342 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 15 



also produced about 50 sections of fine al- 

 falfa honey. 



They are called pure Italians, and are in 

 modern eight-frame hives. Now, what I 

 want to do is to get about 200 lbs. of honey 

 next season, if possible, and after that in- 

 crease numbers what I can. There are no 

 other bees near here, probably not within 

 30 miles; but there are several hundred 

 acres of alfalfa near by; and as over 100 of 

 it is my own it won't be cut too soon. How 

 shall I manage to get the best results, first 

 in honey; and, second, in increase? 



Do bees gather honey from Cottonwood? 

 also black sage of the prairies? 



How often should I open the hives to ex- 

 amine them while in the cellar, and also 

 after they are out? 



They were outside until after Jan. 1, and 

 had a good flight two or three days about 

 that time. There are great quantities of 

 rose-brush along the river as well as nu- 

 merous other flower-bearing shrubs. Do 

 you think this would be a good place for a 

 large apiary? 



My object at present is to supply our own 

 table, and learn the business; and, as I 

 get older, perhaps devote a good part of my 

 time to it and let the younger boys pitch the 

 hay. Dan Slayton. 



Lavina, Mont. 



[I would advise you to set your bees out 

 as soon as practicable in the spring; and 

 when the weather is warm enough so they 

 can fly every day, feed them about half a 

 pint of syrup daily, up to the time the first 

 honey comes in, but not after that. This 

 will strengthen the colonies, for strength is 

 one of the most important requisites I know 

 of in the production of honey. You might 

 practice a little spreading of the brood, as 

 recommended under the head of " Spread- 

 ing Brood," in our A B C of Bee Culture. 

 After the honey- flow is over, start in for in- 

 crease by dividing, as recommended under 

 the head of " Nucleus," in the ABC book. 



Hives in the cellar should not be opened 

 at all. In the summer they should be ex- 

 amined only enough to see that they are 

 doing well. Once or twice before the hon- 

 ey-flow may be enough. A practiced eye 

 will tell pretty well from the outside of 

 the hive how well the bees are doing. 



Bees gather honey from Cottonwood and 

 black sage in California, and I see no rea- 

 son why they should not gather from the 

 same plant in Montana. Yes, you could 

 carry on the bee business quite extensively, 

 and have a large apiary, if you have the 

 requisite skill, where you are. — Ed.] 



THE NEED OF A FOUL-BROOD LAW IN OHIO. 



It has been frequently urged in bee jour- 

 nals that one of the pressing necessities of 

 the times is the enactment of a law in every 

 State of the Union to protect the apiary 

 from the ravages of foul brood and other 

 contagious diseases among bees. It is to 

 be regretted that so large and important a 

 State as Ohio has no such law on its stat- 



ute-books; yet from government statistics it 

 produces more honey than Colorado; its 

 bee-keepers are more equally distributed 

 over the State, and the consumption of hon- 

 ey in its manufacturing industries is so 

 large that other States have to be drawn on 

 to supply the demand. A number of bee- 

 keepers in Cincinnati, and adjoining sub- 

 urbs in the county of Hamilton, held a 

 meeting in August last, and formed the 

 "Hamilton County Bee-keepers' Associa- 

 tion," the first of its kind exclusively in 

 this State, with a membership of 50; and 

 at each monthly meeting of the executive 

 committee new members are being enrolled; 

 and from all indications, when the consti- 

 tution and objects of the association are 

 fully understood by bee-keepers, still great- 

 er accessions to its ranks are expected, as 

 in this county there are upward of 500 bee- 

 keepers. 



The executive committee feel gratified 

 and enthusiastic at the result of their pre- 

 liminary efforts. They would strongly urge, 

 through the medium of Gleanings, that 

 similar initiative steps be taken by bee- 

 keepers in each of the 88 counties in the 

 State, as early as possible this ensuing 

 spring, so that this association may have 

 the strong co-operation and united support 

 in demanding of the legislature, through 

 their respective delegations, the enactment 

 of laws as in California, Colorado, Wis- 

 consin, Michigan, New York, etc. 



The executive committee solicit corres- 

 pondence from prominent bee-keepers in 

 each county in furtherance of this object. 



Wm. J. GiLLILAND, Sec. 



Silverton, Ohio. 



[The bee-keepers of Ohio should make a 

 special note of this. The States of New 

 York and Michigan, and province of Onta- 

 rio, are protected. At present Ohio may 

 be a good dumping-ground for foul brood. 

 Illinois is endeavoring to get a foul- brood 

 measure through its legislature, and may 

 succeed. / suggest that we make an effort 

 to form a State association, and with that 

 end in view I should be glad to receive the 

 names of our Ohio bee-keepers who will be 

 willing to deposit a membership fee of $1.00 

 — half of it to go to the National Associa- 

 tion, and half to keep up a State organiza- 

 tion — the first meeting to be in Columbus 

 when our legislature is in session next 

 winter. If we can appear before a com- 

 mittee 100 strong from all parts of the 

 State, and then individually interview the 

 members of both branches of the legisla- 

 ture, we could make a very strong impres- 

 sion. There is not a doubt but we could 

 get a good law if the bee-keepers could 

 turn out in such a way as this. Let us 

 now receive the names of those who will be 

 willing to go to Columbus at an appointed 

 time this coming winter, and form a strong 

 and effective organization — one that will 

 have a tremendous moral influence on the 

 law-makers ? I will file the names, and 

 then send out circular matter looking to an 

 organization. — Ed. ] 



