GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTURE 



Sei'tember, 192C 



FROM NORTH. EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



tricts show that clover bloomed very abund- 

 antly in all sections of the state, but that it 

 did not secrete as was expected. Continued 

 cool weather during the daytime was prob- 

 ably the cause. In central and southern 

 Wisconsin a good deal of clover was frozen 

 out, and no crop was secured in spots except 

 from white clover. The eastern counties 

 seem to have suffered the most, although 

 within the last two weeks a light flow is re- 

 7iorted as coming in from sweet clover. In 

 Fond du Lac and Dodge counties, the clover 

 yielded fairly well. In Washington County 

 the yield was light. Eeports from Waukesha 

 and Milwaukee County indicate a poor 

 crop for that region. One beekeeper at 

 Waukesha reports bees working quite stead- 

 ily on alfalfa bloom. Basswood has behaved 

 about as usual, blooming very heavy in prac- 

 tically all sections but yielding a surplus 

 over only limited areas. Basswood trees on 

 high ground did not seem to yield much sur- 

 plus, although bees were at times quite 

 abundant on the trees. Goldenrod is report- 

 ed as coming on with a heavy bloom, and 

 the bees are starting out as though they 

 would be able to gather a surplus. 



The most important feature of Wisconsin 

 beekeeping at the present time is the reduc- 

 tion in the amount of foul brood through 

 the area clean-up campaigns being carried 

 on by the State Department of Agriculture. 



The summer outing of the beekeepers Avas 

 held at Bay Beach, Green Bay, Wis., August 

 7 to 11. As usual the beekeepers came from 

 all parts of the state, and even some from 

 adjoining states. Probably no greater array 

 of national beekeeping authorities was ever 

 present at a summer meeting. All of our 

 beekeepers expressed themselves as being 

 paid many times over for the cost of at- 

 tending the meeting. 



During September Wisconsin beekeepers 

 should be very careful to see that the bees 

 have plenty of stores for winter. In those 

 sections wlaere no fall flow occurs the bees 

 cannot help but be short as there seems to 

 be a much greater tendency to extract close, 

 and there is bound to be a longer period 

 than usual when no nectar will be coming in 

 from the field. 'This is especially true of 

 nuclei started toward the end of the honey 

 season, and many of these will surely starve 

 before fall if not given stores at once. About 

 the first of October all colonies should be 

 gone over, and those not strong enough to 

 Avinter well should bo united. 



Madison, Wis. H. F. Wilson. 



« * » 



T— TJfaK "^ ''^' c'Tuditions in northern 



Utah have been very favor- 

 able so far this season. August is general- 

 ly our best month for surplus, and all colo- 

 nies now should be strong and well stocked 

 with brood and honey. What the bees makp 

 from now on will be mostly surplus. 



The insppctnr fvoni tlie Uinta basin, wliei'O 



usually big crops are gathered, reports that 

 the solitary bees, ground bees and other 

 wild bees are so numerous that they have 

 consumed the honey resources of the coun- 

 try to such an extent that the crop there 

 will be very light. As a remedy, he ad- 

 vises plowing the ground where they live. 

 Isn't this something new? 



Utah will not raise so much honey as last 

 year, taking the state as a whole, and, as 

 all old honey has been consumed or gone 

 forward to other markets, these facts, to- 

 gether with the advanced price of sugar, 

 should hold prices as good as last year, or 

 better. While the local demand is very 

 good, honey is not moving quite up to nor- 

 mal, on account of the stringency in money 

 matters, and as yet there have been no calls 

 for carload lots. The quality, this year, is 

 very fine in body, color and flavor. Utah is 

 a great consumer of honey, and the demand 

 will increase when the farmers begin to real- 

 ize on their crops. M. A. Gill. 



Hyrum, Utah. 



• * « 



In Oregon. Early reports indicate 



^ * that the honey crop in 

 Oregon has been average, if not slightly 

 above average. This is especially true in 

 central Oregon and in the Umatilla District. 

 In the Willamette Valley the clover suf- 

 fered considerably from lack of rain and 

 yielded relatively little nectar, but consid- 

 erable nectar from the other plants has been 

 harvested of a darker and inferior grade. 

 The market seems to be about normal for 

 this time of the year, which is ordinarily 

 very quiet. 



No doubt most of the good beekeepers of 

 Oregon will remember clearly their serious 

 winter losses of the past winter, and will 

 be making careful preparations for the com- 

 ing winter to avoid a repetition of last 

 year "s fatality. However, there are many 

 Avho Avill forget, and it would not be out 

 of place to emphasize again the importance 

 of right preparation for wintering, Avhich 

 here, as CA-eryAvhere, includes a strong col 

 oiiA' of young bees, ample stores and suf- 

 ficient protection. Iii order to haA-e the large 

 force of young bees, .it must be remembered 

 that the colony must be headed by good 

 young queens AA'ith fa\-orable conditions to 

 build up a colony during late August and 

 September. Tlie importance of ha\'ing suf- 

 ficient stores sliould also be emphasized. In 

 this milder country bees naturally consume 

 a larger amount of stores than in a colder 

 section Avhere they are not enticed out so 

 frequently by fine weather. 



In addition to giAnng the bees some 

 form of protective covering, Ave must not 

 overlook the imnortance of haA'ing the 

 bees located so that they Avill not be sub- 

 ject to prevailing cold Avinds. More bee- 

 keepers than CA^er are talking Avinter pro- 

 tection, and many are making definite plans 



