876 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



supers so well, extending down the sides of 

 the hive, and allowing free ventilation 

 through it, that they pleased me very much. 

 Where such barrels, already used, can be 

 obtained they can be used admirably for 

 smaller apiaries at least. 



At Pearsall, Texas, J. N. Long uses shade- 

 boards that not only protect the top of the 

 hives but the west side of them. Fig. 2 

 shows only a small part of his yard. The 

 drawing shows the details of construction, 

 with the top swung back when work with 

 the hive is being done. This is a rather ex- 

 pensive "shade- board;" but Mr. Long is so 

 well pleased with the results that he uses 

 them extensively. 



Protection on the west side of the hives is 

 very important in Southwest Texas, where 

 the afternoon sun strikes the hive- side with 

 great fury. Unless protected the combs 

 next to the wall often melt down, so that 

 some bee-keepers set loose boards against 

 this side of the hive. 



CowcrsatioDs 



with 



])ooIittlt 



pollen; temperature. 



"Doolittle, do you read Gleanings?" 



"Yes, Mr. Jones, I do. That is, I read 

 all during some time of the year. During 

 the busy season with the bees I often skim 

 over its pages, and then make it a general 

 reading later on, during the fall and winter, 

 so as to be sure that I missed nothing in the 

 skimming process. But why did you ask 

 such a question?" ?(^*°5 



" I wanted to know if you read Dr. Miller's 

 Straw in the June Ist number, where he 

 speaks about bees gathering pollen, and the 

 editor's reply thereto." 



"Yes. I read that." 



"Well, which do you think was right— 

 Dr. Miller or the editor?" 



"I think you are trying to get me into a 

 fuss with the two authorities in bee-keeping, 

 are you not?" 



"No. I am anxious to know which you 

 side with, and whether you decide as I do," 



"But you know that localities may differ, 

 and what will hold good here in York State 

 may not in Illinois or Ohio. Dr. Miller may 

 be right for his part of Illinois, and E. R. 

 Root for his part of Ohio." 



"I had not thought of that part of the 

 matter, and there I may have been wrong. 

 But which do you find is right compared with 

 your experience in your locality?" 



"I find that Dr. Miller's experience as 

 given in that Straw on page 716 of June 1st 

 Gleanings corresponds almost exactly as I 

 find things here. ' ' 



"And that is mv case also; and when I 

 read what the editor said in his comments 

 on Dr. Miller, 1 fell to wondering whether 

 he was as close an observer as he might be, 

 where he speaks of bees gathering almost 

 no pollen during the honey- flow from white 

 clover. Don't your bees gather pollen dur- 

 ing the honey-flow from white clover?" 



"They certainly do." 



"What is the color of this pollen?" 



"Mostly a sort of greenish-yellow brown, 

 or very nearly the color of the short*"stiff 

 hairs which form the baskets on the bees' 

 legs for carrying the pollen. In the early 

 morning they carry pollen from the sorrel, 

 buttercups, etc., that is of a light color; but 

 from ten o'clock on during the rest of the 

 day they carry little save that from the 

 clovers which are in blossom at this 

 time. ' ' 



"That is exactly as I find things. And do 

 you not suppose E. R. Root has failed to no- 

 tice this clover pollen because it is so rear 

 the color of the pollen-baskets in which it'is 

 carried?" 



"I have always considered Mr. Root "a 

 close observer, and this is the reason why I 

 think that his locality may give different re- 

 sults from either Dr. Miller's or ours." 



' ' But he must know that the pollen which 

 is stored in sections with the honey, when 

 any is stored there, as there often is (else 

 the bee-papers would not be telling of the 

 different ways to prevent pollen going into 

 the sections) , is of this very clover kind, or 

 the kind our fathers and mothers called bee- 

 bread. Did you ever see any other kind of 

 pollen stored in sections?" 



' ' I shall have to admit that I have not. 

 So far as I know, this brownish-colored pol- 

 len which comes from clover is the only kind 

 that is ever stored in the cells till they are 

 about two-thirds full, and then the cells fin- 

 ished out with honey and finally capped over, 

 to deceive the person who thinks that he 

 has some fine honey, unless he holds the 

 comb up to the light and looks through it, 

 when, if the comb is new, the pollen is read- 

 ily detected." 



' ' That is my experience exactly. Why, 

 do you suppose, this kind of pollen is treat- 

 ed in this way, while other kinds are not?" 

 ' ' My idea has always been that this clo- 

 ver pollen is the only kind which will keep 

 over winter, and that it is thus stored under 

 honey to preserve it till the next year so 

 that brood- rearing during the months of 

 January, February, and March, which goes 

 on to a certain extent in all colonies which 

 winter outdoors (as all colonies did in their 

 original state) , can be carried on as is desir- ■ 

 ed, before the bees can fly to any extent, or fl 

 the spring flowers yield pollen." ^ 



" Well, that is a new thought to me, and 

 it may be the one which will solve the mat- 

 ter. But how about pollen being gathered 

 during the bass wood- bloom?" 



"There is the least pollen gathered at the 

 time of linden- bloom of any season of the 

 year when the bees are active ; but the rea- 

 son for this is because there is little pollen 



