12 ALEXANDER'S WRITINGS ON PRACTICAL BEE CULTURE 



quiries state that, although they had a very large bloom, their bees got 

 but little surplus. 



My friends, the time will come when many will realize that what is 

 commonly called the "season," which is, the condition of the ground as 

 to proper moisture and the temperature, and the electrical condition of 

 the atmosphere at the time the flowers are in bloom, will have a thousand 

 times more bearing on our surplus than the amount of bloom or the 

 number of colonies we may have in one apiary. 



A few years ago, during the commencement of our August harvest, 

 when our bees had at least 1500 acres of buckwheat bloom to work on, 

 and were getting honey very fast, a heavy thunder-shower came down 

 from the north about 2 p.m., which caused the mercury to drop 21 de- 

 grees in less than half an hour. Then this low temperature of about 65 

 degrees, with windy cloudy weather, lasted some 11 days, during which 

 time the bees destroyed large quantities of their brood, for there was 

 no nectar in any flowers during that time, and they were ready to rob 

 any hive that was opened. We have but very little basswood in this 

 locality, and two years ago the bloom was very light. We could hardly 

 find a tree that had any flowers on, but still our bees got a fine surplus 

 of over 9 tons of basswood honey; but the weather was all that could 

 be desired. It was clear, hot, and very damp; the moisture of the air 

 condensed on every thing that was cool, and consequently we got the 

 honey. 



One year we had the most profuse basswood bloom I ever saw. 

 Nearly every tree was full of flowers; but the weather was cold, cloudy, 

 and windy during nearly the whole time it was in blossom, and we did 

 not get enough basswood honey so it could be smelled or tasted in our 

 surplus. I don't know that I ever saw the buckwheat harvest stop so 

 suddenly, with apparently little cause, as it did one August. From the 

 morning of the 21st to the night of the 24th, bees got honey very fast. 

 Our hive on the scales averaged a gain of about 8 lbs. a day, and we ex- 

 tracted a tankful of a little more than 2 tons each day for four con- 

 secutive days, and our men all agreed that there was more honey in the 

 apiary each night than there was in the morning. But on the night of 

 the 24th we had a light shower with a fall of temperature of 11 degrees. 

 The bees were very quiet the next morning until about noon; then when 

 it warmed up a little they were ready to rob anything they could get at, 

 and there were thousands trying to get into our honey-house around the 

 screened windows; and we knew from past experience that the honey 

 season of 1906 was then drawn to a close. The hive on the scales did 

 not gain % lb. any day after that fall in temperature and shower, al- 

 though there was considerable buckwheat in bloom. 



Then at other times I have noticed, when the weather remains 

 warm without any rain, the flow of nectar would last until Sept. 5; but 

 if a break in the harvest comes at any time after the 24th of August 

 we at once take off our extracting-combs, run them through the ex- 

 tractor, and put them away for another year. 



One year we finished the last work in the apiary for the season on 

 Sept. 1, and our honey was then all either in the barrels or tanks, and 



