162 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1920 



HEAPS"^OF GRAIN ¥ ?P QJ|ffl DIFFERENT FIELDS 



tional part of a degree. Spirit thermome- 

 ters, that is, those having red liquid instead 

 of mercury, are apt to be very inaccurate, 

 and even high-grade mercury thermometers 

 may vary as much as a degree. The certi- 

 fied thermometers for the whole scale, as our 

 correspondent says, are altogether too ex- 

 pensive. We hope, in an early issue, to 

 make some announcement of a reliable in- 

 strument for 40 to 50 degrees.— Editor.] 



Pays to Study I am enclosing a pic- 



Beekeeping, ture that I took of my 



apiary last summer. 

 The sixth hive from the left produced 300 

 pounds of extracted honey, and the average 

 was over 100 pounds. Half was comb honey, 

 and those that I run for extracted were sup- 

 plied with foundation only. This is a prairie 

 country, with the fields mostly of corn and 

 oats. Several neighbors got no honey from 

 their bees. I think it pays to study bee cul- 

 ture, if one intends keeping bees at all. 

 Lohrville, la. Chas. L. Euschill. 



Oi ■ —a ^ ocrr hs 



Wintering Well in There are very few 

 Zero Weather. regular beemen in this 



county. Colonies here 

 are strong on increase rather than on pro- 

 duction of honey. Several Idaho parties 

 buy up stands here and send them to that 

 State where the yield of honey is better. 

 I am told that out of 200 colonies Inspector 

 Johnson, living near Boise, Ida., has only 

 60 remaining colonies, the loss being caused 

 by improper spraying in his section. The 

 year 1919 was a good year for honey in 

 Washington County, the scattered beekeep- 

 ers securing 25 to 35 cents per pound, in 

 pound carton or box. Tho we had 20 de- 



grees below zero, my bees have wintered 

 well so far, with very little loss. This ex- 

 treme weather came as a surprise, since this 

 is so miJd a climate that we use no packing. 

 A water-proof cover or long shed is the usu- 

 al plan. I expect to sell my increase to 

 more unfortunate beekeepers, and have been 

 offered splendid prices. If we can 't pro- 

 duce the honey in sufficient quantities, we 

 can supply the bees in proper shape to ship 

 to the place where they can produce in pay- 

 ing amounts. Fred A. Everett. 

 Hillsboro, Ore. 



ec: 



no^er: 



Disastrous Bee Year As I predicted some 

 in Australia. time ago would be the 



case, this season has 

 proved a complete failure in Australia, and 

 in some localities it has proved a disaster. 

 Many apiaries perished of sheer starvation. 

 In my locality, which is nearly 500 miles 

 west from Sydney, there are practically no 

 bees to be found. They all perished of 

 starvation and want of water. 



The greatest pest of Australia — rabbits — • 

 died out in this district, tho two years ago 

 there were millions of them here, and they 

 were multiplying with alarming rapidity. 

 Cattle, horses, and sheep are perishing by 

 the thousands, and the country lies parched 

 and barren. There is not a blade of grass 

 nor a weed to be found in hundreds of 

 miles here, so you can picture what times 

 beekeepers are having here now. 



I have a little orchard under irrigation; 

 and, altho it is in a very sad condition now 

 for want of water, the green is still there, 

 and it served as an attraction to starved 

 beasts of the bush. Here they come in thou- 

 sands as soon as drouth begins to be felt, 





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There is a 300-pound-siu-plus colony in this Io>va apiary, 



