Decembee, 101? 



GLEivNiKGS IN BEE CULTURE 



931 



TWO EXTREMES CLOSE TOGETHER. 



If " the time to study wintering is in the 

 spring'," then the time to study " s^jringing " 

 may be the winter. And that we expect to do 

 somev.'liat in the next few months. Some- 

 how the spring sets the keynote for the sea- 

 Sion. Tl determines which is going to be 

 boss — the beekeeper or the work — order or 

 disorder — care or neglect — beauty or ugli- 

 ness. We have with us this month tlie pic- 

 tures of two backlot apiaries. Notice the 

 contrast. The baekyarcl that was so utterly 

 overgrown with weeds was very unattracr- 

 tive; but it isn't just a question of looks. 

 The neglect that allows hives to be so choked 

 in weeds is pretty apt to be an indication 

 of the neglect that allows lots of other 

 things. 



The owner of that weedy beeyard bought 

 Iwo colonies in 1914. He has increased to 

 three. One of these is so weak it will scarce- 

 \y be able to come thru this winter. This 

 will leave him where he started. He has no 

 extra hives, no smoker, no tools. He 

 bought quite a supply of sections, but no 

 foundation. " I fixed up their little boxes," 

 he explained, " and put 'em in, but I reason- 

 ed that wild bees make honey without any- 

 body givin 'em any wax to start it with, and 

 these could too." So they did. And you 

 can guess what it looked like. He has had 

 about thirty pounds, all told, for his fam- 

 ily. What is still worse, he is satisfied with 

 this. True, he hasn't much of a location, 

 and there have been no really good seasons 

 for years, yet it's hardly that bad. Of 



course he has no boolis, and subscribes to no 

 journal. 



Tlie other yard is only about a block 

 away. Tn 1013 the owner bought one hive 

 and " A B C and X Y Z of Bee Culture " 

 and subscribed to Gleanings. The next 

 year he bought five more colonies and has 

 now twenty-five. He has an extractor, un- 

 capping-can, a goodly supply of supers, 

 containers, foundation, and necessary tools. 

 He has taken off about twelve hundred 

 pounds of honey all together, and realizes 

 keenly how little it is. While he knows his 

 location isn't very good, he hopes to im- 

 prove his methods until he can obtain better 

 crops. And he will. You can see from the 

 picture that the hives are well painted and 

 in good condition. The gTass around them 

 is kept clipped. So are the queens ; tho, for 

 tliat matter, he says that he has had only 

 two swarms and no winter losses at all 

 (in Tennessee, too!). 



Speaking of crops, a local sidelmer ask- 

 ed me today Avjiat beelceepers meant when 

 they said they averaged forty pounds, or 

 twenty, or a hundred. I told lum I wished 

 I knew. When they say they average forty 

 pounds, spring count, I do know. When 

 they say their producing colonies average 

 forty pounds, I do know. But when they 

 just say forty pounds, it leaves us guessing. 



A dashins; young beeman today 



Got married, and all his friends say 



He surely can't mean 



To usher this queen 

 To her home by the starvation way. 



f tsMMiiiJyr^T'".^/!'' M/m*'!! "'f2?A><fe:*'|« 







Quite hidden in the weeds are the 7ieg!e<ted colonies shown in the first picture. The entrances to the 

 hives are utterly lost in the tangle. The view at tho right sho'WS part of a well kept back yard apiary scarcely 

 a block from the other. . 1 I > i i 



