128 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 



I drove on; and as I did so, noticed that there was 

 plenty of bass wood-trees in the woods, and many 

 basswood logs lay by the sawmill, ready to bo made 

 into boards and scantling. The fences by the road- 

 side, too, were nearly hidden from sight by the rank 

 growth of grapevines, sumac, and crabapple-trees, 

 the latter of which were then in full bloom, giving 

 forth their strong but delightful perfume. White 

 clover was abundant also, so it must be a fine coun- 

 try for bees. When within about four miles of Jef- 

 ferson, my eyes were gladdened by the sight of a 

 bee-yard, if yard it could be called, for they were in 

 the open lot, and all in one long straight row— 40 of 

 them, and all Langstroth hives, and painted white. 

 Of course. I called. The proprietor, a German, like 

 nearly all his neighbors, was very busy putting on 

 upper stories filled with empty combs, from which 

 he proposed extracting the honey when it came. He 

 had a small honey-house near the bees, on the hill- 

 side. Under the bouse was his stone-walled cellar, 

 where he wintered his bees with the greatest suc- 

 cess. "But," said he, "I take great care of them. If 

 they are too warm, 1 open the door and window^ 

 nights; and if too cold, I warm them with a fire," 

 He showed me the cellar, but it is not nearly so nice 

 as mine, where the bees nearly all died. His bees 

 were nearly all Italians, and very strong, I judged, 

 by the number passing in and out. He said they 

 were then working on the white clover and dandeli- 

 ons. He could not be persuaded to sell any, so I 

 drove on. J. L. Wolfenden. 



Adams, Walworth Co., Wis., Jan. 30, 1883. 



HOW TO BUILiD UP AN APIARY. 



AND ALSO HOW TO ITALIANIZE. 



ijnjp COMMENCED in the spring of 1880 with one 

 Ji([ swarm of black bees; increased by natural 

 swarming to three, but got no surplus honey. 

 I wintered all; but two came out strong in the 

 spring, and one weak. The weak one was t^ie old 

 swarm, but I soon built them up strong in the spring 

 by feeding candy, as given in the ABC, and I have 

 taken 250 lbs. extracted honey, and increased to ten 

 by natural swarming. One first swarm filled their 

 hive, containing 13 Gallup frames, in just ten days, 

 with comb honey and eggs, and gave me 40 lbs. sur- 

 plus honey. The hive they came from was a two- 

 story one, with 34 frames in, and the queen filled 

 them all with eggs, and I tell you there were a few 

 bees around when they swarmed. 



Buckwheat did not amount to much with us, on 

 account of dry weather; the bees stored surplus 

 only about four days from it. 



HOW I INTRODUCED MY ITALIAN QUEEN. 



I got her of you ; and as it was the first one I ever 

 introduced, I took out all the frames of brood, except- 

 ing one with a few bees and the queen, and put them 

 into a nucleus hive. The next day the queen came, 

 and I caged her on the single frame of brood left in 

 the hive for 6 hours; I then lifted the cage, and let 

 her out. The second day she commenced to lay, and 

 1 took out the brood combs and filled the hive with 

 them, after the honey had been extracted. I then 

 fed them up till the combs were filled and capped. I 

 now have a rousing swarm of Italians. I wish to 

 Italianize in the spring, and this is the way I am go- 

 ing to do it: I have 9 colonies of black bees, and I 

 shall make 9 nuclei, giving them each a capped 

 queen-cell; when the cell hatches I shall build them 



up strong as fast as I can, at the expense of the nine 

 old swarms. I expect, by the time I get the nuclei 

 built up to strong swarms, the old ones will be pret- 

 ty weak. I will then remove their queens and intro- 

 duce laymg Italians in their stead. By doing this 

 way, I expect to get the nuclei built up strong soon 

 enough to gather surplus honey. I think I can do it, 

 as I shall have the services of two queens to build up 

 with. Do you think my plan will work, friend Root? 



C. E. Larrabee. 



Horton, Jackson Co., Mich., Dec. 19, 1881. 



I think your plan a very good one for Ital- 

 ianizing, friend L., providing you start the 

 nine nuclei, say some time in April or May. 

 If you keep on with the zeal you show now, 

 I expect to see you have a rousing apiary ere 

 long. 



FROin THIi: BOX-ELDERS. 



FEW evenings since, as we were about to call 

 on Mr. Duster, when nearing his residence we 

 ^^^^^ heard music, both instrumental and vocal. 

 The sitting-room was lighted up brightly, and through 

 one of the windows which came down to the floor, 

 over which was a partially drawn curtain, we saw 

 the daughter seated at the piano — the father in his 

 easy-chair, and, with instrument accompanying, they 

 were making the whole house vocal with song, while 

 the wife and mother sat by contentedly listening. 

 This scene was just such a one as can and should be 

 found in every farmhouse in our land, if we will but 

 cultivate a taste for music. There is nothing so rest- 

 ful, after the toils and perplexities of the day; noth- 

 ing that so " heals and humanizes our distempered 

 natures," and makes our homes lovely and lovable, 

 as music. 



As we stood looking at this scene for a few mo- 

 ments, it seemed almost rudeness to do so; while, 

 upon the other hand, we felt it nearly a sacrilege to 

 disturb them. Mr. Duster appeared rather tardily 

 in answer to our summons, and, by waj' of apology, 

 said,— 



" We had got into the heavy part of our perfor- 

 mance, and as there were only two of uSto carry the 

 four parts, it took our whole attention and efforts to 

 do so!" 



I looked at him somewhat amazed, that two per- 

 sons could sustain four parts in music, when he re- 

 sumed by saying,— 



" You see, my daughter played the instrument, 

 and sung; that's two parts, while I whistled a little 

 tenor, and now and then whined a little falsetto for 

 alto, and then came down on the bass for all I had 

 left — ' singing ourselves away to everlasting bliss," 

 you see." 



We found Mr. Duster in a very happy frame of 

 mind; and why should he not be? Soon our conver- » 

 sation led us to our favorite topic — 



bee CULTURE. 



"I see," said Mr. Duster, " that almost all who ad- 

 vertise queens for salei-ecommond them as being of 

 an improved strain — telling how smart they are at 

 the egg-laying business; how industrious and spry 

 their progeny are, getting up early, and going to bed 

 late; crying when night comes when no bee can 

 work, not even the improved sort; great, good- 

 natured, good-looking fellows (?) that 'never, no, 

 scarcely ever,' sting, etc., etc. 



" Now, do not understand me as ridiculing the 

 claims of these parties, for I believe in the 



