NOVEMBER 1, 1916 



contract advertising space and diminish the 

 bulk of GLEANINGS;, j^roviding this can be 

 done without injustice to our readers. So 

 it happens that there is " less and not less " 

 in Gleanings this number, and the same 

 condition is likely to prevail in the next 

 several numbers of our magazine. 



Honey-market Conditions and Prices 



There is not much new to report except 

 that the market seems to be imiDroving some. 

 In some localities, it seems to be fully as 

 high as last year. In other localities the 

 price is a little easier. The reader is re- 

 ferred to our honey-market quotations in 

 this and previous issues. 



While in the extreme West the season was 

 far below expectations, and while the yield 

 was a low average in Colorado in the early 

 part of the year, conditions improved later 

 on. The shortage of honey in Montana, 

 Idaho, California, and particularly in the 

 Imperial Valley, was enough to pull down 

 the general average of the West. Had there 

 not been a large yield of honey in the East, 

 particularly in the clover regions, prices 

 would have materially stiffened over those 

 of last year. 



As is usual, beekeepers are making the 

 mistake of shipping their honey late. Car- 

 loads of comb honey are yet to be sent by 

 rail. The danger of breakage when the 

 weather is cold or freezing, the danger of 

 starting initial gTanulation, the danger of 

 breaking the market when all of these ship- 

 ments are unloaded at once, and unexpect- 

 ed, are things that cannot be and should not 

 be overlooked. Buyers remembering past 

 years' experience, particularly that of last 

 year, become disgusted when these late ship- 

 ments pour in when they should have come 

 in soon after the crop was taken off the 

 hives. 



Importance of Windbreaks for Good 

 Wintering 



We have already, in times past, spoken 

 of the importance of windbreaks for pro- 

 tecting bees wintered outdoors. If we had 

 to choose between windbreaks and single- 

 walled hives or double-walled hives out in 

 the open, we would unhesitatingly choose 

 the former. We have learned here and 

 about Medina that unless we have a screen 

 of woods, hills, or farm buildings, we are 

 likely to have some heavy losses, even tho 

 the bees are packed in double-walled hives. 

 Time and time again we have noticed that 

 colonies that are exj^osed to a sweeping 

 wind will suffer very much more than colo- 



nies in the same yard that are protected by 

 bushes, trees, buildings, or anything that 

 shuts off piercing winds. 



Those who are expecting to winter their 

 bees outdoors should not forget the impor- 

 tance of a good location for the beeyard. 

 A windbreak is almost as important in 

 early spring and late fall as during winter. 

 In the s^Dring, colonies well protected will 

 fly out to gather some pollen or nectar, 

 while those exposed to high winds will not 

 venture out. We have seen many instances 

 of this in several of our yards. One year 

 in particular the bees of the out-apiary on 

 the side hill, screened on the north, would 

 work on apple-bloom while those on top of 

 the bluff, exposed to the winds, stayed in- 

 doors. Those protected built up faster than 

 those exposed. 



Quadruple Winter Cases vs. Cellars 



There seems to be quite a strong move- 

 ment in Canada toward wintering colonies 

 in quadruple winter cases with a liberal 

 amount of packing rather than to put the 

 bees in a cellar. It is claimed that the out- 

 door bees are ready for a harvest before 

 those wintered in a cellar. This is because 

 bees outdoors start brood-rearing earlier; 

 and early breeding is important providing 

 the brood-nest is well protected by packing. 



The time was when cellar wintering in 

 Canada was almost universal. While there 

 are some who still prefer to winter indoors, 

 the beemen of Canada now seem to be work- 

 ing over toward the outdoor plan. 



What is good for Canada may be equally 

 good for those of us who are located south 

 of the Great Lakes. While cellar wintering 

 has never been practiced to any great extent 

 in most localities in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 

 yet the tendency today is more and more 

 toward the outdoor plan. The ideal bee- 

 cellars are few and far between. If the 

 temperature in a cellar can be uniform at 

 about 45 or 50, and the atmosphere pure, 

 bees will winter well; but if the temperature 

 is variable, going down to freezing and at 

 other times going up to 60 or 70, as it does 

 in many cellars, the bees will become un- 

 easy, and half or two-thirds of them will 

 have dysentery before spring. On the other 

 hand, when bees are well housed outdoors, 

 variations in temperature do not affect them 

 so adversely. Even if they do start brood- 

 rearing, the very fact that they are able to 

 get a flight every now and then enables 

 them to keep themselves clean. If cellared 

 bees become uneasy, they will worry them- 

 selves to death or contract dysentery. 



The fact tliat the tendency is toward 



