1012 



outdoor wintering in very cold climates as 

 well as in the milder climates is rather 

 interesting, going to show that beginners 

 and sometimes experienced beekeepers will 

 do well to follow the example of the large 

 producer. 



How Far South Should Winter Pack- 

 ing be Used ? 



For tlie last thirty years it has not been 

 considered necessary to use double-walled 

 hives or winter packing for colonies located 

 on or below the Ohio River. Dr. Phillips, 

 of the Bureau of Entomology, made the 

 remark this summer that the winter experi- 

 ments conducted by the Bureau had led him 

 to believe that some beekeepers in the South 

 might with profit use winter packing. From 

 some experiments with our Virginia bees, 

 it is apparent that colonies that were pack- 

 ed were in better condition than the same- 

 sized colonies in single-walled hives. 



When we say " packed " we do not mean 

 that the colonies must be in factory-made 

 double-walled hives. Bees can be packed 

 in straw or leaves, with a roof of boards or 

 roofing paper, very cheajDly. 



If there is any advantage in packing 

 colonies early in October and November in 

 the northern states, would there not be some 

 gain in protecting bees in the Southland 

 where the temperature goes down to freez- 

 ing and below, and where it is chilly and 

 damp off and on for at least two or three 

 months? While it is true that bees can fly 

 in many of these localities every day, that 

 very flying wears them out, and if they are 

 not taken care of properly they will soon 

 die. In a warmly jDacked hive, on the other 

 hand, they will consume less stores and the 

 brood will be protected when chilly bad 

 weather comes on. 



We are well aware that some of our 

 friends in the South will poke fun both at 

 us and Dr. Phillips ; but if they will try out 

 winter packing they may find occasion to 

 change their minds. 



Spraying vs. Beekeeping 



Probably we may look for an ever in- 

 creasing array of parasites and diseases, 

 not only on our fruit-trees but on the 

 shade-trees. The forces in nature that tend 

 to tear down are always on the increase, 

 and constant vigilance is necessary to com- 

 bat them.. This means that the beekeeper 

 must realize that spraying of shade-trees as 

 well as of fruit-trees is bound to increase, 

 and the probabilities are that bee-poisoning 

 resulting from spraying is likely to become 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



some day a serious matter in many local- 

 ities just as it is now in a few localities. 



Dr. Burton N. Gates, in charge of api- 

 culture at the Massachusetts AgTicultural 

 College, and state inspector of bees for 

 Massachusetts, has made a compilation of 

 the known instances of alleged poisbning, 

 with some recommendations for relief, in a 

 bulletin on the subject. No. lOA, under the 

 Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. 

 We believe this is the best and most author- 

 itative statement on the s^Draying situation 

 that has yet appeared. 



Dr. Gates gives numerous instances of ^ 

 poisoning that have come under his own 

 observation, and also takes from Glean- 

 ings and other bee-journals similar reports 

 from other states. A report from West 

 Newton, under date of June 16, 1915, is as 

 follows: " Each morning there are many 

 bees, sometimes 200 or more, on the ground, 

 unable to fly, but trembling around until 

 they die." Another from Middleboro : "The 

 bees come home with white lead on their 

 backs. In the morning you can see a quart 

 of bees on the ground in front of their 

 hives." 



The poison is not only in the nectar, but 

 in the pollen. Some peculiar features of 

 the situation, as pointed out on page 18, is 

 that certain colonies in an apiary may be 

 affected, while others, apparently, are not. 

 One beekeeper reporting for his locality 

 says perhaps one apiary in ten is doing 

 well. 



The remedial measures mentioned on 

 pages 18 and 19 are as follows : 



" 1. Legislation, which shall control 

 spraying practices, overcome the spraying 

 of blossoming trees, license contracting 

 spraymen, and limit the indiscriminate, in- 

 judicious, and unnecessary use of poisons; 

 the correction of mistaken state and munic- 

 ipal spraying practices. 



" 2. Educational campaign, which shall 

 correctly inform users of spray poisons and 

 reveal the errors and fallacies in current 

 spraying practices ; which shall promote the 

 welfare of beekeepers. 



" 3. Co-operation of the manufacturer 

 and distributer of spraying materials, com- 

 pounds, and apparatus might be enlisted, 

 to the end of furthering the educational 

 campaign for sane spraying practices and 

 the protection of bees. 



"4. Development of spraying compounds 

 which shall be repellant to bees. This, at 

 the writer's suggestion several years ago, 

 attracted the attention of scientists. It is 

 hoped that benefits will result, yet it must 

 be remembered that such experimentation 

 is necessai'ily of slow progress." 



