G I, E A KINGS IN B E E C U L T U K E 



OCTOBliR, 1917 



GLEANINGS FROM THE NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST 



THE e X - 

 tremely hot 

 s u m m e r , 

 with nearly an 

 entire lack of nectar in the sage districts, 

 has made requeening almost out of the 

 question. Most of my colonies have not 

 been requeened, and there is little hope for 

 requeening this fall, as conditions are about 

 as bad for the work as could be imagined. 



* * * 



Comb-honey production is becoming less 

 and less attractive as people become ac- 

 quai' ted with the extracted. Personally 

 I prefer the comb for my individual use; 

 but I have a daughter v/ho says she does 

 not see any use " in chewing all that wax " 

 and I guess she is about correct. 



* *■ * 



If the thoro drying-out of the sage is 

 favorable for a future heavy flow of honey, 

 we should have no fears on that line, for 

 the hot weather of the past three months 

 has given it a thoro drying without a doubt. 

 The best flow I ever saw followed a season 

 of extreme dryness, with little rain the 



previous winter. 



* * * 



The twelve-frame iiive would be ideal for 

 those beekeepers who are prone to extract 

 too closely, from the fact that they come 

 very much nearer to supplying winter needs 

 by the extra size of the brood-chamber when 

 the surplus chamber has been heavily drawn 

 upon. This size of hive has many advan- 

 tages any way; and were it not that they 

 are so cumbersome to handle I should pre- 

 fer them to the ten-frame size. 



* * # 



Some very disastrous grain and brush 

 fires have recently occurred. Inc-endiaiy 

 origin is gi\en as the cause of at least a 

 part of th?m. There is a class of people 

 who believe they can best protest aganist 

 war activities by destroying food materials. 

 Such persons should be summarily dealt 

 with. The fact that these very persons 

 when caught are the first to claim pro- 

 tection of the laws they violate, leaves 

 them but little sympathy from the public. 

 A vast amount of damage has already been 

 done to the pasturage by these fires, and it 

 would almost seem advisable for the bee- 

 keepers to take some united action in bring- 

 ing g-uilty parties to justice. 

 » * * 



A shell fired from a gun will not 

 travel so far in air heavily charged with 

 moisture as in air containing very little 



IN CALIFORNIA 



P. C. Chadwick, Redlands, Cal. 



moisture, which 

 is due to the 

 g r e a ter I'esist- 

 tance of the 

 heavier air. It is possible this same in- 

 fluence may have something to do with the 

 distance bees will fly in diffeient localities. 

 It is well known that the aii' on the coast 

 and mountain arid region is much lighter 

 than that of the East. If it is true that 

 bees fly further here than in the East, the 

 lighter air may be tlie reason. 

 * * * 



A colony of bjcs may be compared to an 

 animal. When the animal is sleek and fat 

 it is a coiu^jaiatively easy task to keep it 

 so with proper feeding. A colony once in 

 a prosperovs condition is more easily kept 

 so by providing an abundance of stores to 

 meet all requirements without skimping. I 

 sj^eak of this thinking especially of condi- 

 tions that jirevail in the sage districts where 

 there is comparative inactivity during the 

 summer months, and often until the follow- 

 ing spring. I am satisfied that a large hive 

 well filled with honey is in itself a factor 

 in keeping up the strength of the colony. 

 It I'equires more bees to protect a large luve 

 and greater stores than it does a smaller 

 hive with no stores to protect. Besides, a 

 hive of larger propoi'tions will allow com- 

 fort for a greater force of bees than a 

 single section would for the same amount 

 of bees. If the beekeeper wishes to prove 

 this theory, take two colonies of equal 

 strength at the close of the honey - flow. 

 From one of these remove all supers, leav- 

 ing only the brood-chamber for the colony. 

 Give the other the brood-chamber and two 

 extracting-supers well supplied with stores, 

 much of which should be sealed. Honey 

 sufficient for immediate requirements is not 

 enough. Additional stores and extra bees 

 to protect them are an incentive to heavier 

 breeding. The condition of a queen may, 

 of course, alter the situation to some ex- 

 tent ; but I am supposing the colonies are 

 in normal condition. My bees have gath- 

 ered less than their requirements since the 

 first of July, yet my strong colonies on 

 which was left a large amount of stores 

 are still prosperous. Those with less room 

 and less stores have assumed a condition in 

 proportion to the amount of bees required 

 for the hive protection and no more. I 

 conclude that the amount of stores avail- 

 able, together with the amount of bees re- 

 quired to protect such stores, furnishes the 

 only incentive for breeding in the total ab- 

 sence of nectar. 



