GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



ft FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



work to come to me to get a super or two, 

 or have to hive a swarm of bees, when the 

 loss of time could profitably be avoided. 

 Again, this is the logical time to read and 

 plan and make preparations for any experi- 

 ments wc may wish to make the coming sea- 

 son. The snow is piled high and the winds 

 cold, and, on these stormy days when we 

 cannot do much out-of-doors, we can occupy 

 our time to advantage in reading and plan- 

 ning and working in the shop. 



East Jordan, Mich. Ira D. Bartlett. 



* « * 



m J-ennsyiVama. ^^^ipted many bee- 

 keepers to delay unusually long in packing 

 or cellaring their bees. In many cases, those 

 who usually pack in October did not have 

 the work all done in late November, and the 

 cellaring usually done in early November 

 has been put off until the time of this writ- 

 ing (Dec. 3). There are still many bees 

 waiting for that last flight. This is danger- 

 ous practice. As soon as brood-rearing is 

 over, the bees go into their winter rest and 

 should not be disturbed. It is a bad thing 

 to put bees in the cellar before all the brood 

 has emerged and the young bees have had 

 their flight. This usually occurs in New 

 York and northern Pennsylvania by the first 

 of November. Bees should be placed in the 

 cellar at this time before hard freezing and 

 snow come. 



Outdoor packing may well be done any 

 time after the fall honey flow and before 

 brood-rearing is over. Less mixing of the 

 flying bees and less harmful disturbances 

 generally will result by placing the hives 

 in packing cases, while the weather is warm 

 and the bees are flying, than after they have 

 clustered. 



Many bee-cellars are giving better results 

 than they did four years ago. The two main 

 improvements have been higher temperature 

 and less ventilation. The cold cellar with a 

 lot of ventilation, where bees have wintered 

 badly, usually makes a good cellar by closing 

 the ventilators and providing better insula- 

 tion. 



Hundreds of new packing cases, well made 

 and heavily insulated, have been built in 

 the past summer. The quadruple case seems 

 to be in the lead, altho many very good cases 

 of other styles are seen. Some still cling to 

 the idea that a thin-walled chaff-packed hive 

 with no bottom insulation or a packing case 

 with no bottom insulation is good enough. 

 The nemesis of such beekeeping is spring 

 dwindling, European foul brood and a short 

 honey crop. 



More feeding of granulated sugar has 

 been done this fall than for several years. 

 Now that sugar is back to a normal supply, 

 beekeepers should make a regular practice 

 ef feeding about 15 poundis of sugar to qacb 



colony in October, to insure good winter 

 food and prevent the consuming of aster 

 and goldenrod honey. The goldenrod ■ flow 

 was unusually heavy this fall, and thousands 

 of colonies crowded the queens practically 

 out of the brood-nests in September. This 

 may result in a shortage of young bees and 

 in dwindling colonies in winter and spring. 



State College, Pa. Geo. H. Eea. 



* « * 



In New York. '^^^ Western New 



York Honey Produc- 

 ers ' meeting at Buffalo, Nov. 15, was not as 

 well attended as usual, about 75 being pres- 

 ent. But unusual interest w^as manifested 

 in the discussions, especially on factory or 

 homemade supplies and the marketing of 

 honey. The consensus of opinion was that it 

 does not pay the majority of beekeepers to 

 make their own supplies, considering the re- 

 cent reductions in the price of factory-made " 

 goods and that a big per cent of homemade 

 supplies are not made true, being but poor 

 substitutes, to say the best. 



The matter of marketing and the selling 

 price of honey was the real issue of the 

 day. Following a very interesting talk on 

 marketing by Mr. Marks of Silver Creek, a 

 very lively discussion occurred. The great 

 variance in prices that have obtained thru- 

 out the country has been manifest to a 

 greater or less extent in western New York, 

 and the price-cutting evil has made some 

 rather hard feelings. 



As has been customary in the past, the 

 Association thru its crop and market com- 

 mittee sent out price recommendations, ad- 

 vising beekeepers not to sell at less than 

 the recommended prices. The great major- 

 ity of members held for and received this 

 price, while a few sold for considerably less. 

 This, of course, would not have been so bad 

 had the sales been in a jobbing way, but it 

 was mostly in the retail trade. A few mem- 

 bers sold as low as 50% under the recom- 

 mendations, while others in the same neigh- 

 borhood were selling for association prices. 

 Naturally the man holding feels peeved at 

 his neighbor and brother member who un- 

 dersold him, and it is evident unless some- 

 thing can be done to eliminate this condi- 

 tion that the Association, which has meant 

 thousands of dollars to the beekeepers here 

 during the last decade and, what is more, 

 has built up a fraternal feeling among over 

 a hundred beekeepers, must suffer. I have no 

 remedy to offer, but I cannot help but notice 

 that those who are first to cut the price 

 never spend any effort or money in advertis- 

 ing. Supposing all beekeepers resorted to 

 the same tactics, what would the outcome 

 be? 



In common with beekeepers everywhere 

 w(> became interested in ahnual swr-et clo- 

 ver tmd bought as ounce o£ eeefl last sprittg; 



