GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Deckmber, 1917 



A 



MONG tho 

 many api- 



INSPECTOR W. D. WRIGHT 



an an shin- 

 ins: lights in 

 New York State, 

 W. D. Wrigiht 

 readily takes a 

 place. He has 

 been one of the 

 four state inspectors since 1900, and has 

 ]>roved himself very efficient in this work. 

 He is a man who does well and thoroly 

 whatever he undertakes, and thia neatness 

 and order shown about his apiai-y and 

 home can scarcely be excelled. I visited 

 his hom'e in company with Chas. E. St^CAvart, 

 another of New York's most efficient in- 

 spectors, who had most kindly offered to 

 pilot me about. I want to say that I have 

 had abundant testimony from widely scat- 

 tered sources, that it has been a splendid 

 thing for New York to have these four good 

 men hold office so long. Being practical 

 beekeepers themselves they have secured the 

 confidence and good will of the beekeepers, 

 by reason of the wise counsel they are able 

 to give. 



UR. WniGHT AS A BEEKEEPER. 



Mr. Wright has been keeping bees since 

 1866, beginning with his first colony at 

 the age of fourteen. From then until the 

 preseint time he has run each season from 

 one to about 500 colonies. His bees are 



A ^rief Glimpse of the Home and 



oApiaries of a Successful New York 



Beekeeper and State Inspector 



By R. F. Holtermann 



practically a 1 1 

 Italians, but he 

 does not care for 

 the golden Ital- 

 ians. Like Mr. 

 Stewart, he does 

 no fall feeding 

 except by giving 

 combs of honey 

 from the supers above. In addition to his 

 duties as inspector he has been running two 

 ajDiaiies. 



WINTERING. 



The bees are Avintered in a cellar. At 

 one time he used a bee-house above grourd, 

 and wintered successfully in tliat way. 

 However, the wall packing of the bee- 

 house gave out by rotting down, as is so 

 often the eas-e, so that towf.id spring it re- 

 quired a great deal of careful attention. 

 Mr. Wright has since resoited to cellar 

 wintering. 



He sets out the bees about April 1, the 

 exact time depending upon the weather. 

 The setting-out process is sometimes spread 

 over a week, he finding, wiiat my experi 

 ence aiuplj'^ endorses, that by s?tting out a 

 portion when the bees become restless the 

 bee-house or cellar is relieved and the re- 

 maining bees c]uiet down. 



The bees are first examined for honey 

 and queeris. If the hive is fairly heavy it 

 is taken for in'anted that the stores are 



Part of the home apiary of W. D. Vv'ritclil, Altamont, N. Y. Mr. Writ;ht has leen ;■ siu-cessful lee- 

 keopcr since 1866, when, at fourt?W years of age, he bought his first bees. He has oCtjD had a.s many as 

 600 colonies. < "3 ' <? 



