MAV, 1917 GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 383 



beiiis: onr preference.) We replied, "Not ino- rain, will almost warp a railroad rail! 



jn Floridr-." Our hot boiling sun in sum- We want tn)vers that last a lifetime — and 



mer, following close on the heels of a soak- longer. 



1 i t e ring 



AMONG THE ROCKIES 



this yeai'. 

 A year ago she 

 was with us in all her loveliness; but as 

 yet, April 6, we can scarcely say she has 

 arrived. The bees are getting ready for 

 her, and breeding is going on at quite a 

 satisfactory rate. Some hives have four 

 frames of brood and ar^ spreading rapidly. 

 The maples are in bloom, and dandelions 

 are beginning to appear. There is an abun- 

 dance of snow, and we should be able to 

 have all colonies ready for the harvest in 

 June, July, and August. Tho.se who are 

 contemplating using the Alexander plan of 

 increase may succeed ; but the season is so 

 late that it may not prove successful. 



GRANULATION OF COMB HONEY. 



We read of beemen who are changing 

 from comb to extracted honey production. 

 Perhaps we can explain this partly by the 

 fact that comb honey has been so subject to 

 granulation. The granulation of Western 

 comb honey is a serious indictment of it. 

 This may all be averted with a little dili- 

 gence. The honey must be shii^ped early, 

 sold early, and consumed early. This can 

 best be clone by having all cases nailed in 

 advance, all cartons ready, and the selling 

 plan outlined in advance. There is no rea- 

 son why the comb-honey crop may not be 

 sold before being harvested. This is true 

 of the walnut crop — it is sold before the 

 walnuts are off the trees. The power of 

 advertising is capable of doing this, and 

 ad\ertising will solve the question of gran- 

 ulated comb honey. By advertising, the 

 comb honey of the Ignited States can be 

 marketed before there is any chance for 

 granulation. 



DANDELIONS. 



Editor Root says on page 252, April, 

 that dandelions yield little or no honey. It 

 would be interesting to hear reports on this 

 from various parts of the country. Here 

 in Colorado dandelions yield honey — some- 

 times in abundance; and whenever they are 

 plentiful some honey is gathered. It is 

 common for the hives to be filled with dan- 

 delion honey, and a few beekee^^ers have 

 extracted dandelion honey and put it on the 

 market. Many seasons have I seen sub- 

 stantial amounts of dandelion honey stored 

 in tl'e brood-chambers, and not infrequent- 

 ly have the bees stored and finished dande- 



Wesley Foster, Boulder, Colorado 



lion comb honey. 

 Most of the dan- 

 d e 1 i o n honey 

 stored, however, 

 is consumed in the hive during the interval 

 following fruit-bloom and before alfalfa 

 yields nectar. But dandelions are more 

 loved by beekeepers for the nectar secured 

 than is fi'uit-bloom in many localities. We 

 can get surplus from dandelions if we want 

 it — not every year, but often. 



WINTER LOSSES. 



Losses are heavy in w^estern Colorado, 

 running close to 25 per cent. Eastern Colo- 

 i-ado has been more favored — the losses be- 

 ing negligible. Take Colorado as a whole, 

 we may reasonably exjiect a crop unless too 

 many unforeseen obstacles arise. The high 

 price of hay will cause early cutting of the 

 alfalfa, and better farming everywhere will 

 be i^racticed, which works against the in- 

 terests of the Western beekeei^er. Sweet 

 clover growing on land unsuit-able for cut- 

 ting is one of our main stays. Greater al- 

 falfa acreage will be sown in the next few 

 years. Colorado has about five hundred 

 thousand acres of alfalfa; and when that 

 acreage is increased to a million acres, our 

 bee jDopulation can be increased a half, 

 anyway. * * « 



From present indications there will be a 

 serious food shortage in the United States 

 this year, and honey will reach an exalted 

 figure. The beekeeper who does not bestir 

 himself will be the loser. Our duty is to 

 produce ! produce ! How many tons are 

 you good for*? With sugar at $10 per 

 hundred, and maple syrup selling at $2.25 

 per gallon, should not extracted honey bring 

 12 to 14 cts. wholesale"? 



* * * 



Now about the queenless colonies of good 

 streng-th — just send to some queen-breeder 

 for a dozen or so queens and have a few^ on 

 hand at all times for the needy colonies. 



* * * 



With bee-supplies selling at the prices 

 now asked, what chance is there of being 

 able to increase honey prices commensurate 

 with the increased cost 'of production? 

 The cost of supplies is now almost double 

 what it was fifteen or twenty years ago, and 

 the price of our honey has not doubled as 

 yet. We may see the i:»riee doubled soon, 

 however. 



