1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



651 



any form. The izal, however, checks in- 

 fection and finally destroys the enemy. 



Right here I wish to state emphatically 

 that the bees in Europe generally are no 

 more immune than those in America or else- 

 where. No bees are more troubled with the 

 complaint than our common native variety, 

 and none so helpless when they have it. 

 Bees imported from Carniola or Italy, with 

 us, just as they may be with you, are better 

 able to subdue it. Selections can, however, 

 be made that will enable the bee-keeper to 

 work with such improved stock as will be 

 practically immune. These bees will hold 

 their own against any complaint during the 

 busy season; and, if occasionally failing 

 during the trying springtime, will always 

 respond immediately upon receiving the 

 slightest assistance 



In a future paper I propose to give par- 

 ticulars of experiments that will prove of 

 interest to all who have suffered from the 

 ravages of foul brood. None but convinc- 

 ing practical demonstrations will be offered 

 by me. 



Broomham, England. » 



INTENSIVE BEE-KEEPING. 



Alexander's Article on the Care of Bees Not 



so Good for a Locality Having an Early 



Honey-flow. 



BY J. RIDLEY. 



On page 1237 Mr. Alexander tells how to 

 obtain the best results from 100 colonies of 

 bees. His method in brief is: 



1. Stimulative feeding from the time the 

 bees are taken from the cellar about April 15. 



2. Dividing the colonies, making two of 

 each, about May 26. 



3. Giving the queenless colonies two cap- 

 ped queen- cells each. 



4. About the last of June dividing these 

 latter colonies, making two of each, thus 

 having 300 colonies ' ' in good condition for 

 any harvest that commences after July 4." 



It may seem presumptuous on my part to 

 criticise so able and successful a beekeeper 

 as Mr. Alexander; but to safeguard the in- 

 terests of Minnesota bee-keepers, and cau- 

 tion them to "go slow" in experimenting 

 alorg the lines suggested, I offer the follow- 

 ing for their consideration: 



At the recent meeting of the Minnesota 

 Bee-keepers' Association, held in Minneapo- 

 lis, Mr. Lamont was on the program for a 

 paper. Instead of preparing a paper him- 

 self he read from Gleanings the article of 

 Mr. Alexander. Quite a discussion of the 

 article followed, and it was the general (and 

 I think the unanimous) opinion of those 

 who took part in the discussion, that, while 

 that method would probably be all right in 

 Mr. Alexander's locality in New York, and 

 similar localities where a large part of the 

 honey flow is from buckwheat and other 

 late honey producing flora, it would not be 

 a success here. 



The reasons given as to why it would not 

 be successful here, briefly summarized, were 

 as follows: 1. Our springs are too late and 

 cold for such stimulative feeding as was 

 recommended. From April 15 to May 15 we 

 are apt to have a good deal of cold freezing 

 weather, especially at night; and if one un- 

 dertakes to increase brood-rearing by stim- 

 ulative feeding, unless he is extra careful 

 he will have a lot of chilled brood. 



2. If one followed that method, and in- 

 creased from one colony to three, he would 

 be likely to have three weak colonies that 

 would store but little if any surplus honey. 

 Best results are obtained "in this locaHty" 

 by preventing increase as much as possible, 

 making each colony strong in bees. One 

 strong colony will store more surplus honey 

 than three weak or medium ones. 



3. In many localities in this State the 

 principal honey-flow is about over by July 4, 

 when, according to Mr. Alexander's method, 

 one would be just ready for it. But little 

 buckwheat is raised, and in many sections 

 none whatever, and a late honey-flow can 

 not be depended upon. Last season there 

 was practically none. Some localities have 

 basswood, but that often fails to yield hon- 

 ey, so that bee-keepers have come to put 

 their main reliance for honey on white clo- 

 ver, which is generally at its best from 

 about June 15 to July 4, so we need to have 

 our colonies strong for storing honey by the 

 middle of June. 



4. There is but little demand for bees. 

 The profits from the sale of the colonies in- 

 creased is hardly worth considering as a 

 factor. One would hardly get more than 

 enough to pay for the hives. 



There is no doubt that we fail to give our 

 bees the attention they require in order to 

 obtain the best results. We practice too 

 much the slipshod method. As many farm- 

 ers skim over too many acres without giv- 

 ing thorough cultivation to any of them, so 

 bee-keepers are apt to keep more bees than 

 they can properly care for. We should 

 study the conditions that prevail in our lo- 

 calities, and strive to adapt our methods to 

 those conditions. Uncle Sam's farm is very 

 large, and has an almost unlimited variety 

 of soil and climate; and what will grow and 

 thrive and be a success in one part will 

 prove a complete failure in another. 



Monticello, Minn. 



[There is no question but locality does 

 have a very strong bearing on the success 

 or failure of the various plans that have 

 been recommended ; that is to say, a method 

 that may work in one place might prove ut- 

 terly inadequate in another. Mr. Alexander 

 has already spoken of the peculiar condi- 

 tions in his locality; and in one or two foot- 

 notes I have referred to the same thing, 

 suggesting that possibly one or two of the 

 plans under consideration would not work 

 in localities where the season closes by Ju- 

 ly 1. Taking it all in all, your suggestions 

 should be carefully considered by those who 

 have local conditions like your own.— Ed.] 



