1905 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



955 



Board is wise under the circumstances; for 

 I hold in my hand documentary evidence 

 showing that rigid quarantine has been 

 placed on Mississippi and Louisiana, and a 

 limited quarantine on Tennessee, Kentucky, 

 and Arkansas, and that Texas has declared 

 complete quarantine against Louisiana and 

 Mississippi. I am also informed that some 

 of the Southern roads have pulled off some 

 of their good trains. While we all, of course, 

 seriously regret the conditions that make 

 this change advisable, I believe we should 

 all with one accord strive to have the next 

 meeting at San Antonio in 1906. It is due 

 and right. Then let us all combine to make 

 it the biggest convention ever held in a 

 State that has bee paradises galore. 



Later. — Since writing the foregoing I have 

 learned that the yellow-fever situation is so 

 serious that it has been deemed wise to post- 

 pone the State fair to be held at Dallas, 

 Texas, till a month later. This, I beUeve, 

 will bring it till after the first frosts, thus 

 effectually stopping any further spread of 

 the disease. The question might be raised, 

 ' ' Why not have postponed the meeting at 

 San Antonio till after the frost?" Whether 

 the committee considered this I do not know; 

 possibly this would have brought it to a time 

 when no reduced rates could be secured. By 

 holding the meeting at Chicago, in Decem- 

 ber, reduced rates will be guaranteed be- 

 yond doubt. 



PROPORTION OF SUGAR TO WATER IN BEE 

 FEED. 



The old rule used to be two parts of sugar 

 to one of water, the mixture to be placed on 

 the stove, and heated until all was dissolved. 

 But the rule now seems to be to mix cold 

 one of sugar and one of water, for the rea- 

 son that syrup more nearly approaches the 

 consistency of nectar, and hence it is better 

 ripened by the bees before it is put into the 

 comb. I am not sure but we might feed to 

 advantage, if early enough, two parts of 

 water to one of syrup; but at this time of 

 year I would not make the syrup thinner 

 than equal parts; and late in the fall, if 

 feeding should, unfortunately, be deferred, 

 use a syrup made of two parts of sugar and 

 one of water. 



INDOOR OR OUTDOOR WINTERING. 



The question will arise in the minds of 

 many whether the indoor or outdoor method 

 of wintering should be practiced. In the 

 average latitude, along the 41st and 42d par- 

 allels, outdoor wintering, especially in the 

 hands of beginners, should be practiced. 

 North of parallel 42, indoor wintering may 

 be practiced to advantage providing one has 

 a good dry cellar where the changes of tem- 

 perature will not go below 35 nor much 

 above 50. Outside winter cases may be put 

 on to advantage, even during September — 

 the earlier the better. There is not much 

 harm in getting too much packing; but con- 

 siderable loss ensues if the protection is too 

 meager. 



THE CASE OF THE BEES ON THE ROOF IN 

 NEW YORK CITY. 



Since the editorial elsewhere in this de- 

 partment was printed we have received no- 

 tice from Mr. Selser that the case of the 

 bees on the roof will be dropped, probably, 

 without prejudice to either side. Two or- 

 ders for bees will take nearly all those on 

 the roof, and the rest will follow soon. 



BROOD-REARING STOPPING IN SEPTEMBER. 



Every fall we get letters from bee-keep- 

 ers, asking why their queens have stopped 

 laying. They wonder why the queen has 

 failed, and often send an order for another 

 queen. Of course, old veterans know that 

 the average queen will stop laying, in many 

 localities, during the latter part of August 

 and during September and October, particu- 

 larly if there be no fall flow of any kind. 

 This season, goldenrod will yield honey in 

 many localities; and where such is the case 

 brood-rearing will, perhaps, start again tem- 

 porarily. 



contracting entrances in the FALL. 



Bee-keepers in the northern States would 

 do well to contract the entrances of all the 

 colonies down to not larger than 6 inches by 

 i inch deep. Weaker colonies will stand a 

 still smaller entrance. While the days may 

 be hot at times, cool nights make it advisa- 

 ble to have small entrances in order to pro- 

 tect any brood that may be in the hive. Of 

 course, all entrances should be contracted 

 during cold weather; but we practice and 

 advise contraction as early as the first of 

 September. In localities where there may 

 be a good honey-flow on, of course leave the 

 entrance open wide enough so the bees can 

 go and come comfortably without crowding. 



some OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF OUTDOOR 

 FEEDING ; ITS USES AND ABUSES; EX- 

 TRACTING IN A DEARTH OF HONEY 

 WITHOUT ROBBING. 



We have overcome to a great extent the 

 difficulty of wearing out bees experienced 

 with the outdoor feeding as mentioned on p. 

 906 of our last issue. We use 60-lb. cans 

 with small holes punched in the top as be- 

 fore. These are now filled with syrup of 

 the consistency of two parts of water to 

 one of sugar. The weaker syrup has less 

 of a tendency to make the bees scramble 

 against each other. Then, to mitigate fur- 

 ther the damage to the bees by reason of 

 their struggling against each other, the 60- 

 lb. cans are elevated some ten feet above the 

 ground. The wire bail or handle that is in 

 the top is unsoldered. The can is then 

 turned upside down, and the handle is sol- 

 dered to the bottom. The other end of the 

 can is perforated with small holes, as before 

 explained. A rope is passed over a limb of 

 a tree, 12 feet or more above the ground. 

 When the can is filled with the two-to-one 

 syrup, the rope is tied to the bail (now on 

 the bottom of the can), when the can is 



