172 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



APRlli 



me if I take the liberty of bidding you " go 

 slow," on matters you have not as yet had 

 as much experience with as we hope you 

 will liave some day. While I am inclined to 

 agree with you in thinking bees may he han- 

 dled in winter without injury, I feel pretty 

 sure they have been many times tinkered to 

 death by untimely handling. I remember 

 one March, when we thought it of the ut- 

 most importance that all our colonies should 

 be overhauled, every dead bee got out of tlie 

 hive, bottom-boards cleaned off, etc.. just as 

 the books and journals said, you know ; but, 

 to our great disaitpointment, we could gel 

 through with only about lialf of them that 

 day in early March. Well, the half that we 

 lixed up swarmed out and dwindled out so 

 much worse than those let alone, that I then 

 thought there could hardly be a mistake in 

 the matter. You may be all right ; but 

 please bear this in mind : We shall expect 

 you *o repoit failmes, when they come, 

 promptly and frankly. 



BUCKWHEAT AIM> ITS CILTIVATION. 



A OOOD HONEY-PLANT IN SOME LOCATIONS. 



^HROUGH my vicinity here m the eastern part 

 of Schoharie County, and through a large part 

 of Albany County, buckwheat is raised very 

 extensively; and one not accustomed to seeing very 

 manj' buckwheat fields, can not but enjoy the beau- 

 tiful sight and fragrant smell of the thousands of 

 acres of buckwheat. AVhile in full bloom it is a very 

 common thing for farmers through this vicinity to 

 raise from 200 to 500 bushels of buckwheat; and 

 while passing through a portion of Albany County 

 lust fall I was shown a farm, and saw the ground, 

 where 1000 bushels of buckwheat were harvested. 

 Through this country it is one of the most paying- 

 crops that the farmer raises; and to give you some 

 idea of the amount of buckwheat raised, I will give 

 the number of bushels ground at our mills the past 

 season in our village: 15,000 bushels at West Berne, 

 three miles east; the same number at Berneville, 

 six miles east; 14,000 bushels at East Berne, ten 

 miles east; upward of 40,u00 bushels at Schoharie, 

 3'/2 miles west; 10,000 bushels at Central Bridge, 

 5 miles northwest; besides thousands of bushels 

 were shipped away upon our railroads that were 

 not ground the past year. The buckwheat crop has 

 been a pajing one; in fact, it is a paying one every 

 year: but more so the past year, as it has com- 

 manded a higher price in market. The Hour at one 

 time brought as much as $4.00 per 100 lbs.; and as 

 three bushels, upon an average, will make ICO lbs. 

 of Hour, and the bran is worth from $10 to $20 per 

 ton, you see that it is a good crop for the farmers to 

 raise, as they often get from 30 to 50 bushels from 

 one acre of ground through some parts of this and a 

 greater portion of Albany County. Where bees are 

 kept In box hives, and have not much care, the 

 whole surplus is nothing but pure buckwheat honey. 

 I know of bee-keepers who keep from 100 to 200 

 colonies, and seldom get a pound of white honey; in 

 fact, a good share of these box-hive men do not 

 think of putting on surplus boxes until the first of 

 August, or when the buckwheat commences to 

 bloom, which is about that time. In some localities, 



buckwheat will not do as well as in others; on light 

 sandy soils it does not do as woU as where the soil Is 

 more fertile and heavy; and in locations where it is 

 lime-rock soil it will thrive and give more and a bet- 

 ter quality of honey than upon any other soil that I 

 am acquainted with. This latter fact I have fully 

 satisfied myself of. Here in this vicinity we have a 

 lime-rock soil. I have noticed that the honey pro- 

 duced here is much superior in flavor and color to 

 that produced upon sandy or slate-rock soil. In 

 some parts of Vermont, the honey from buckwheat 

 is inferior in taste and color to ours here. The 

 combs are dark, and the honey has a rank and dis- 

 agreeable smell, while that gathered from buck- 

 wheat here is of a pleasant taste, and the combs pro- 

 duced from it are whiter than the combs that are 

 produced from any other honey I ever saw. A bee- 

 keeper from Vermont stopped with me several 

 weeks last fall. lie was much surprised when he 

 came to see the buckwheat honey that was pro- 

 duced in this vicinitj', and we actually put it by the 

 side of some choice white honey made from bass- 

 wood, and the buckwheat actually showed a whiter 

 comb than the other, the latter having a pale yellow 

 appearance, while the former showed a comb of al- 

 most snowy whiteness. 



I have found that soil and climate have much to 

 do in changing the quality of honey made from the 

 same kind of bloom. The basswood honey produced 

 in Vermont is much superior, and of better flavor, 

 than the basswood honey gathered here. The rea- 

 son for it is, that it is more natural for basswood to 

 grow and flourish there in that State than in our vi- 

 cinity, and vice versa. In regard to buckwheat, the 

 farmers here generally choose a field of sod. Some- 

 times it is turned over in the fall, and left through 

 the winter. In the spring it is cross-plowed, and 

 covered with a sprinkling of manure, and well har- 

 rowed in; then about the 20th of June they com- 

 mence to sow the seed, and continue along from 

 that time up until the 5th of July. A good many 

 put the seed in with a drill. When sown with a drill, 

 thej' use, upon an average, from 2 to 3 pecks per 

 acre; if sown broadcast, a little more seed is re- 

 quired. The bees commence to work upon the bloom 

 about August 1; and if the weather is fair it pro- 

 duces honej' upuntil the secondweek in September. 

 Sometimes the west winds will blast the blossoms, 

 where the buckvvheat is sown upon high ground, or 

 in unsheltered positions; then it does not load, or 

 fill, so well, and does not produce as much honey. 



I have seen it stated, that bees in some locations 

 do not gather honey from buckwheat except in the 

 morning or fore part of the day; but in this vicinity 

 they will work the whole day long, if the weather is 

 favorable and not cold and rainy. If I were going to 

 sow buckwheat expressly for honey, I would choose 

 a field of stiff sod. I would turn it over as early as I 

 could in the spring; let it lie in this condition till 

 about the first of July; then cross-plow and harrow 

 until the soil is in a good mellow condition; then 

 roll the seed in plaster, or equal parts of plaster and 

 leached ashes, and apply about 3 pecks of seed per 

 acre. I would sow the ground about the 10th or 12th 

 of Julj'. so as to have it come in bloom as soon as 

 the earlier blossoms fail. A great many locations, 

 where there is not much fall forage, could be greatly 

 benefited by sowing a few acres of buckwheat. 



F. BOOMHOWKR. 



Gallupville,N.Y.. March, 1882. 



Since you mention it, friend B., I now call 



