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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1921)
istrict Is the Best Bee Country in the World, But the Fruit Growers Must Raise More Sweet, Alsike and White Clover and Other Bee Pasture Salem D v JfL SKAlFE HAS KEPT BEES FDR 1 ; FORTY TEARS, AND STILL HAS THEM In All That Time He Has Never Lost a Colony From Foul.Brood or Moth, Indicating Proper Knowledge And Good Care He Says Now is the Time to Look After; Your Bees, and to Prepare for Spring Swarm ing. 1j Editor Statesman: Now is the time to look after your bes. I'se nothing but stan dard hires; start with empty hive, transfer bees from one hivo to tie other, cleaning the hives is you go. If your colonies are BOt all o. k. Tou will soon find it out. It they need stores, feed tbern, and if some colonies have itores to spare, give to the weak er, ones. In that way you will eqnalixe your colonies. and maybe Uf e from from starving. , Now is a good time to prepare for spring swarming. Use full lotndation for brood chamber. It pays.." Keep your colonies strong and yoa will never be bothered with moth. Keep your bees at least 18 inches off the ground and where they "will get the morning sun, if possible. Keep earn hive on independent stool, so you can work with them from the rear, and in that way you never disturb other hives. It you have any weak colonies, close the en trance till just a few bees can I ass out, and in that way they can guard against robbers, and as they get stronger, increase the opening. In my 40 years of handling bees I have never lo6t a colony from foul brood or moth. J. N. SKAIFE. Salem. Or., Feb. 23, 1921. I lira VALLEY IS THE '; BEST BEE COUNTRY IN THE WORLD - With the Possible Exception of Southern Oregon; But f The .Fruit Growers and Farmers Must Provide More : Late Bee Pasture in Order to Live up to Their Oppor tunities in This Profitable and Essential Field. eral care of the hive. During the working season the workers are said to live about six weeks, dur ing the inactive season they live from fall until the following spring. "The drones are developed from the early spring until the end of the swarming season, and may be found present in the hives during that period. The queen is capable of laying both unferti lized and fertilized eggs. The un fertilized eggs always produce drones, while the fertile egg's pro duce workers or queens, depend ing upon the food the larvae re ceive. "Two kinds and three different sizes of cells occur in every col ony of bees. First, there are the hexagonal cells for the drones and workers. -Roth are the same but those of the drones are larg er. Then there are the larger peanut-like cells of the queens, which are built on the edges of the main combs and hang down ward. As the queen crawls about over the combs laying eggs, she apparently lays them in a row of cells, filling a certain area before going on. Eggs in worker cells are fertilized, while those in drone cells are unfertilized. r "Brood rearing generally be gins in February, increasing In extept as the season advances, and reaching its maximum during the height of the honey flow. The queen bee places a single egg in each cell, laying, it. is said, from 2000 to 3000 eggs each day. Re gardless of whether they are to form drones or workers, or queens, each egg requires three days to hatch. The larvae of the worker then spends five days in the larval stage and 13 days in . the resting or pupal stage (the' period when the cell is capped over.) The total number of days required for the complete devel opment is 21. The queen requires three, five and one-half, and seven days re spectively, for the same periods. and matures in 15 H days. The drone requires three, six. and 15 days for the three stages, and a total of 24 days for complete de velopment. Honey As Food Honey is a most delicious, wholesome and nutritious food. It should cease to be regarded as a delicacy and become a staple ar ticle of diet. It is more readily A.FIB5T LESSON IN BEE KEEK IN WT LONG EXPERIENCE assimilated that sugar and can ever try u, l roean nanjllng De suusiuuiea ior sugar in roo ery and on the table. Excellent recipes for Its use may be ob tained by writing to the Oregon Agricultural college, or sending to the United States Department of Agriculture for Farmers' Bul letin 653." Then artificial queen cell cups, each containing a tender young ; larvae, are slipped Into the hive. Transferring the larvae from the natural to the artificial cell-cups Is an extremely delicate operation. To avoid fatal chilling, the work must be done in the open on a warm, humid summer day. The bees at once accent the i You Should Begin by Learning to Handle the Bees With- fffo; teSLIil oui uioves ana wnnout veil, ana tou win boon rina ar ter m uywr or me eggi The Handling of Bees an Easy Matter; In Fact, As I veloped they close the cells. Easy as Writing About It. k ial lTSixVlS7 rooa. bix aays aiier mia me newly hatched qneens cat the sealing and crawl forth. In some cases the sealed cells are artifi cially Incubated as this insures that the right temperature win be maintained and permits the examination of the cells without disturbance to the hive. The young queens are fed and examined and - each one - found suitable is introduced to a nu cleus colony of three or ' four frames of bees. Usually the queen is Introduced in a wire cage and kept there for 4 8 hours because the bees unaccustomed to Editor Statesman: The editor fcays: "Will you please write your experience with o'e. Make it long or :hort. j'ut i.-8 you plei.", n.il tOjywur oa language," etc. Sounis esy. doesn't it? Handling bees Is Just as easy, and mora bo. Did you KN1 0. 0. TETEB. IE WELL FRUIT GROWER, IS 1 BEE KEEPER Beekeeping 'for- ithe Oregon, tions to get the bees In condition 1 . . . . ...I 1 J r.... i. iv tin nf FitpnMon w narveBt me maximum jie.ua " ' . ... . . Farmer is the title or txlenslon from the numerous nectar flowers hives with honey and filled their Editor Statesman: I have bad some experience with bees. I have 22 stands at present. When I commenced to work with bees and they would sting me, it would swell terribly. but the moo re I got stung the less it bothered me, till now when one o r a dozen sting me I scrape off the sting and in a little while I don't know where the stings were. I generally have pretty good luck with bees, last season I had swarms that filled their Bulletin 282 of the Oregon Agrl cultural college extension service. It is by A.j L.'Lo'vett. professor of entomology, .and It Is dated No vember, 1919. The bulletin was published almost in full in the Sa lem slogan pages ot last year; so this time the slogan editor will attempt to hit the high places. With the following extracts: will transform these questionable-! supers; 24 pounds of surplus districts into profitable apiary t honey. Some do even Better than sections. " "The Site There are a number of points to consider when select- ine a aite lor tbe apiary. Limned space makes It advisable to list some of the more important iac tors to consider, leaving . it to the individual to make the adjust- that, and some do not do that well. That depends on the time they swarm and the pasture they have to gather honey from. I have had the old colony to swarm two times and then got 24 pounds of extra honey from them. I like the Italian bees best, as they are not as cross as the black bees, and they are lots prettier .bees. and as good or better honey gath erers. I enjoy working with my bees: then they are fine pollen izers for fruit of all kinds. Yours for the honey bee. R. D. Teter. Salem, Or.. Rt. 4, Feb. 21, 1921 NO - FARMER SHOULD BE l.ments to his particular condi- WITHOUT A FEW STANDS OF BEES; . for with propereare and maniuplatlon, enough honey for home, consumption can be se cured from one or .two colonies. A fruit grower can "secure a dou Us profit from bis bees, in the - louey and wax obtained and in the added value given his fruit through cross-pollination. The pollination- of fruit trees ia an Im portant 'consideration in the west; if has many times been shown 'that - insects f nrnish the fioat important means ot dtstrib tinf pollen to self-sterile plants. ,' and that of these the honey bee is arobaoly the most important. Tnoagh it la probably, the excep tional season wbeu honey bees are at much service In pollinizlng red ; clover, minr other field crops are benefited. As tha acreage of al f tiki clover increases there will be ' a real field for the bees, both tor pollination and for tbe collection of a fair excess of excellent noney. lloaey la a product which occurs la aatura la the ahape.of nectar in tha flowers of plan taand Is made " available tor our use only through the aid of bees. Wax. a secondary , consideration. Is a product of the . bees themselves and is produced from; glands within tbe body of . the worker bee. "UaUI a few years ago commer cial beekeeping was considered teaerally unprofitable In the Wil lamette valley and coast districts . because of excessive spring rains. ,iA few men here and there were ri ucceedlng, but many were hard- ly holding their own. Due principally to new noney ALSIKE AND WHITE ID SWEET CLOVER MUST BE SUPPLIED DEES Beekeepers Will Provide Busy Little Workers to Pol lenize the Fruit Blossoms and Make Sure the Fruit Crop Every Year. plants, but ! partly to Improved the btees. sn Arltrvsl 'It ti I war - wuvvuvusa su, uauutA ' Jili condition is rapidly changing . and particularly In the Wlllam ' ette valley.t the average yields, considered for a Deriod of years. ill exceed those of ANY REGION EXCEPT SOUTHERN OREGON. ' Improved methods of handling ul Improve the conditions in tbe eoast region aa well. Honey plants ra plentiful, Including "maple. . ck. flreweed. French pink, al ik clover and white clover. The stveiopment of special manlpula tions. "Good drainaze and fresh wa-1 i ter to drink. . "Protection from the prevailing J 4t. CriJx nrAiuor Will Prmirlo I atP Rp PflctllPA. thft pniA winria Rap. e&t more stores ' "' vmwwivi v . .ww and are lfraWe-tedyeotery where cold wind strikes wet hives. Wind breaks on north and west are es pecially good. Do not have hive face prevailing wind. "Plenty of sunlight In early morning and late afternoon. (Avoid west side of building.) (The writter of the following Is "If apiary is in hills, locate In a voluntary contributor to the Sa- valley, since bees fly up hill for lem slogan pages, and what he nectar and down when laden. says is along practical lines. "Bees within one-half mile of worthy ot the atention or all our a large river are often lost dur- fruit growers and ' farmers. Mr. Ing heavy honey flow. Returning Beckley lives acrosi the river, on laden with honey they become the Polk county aide, his address tired and drop into water. being Salem, Route 2:) The hives should not rest dl- - rectly on the ground. , Pieces of " By J. W. BECKLEY. 2x4 lumber, bricks or special 1 .ku A stand may be used for supporting and pointers wnlcn ftrp necessary me niTes. A.ietw i.u in knnw In order to ancceed some- inches high is Ideal. Twoj ra wbat ln the bee line facing the same way may rest on one stand. A sloping board , The beginner should study at should be placed on the ground least one good book perUinlng to . .ntr.n. This nermlts bee culture, since there is not a laden bees to drop near the hive domestic animal from the guinea and ascend by means of the board pi. - up to the elephant about r" .i. ,Mo ti.. m .hnuld which so little la known in car- be perfectly level, otherwise ing for. among the general public, straight combs are not possible, as concerning bees. During the rainy season raise the tn starting with bees If an back of the hive one inch so it Italian colony or two with a yonng may'drain freely. queen in a 10 frame modern hive General Bee Xotes with sufficient honey to carry "The life ot the queen Is from them into the spring honey flow three to six years, and her sole can be procured, you wouldT be mission In life is to lay eggs in starting about right, the cells provided by the workers. one Tital point consists In hay- As soon aa she begins to decline ing pienty 0f young bees and the bees rear a new queen to su- gtoreg. tbi8 S equally true daring persede her. and In such cases it the preTi0s September and Oc- ls not uncommon to find a moth- tober i baTe noticed that Just er and daughter queen in the hive along thl8 tImef nearly all the at the aame time. As soon as tne amateurs fan by having weak young queen matures and Is anie colonles In tne fan Cf tne year, to supply a plentiful number or Con8equently they fall in easy eggs, the old queen crawls away prey tQ tne wax motn whlcn naa and dies, or Is disposed of ty tne ratsed go mUCi, havoc among our workers. bee keeping friends. While dwell- The workers are ndeTfP ing on losses among bees, will females, and they attend to tne mentIon here one thlng relative to gathering of pollen, nectar, pro- the faUl practlce of ,praying dur- polis. water, etc.. and to the gen- the bloom,ng tiue of appies bees.j Well, here is the begin ner's recipe: First, procure a col ony of bees. Then a good bee smoker. Then, if possible, pro cure the services of a practical bee-keeper, one who uses neither gloves nor veil to keep the beer from stinging bira. Let him use the smokerr in fact, let him do all the work while you do the watching. This is rbout the way he will proceed: After tilling the smoker with rotten wood or some clean burlap, he will set fire to it, and, when he gets the smoker going good, will raise the cover ot the hive. Just a little, blow three or four puffs of smoke among the bees, then lower the cover After one or two moments, he ill repeat the smoking, raising the cover gently until it is entire ly oft. keeping the smoke going until tbe bees have quieted down You. are now ready to take the hive apart, to examine them as to their general condition, to transfer them from one hive to another. They are quiet and it you are careful you can handle them' without any trouble. It you have gotten this far without being stung, you are a promising candidate, as a future beekeeper iNow, if you wish to transfer the colony into a new hive, spread a cloth on the ground, large en ough to place two hives on, with plenty of cloth extending out from under the hives In all direc tions. . Set tbe colony of bees on one end of tbe cloth, with en trance toward center; place new hive on opposite end and front ot hives facing each other, leave a space of six to eight Inches be tween hives; have a smooth board or table to cut your comb to tit frames; some good -twine, small and stout and a fcood stiff, long- bladed knife. Now. take your smokar and drive bees from tbe comb on one side of hive. Cut the comb in as large pieces as you can. Select those that are well filled with brood, also a little honey. Lay j comb flat on board, place frame flat on comb, top of frame near her. micht stinz her to death if tj- .! comD wrong nae pp. iuw ti i they could get to ner comb on which frame Is laid Just Inside of frame, then tie In place with string near each end of frame. Proceed in this way until you have used all tbe desir able comb, placing each frame as It is filled in the new hive. As a rule, you will not get en ough rood straight comb to fill more than one-third to one-halt of your frames. The remaining Iramea should be tilled with full sheets of foundation. Any dealer in bee supplies can furnish them Finish filling your hive with these frames, place a good stout cloth on top. then your hive eov er on this. Then with your smok er drive the bees from the old hive, when they will take to their new home aa a duck takes to wa ter. It Is best not to move the new hve for a few hours. Then place them where you want them to remain. See that they are shel tered from the rain aa well aa the midday sun. Dear reader, if you have-read this far. and are a beginner in bee-keeping, and would like to know more about the handling of bees, lust call me up and I w.ll take vou out to the farm and give you a practical demonstra tlon. G. A. MILLER, 260 Marion street Salem. Or.. Feb. 22. 1921. When the virgin queen is seven days old she is ready for the mo mentous nuptial flight which u successful will leave her fertile throughout the remainder ot her lite. Several trial flights are made. As she gains confidence these become longer and longer until at last she is prepared for the nuptial day. Thla is beset with numerous dangers which worry tbe beekeeper not a little. For instance If the weather Be comes a little colder she may be chilled so that ahe . cannot fly back to the colony and will then aoon die. There Is always a pos sibility that some bird may gobble her up. It she escapee the btras a dragon fly may devorir her. If the weather is unfavorable on the nuptial day the queen may remain in the hive or make only short flirhts and return unmated. The workers- greatly annoyed. may excuse her If the weather re mains bad but If the aua Deama forth occasionally and she refus es to venture far they may kill her or drive her from the hive to die no race suicide for, the work. era. Some authorities are convinced that if a virgin queen la not mated In from 12 to IS days from her birth ahe will never be first class queen. Some insist she will'never mate at all and In consequence will never produce anything but drones. Fertilisation can take place on- ly In flight in the open air. The queen mates with "the swiftest . winged drone of the hive of of some neighboring hire. The male Invariably dies as a result oft the encounter. Obviously the qnes tion of whether he waa of jib tights pecies, free from disease and resistant to fatal bee plagues la one of greet Importance to, the bee-keeper although It is alto gether beyond his control. If the queen has mismated ahe becomes an outcast ln the apiary because nene of her progeny can be t al- lowed to become qneena. Cross) breeds are hard workers and good honey producers hut they are jlc ious and savage. j Producing purebred stock! Is out of tbe question ln a district where different races of bees are kept. The apiarist who wishes to rear queens of pure breed most keep his stock pure and breed vigorous drones, having then! la the pink of condition when iths virgin queens are ready tor their nuptial flights. j .- - Drones, lazy fellows that they are. usually loll In the hive until toward noon when the ann has warmed the air thoroughly. Then they tare forth to the accompani ment of a long deep droning song which has given them their name. The queen daring her trial flights. Is Is said. la silent, bat When tne great moment arrives she issues a sort of challenge to which all the males within heartar respond. The black Entllsh bee readily succumbs to 'a peculiar bee dis ease common In England. Dutch bees are more resistant but they. are far too much given to swarm Ing. So abort Is the life of. honeybee In the nays of its for aging that It is possible la about three months after a new queen Is Introduced to change the type ot the tens pt thousands of Inhabi tants ot the hive. l ' Bee-keepers are now looking to the Italian bees to repopnlata their hives with a race that la able to resist disease and that Is a honey gathering, rather than a swarming type. Italian - queens are being imported bnt some apiarists srs braving the numer ous difficulties in the way of pro ducing pure-bred queens ln order to avoid dangers and and losses inevitably attending the Ions Journeys by maJL The Italian bees are much gentler than the common breeds. This ia becansa they have been tamed by many that after ahe la three weeks old generations of bee keepers. lem district. Very many people like, to eat honey, but they don't know how to keep bees, and some people are afraid ot It be cause ot tbe sting. It is a very simple matter to keep a few standa of bees and without get ting stung, and they will keep your table ' full, ot nice aweet honey the whole year around, and a little profit besides, with a very little expense; and In a noor season if they don't bring any surplus honey they always have enough honey ln the brood cham ber, ao far aa I know here around Salem to live on it during the next winter and they won't live on your expense, ll tney snouia some source from which to gather nectar; fortunately we have around Salem some maple, bear trees, white clover, varieties of milk weed etc. that produce pollen and honey in a moderate flow un-lfjuj ,hort on food, a good bee- DATES OF SLOGANS IN DAILY STATESMAN . ' ' . V ' (In TwIce-a-WeeJc Statesman Fommnz y3) Loranberirles, Oct 7. Prunes, Oct. 14. f Dairying, Oct 21. Kit, Oct 28. Alberts, Nov. 4. Jalnuta,;Xov. 11. Btrswberries, Nov. 18. . Apples, Nov. 25. RMpberrles, Dec. 2. Mint, Dec. weatcows, Dec. 16. BiM-berrles. Dec. 23. Cherries. Dec 30. Jan. 6. 1921. t ooberrtes and Currants, Jan. . , ,f Corn, Jin. 20. 7.Jin. 27. "P'naca, Feb. 3. Onions,. Feb. 10. ' Potatoes. Feb. 17. J.reb. B4. . "ng. March 3. Mrt,b 10. ns. March 17. paired highways, March 24. Broccoli.; Marcr 31. . -. April 7 LWWes, Aprjl 14. " Pragus. April 21. t Cranes, ApriJ 28, Druz garden. May 5. Sugar, beets. May 12. Sorghnm, May a?. Cabbage, May 26. Poultry and Pet Stock. June 2. Land, June 9. Dehydration. June 16. , Hops, jJune 23. Wholesale and Jobbing, June 30. Cucumbers, July 7. Hogs, July 14. City Beautiful, flowers bulbs, July 21. Schools, July 28. Sheep,, Aug. . National Advertising, Aug Seeds. Aug. 18. Livestock. Aug. 25. Antnmntive Industry, Sept. 1 r.rain and Grain Products, Kant k. xrannrartnrlne. Sept, 15 Woodworking and other things, Sept. 22. Paper Mill, Sept. 29. v. - ' ' n. oDles of Salem Slogan .jtitmn. of The Dally Oregon Statesman are on hand. They are for sale-at 10caeb. -mailed to an address. and pears with arsenate of lead. poisoning the rruitmans nest friends galore. However, after the fruit bloom ing season Is over, bees must, nave and 11. til late in tbe fall If tbe farmers would plant more alsike clover on low, heavy soil, It would prove to be a good wrinkle for themselves and bee dom. Also sweet clover Is coming more and more into ita own, as a soil builder, and as pasture for bees and stock; though our soil has to be limed and tbe seed In oculated with bacteria in order to produce a satisfactory crop of sweet clover. Soil bacteria can be had at the O. A. C. college. Cor- valhs. Ore. As to results under the pre-, vailing present conditions, bees do gather a moderate amount of nec tar every year In our valley; the yield mostly corresponds to the way the owner handles his bees. However, there exists in tbe mind of the writer no doubt that whenever more clover shall be planted, the production of honey will be vastly increased ln tbe Willamette valley. (Am referring to alsike, white and sweet clover.) In short we can depend on a fair to a bounteous yield of surplus honey, with little swarming. Our honey Is ot a light amber color with an excellent flavor, to which many a Salemite will testify, by Intelligent care. 7 Will add one more ' word to thousands' that could be said about bee lore. We have an ideal climate for wintering bees, compared to eastern states. Hives may be placed under a shed open on the east side where they can be left the year round, or else if well covered and protected from severe I winds, is all they need. keeper will always have some honey or sugar on hand to feed back to the bees. Now. the question for a begin ner Is how to get the bees? There are alwaya aome bees In, your neighborhood: bees are awarmnig every year. Get a new modern standard hive, but don't forget to nut the starters In so the bees can build their comb straight Take it to your neighbor and he will hive the swarm for you. but don't bive your swarm In an old box or a keg. Bees ought to oe In a hive with movable frames, so you can take a look Into the brood nest If necessary. A few colonies of bees is enough for a hp-inner to practice on. and get a little experience in the bee bus iness. Tbe bees are a great tning for the orchard. Eyery fruit r rower should be a bee keeper. and have a few colonies ot bees In his orchard to have them pol lenize his fruit, and he will bar vest two crops honey and fruit The bee keeper and fruit grower should keep a close relation to gether. rwlraria mnA hundreds Of stands ot bees have been lost dur- 1 Ing the last few years around Sa lem and all over Marlon county through a bee disease (foul brood.) This disease haa been spread from hive to hive by the bees and partly by aome careless bee keepers who had a few doz en colonies in halt rotten box hives In the back yard and didn't know anything about bees and how to take care of beea. and seme are breeding foul broods yet. If bee keepers snd fruit growers don't see the danger of j tbe foul brood they will be with out bees ln a short time. The fish and game people, cat tle men. fruit growers and every line of business hove commission ers to protect their interests, but the bee keeper so far hasn't got BEES WERE Mi YESTERDAY . OH THE PUSSY WILLOWS FOR P0LLQ1 This Was the First Day's Work For the Season For the Industrious Little Golden Wonders of the HiYe--Mr; Alley Accentuates His Advice of Last year, -That the Fruit Growers Must Provide More Late Bee Pasture The Statesman any protection, and I wish that found P. M. Alley bpsy with his every fruit grower and bee keep- bees, at 371 South Church street. er would be interested in tne v. fn- int.PTuw matter. So far as it is known to .rumn -rv.t . 1. me. It will be put up to the voters where Mr Alley UrtM aod be kepi of Marion county ln the next elec tion, providing a bee commis sioner. And it we get a bee com mlssioner we' can force the care less bee keeper to get rid of his hia bees in his back yard; about 20 stands ot them now. He la one ot the best posted beekeepers In the Salem section, or In all Ore gon. He Is employed as night man rotten mess which endangers our in the Southern Pacific passenger healthy colonies. office at their depot on Twelfth In aoeaking for myself. I have street, and he is able to employ had as much,experienee with foul his spare time with his bees, along broods as any body around 8a- with music teaching and other lem and Marlon county. My loss things that take up all his waking was very heavy. It took me sev- hours. eral seasons to get rid of the Mr. Alley was too busy to write foul brood and save the healthy an article on beekeeping tor this colonies, and they returned me a Issue of The Statesman, aa he had fine profit the last tew. years, been requested to do; so the slo- Concerning foul brood. I sm wll- dtor hss to be content with n, inform. tlon tn nv a revision of the Interview ot last iwi t mr Hmi- how It looks rear, which ataada for thia year ..4 hnw tn rot rM nf it. Mr I and all time, bees have wintered fine; every Mr. Alley said it waa estimated thing is ln good condition, and bees go an average of two wish the bee keepers of Salem miles from their hives for nectar; good luck for the coming season. Yours truly, Hans Rehb, Route 6, box 139. Salem. Or THE FRUIT GROWER WHO IS ALSO I BEE KEEPER Will BET 10 CROPS He Will Gather a Crop of Fruit and a Crop of Honey, And His Bees Will Make Sure the First Crop It Is A Very Simple Matter to Keep a Few Stands of Bees, And They Will Pay For Good Care. f M t THE SCIENCE. THE MYSTERY 10 THE FASCINATION OF BEE KEEPING The Wonder of the Nuptial Flight of the Virgin Queen- No Race Suicide For the Tireless Workers of the Hive The Man Who Studies the Habits of the Bees Has a Task That is Interesting and at Which He May Learn Lessons All His Life Long. (Hans Rehb, who writes the following, now has 40 stands ot bees., and be expects to double the number as fast as he can af ford the expense and spare the time from his regular employ ment In tbe beater room of the Salem paper mill:) Editor Statesman: In reply to. your request to write down my experience with bees, I have to say it ia hardly possible for me to write down the whole story during my time of bee keeping. But I will give you herewith some. Information and will throw a little light on the beginner, and it may be very interesting for some of the read ers of Tbe Statesman ln the Sa- The queen of a colony of honey beea often lays as many as 300 eggs in a single day In summer. Each is deposited in a cell spec ially prepared for the purpose by the workers of the colony. There Is one set of cells for eggs that are to develop Into workers, a second set for drones and a third for queens. The latter are con siderably larger than the others. The queen mother never makes a mistake but gets the eggs in all their proper cells. The eggs de posited in the queen cells appar ently do not differ from the oth ers; queens are produced by feeding a special food to the lar- Beesbave Ion 3 been regarded as the most intelligent of insects but thev thrive best, produce the most honey and reproduce their kind most successfully under the Kuidlnr hand of an intelligent bee-keeper. Left to themselves a colony ordinarily will produce nnlv nne oueen at a time, as needed. Obviously this would re tard the establishment of new colonles and limit the develop ment of the honey-producing in dustry. The apiarist who essays to pro duce queen bees ot pure breed In numbers hss no easy task, par ticularly If there are other spe cies of bees In tbe neighborhood. The first step, saya a writer ln a British Journal, is to remove the and that there are statements ot flights of seven miles. But he said thy will not go 700 yards If they don't have to. When the maples sre ln bloom tn Salem they go to the first tree: aad in the height ot the maple bloom every maple tree Is ao full of beea that they sound like a swarm. The bees are working on the willows now; but they are work ing more for pollen than for hon ey. About the first ot March, or a little later (somewhat later this year, from present appearances), they will be working on the maples. The beekeeper harvests only the surplus: nine-tenths ot what they gather is turned Into brood and bees. After the maples will come the fruit blossoms, and blooms of shrubs and bushes of various kinds, and berry blossoms. Maple blossoms last only about three weeks though some hard maples in Salem come later if there were enough of the latter, the maple bloom would last six weeks. Then come locusts and white clover and various kinds of berries and flowers, weeds, shrubs, etc. But by early aummer time there is little bee pasture left here. During tbe time when the day light is longest and conditions are tbe most ideal for the work ot the bees, there is little for them to gather. The spring flow Is wonderful here: but the spring weather con ditlona are seldom right to get the whole benefit of the early Cow. Mr. Alley aaya the orchardlsts moat sow sweet clover, and lot pt slogan editor It He says It Is a great soil renca vator ana snakes good pastnrtrt and hay. . He knowa of a man. . Iowa who raises nothing bst sweet clover." snd he is sn extensive stock breeder - as well - as bee keeper, -jt Mr. Alley says the Scotch broom, which is getting a great start here. Is flse Tor beea. I It should be scattered everywhere, la forest places aad along road aide a. The fire weeo. sometimes called elk weed, or Indian pink, or rose bay, or willow herb, makes a great bee pasture. It springs np oa all burned over lands la west ern Oregon and Washington. He does not think a great deal or buckwheat, for thla part of the country; though It la a great bea pasture ln some sections; Jsst as alfalfa east ot the Missoarl river yields no honey while it fs tha greatest bee pasture ot all la the west, and more especially ln the Irrigated districts, where several crops of it sre grown. j Mr. Alley thinks the Italian bees are the best; the golden Hal tans, i They throw off the American and European foul brood aad oth er diseases. i Get Italian bees, and keep pa the Job. , j , That la the recommendation of Mr. Alley. -I The time ia past whea a man can be a auccesstul beekeeper and not keep posted. Fruit growers have got to have bees, for pollination purposes? and they have got te provide bee pasturage. Then they will have a double profit. j Well nourished bees will thrive. They will be strong enough to combat all enemies; diseases as well as others. t And there ought to be bee In spection. . J - We have got to come to it. I The legislature of 1919 enacted law under which county eoarts MAY. on tbe petition of seven bee keepers, appoint county inspec tors, j 1 In tbe eastern Oregon counties here beekeeping is carried oa extensively, in the irrigated alfal fa districts. Inspectors are being appointed as a matter of course.; But beekeeping is more impor tant here In thla great trait dis trict than elsewhere la the wneia state, and there must be Inspec tion, and enforcement ot proper bee regulations. - ! We protect other industrups. says Mr. Alley; but we are leaviac the potentially biggest Industry; ot them all anprotected- i And. when Inspectors are fcjM pointed for Marion county- and (.Continued oa past 4)