July, 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



learn (and so far as The A. I. Root Co. can 

 secure information from the manufacturers) 

 remains the same as a month ago. The 

 dealers have limited stocks of five - gallon 

 cans. They don't know and cannot learn 

 whether they >can secure more. One of the 

 largest tin-can manufacturers in the country 

 writes under date of June 9, in reply to an 

 inquiry for five-gallon cans, as follows: 

 " We have sold our entire output of these 

 cans for perishable foods for this season. 

 However, if you give us some idea of how 

 many you desire, we will see what we can 

 do to accommodate you." That expresses 

 the exact situation in tin cans — acute short- 

 age and uncertainty. 



We think our advice of last month to pro- 

 ducers of honey who must ship their crop 

 was good and is good — inquire of their deal- 

 ers for tin cans; and, failing there, have re- 

 course to barrels. 



Producers of honey that granulates quick- 

 ly (alfalfa and sweet-clover honey) may 

 take hope in a new sort of " Aikin " bag of 

 paraffined heavy manila paper of a size to 

 hold five gallons and to be contained in a 

 fiber-board box. It is not expected that the 

 railroads will raise any objection to this 

 form of shipment; and the decided advan- 

 tage of it is that the paper bags and fiber 

 boxes can be shipped in the flat, greatly re- 

 ducing freight charges as compared with tin 

 boxes, and the cost of them will be from 

 one-third to one-half less than the tin. 



That is the honey-eontainer situation so 

 far as we know it today. 



ON ACCOUNT OF the winter-killing of 

 alfalfa in the middle West, the Government 

 is urging farmers to 

 WINTER-KILL- put in Grimm alfalfa. 

 ING OF ALFAL- It is suggested that 

 FA IN THE half-acre plots be tried 



MIDDLE WEST alongside of the com- 

 mon varieties. This 

 alfalfa grows without imgation with a 

 rainfall of less than 14 inches, and it is 

 said to stand a winter temperature as low 

 as 57 degrees below zero. 



Gleanings wishes to suggest that the al- 

 falfa-growers, where they have winter-kill- 

 ing, put in sweet clover. In fact, we posi- 

 tively know that in many sections of Illi- 

 nois and Iowa sweet clover is being sub- 

 stituted, because it grows more readily, and 

 because it stands unfavorable conditions 

 better. While it has not quite the food 

 value for stock that alfalfa has, it comes 

 very near it, and is much easier grown ; and 

 besides this it is a great honey-plant. This 

 is the only excuse we have for butting in 

 on Government advice to farmers. 



AS POINTED OUT elsewhere in Straws, 

 we believe we never had a year when bees 



bred up faster than 

 BETWIXT STAR- this spring, and that, 

 VATION AND too, in spite of the 



SWARMING chilly weather and a 



large amount of rain. 

 A colony that is breeding heavily uses an 

 enormous amount of stores. At the present 

 time, June 14, clover is just on the eve of 

 opening up, and our colonies are living fj-om 

 hand to mouth. Disliking to feed, we have 

 been drawing on our sealed stores. These 

 are running low ; but every day we are ex- 

 pecting an onrush of clover honey. Ih the 

 mean time some colonies are on the verge 

 of swarming: and probably, when the first 

 rush of nectar comes in, some of them will 

 come out, altho we tamed them down by tak- 

 ing awa^ from them hatching brood and 

 giving to the medium colonies. 



OUR READERS WILL be interested, per- 

 haps, in the article by E. R. Root, and 



partieulai'ly the one by 

 SWEET CLOVER Dr. E. A. Morcan, 

 AND ITS FUTURE "the ABC scholar 

 IN THE MIDDLE who grew so fast," on 

 WEST the subject of sweet 



clover and how to de- 

 velop a poor bee territory into a veritable 

 paradise for bees. The former law-breaker 

 turns out to be a public benefactor — the 

 man who sowed sweet clover and scattered 

 it along the highways. It seems to be one 

 of the very few cases where law-breaking is 

 justifiable for the good of the public. Do 

 not forget to read what Dr. Morgan says, 

 on page 515 even if you do not read any- 

 thing else these busy times. 



IT IS COMING to be generally believed 

 among the fraternity that a colony may be 



too strong at the be- 

 HATCHING ginning of the clover 



BROOD AS A harvest. Why? Be- 



COLONY cause it is likely to 



BOOSTER swarm as soon as the 



first rush of nectar 

 comes on. Operating on this theory thia 

 spring we have been taking hatching brood 

 away from the veiy strong to give it to the 

 medium colonies that are a little below par. 

 It is somewhat surprising to note what 

 " pep " one or two frames of hatching brood 

 will give to a medium colony, especially this 

 season. Our colonies this spring are of 

 more nearly even strength than ever before 

 in our history. If clover comes on proper- 

 ly, we ought to get something of a crop. 



