952 



GLEANINGS T X BEE C U Ij T U R E 



Decemt.'^r, 1917 



but that its ravages eve beinci: considerably 

 mitigated. 



There was a discussion on the sulsject of 

 honey as a food, on the afternoon of the 

 first day, led bv E. R. Root. In the evening 

 Mr. Frank Pellott, of Atlantic, la., deliver- 

 ed a very instructive illustrated address on 

 ^'Beekeeping North and South." Mr. Pellett 

 is the author of a nu>:ibcr of books, and a 

 writer of articles for magazines and papers 

 and also a lecturer. 



On the following day there were Eo:ne 

 spirited discussions on outdoor wintering. 

 J. W. Rowcn claimed tiiat bees can be win- 

 tered in regular suiTuner hives without the 

 need and expense of packing in liis iocality. 

 He not only claims it but does it year in and 

 year out. This called forth a lot of dis- 

 cussion which was finally wound up by the 

 majority favoring packing of some sort. 



In the afternoon Mr. Dadant presented 

 some rather conclusive arguments in favor 

 of IVv-inch spacing as against 1%. His 

 main reasons for adopting this size were the 

 reduction in swarming, a larger winter- 

 flustering space, a larger amount of stores 

 in the brood-nest, and a greater mobility of 

 combs. 



It was naturally expected that a repre- 

 sentative of one of the bee-supply factories, 

 in the person of E. R. Root, would combat 

 Mr. Dad ant's claims. Mr. Root surjirised 

 tlie audience by saying he was afraid Mr. 

 Dadant was right, but urged that the 1%- 

 sjiaced Hoffman frames would be spaced, 

 after they were covered with bee-glue, near- 

 ly l^^; in^^l^- from center to centei'. 



Dr. A. C. Baxter, the newly elected presi- 

 dent, is a live wire if there ever was one. 

 He is a man who knows how to go after a 

 legislature and get what 1:j asks for. He 

 not only knows how, but gets it. The Na- 

 tional Beekeepers' Association will do well 

 to employ him as a lobbyist down at Wash- 

 ington, D. C. He has a personal manner- 

 ism that seems to carry everything before it 

 irrcsrstibly. He would make an excellent 

 president for the next National. The bee- 

 keej^ors of the country may rest assured 

 tliat he would make things come to pass. 

 This is no reflection on the former officers. 



Dr. Baxter was elected president and Jas. 

 A. SLone was elected secretary. 

 » # * 



Mr. L. E. Mercer, one of the most ex- 

 tensive beekeepers of Southern California, 

 died at the Bard Hospital in his home town, 

 Yentura, Cal., on Oct. 21, of acute nneu- 

 monia. The deceased was born in Zanes- 

 ville. 01iio, June 14, 1846, but later lived in 

 Illinois and Iowa, and in 1883 removed to 

 Ventura. He w^s fi beekeeper before mak- 



ing his home in southern California, and at 

 tlie time of his deatli his four apiaries in 

 noi'thern Los Angeles County c-mtained 

 more than 1000 colonies. He had ' racticed 

 the moving of bees quite extensi' ';ly. Of 

 late years he had made it a practif f^ to move 

 his bees down to the orange-gro'cs of Los 

 Angeles County for an early crop and back 

 to the mountains at Castair for the sage, us- 

 ing a large motor truck in movinc. He will 

 be gri'eatly missed in Californ^'n bee conven- 

 tions, not so mueli for his formal speech- 

 m.aking as for liis genial friendliness and 

 numerous little wrinkles and ideas passed 

 around in talk fashion between sessions. 

 He \va< an ingenious inventor; and a num- 

 ber of ideas, later patented bv other people, 

 were first put into use by Mr. Mercer in his 

 apiary. One notable example of this is a 

 popular and effet've wax-press. He is 

 deeply mourned by all who kneAV him as a 

 kindly, just, and honest man. 



* * * 



West Virginia is coming to the front as a 

 bee territory. It is reported that bee dis- 

 ease is under entire control as the result of 

 work done by Chief Inspector C. A. Reese, 

 of Charleston, and his assistants. Kennith 

 Hawkins, of the IJ. S. Department of Agri- 

 culture, h.as spent a month in that state 

 making a survey of beekeeping conditions in 

 ten counties and has secured the pledge of 

 about fifty beekeepers to act as demon- 

 strators in winter-packing methods in co- 

 operation with Ihe county farm agents, and 

 these beekeepen; are expected to continue to 

 act as demonstrators of better methods in 

 beekeeping next summer. Vast stretches of 

 tulip, poplar, basswood, sourwood, and 

 gum exist in the state, mostly in quite in- 

 accessible mountain regions, wliere over 90 

 per cent of the bees are in box hives. Re- 

 ports of 100 pounds per colony from log 

 gums have come in from reliable sources, 

 indicating what can be done in bee cultura 



in West Virginia. 



* * * 



Tlie annual meeting of the Northern Illi- 

 nois and Southei-n Wisconsin Beekeepers' 

 Association was held in Freeport, 111., on 

 Oct. 16. A fair number of members attend- 

 ed who reported a poor honey crop thruout 

 the association's territory, and that there 

 are light stores for- Avinter. The officers 

 elected were: President, N. A. Kluck. of 

 Ijena, 111.; Vice-president, S. M. Mulnix, 

 of Lena, Til.: Secretary ana Treasurer, B. 

 Kennedy, of Rockford, 111. 



* -J.' * 



The Northern Wisconsin Beekeepers' As- 

 sociation will hold its annual meeting on 

 Saturday, Dec. 29, at the courthouse at An- 



