Fbbruarv, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



91 



Avind and low temperature make the out- 

 side of the hive, notwithstanding it is sur- 

 rounded by six inches of packing and ten 

 inches on top, colder. It ic apparent, also, 

 that the two inside walls of the hives will 

 be warmer than the two outside walls. 

 Practice, in the case just mentioned, bears 

 out the theory that the four hives placed 

 in a group will have two inside walls that 

 will be warmer than the two outside walls. 

 Notwithstanding the zero weather and a 

 pretty stiff wind, the clusters undsr the 

 glass were not drawn up tight, but seemed 

 to be perfectly comfortable and quiet. In 

 one or two cases, where the clusters were 

 evidently small in the fall, the ball of 

 bees seems to be drawn together more 

 tightly. 



The moral of this is that bees in quad- 

 ruple cases will have only two exposed sides 

 while in regular double-walled hives they 

 will have four exposed sides to the weather. 



ONE OF THE LARGEST producers in 

 New Jersey told how he wintered his bees 



in asphalt - bar- 



WIXTERIXG 



BEES IN 



BARRELS 



rels, which he 

 secures at a very 

 low price. He 

 lays the baiTel 

 on its side on a regular hive-stand, pushes 

 his eight-frame hive back into the barrel, 

 and then stuffs packing material all around 

 the hive and in front, leaving a passageway 

 for the entrance. 



Not a bad idea. The same principle 

 could be applied to cracker-barrels or other 

 barrels that one can secure cheaply. They 

 would need a covering of roofing-paper to 

 keep out the rain. 



Incidentally it may be remarked that a 

 I en-frame hive won't go into an ordinary 

 barrel unless the end of the barrel is cut 

 off a few inches. Rather than do this an 

 effort should be made to secure larger bar- 

 rels. 



MR. E. 

 spector 



G. CARR, State Foul-brood In- 

 of New Jersey, reported that a 

 good many fail- 



ly SPEC TING 

 THE 



JIAN 



ed to 



make a 

 success of the 

 A 1 e X a n der or 

 Miller treatment 

 foul brood because of the 

 as to what constitutes a 

 Mr. Alexander, Mr. Carr 

 pointed out, laid particular stress on hav- 

 ing the colony strong. If not strong, it 



for European 

 misconception 

 " strong colony. 



was to be doubled up with some other 

 colony until it was strong. " Dr. Miller," 

 .said Mr. Carr, " evidently has very strong 

 colonies or else he could not produce such 

 crops of honey as he does. A good many 

 beekeepers think that a four or five frame 

 colony is strong. It should have," he said, 

 " at least five frames of brood and six 

 frames of bees; and it will be a great 

 deal better if the hive is boiling over with 

 bees." 



When we asked Mr. Carr the question 

 whether he recommended the Miller ten-day 

 queenless condition or the Alexander 27- 

 day condition, he said, " That depends on 

 the man. Before I recommend either treat- 

 ment I inspect the man. If he belongs to 

 the Dr. Miller class I tell him that ten days 

 of ciueenlessness is enough. If he is out 

 of that class I advise him to keep the hive 

 queenless twenty-seven days and follow ex- 

 actly the plan recommended by Mr. Alexan- 

 der. If he is of the careless, ignorant cla.ss, 

 and the disease far advanced, I advise him 

 to burn the whole hive. It is very impor- 

 tant to inspect the man before prescribing 

 treatment." 



THIS HAS ALWAYS been a perplexing 

 question; but for the years 1917 and 1918 



it is still more^ 

 COMB VER- perplexing — it 

 SUS EXTRACT- is momentous if 

 ED HONEY not serious. 



Whether one 

 should drop the production of comb honey, 

 in view of the present market conditions, 

 and produce extracted, is a matter that 

 should not be settled too hastily. There are 

 many factors, national as well as local, that 

 should be carefully considered before a final 

 decision is reached. We feel that it would 

 be hardly wise or safe for us to make any 

 recommendations as yet; but a careful sur- 

 vey of conditions may enable the intelligent 

 reader, at least, to reach his own conclusions. 

 The editor has just returned from an 

 extended trip thru the middle West and thru 

 the East. We not only kept our eyes and 

 ears open to see and hear everything we 

 could get hold of, but we interviewed pro- 

 ducers, large and small, and the large buy- 

 ers in various markets, and here are some 

 of the conditions that we have met : 



1. First and foremost, we may say 

 there is a general demand for all kinds of 

 extracted honey. At first the market was 

 chaotic. It gradually began to recover 

 itself, so that now extracted honey is 

 scarce and prices firm. We positively 

 know that agents are scouring the West 



