GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



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



E. R. Root, Editor H. H. Root, Managing Editor 



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



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



VOL. XLIV. 



AUGUST 15, 19.16 



NO. 16 



EDITORIAL 



Excessive Freight on Comb Honey 



Western beekeepers having comb honey 

 to ship in less than carload lots .shonld 

 write to R. C. Fyfe, chairman Western 

 Classification Committee, Chicago, 111, pro- 

 testing the new classification effective Sept. 

 1. See editorial in last issue. 



Our Cover Picture 



In most localities an ideal place for bees 

 is that wliere there is partial shade. Dense 

 shade, however comfortable it may be for 

 the beekeeper, is not advisable so far as the 

 bees are concerned. The jjicture on our 

 cover shows three colonies kept for experi- 

 mental purposes under the shade of guama 

 trees (Inga laiwima) . In the background 

 are shown a few yucca plants. These bees 

 are part of the apiary of Rafael Vidal, 

 Mayaguez, Porto Rico, whose interesting 

 article appeared in our May 15th issue, 

 page 409. 



tree. Various species of flies and nectar- 

 loving wasps visit the honey-dew more n\\- 

 merously and constantly than do the bees, 

 and are, therefore, much more apt to be- 

 come carriers in this manner. 



I am also very sure that the apple or- 

 chardists of many surrounding states will 

 disagree emphatically with your statement 

 that blight is not to be feared to any extent 

 on apple-trees. I am sure that fifty per cent 

 of our orchardists would state very vehe- 

 mently that, for the past three years, blight 

 has been a greater threat to apple orchards 

 in Ohio than any other bacterial or fungus 

 disease or insect pest. However, I have 

 regarded this as, in all likelihood, a tempo- 

 rary condition — simply a wave that some- 

 times comes, and that, after two or three 

 seasons, subsides to its old status. During 

 the present season the amount of blossom 

 blight has hardly been beyond the ordinary 

 — in fact, I am inclined to think that, in 

 the state as a whole, it has been less than 

 ordinary. 



H. A. Gossard, Entomologist. 



Wooster, Ohio, July 27. 



The Possibility of Bees Carrying Blight 

 Germs from One Apiary to Another 

 when Trees are out of Bloom 



The following letter received from Prof. 

 H. A. Gossard, referring to our editorial 

 on page 584, will explain itself. 



I was quite interested to read your edi- 

 torial comment on my replj', and find that 

 you are again mistaken in supposing that I 

 think bees carry blight to any great extent 

 except when the trees are in bloom. How- 

 ever, it is not impossible that these might 

 carry the blight germ from one aphid colony 

 to another when trees are out of bloom, or 

 at times when bloom is scarce and the bees 

 arc very busy collecting honey-dew. Possi- 

 bly they do not visit the apple aphids to 

 any great extent for this purpose. The 

 blight germ will live for ten successive days 

 in aphid honey-dew on a leaf that is moder- 

 ately shielded from sunlight, and will sur- 

 vive even when the leaf has apparently be- 

 come perfectly dry for at least one A&j. 

 We have some evidence, not wholly conclu- 

 sive, that the germs multiply in honey-dew 

 as they do in nectar and in the sap of the 



The Ohio State Beekeepers' Field Meet 

 at Medina, Aug. 25 and 26 



It has been definitely decided by the 

 officers to liold the next Ohio field meet at 

 Medina on Friday, Aug. 25, and the morn- 

 ing of the 26th. No definite program has 

 yet been arranged. While there will be 

 palmers and addresses, the principal work 

 in hand will be practical field demonstra- 

 tions at the home yard and at the queen- 

 rearing yard among the basswoods. New 

 and modern apparatus for taking extracted 

 honey will be shown on the afternoon of 

 the first day. A power extractor, steam 

 uncapping-knife, honey-pump, and caj)- 

 ping-melters will all be shown in practical 

 operation. About a thousand pounds of 

 honey will be extracted to give one an idea 

 of the entire method of procedure. Small- 

 er machines will also be exhibited. 



An opportunity will also be given (o 

 witness the operation of bottling honey and 

 of maldng comb foundation. Arrange- 

 ments will be made to carry visitors to a 



