1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



955 



A third reason for tree-planting is that we 

 may thus add immensely to the honey re- 

 soiu'ces. Here, again, Germany has set vis a 

 good example. There we tind the linden, 

 the maple, the locust, and the catalpa, and 

 many other trees that are of great value to 

 the bee-keepers. 



WHAT TO PLANT AND WHY. 



In our country, east, the maples, tulip, and 

 linden all claim attention as among the best 

 trees for roadside decoration. The soft ma- 

 ple comes very early and is beautiful, espe- 

 cially in the autumn, when their wealth of 

 color is transcendently beautiful. The bees 

 get nectar from the soft maple very early, 

 and are stimulated to rapid brood-rearing. 

 The hard maple comes in bloom later, but is 

 a close rival of the other in beauty. Un- 

 fortunately the maples are attacked by bor- 

 ers; but if we rub the trunks of newly set 

 trees the last of May with soft soap or strong 

 soap solution we can save our trees and will 

 rejoice' in their health and beauty. Fortu- 

 nate the bee-keeper who has many maples in 

 easy I'ange of his yard. 



The tulip is wondrously beautiful, is a 

 fine honey-tree, and is excellent for lumber. 

 I have never yet seen it set along the high- 

 way, and this is not complimentary to the 

 enterprise or patriotism of our American 

 people. The linden, or basswood, is the 

 incomparable tree for roadside planting. It 

 is wondrously beautiful, and is the tree par 

 excellence for honey. All of the above trees 

 are attacked by the great tulip scale, but I 

 have watched the splendid trees of all these 

 varieties on the campus of the Michigan 

 since their planting in 1S58; and the other 

 day, as I sat again beneath them, I could 

 not see any loss of health or vigor, 



In California and on the Pacific coast the 

 eucalyptus, acacia, and the beautiful pep- 

 pers ai'e strong vigorous growers, very beau- 

 tiful, and are all of value as honey-ti'ees. 



POLLEN, PROPOLIS, ETC. 



"Mr. Doolittle, some of my colonies stor- 

 ed lots of pollen in the sections last year, and 

 they are Ijeginning to do the same thing this 

 year, and I want to know why they do this." 

 I "The storing of pollen in the surplus apart- 

 ment to the hive is lai'gely brought about by 

 the queen tilling the brood-chamber so full of 

 brood that there is not room enough for all 

 of the needed pollen below. This is a thing 

 which does not happen regularly where a 

 large brood-chamber is used; but with our 

 small hives, such as the eight-frame Lang- 



stroth or the nine-frame Gallup, it is not at 

 all unusual for this state of affairs to exist, 

 where no precautions are used." 



"What are the precautions which can be 

 used?" 



"A break- joint or queen-excluding honey- 

 board will help very much." 



"What is a break- joint honey-board?" 



"It is a honey-board so made that the open- 

 ings from the brood-chamber below to the 

 surplus apartment above come directly over 

 the center of the top- bar to each frame, in- 

 stead of being over the passageways between 

 the combs, as the honey-boards of our fathers 

 were made. This causes the bees to come 

 up over the tops of the frames to get into the 

 sections, or gives a crooked passageway, in- 

 stead of the continuous passageway of our 

 fathers. ' ' 



"Very well; but what has that to do with 

 the matter of pollen-storing?" 



"Such a cii'cuitous route causes the bees 

 . to think that the room above is not a part of 

 the brood-chamber, so they do not store pol- 

 len in it, for pollen is, as a rule, stored close 

 to the brood. For the same reason, large 

 hives give the same results, as in this case 

 there is usually quite an amount of sealed 

 honey between the brood in the hive below 

 and the surplus arrangement above. How- 

 ever, as bees will not work as well in sec- 

 tions, where they can store large quantities 

 of honey below before they commence in the 

 sections, a small brood-chamber is much 

 preferable, even if we do have to go to the 

 trouble of making a special honey-board to 

 keep the queen and pollen out of the sec- 

 tions." 



"I think I understand that point now. 

 But why do some colonies store more pollen 

 than othei's?" 



"Pollen accumulates in the combs only as 

 brood-rearing is not carried on rapidlyenough 

 to consume it as fast as it is brought in. For 

 this reason a queenless colony will often have 

 its combs half filled with pollen, while one 

 by its side having a prolific queen will have 

 its combs nearly free from pollen." 



' ' But some colonies carry a lot of pollen 

 over to the next year, do they not?" 



"During the latter part of the season more 

 or less pollen is generally stored, for at this 

 time the rearing of brood is drawing to a 

 close, and nature has so ordained that the 

 bees can have some pollen in early spring 

 before they can secure any from the fields; 

 but the prolificness of the queen has very 

 much to do with these matters at all times of 

 the year." 



"Is this or any pollen a food for mature or 

 emerged bees?" 



"Pollen (or bee-bread as it is very often 

 called ) is not a food for mature bees to any 

 extent; but it is used largely in compound- 

 ing the chyle which is fed to the larva or 

 young bee in that form; hence when the bees 

 are breeding largely, as in May, June, and 

 July, lai'ge quantities of pollen are consum- 

 ed." 



"How is this used?" 



"Pollen, honey, and water are taken into 



