582 



keepers in Utah, Colorado, and elseAvhere, 

 Avhere the smelter fumes are said to have 

 ruined or are ruining the beekeeping indus- 

 try, are asked to communicate with Louis 

 Minor, Smithville, Ontario, Canada, who 

 seems to be handling the case for the bee- 

 keepers. 



Of course, it goes without saying that the 

 smelter people will endeavor to show that 

 the loss of bees was due to some other cause 

 than the fumes. Indeed, their attorney has 

 written to us asking for particulars regard- 

 ing bee paralysis and Isle of Wight disease. 

 The presumption is that the defense will 

 endeavor to show that the decimation of 

 bees is due to one or the other of these two 

 diseases. But they will have to show, also, 

 of course, that it is in the locality. 



The fact that the big smelters of the West 

 settled with the beekeepers in the sum of 

 $60,000 would seem to indicate that the Salt 

 Lake Valley smelters acknowledged the 

 damage rather than fight it out in the 

 courts. 



This case in Ontario will be a hard-fought 

 one, as both sides are preparing for a big 

 battle. Gleanings will be glad to give its 

 readers the benefit of any developments that 

 may come up, with a summary of the pro- 

 ceedings, and the final verdict if any. 



niiMiMiiHHiiiiiniiitmi 



Honey-crop Conditions and Prices 



A CAREFUL sui-A'ey of the United States 

 government weather maps, showing the 

 weather conditions and the amount of pre- 

 cipitation thruout the clover belt of the 

 country, and the reading of reports as they 

 oome in from subsci'ibers all over the 

 country, indicates that a crop of clover 

 honey is probably assured. How large this 

 crop will be it is a little too early to esti- 

 mate. This is the way reports are coming 

 every day, " Bumper crop of clover honey ;" 

 "heaviest flow in years;" "best ever;" 

 " seems like old times ;" " the oldest inhabi- 

 tant never saw a white-clover crop at all 

 comparable to that which exists around here 

 this year," etc. In fact, we have not seen 

 an unfavorable report from any of the 

 clover districts. There is yet from ten days to 

 two or three weeks of bloom in sight. Many 

 report one super filled, and bees at work in 

 others. The flow from clover is a little 

 slow, but steady when weather conditions 

 are at all favorable. The excessive rains, 

 according to the aforesaid government 

 maps, have let up, and in their stead we 

 have hot weather with occasional thunder- 

 sliowers — just enough to keep the clovers 

 in good condition and to stimulate new 

 bloom. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



There is a possibility and even probabil- 

 ity that 1916 will go down as one of the 

 biggest years for the production of clover 

 honey that we have ever had. 



Two or three years ago we had come to 

 believe that the natural lime in the soil had 

 become exhausted, and that there would 

 never be as large a yield of clover honey as 

 there had been in the old-fashioned days; 

 but the heavy precipitation last year and 

 tlie early part of this year would seem to 

 indicate that the scarcity of clovers in dis- 

 tricts was due not so much to lack of lime 

 as to insufficient moisture in the soil. 

 Abundant rains have put clovers back to 

 their old prominence, and reports every- 

 where say the fields are white. 



We had a call from Mr. R. F. Holter- 

 mann, of Brantford, Ontario, Canada, the 

 largest honey-producer in Canada, and one 

 of the largest in the United States. Said 

 he, " If you think you fellows on your side 

 of the line have good clover you ought to 

 come over on our side." 



While naturally conservative he believes 

 he is going to have a good crop. Some of 

 his very best colonies have two 12-frame 

 supers of extracting-combs filled already, 

 and he estimates that there is two weeks of 

 clover still in sight. 



Reports are rather meager and scattering 

 for Colorado ; but early in the season it was 

 reported that there had been sufficient snow 

 in the mountains to insure a crop of alfal- 

 fa. Prospects are good in Nevada and 

 Idaho, and there will probably be as much 

 of northern- grown alfalfa as formerly. But 

 in New Mexico and Arizona, and southern 

 California, the yield of alfalfa has sudden- 

 ly slumped, particularly in Imperial Valley, 

 where the beekeepers are somwhat discour- 

 aged over the situation. There has been 

 from a light to a fair yield of mountain, 

 sage, but probably not enough to supply 

 the general demand. In northern and cen- 

 tral California the yield has been fair. 



The season has been exceptionally good 

 in Texas, and is starting up a little in some 

 of the southern states. Conditions in the 

 early part of the season in Florida were 

 unfavorable, but are improving according 

 to a late report from the southern part of 

 the state. 



PRICES. 



This is a rather dangerous subject, as it 

 is impossible at present to give any idea 

 how prices will rule this year. They will 

 probably be easier than last year in spite 

 of the sharp advance of sugar. The fact 

 that the housewives of the country are boy- 

 cotting the sugar trust in all the, large cities, 

 and turning to other forms of sweet, partic- 



J 



