May, 1921 



G li E A N T N G S IN BEE C IT T. T U R E 



283 



c 



a 



ur 



IT almost 

 t a k OS 111 y 

 breatli away 

 to think of a 

 colony of bees 

 consuming 200 

 pounds of hon- 

 ey, as stated in 

 an editorial on 

 page -203 of 



April Gleanings, and yet it would seem to 

 be not far out of the way. If such is the 

 case (and I can not doubt it), we see the 

 necessity of keeping as few unproductive 

 colonies as possible. 



* * * 



Carl C. Johnson, on page 218, gives an 

 excellent method for finding a queen. How- 

 ever, we prefer a light box, a little larger 

 than a brood-chamber, set up on legs about 

 12 inches from the ground, with queen-ex- 

 cluding honey-board or zinc nailed to the 

 bottom. It is a great time-saver. 



That "Automatic Feeder," mentioned on 

 page 216 by Geo. S. Demuth, is an idea not 

 only worth remembering but putting into 

 practice. It has two distinct advantages 

 over other feeders: It will feed a colony 

 just as it needs feed thru the spring, with- 

 out further attention from the beekeeper; 

 and, when the feeder is no longer needed, 

 the bees will fill it ready for next year. 



The value of lime iri producing clover is 

 mentioned on page 20_. There has been 

 quite a little difliculty in getting farmers 

 to use it about here, even when lime dust 

 was offered for nothing by a marble-crush- 

 ing plant near where I live. The action of 

 lime is so slow that it does not seem to be 

 appreciated by the mass of farmers. Alsike 

 clover will grow on land containing bat lit- 

 tle lime, and even on land somewhat acid. 

 The cultivation of this clover should be en- 

 couraged to the utmost. 



It does one good to read the article by 

 E. E. Boot on "The Call of the South- 

 land," which gives both sides, the advan- 

 tages and the disadvantages of a southern 

 climate. Too often only one side is given, 

 and many are the disappointments that fol- 

 low. How many new things do we find in 

 traveling thru a section of country that we 

 thought we knew all about by reading! It 

 is, I believe, much easier for most writers 

 to tell of the nice things of any section, 

 especially if it pleases them, than to tell of 

 the unpleasant things. 



The season for spraying is again at hand. 

 I wonder how many States have laws for- 

 bidding the spraying of fruit trees when in 

 bloom. Dr. A. L. Melander treats this whole 

 subject very fully on pages 210, 211. His 



SIFTINGS 



J. E, Crane 



3 



lU 



d e s c ription of 

 the effects of 

 poison on the 

 bees is quite 

 true to our ex- 

 perience. I be- 

 lieve the loss to 

 the country as 

 a whole to be 

 much greater 

 than generally supposed. We have lost hun- 

 dreds of dollars from this cause. Fruit- 

 growers, as a rule, do not yet seem to ap- 

 preciate the value of bees in their orchards, 

 and quite too many have not yet learned 

 the remarkable value of the Golden Eule. 

 As Dr. Melander suggests, ' ' Corrective leg- 

 islation will afford the quickest benefits to 

 all." 



* * * 



On page 217, Miss Josephine Morse sug- 

 gests Milkol as a cheap and effective repel- 

 lent to be used with poison sprays where 

 there is danger of poisoning bees. Should it 

 prove from further use as effective as 

 claimed, I am sure she will earn the grati- 

 tude of beekeepers everywhere. Let us 

 test it very carefully this season. It would 

 not seem to be difficult to do so. Dilute a 

 small quantity of honey with water, say 

 one part of honey to three of water, set this 

 where bees will work on it freely for one 

 day, and next morning set some out with 

 Milkol added in the proportion of one pint 

 to 100 gallons of the spray. Can Miss 

 Morse tells us where it can be obtained? 

 And while we are about it, we might try 

 other repellents, such as carbolic acid or 

 lime-sulphur solutions. 



* * * 



That is an interesting article by Morley 

 Pettit, pages 204-206. I do not, however, 

 agree with him as to why smoke quiets 

 bees. I should put it in a little different 

 way, and would say, ' ' Smoke causes fright, 

 and fright takes away all disposition to 

 guard their hives. ' ' Fear makes cowards 

 of us all. Few are the creatures that can 

 entertain two conflicting emotions at the 

 same time. The frightened horse forgets 

 years of careful training and rushes wildly 

 away — often to its own destruction. Even 

 a frightened army is half beaten. In a very 

 interesting old book, which I possess, I have 

 read how one, Gideon, took 300 brave men, 

 each carrying a trumpet, a lamp, and an 

 empty pitcher, and crept up to a mighty 

 army. Then they smashed the pitchers and 

 with the trumpets sliouted, "The Sword of 

 the Lord and Gideon." That great army 

 of Midianites were frightened out of their 

 wits, and ran like a flock of sheep, or a 

 colony of bees before the blast of a Jumbo 

 smoker. Sometimes we find a colony so 

 brave and heroic that smoke does not 

 frighten the bees. What then 1 Why, we 

 are sometimes the ones to run. 



