GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Published by The A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. 



A. I. Root, Editor Home Department J. T. Calvert, Business Manager. 



H. H. Root, Managing Editor E. R. Root, Editor A. L. Boyden, Advertising Manager 



Entered at the PostoiTice, Medina, Ohio, as second-class matter. 



VOL. XLIV. 



MARCH 1, 1916 



NO. 5 



EDITORIAL 



Who can send in a good photograph of 

 an exhibit of bulk comb honey, in glass, if 

 possible for publication in our July 1st 

 issue? A subscriber requests information 

 about the exhibiting of bulk comb honey. 



get the building erected before the active 

 bee season begins. 



Of course, where ground is on a level, as 

 it is in most cases, one will be compelled to 

 use a honey-pump. 



Our Cover Picture 



The illustration on our cover for tliis 

 issue shows David Running's concrete hon- 

 ey-house, work-shop, and cellar. The en- 

 trance to the latter is in a side hill, as 

 shown — a most convenient arrangeme)it. 

 Mr. Running's description of the building, 

 with two other illustrations and plans, ap- 

 pears on another page. 



This Honey-house Number 



If the reader of these pages ever expects 

 to go into beekeeping extensively enough 

 to need a building aside from some wood- 

 shed or room in his private house, he will 

 do well to lay this number aside and keep it 

 for future reference. It contains nearly 

 every feature useful in a honey-house, bee- 

 house, or house-apiary; and at the same 

 time it shows the arrangement of the hives 

 in the yard with reference to the building. 

 Wherever possible, it is advisable to put 

 the apiary on a slight gi-ade, and the build- 

 ing on the edge of a side hill. Tn this way 

 the loads of honey, as Mr. Chadwick points 

 out, will run down grade into the building. 

 If the honey-extractor is on the side of the 

 building that stands up on stilts, the honey 

 can be run by gravity into a receiving-tank 

 below. If this is elevated above the height 

 of the wagon-box plus the height of a 60-lb. 

 square can, one can draw his honey into 

 the can and put it on the wagon witliout 

 any lifting. 



During the winter months beekeepers will 

 do well to make their plans, if possible, to 



Prospects for the Next Season's Honey 



Crop from Clover and Basswood 



Good 



Mr. Frank McNay, formerly of Maus- 

 ton. Wis., but of late -years of Pasadena, 

 Cal., I'emarked to us last winter when we 

 were visiting at his place that he thought 

 he could explain why basswood and clover 

 would yield some years and not others. 

 Said he, " If the gi-ound freezes wet there 

 will be honey ; but if it freezes dry there 

 will be no honey." This winter it froze wet, 

 and it has been staying wet in practically 

 all the clover and basswood regions of the 

 northern states. If Mr. McNay's rule holds 

 true, 1916 will be a bumper year for the 

 clovers and basswood, provided, of course, 

 no drouth sets in in the early part of May 

 and June. It is to be hoped that the com- 

 ing summer will not be exactly the reverse 

 of the last one. 



The Advantages of House-apiaries 



We would call attention particularly to 

 Mr. E. C. Barber's article in this issue 

 describing liis beehouse and workshop. The 

 house-apiary side of it shows some very 

 excellent features— features that could be 

 adopted to advantage in a house-apiary 

 containing many more colonies than are 

 provided for in this. 



_ The scheme of furnishing light and ven- 

 tilation by means of swinging sash is as 

 good as anything we have seen. When one 

 works inside of a building the bees will 

 sometimes fly off the combs and drop down 

 on the floor. By tilting the sash the bees 

 usually fly to the window and escape. The 



