GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



this side up." And thus all thru. It was a 

 liberal education to the inexperienced and 

 farmer beekeepers. 



You may be interested to know that it 

 was an exhibit by the educational section of 

 a state body. The supply men may rise to 

 the occasion some time — perhaps when they 



have a smaller variety of hives and things. 



* * * 



Mr. Chadwick, in the August loth issue 

 for last year, expressed doubt as to bees 

 making' but ten trips a day. Then lie pro- 

 ceeds to cite the great activity of bees work- 

 ing- on a bait. I wrote to him, calling' atten- 

 tion to the fact that bees robbing — working 

 on " bait "- were not working normally as 

 we all know. He replied by referring to 

 their activity during a heavy honey-flow. I 

 will admit that sometimes a secretion of 

 nectar may be so gTeat as to cause bees to 

 be unduly industrious; but I will at the 

 same time repeat that bees average but ten 

 trips a day. This estimate of their labors 

 was arrived at independently by several ob- 

 servers in this country, and by at least one 



abroad. To this statement Mr. Chadwick 

 replies that it is not possible to mark a bee 

 so that said marking will not interfere with 

 its normal actions. Unfortunately for him 

 the facts contradict his belief. A little suit- 

 able color can be put on the thorax so that 

 the bee does not even notice its application. 

 He may reply that, even so, it does have its 

 effect on the bee. This was taken into con- 

 sideration long ago, and was proved to be 

 without basis bj' comparing the actions and 

 trips of bees thus marked with those of bees 

 of special colors in colonies of a different 

 color, as goldens among blacks, etc. Be- 

 liefs, supiDositions, and prejudices go down 

 before facts. But the gist of the whole mat- 

 ter is this : Bees are not making as many 

 trips as the whirl and confusion before a 

 hive suggests, and are not as busy as leg- 

 ends have it, whether their daily average be 

 ten or twenty trips, so it behooves us to 

 have as many bees as jiossible in each col- 

 ony — a condition which will be furthered 

 by good combs and prolific queens produc- 

 ing vigorous, long-lived bees. 



Distribution of Bee Inspection in Colorado 



COLORADO 



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Tlie squares indicate liorticultiiral inspectors; the circles, bee inspectors. 



By statutory provision, 1909, the Profes- 

 sor of Entomology of the college is State 

 Entomologist charged with the horticultural 

 and bee inspection of the state. He is as- 

 sist erl by deputy horticultural inspectors in 

 thirteen counties, and a deiiuty who is state 

 bee ins2)ector with deputies in 19 counties. 



In addition to their regulatory duties, these 

 men give a good deal of their time to 

 spraying demonstrations in fruit districts 

 of the state, and lectures, printed matter, 

 and peronal visits to the fruit-growers. — 

 From the Colorado Agricultural College 

 Series 15, No. 8. 



