 



I have read very little in Gleanings 

 about building hives and apparatus at 

 home ; but I am sure it is not because our 

 editors are interested in selling them to us. 

 I knoAv of ho journal that prints less free 

 advertising than Gleanings. In our agri- 

 cultural papers, poultry journals, and home 

 papers, we find many contributions gotten 

 up in good form, and treated in an able 

 manner; but we find in the end that if the 

 prices and postoffice address are not tacked 

 on they may be found in a conspicuous 

 place in the next issue. As I wanted to 

 increase my apiary by about twenty stands 

 I picked up a catalog and began to figure. 

 I came to the conclusion that if the fac- 

 tories are getting rich it is because factory 

 methods beat hand methods by just about 

 as much as their profits and freight amount 

 to. We often see the statement made that 

 factory goods are more accurate than home- 

 made supplies. My hives are just as accu- 

 rate and true as any factory hives. I use a 

 Barnes circular saw, and have plenty of 



wood-working tools, and am satisfied with 

 the quality of my hives, and I know any 

 one else would be; but what did I save by 

 making them \\\) at home? I can figure my 

 work at $1.00 a day, and come out just 

 about even. Will I do it again? Oh, yes! 

 because I am a farmer, and can work for 

 $1.00 a day in very bad weather in the 

 winter, and because I enjoy the work. 



I could have made these hives in half the 

 time, and out of lumber that cost half as 

 much. Then would I have saved half? Not 

 much. I would have lost it all, for my 

 apparatus would have been a misfit, and 

 would have been worse than useless. 



If the factories are charging you exorbi- 

 tant prices, getting rich fast, and making 

 you poor, get out of your business, and get 

 into theirs, and get rich too. Factories can 

 raise the prices of goods just so high; but 

 when they reach the limit you can manu- 

 facture your goods yourself; or if you are 

 unable to do it, hire some one who can to 

 do it for you. 



