1010 



influential beekeepers in the country. A 

 full sketch of his life will be given in our 

 next issue. 



Our Cover Picture 



The picture on the cover shows one of the 

 big irrigation ditches in southern California 

 that has transformed what was formerly one 

 of the great American deserts into one of 

 the most productive localities in the world. 

 Imperial Valley now contains four million 

 acres under cultivation, with two million 

 more that will be made available as soon 

 as some of these big ditches can be built 

 thru them. 



It is one of the most fertile spots in the 

 United States. The soil is deep and rich, 

 and in-igation has supplied the one thing 

 lacking — water. As alfalfa is one of the 

 main crops it follows that beekeeping is 

 an important industry. Usually bees fol- 

 low where irrigation is opened up. 



Unfortunately there have been two poor 

 seasons in Imperial Valley; and, unfortu- 

 nately, it is already overstocked with bees 

 and beekeepers ; but when those two million 

 acres are opened with some of these big 

 ditches there will be more room for bee- 

 keepers. 



Wintering Bees in Cheap Cases 



At our Strongsville yard, we have win- 

 tered bees very nicely by putting the hives 

 about four inches apart in long rows, and 

 crowding straw between the hives around 

 them and on top. No straw was placed in 

 front of the hives. Boards or roofing paper 

 placed on top and at the back keep the 

 packing dry. The plan answers very well 

 in lieu of more expensive and (we may say) 

 better winter cases. 



The objection to it (and it is quite a 

 serious one some open winters) is the 

 drifting of the bees. The strongest colonies 

 are apt to draw from the weaker. When 

 the entrances are so close together, bees do 

 not properly mark their locations. When 

 the weather outside warms up, and the sun 

 shines, and bees are out flying, they are apt 

 to join the entrance of the strongest flyers. 

 This makes the weak weaker and the strong 

 stronger. We have observed the same ten- 

 dency with the quadruple winter eases, but 

 not to the same degree. 



Size of Entrances During Winter 



This question is frequently asked. Ac- 

 cording to Dr. Phillips they should be con- 

 tracted down during chilly weather, and 

 still more during very cold weather. When 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



we raised the question as to whether these 

 smaller entrances will not clog up with dead 

 bees he came back by saying that, if the 

 packing was ample, bees would not die on 

 the bottom and lie there; that the hive 

 would be warm enough so that the otliers 

 could carry the dead out and dump them 

 in front. 



It has been our practice to contract the 

 entrances at our outyards, which we do not 

 visit except at long intervals, to 6 by ^4 

 inch. Then once and sometimes twice dur- 

 ing the winter we send a man to the yards 

 to rake out any dead bees at the entrance 

 passageways. While we have been winter- 

 ing in these large winter cases with six 

 inches of packing all around, and ten inches 

 on top, we find a good many dead bees in 

 the entrance passageways. 



Are Your Bees Packed for Winter? 



It will not be many days hence in the 

 northern states when there will be snow 

 with cold and piercing weather. The ques- 

 tion is often put, " Have you put your bees 

 away for winter? " The cold raw winds in 

 November sometimes do a colony more harm 

 than zero weather later on. Dr. Phillips, 

 of the Bureau of Entomology, reports that 

 a high wind of moderate cold will cool off 

 the interior of a hive more than a still air 

 considerably below freezing. We have 

 found the same thing true in our own yards. 

 Colonies that are wintered outdoors, and are 

 not packed, suffer considerably; and if 

 there is any brood in the hive when the 

 temperature suddenly drops, it may become 

 chilled. Wherever it is practicable, colonies 

 should be packed in the fall as early as 

 possible. As long as any asters or other 

 fall flowers are in bloom, bees that are to be 

 placed indoors should be left out till all 

 bloom is gone. 



Right here, colonies packed outdoors in 

 October, or, better yet, in September, will 

 fare much better than those in single-walled 

 hives, subject to frequent changes of tem- 

 jDerature and high piercing winds — espe- 

 cially winds that blow up into the en- 

 trances. 



Less and Not Less 



There are fewer pages in this number of 

 Gleanings than in former numbers, but not 

 less reading matter. By restricting the ad- 

 vertising space as much as possible we are 

 able to give Gleanings readers as much 

 bee lore as usual in fewer pages. We do 

 not expect this size of Gleanings to be 

 permanent ; but in the exigency of a very- 

 much overworked printing-plant we shall 



