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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



June, 1917 



winter losses in some of the northwestern 

 states, the extra bees of this state should 

 be disposed of to the beekeepers of those 

 states. A movement is already under way 

 thru the State Entomologist's office to 

 make an inventory of the possible amount 

 of bees that will be offered for sale under 

 such conditions. Orders have been invited 

 from the above-mentioned states, and it is 

 hoped that Dr. Phillips' idea — not an idle 

 bee in the United States — will be partly 

 realized in the movement. 



INSPECTION FUNDS TO BE CUT. 



It is to be regTetted that the special ses- 

 sion of our legislature, now convened, is in 

 such a retrenchment mood. Reports indi- 

 cate that the funds asked for by Director 

 Youngblood, of the Experiment Station, 

 for foul-brood-eradication work will be cut 

 at least 50 per cent. In making his esti- 

 mates Director Youngblood presented to the 

 legislature the least amount that could be 

 expected to carry forward the work prop- 

 erly. It is hard for some to see the wisdom 

 of leaving such an industry as beekeeping in 

 Texas with such little protection as the 



legislature is inclined to give. In these 

 days of great conservation of food what 

 can keep better returns than to make it 

 possible for the bees to gather more nectar 

 which is otherwise lost? 



MYSTERIOUS DYING. 



There has been reported a peculiar case 

 of bees dying in large quantities in the 

 western section of the state. In one case 

 of twelve colonies, almost every bee in the 

 hive died in one yard in sixteen hours; but 

 in this yard, at the same time, there were 

 eighty other colonies in good condition. 

 At this time apparently there was nothing 

 for the bees to work on. It is stated that 

 the bees acted as tho jooisoned, tho in some 

 cases they appeared to be paralyzed. In 

 1912 a similar complaint was received, and 

 some investigations were made in the affect- 

 ed apiaries. One of the owners stated 

 pcsitively that a neighbor had placed calo- 

 mel in a tank where the bees were in the 

 habit of getting wateir. This year the 

 trouble ended as mysteriously as it started, 

 as was the case in 1912. 



AMONG THE ROCKIES 



Wesley Foster, Boulder, Colorado 



THE bee- 

 keeper who 

 has cour- 

 age, credit, and 

 common sense will be the winner this sea- 

 son. While the advance in supplies has 

 been sharj:). the advance in the price of 

 honey has been almost as pronounced. 

 What is nesf^ed is every hive full of bees. 

 On account of severe losses this will not be 

 accomplished; in fact, the West is very 

 short on bees this season. The losses have 

 been heavier than reported in the May bee 

 journals, and prices secured will be some- 

 what higher than some figures mentioned in 

 our May journals. 



The greatest asset the West possesses is 

 the lateness of the main honey-flow. This 

 enables the colonies to become populous and 

 store large amounts in the aggregate, but 

 scattered over two months or more duration. 

 An unsatisfactory location is one where the 

 heavy honey-flow comes on very soon after 

 the bees have come out of winter quarters. 



When our honey-flow comes in July and 

 August, we have May and June to build up 

 our colonies. The later the flow, the better 

 the crop, especially if the flow keeps im- 

 proving as the season advances. 



This season is very late — so late, in fact, 

 that the losses are not over with at this 



writing (May 

 7). We have 

 just had nearly, 

 two feet of snow 

 following a honey-flow from dandelions. It 

 is still cold, and our losses cf colonies will 

 be heavy. Many colonies of fair strength 

 have already succumbed and more will fol- 

 low. With a large amount of brood to care 

 for, a colony's resistance to cold seems to be 

 very small. 



COMBLESS PACKAGES OF BEES. 



With the poor season reported fiiom 

 Texas, it is possible for the Texas beekeep- 

 ers still to make some profit this year by sell- 

 ing bees to the Rocky Mountain beemen. 

 By the time this is read, doubtless thousands 

 of i^ackages Avill have been sold in the 

 mountain region, where tlie losses have been 

 more generally heavy than for years past. 

 The first ten days in May were frightful, 

 snow and cold chilling much of the brood 

 and destroying many, if not all, of the weak 

 colonies. The bees were gathering nicely 

 from dandelions a few days previous! 



If our beemen have sufficient funds or 

 credit so that all hives could be refilled, it 

 would naturally increase our crop, but 

 probably less than half of the hives will be 

 filled this year in spite of the good prices as- 

 sured. Honey-producers are more discour- 



