GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



c 



SIFTINGS 



J. E. Crane 



BOX-H I V E 

 beekeepers 

 are funny 

 things, " says 

 Edwin J. Dahl- 

 quist, on page 

 868 of June 

 Gleanings, a n d 

 the queerest 

 thing about 



them is that tliey, or many of them, don t 

 want to be anything else. 

 » * » 



I like Mrs. Boyden 's articles very much; 

 but, dear me! they make me discontented 

 and restless, and wish that I too might 

 travel to the ends of the earth. 



» * » 



That formula given by Prof. J. H. Dicbel 

 (page 363) for the prevention of bee stings 

 is certainly unique, and good to hand out 

 to our lady friends who wish to visit our 

 liome yard just to see how it looks. 

 » * * 



We get some rather choice new phrases 

 in the June number of Gleanings in Bee 

 Culture. Mr. Demuth tells us of the "spirit 

 of the hive;" Mr. Pettit of "balky colo- 

 nies" and a "take-out" colony; while Mr. 

 Greiner asks us to save the "wax dia- 

 monds. ' ' 



» * * 



Beekeeping can hardly be called an exact 

 science. A large knowledge of the habits 

 and instincts of bees, as well as their varia- 

 tions under different conditions, is necessary 

 to successful management, and yet, to se- 

 cure the best results, much will depend on 

 the good judgment of the beekeeper as to 

 the best way to treat each colony. 



Or * vf 



That method of getting bulk honey, de- 

 scribed by Dr. Parker (page 351), seems to 

 be new and a good way to dispose of ab- 

 normally thick combs. The product must 

 be fine,' if it does not granulate; and yet I 

 believe, as a rule, it will be found less work 

 to keep our bees on the line of ' ' normalcy ' ' 

 than to spend our time in cutting down 

 double-thick combs. 



What is the "spirit of the hive?" This is 

 more easily asked than answered or recog- 

 nized. We must become so well acquainted 

 with our bees by association with them that 

 we recognize their various moods and ac- 

 tions as well as we do those of the people 

 with whom we associate. We must remain 

 novices in the business of beekeeping until 

 we can catch the "spirit of the hive." 

 * « * 



Mr. Demuth informs the readers of 

 Gleanings (page 365): "The two important 

 factors in the eradication of European foul 

 brood are a good strain of Italian bees and 

 strong colonies, that is, strong in the 

 spring." These cannot be too strongly em- 

 phasized or too often repeated. But while 



1 



.Tui.Y, 1921. 



these rules are 

 followed or 

 Avhile "we a r c 

 t lying to follow 

 them, we may 

 frequently find a 

 queen whose 

 workers fail to 

 "clean up." 

 Such a queen 

 should be treated as the blacks, and replaced 

 by another. » # , 



A. C. Gilbert (page 362) advises giving a 

 new colony a frame or two of empty comb 

 with frames of foundation in order to pre- 

 vent bees storing pollen in sections. This 

 is good advice; for it not only prevents the 

 bees from storing pollen in sections but 

 often keeps them from deserting the hive, 

 as they will sometimes do if hived on 

 frames of foundation only. 

 * * * 



Jay Smith gives on page 349 as good a 

 method of rearing choice queens ns there is, 

 and one of the simplest for introducing. If 

 your queen-cells are of just the right age 

 when introduced you may have in 36 hours 

 a clioice young queen in the place of an old 

 one. If this work is done three weeks be- 

 fore the close of the honey flow, there will 

 be no loss of surplus honey. Indeed, there 

 may be more; for there Avill be a week or 

 ten days in which no brood is to be fed, 

 and a young queen will stimulate honey- 

 gathering. It will also check any disposi- 

 tion to swarm if done early in the season. 

 ^- * * 



G. A. Barbiscli (page 368) has my sym- 

 pathy for the loss of his bees by the spray- 

 ing of near-by apple trees. It is one of the 

 questions that must be worked out in some 

 sections, or the keeping of bees must be 

 given up. I believe .t different attitude 

 must be taken by some of our agricultural 

 colleges on this subject. Some years ago I 

 lost heavily from this cause. Eelating my ex- 

 perience at a gathering of beekeepers, a 

 professor, who had charge of the interests 

 of beekeepers, expressed very serious 

 doubts as to spraying ever killing bees. I 

 have wished he might have got his notions 

 from a yard of his own in t her than from 

 books or the laboratory. 

 * * * 



L. L. Andrews (page 358 ) informs us of 

 the poor flow of honey in southern Califor- 

 nia. Misery is said to love company; and 

 we have at present a poor outlook for a 

 crop of honey here in Vermont. The season 

 has been unusually early. Very little rain 

 fell during May; alsike clover bloomed June 

 first while but a few inches high; white 

 clover is blooming but little on account of 

 drouth. If these fail we have little else to 

 look to for surplus. It is an interesting fact 

 that we rarely or never get a good season 

 for honey when we have what is called an 

 "early spring." I have never known a 

 good season to follow such a spring. 



