GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



November, 1922 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



writing look like spriugtime with their cov 

 eriug of late dandelion and white clover. 

 Heartsease is yielding fine, as well as some 

 alfalfa. Asters are being worked, and the 

 bees are still getting something from the 

 late sunflowers and a lot of other late fall 

 flowers. While we had hoped for some sur- 

 plus from the fall flowers, I doubt if we 

 get it. However, the honey flow on now is 

 very beneficial, as it has started the queens 

 to laying, and there will be an abundance 

 of late emerged bees to go into winter quar- 

 ters. Some of the hives have as much as 

 five or six frames nearly filled with brood, 

 while the rest of the brood-chamber is being 

 filled with the late nectar. 



Most of the crop of honey produced here 

 is extracted, selling for 35 to 50c for a pint 

 jar. Some produce in shallow frames, get- 

 ting one dollar a frame, and many produce 

 in the tall section on the old-fashioned Bald- 

 win hive (American frame, nine to the 

 brood-cliamber). This style of hive, how- 

 ever, is passing out, and being replaced with 

 standard equipment, as the owners of Bald- 

 win hives find it difficult to dispose of their 

 equipment when they want to sell. Road- 

 side selling is a great help in disposing of 

 the local production, but does not nearly 

 supply the demand. New York honey is sold 

 here as well as honey from Los Angeles, 

 Cal. There is one producer here Avho has 

 built up a very nice business supplying the 

 grocers with comb honey in double-tier 

 cases. He has removed the entire front of 

 the case, replacing it with a one-piece sec- 

 tion of glass, which he has neatly secured 

 around the edges of the case with heavy 

 gummed paper in strips that the grocers use 

 to bind packages. This exposes all six sec- 

 tions to the best advantage, and when placed 

 on a piece of mirror makes it look like two 

 cases of sections. 



The problem of wintering is met in many 

 different ways here. Some winter on the 

 summer stands, with empty supers on top. 

 Others pack in winter cases. Some use the 

 Buckeye hive with 100% success, others 

 pack with 12 inches of straw in the back 

 and sides, leaving the fronts exposed but 

 fill the super with straw, and provide a 

 windbreak with fine success. One producer 

 in Fort Scott, Kan., winters his bees in the 

 cellar with 100% success. He is from Illi- 

 nois. Many are learning to supply ample 

 stores in the fall for winter and spring. A 

 live association has been started here, the 

 Heart of America Beekeepers, and an elec- 

 tion of officers will be held at the next meet- 

 ing in October. Live topics are discussed, and 

 speakers well up in beekeeping are eagerly 

 listened to. Much good is being accom- 

 plished in better beekeeping and methods 

 of eradicating disease. A good program is 

 being nrr;inged for the next meeting. 



Kansas City, Mo. James B. Drury. 



In Ontario ^^^^ latter part of Sep- 

 tember here in Ontario was 

 unusually warm and very dry for the time 

 of year. This made the job of taking off the 

 buckwheat honey crop a much easier one 

 than in some years, since the extractor 

 worked more nicely than in cool weather. 

 On the other hand, it meant careful work 

 at the apiaries to avoid robbing. In placing 

 supers above escape-boards, it was remark- 

 able how the bees could find some little open- 

 ing that we would sometimes fail to see. 

 However, buckwheat honey was cheap; and 

 as there is no disease at any of the yards 

 where we used escapes, no particular worry 

 was occasioned by the fact that we had 

 about half a dozen supers robbed out, among 

 about 1000 that were escaped. 



This reminds me of a note in October Glean- 

 ings from Morley Pettit, in which he states 

 that when they wish to feed for winter, 

 they place the supers above the escapes, and 

 then the following day take food to the 

 yard, and at the same operation or at the 

 same time they remove the supers and haul 

 them home on the return trip. I fear he 

 would not have been 'able to do that in our 

 York County apiaries during the last two 

 weeks in September. Our bees will not clear 

 out of the supers in 24 hours in the fall sea- 

 son. We have about 600 bee-escapes, and in 

 the lot all kinds are represented that I know 

 off, including the Porter and other well- 

 known escapes, and also several in which the 

 cone principle is used. No matter what kind 

 was used, the bees were from two to three 

 days leaving the supers this fall, while in 

 the clover honey flow they were generally 

 out if left over night. As to loading up hon- 

 ey and feeding in the yard at the same time, 

 there would have been "something doing" 

 in our yards this fall if we had tried it; 

 for, as despatches used to say during the 

 late war, there was a "certain liveliness" 

 apparent when we loaded up with honey 

 during that warm weather, no matter how- 

 careful we were and no matter how fast we 

 worked. During the hottest weather when 

 we were removing the buckwheat honey, the 

 boys by choice several times left home be- 

 fore daylight and got their load from the 

 apiary before the bees were stirring much, 

 and then got another load late in the even- 

 ing. It was quite possible to get a load 

 any time, but nuudi more pleasant to be 

 there early and late. 



Owing to so much work in getting off the 

 late crop, feeding with us is later than 

 usual, and at this date (Oct. 10) we have 

 just nicely' started. However, with the 

 feeders on hand, we can soon feed a good 

 many tons if necessary, so we are not wor- 

 rying. 



While I am at it, I might as well state 

 that T find things much different in anotlier 

 matter of practice than friend Pettit does. 



