694 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, iS22 



State for some time, by which fruit-growers 

 are notified in advance of any unusual 

 weather conditions such as frosts during 

 the blooming period. 



No doubt this service will be extended, 

 and beekeepers will be notified in the spring 

 Avhen bees should be taken from the cellar. 

 The Weather Bureau, being able to fore 

 cast the arrival of a good flight day for the 

 bees, is in a position to tell the beekeepers 

 in advance when to put the bees out in 

 order that they may have a good flight with- 

 in a day or so after being set out. 



Honey production is more dependent upon 

 weather conditions even than is agriculture. 

 Beekeepers, as a rule, are close observers of 

 weather conditions, for their living is large- 

 ly dependent upon the weather. Those who 

 have access to the daily weather maps, pub- 

 lished by the Weather Bureau, should make 

 a careful study of these maps. It is not 

 difficult to learn to read these maps properly, 

 and it is often of great value to beekeepers 

 to know in advance what kind of weather 

 may be expected within the next few days. 

 The weather forecast given in the daily pa- 

 pers is not complete enough for the needs 

 of the beekeeper. By a careful study of 

 the weather map it is possible to learn what 

 the weather will probably be for several 

 days ill advance. 



Qc: 



.StP 



SOME time this montli bees that are to be 

 wintered indoors will be put into their win- 

 ter quarters. I n 



Putting Bees 



Into the Cellar. 



some regions the 

 proper time to put 

 the bees in may 

 come early in the month, while in other re- 

 gions the best time for putting them away 

 will no doubt be after the middle of the 

 month. In no ease should tliey be left out 

 until December. It is easy enough to lay 

 down a rule as to the exact time for putting 

 the bees into the cellar but not at all easy 

 to apply this rule. Tlie rule that has been 

 given again and again in the bee journals 

 is to put the bees away immediately after 

 their last good cleansing flight in November. 

 If it were possible to forecast the weather 

 for the entire month of November there 

 would be no trouble in api^lying this rule. As 

 it is, the best thing the beekeeper can do 

 is to have everything in readiness to put 

 the bees away early in the month, then 

 wait until the bees have had a good cleansing 

 flight. 



In this connection it should be remember- 

 ed that the bees usually do not fly freely on 

 mild days immediately after they have set- 

 tled down and become quiet for winter. Ap- 

 parently it is necessary for them to be con- 

 fined within their hive by bad weather for 

 a week or two iii order that they shall feel 

 the need for a cleansing flight. Otherwise 

 only a few bees will fly during mild days of 

 early November. However, after they have 

 been confined to tlioir hi\es for a week or 



two they become anxious for a flight, and if 

 the right kind of day comes perhaps every 

 bee of the colony goes forth in the sunshine 

 at some time during the day. 



The ideal condition, therefore, for putting 

 bees away in the best possible condition is to 

 have a couple of weeks of bad weather dur 

 ing the latter part of October and early in 

 November followed by at least one day tliat 

 is warm enough for a thorough cleansing 

 flight. Fortunately, such a day nearly al- 

 way comes some time in November, usually 

 before the 20th. When it does come and the 

 bees have had a good cleansing flight the 

 temptation is to leave the a out a week or 

 two longer, hoping they will have anot.ier 

 cleansing flight before confining them in the 

 cellar, but apparently there is no advan- 

 tage in leaving the bees out another week, 

 even if a good flight day should come later. 

 In fact, if the bees have enjoyed a thorough 

 cleansing flight and are put into the cellar 

 at the right time they should be better off in 

 the cellar where they will remain quiet tlian 

 if left outside to waste their energy in an 

 additional cleansing flight, provided of 

 course they are supplied with the best of 

 stores so that they will not need another 

 cleansing flight until they are set out in 

 March or early April. Another mistake that 

 is often made in putting bees into the cellar 

 is that of putting them away early in No- 

 vember after they had had only a partial 

 cleansing flight. As already pointed out 

 above, apparently the bees must first endure 

 some confinement by bad weather in order 

 to put them in condition to desire a cleans- 

 ing flight. 



Usuallj' the next day after the bees have 

 had a thorough cleansing flight in November 

 the weather turns cold, and this is the ideal 

 time for putting the bees away. They should 

 be carried into the cellar at once before the 

 hives become covered with snow. A tem- 

 perature of 35 to 40 degrees is ideal for car- 

 rying the bees into the cellar, and a cloudy 

 day is better than a clear day for this 

 work. 



MANY beekeepers who sell their honey lo- 

 cally have printed on their labels "From 



the apiary of" 

 What the Law or ' ' Produced 



Requires on Labels, by." A number 

 of i u q u i r i e ■ 

 have come to tliis ofiice recently asking if 

 these same labels can be used when the bee- 

 keeper purchases honey from so ne one else 

 to supply his market after his own crop has 

 been sold. To state on the label that the 

 honey is from the apiary of .Tohn Jones, if 

 Jolin Jones buys the honey from some one 

 else would be misleading and in the eyes 

 of the law no doubt would be construed as 

 misbranding. Likewise to state that the 

 honey was produced by John Jones when it 

 was produced by some one else would be 

 misleading and tlierofore contr.-iry to law 



