Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota Part 80

BEE-KEEPER'S COLUMN.

Conducted by FRANCIS JAGER, Professor of Apiculture, University Farm, St. Paul.

If not already done the beekeeper should at once make his final preparations towards a successful wintering of bees. There are several conditions under which the bees winter well, all of which are more or less understood. The chief of these are a strong colony of young bees, sufficient amount of good stores, and the proper place to keep the bees.

Bees that were queenless late in the fall or bees that had an old queen who stopped laying very early in the season, will have only few and old bees for wintering and will not have vitality enough to survive. Such colonies should be united with some other good colony or if too far gone they should be destroyed. Weak colonies should be united until they are strong enough to occupy and fill when cl.u.s.tered at least six frames.

The best stores to winter bees on is pure honey capped over. Honey dew will kill the bees in winter. If you have any black honey in your hives you had better remove it and replace with white honey. A ten frame hive ready for winter ought to contain from 35 to 40 pounds of honey. A complete hive if put on a scale should weigh not less than from 50 to 60 pounds. The best way to supply food to the bees is to remove the dry combs and insert next to the cl.u.s.ter full combs of honey. Feeding sugar is a dangerous undertaking, and it should not be resorted to unless necessity compels one to do it, and then feeding should be done early in the season to allow the bees to invert the sugar, cap it over and consume such stores which are not capped over before winter. The hives that winter best are those which contain no uncapped honey in the frames.

For the bulk of beekeepers cellar wintering in Minnesota is to be recommended. The things to be looked after in cellar wintering are: first, that the temperature of the cellar does not go much below 45 degrees, at least not for any length of time. Second, that the entrances are kept open and clear of dead bees and are guarded with four to the inch wire screen against mice. Third, that the moisture generated by the bees does not acc.u.mulate on the walls and covers of the hives. This is most essential. Moisture absorbing material should be used in place of a wooden cover, for instance flax board or gunnysacks, or a super filled with shavings over a queen excluder. The bees must have free pa.s.sage over the top of the frames. We wintered the bees at University Farm without loss by using nothing else but the one inch flax board on top of the hive, which kept the hive positively dry all winter.

Your cellar should be dark, should have some ventilation, and the bees should never be disturbed during their winter sleep. By following these recommendations, you will be delighted to find your bees in the spring in a most flouris.h.i.+ng condition for next summer's work.

GARDEN HELPS

Conducted by Minnesota Garden Flower Society

Edited by MRS. E. W. GOULD, 2644 Humboldt Avenue So.

Minneapolis.

After the frosts have killed the _dahlia_ foliage the tubers should be dug and stored before the cold becomes so great. They may be injured by it.

The stems should be cut to about three or four inches of the roots, using a sharp knife, so as to make a clean cut. To the stems attach the label firmly. Loosen the earth about each clump before attempting to lift it, then run the spade or fork as far under it as possible and pry it gently out. In this way the tubes will not be broken or injured where they join the stem, which is the only place where they can make the next season's growth. Most of the soil will drop off as they dry. Lay the roots so that water will not have a chance to collect in the soft hollow stems, or crown rot may trouble you.

A cool, dry shed is a good place in which to cure the roots. Lay them on boards and turn them occasionally so they will dry evenly.

In a week's time they should be ready to store for winter, the best place being a frost-proof cellar. Unless this is very dry, it is best to have boards raised a few inches above the floor on which to lay them.

This will allow a current of air to pa.s.s under them. If a damp cellar must be used, air slaked lime sprinkled under the boards will help to keep them dry. Cover them a little with dry sand. The best temperature is 40 degrees.

_Cannas_ can be lifted and stored at once. Cut the stems off short, leaving enough to attach the labels to. They keep best if lifted with as much soil about them as possible. The clumps can be set close together, on boards arranged in the same way as for dahlias. They will stand a slightly warmer temperature than dahlias.

_Tuberous begonias_, unlike dahlias and cannas, should be lifted without cutting the stems. They should be cured in the sun for at least two weeks and during that time turned to dry evenly and kept perfectly dry.

A cold frame is a good place in which to do this. When the stems part readily from the bulbs, the latter can be packed in boxes and stored in any dry place where the temperature will not fall below 40 degrees.

These are among the tenderest bulbs and should be the first to be lifted.

_Gladioli_ should be lifted with their stems intact, tied in bundles and hung in a dry shed to dry. When thoroughly dry, the stems can be cut off and the bulbs packed in boxes and stored the same as the begonias. They are especially sensitive to heat, and if the air is too dry the bulbs will shrivel and lose much of their vitality.

_Montbretias_ should be lifted out and stored in the same way as the gladioli.

_Tuberoses_ should be lifted with the stems intact and spread out to dry or hung in a dry place. When thoroughly cured, cut off the stems close to the bulb and store in the same way as gladioli.

_Caladium, or Elephant's Ears_, should be lifted without disturbing the stem or leaves. As the leaves dry they can be removed, but the stem should not be cut near the bulb, as this is the point of growth the following year. They can be stored with the dahlias and cannas and are not apt to shrivel, as the bulb is so large and fleshy.

_Zephyrunthes, summer blooming hyacinths, tritomas, and tigridias_ should be lifted, cured, and stored in the same manner as gladioli.

All of these are subject to rot, so it is well to examine them occasionally. If any rot is found, remove the affected bulbs, and if those remaining appear damp, dust lightly with air-slaked lime. Flowers of sulphur can also be used to dust them with to prevent this trouble.

Should the bulbs be getting too dry, cover with sand. In our climate of extremes, it is necessary to examine them at intervals, and be prompt in the use of a remedy if any of these adverse conditions are discovered.

NOTICE.

The November meeting of the Garden Flower Society will be held in the Minneapolis Park Board greenhouses, thirty-eighth street and Bryant avenue, November 16, 2:30 p.m. Take Monroe and Bryant car. St. Paul members will transfer from the Selby-Lake at Bryant avenue. This will be a chrysanthemum show, and a talk on hardy chrysanthemums will be given.

SECRETARY'S CORNER

MINNESOTA CROP IMPROVEMENT a.s.sOCIATION.--Will hold its annual meeting this year at Fairmont on Feb. 21-22-23. The seed growers of Minnesota would be especially interested in this meeting, at which there are to be a number of seed contests, particulars in regard to which are not at hand. They may be secured by addressing the secretary, Prof. C. P.

Bull, University Farm, St. Paul, Minn.

THE VEGETABLE GROWERS CONVENTION.--This convention, which is I understand an annual gathering of the vegetable growers of America, was largely attended in Chicago the last week in September. A report received of the meeting indicates an attendance of eight hundred vegetable growers, including two hundred fifty from the vicinity of Chicago. The city entertained them with an inspection trip, throughout Cook County and later a party of them went to Racine and visited the experimental gardens operated by Prof. R. L. Jones, of the Wisconsin University. Perhaps we may have a fuller report of this meeting from some of our Minnesota growers who were in attendance.

THE SOCIAL ELEMENT AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING.--Making the West Hotel the headquarters of the society at the same time that the meeting is held in the building gives an especially good opportunity for renewing and cultivating acquaintance amongst the members in attendance.

This was particularly noticeable last year, and without doubt one of the most enjoyable features of the gathering. Placing emphasis upon this, an additional room has been engaged for the coming meeting on the same floor and adjoining the rooms occupied last year, which will be fitted up especially for a reception room where members and their friends may gather and rest as they visit and talk of the many things of interest connected with our society and its work. A suitable sign will direct members to this reception room, and we antic.i.p.ate that it will be made use of largely.

THE PRIZE WINNER IN THE GARDEN AND CANNING CONTEST.--The Horticultural Society is offering $10.00 to pay railroad fare and traveling expenses to attend the annual meeting of our society by the boy or girl making the best record in the state in the "garden and canning contest" carried on by the Minnesota Extension Division. The successful contestant will tell in his or her way how it was that success was secured in the contest. Besides this prize of $10.00 each of the ten boys or girls scoring next highest in this contest will receive an annual members.h.i.+p for 1917 in the State Horticultural Society. The name of the successful contestant is not yet announced.

DELEGATES FROM SISTER SOCIETIES.--Several delegates have been appointed from horticultural societies in adjoining states, notices of which have reached this office.

Mr. D. E. Bingham, of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., is to represent the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. Mr. Bingham has made fruit growing his life work, a man of large experience, whose services are in demand in that state also as an inst.i.tute lecturer. We shall have an opportunity to profit by his experience at our meeting, as you will note by consulting the program.

Mr. G. D. Black, of Independence, Ia., is to represent the Northeast Iowa Society. Mr. Black has been with us before and he will find many who recall his presence here in previous years. He is to give us on the program his later experience in connection with the growing of the gladioli, a work to which he has given large attention for many years.

From South Dakota is coming the president of that society, Rev. S. A.

Ha.s.sold, from Kimball, S.D.

Other visitors from Iowa not officially sent to us who have signified an intention to be present are: Chas. F. Gardner, Osage, Ia.; E. M. Reeves, Waverly. Prof. S. A. Beach is also to spend the last two days of the annual meeting with us and his name will be found upon our program on several topics. No professional horticulturist in America is better or more favorably known than Prof. Beach, and our members.h.i.+p who are interested in orcharding should not fail to hear what he has to say on the subjects he presents.

Mr. N. A. Rasmussen, of Oshkosh, Wis., is also to be with us and will be found several times on the program. Being an expert in market gardening we are going to work him to the limit while he is with us. We antic.i.p.ate that Secretary Cranefield of the Wisconsin Society, will also spend the week with us. Prof. C.B. Waldron will be here as representative of the North Dakota Society, and also Prof. F.W. Broderick of Winnipeg as representing the Winnipeg Horticultural Society--and of course our Prof.

N.E. Hansen, of South Dakota. All of these friends will be found on the program.

There may be others, but this will do for a start.

[Ill.u.s.tration: VIEW OVER VEGETABLE TABLE AND ACROSS FRUIT EXHIBIT AT 1916 MINNESOTA STATE FAIR. MR. THOS. REDPATH, SUPT. FRUIT EXHIBIT.]

While it is not the intention to publish anything in this magazine that is misleading or unreliable, yet it must be remembered that the articles published herein recite the experience and opinions of their writers, and this fact must always be noted in estimating their practical value.