348 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



July 



of bees and honey, or just as soon as they 

 begin to be a little crowded. You must not 

 only keep yourself posted in regard to what 

 is going on inside the hives, but you must 

 also know what plants are soon to yield 

 honey, and get your surplus receptacles over 

 the cluster, just when they are ready for 

 them.— Your plan of winding is novel ; but 

 after you wear a hole through your"trow- 

 ses," Avhat are you going to do then ? 



now MANY FLOWERS DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A 

 POUND OF HONEY? 



[Translated from the French by M. L. Wickersham.] 



Have you ever thought how many flowers a bee 

 must visit to load itself with honey, or how much 

 honey one flower gives? The result of patient ob- 

 servations gives the following results: 



As the quantity of sugar contained in flowers is 

 very small, the following will show the enormous 

 labor performed by the bees: From 125 heads of 

 clover,* it is impossible to extract more than one 

 gramme (15 grains) of sugar; therefore, to obtain 

 one kilogramme (2.20 pounds English) it is necessary 

 to have 125,000 heads of clover. Each head of clover 

 has GOflowers; therefore, scA^en and one-half millions 

 of clover'flowers must be visited by the bee, to ob- 

 tain one kilogramme of honey. 



Perrara, Italy, May U, 188:3. 



I at first doubted about there being sixty 

 flowrets on a head of our clover ; but I have 

 to-day counted one, and find it so near that I 

 guess we shall have to call the above esti- 

 mate at least reasonably correct. Now,with 

 this enormous number of blossoms it takes 

 to furnish even a small amount of honey, we 

 can form some idea of how large an area we 

 must plant to honey-producing flowers, to 

 get honey enough to amount to any thing. 



A COLONY KILLING ITS OWN BEES. 



My bees commenced swarming yesterday, the ear- 

 liest I ever knew them to in this locality. I have 

 one swarm of Italians that are killing their own 

 bees; will kill a hundred or more every few days. 

 Is it a common occurrence? Addison Lake. 



Charlotte Center, Chau. Co., N. Y., May 2. 1882. 



I should say, that what appears to be kill- 

 ing their own bees was really killing the 

 bees from some other hive that stands some- 

 where so near, and is of so similar an ap- 

 pearance, that its bees get in by mistake. 

 See if you can not find that such is the case. 

 JJees may sting their own inmates at times, 

 but it seems to me hardly possible. 



KLEPTOMANIA AND BEE CULTURE. 



I am in bad luck. Some one abstracted from my 

 counter my ABC, and appropriated it, for what 

 purpose I don't know. I hope it was not the big 

 gilt bee that attracted them and excited their " klep- 

 tomania," but that they are lovers of the "gentle 

 little bee," and will derive pleasure and profit from 

 its perusal. C.G.Wilson. 



Milledgeville,Ga., June 3, 1882. 

 Friend W., if he ever gets to be a good 

 bee-keeper he will bring it back, or pay for 

 it; for bee-men, as a rule, are honest. In 

 fact, I do not believe a man who is not hon- 

 est would like to keep bees, for their habits 

 of industry would be such a constant rebuke 



* White clover is meant, as the red is almost unknown in Ita- 

 ly or France. 



to him. It can't b6 he stole it, for klepto- 

 mania would never harmonize with the cul- 

 ture of bees. If the fellow is crazy, the bees 

 will work a cure for that kind of craziness. 



THE CYPRIANS, ETC. 



I am at home again, and find the bees in good or- 

 der, every one alive (1(58 hives). The little one in 

 Florida is left as the starting-point for a larger move 

 some other time perhaps. I had two small colonies 

 of hybrid Cyprians last spring, and I have not had 

 any bees for years that did as fine a job in as satis- 

 factory manner as they did, considering their strength 

 to begin with. E. M. Johnson. 



Mentor, O., April 1, 1883. 



It will be remembered that friend Johnson 

 is the man who would rather have blacks or 

 hybrids,than pure Italians. Well, it may be 

 the " Cyps " have just enough of the hybrid 

 dash about them to please him ; and as he is 

 one of the old veterans in the business of 

 honey -raising, his opinion is entitled to 

 something. 



PERSIMMON HONEY CANDIED IN THE CELLS. 



My honey is so sugared in the cells that I can not 

 extract it. What must I do to get it? All the turn- 

 ing I can do with the extractor does not throw it out. 

 Ishall be glad if you can suggest anything that will 

 benefit us. All that has come in from the persim-' 

 mon Is sugared. I extracted a week ago; it extracted 

 very well then; have taken 750 lbs. extracted honey 

 from 13 colonies ; no comb but 50 lbs. 



Coronaca, S. C, June 3, 1882. J. Di Fooshe. 



I know of no remedy, friend E., except to 

 warm it all the combs will bear. If persim- 

 mon honey is sure to candy, I would extract 

 it about as fast as it is gathered, and make a 

 specialty of candied persimmon honey. 

 Perhaps it might be pressed into nice little 

 molds, and drained so as to make a nice 

 confectionery. 



GOOD FOB CHAFF HIVES. 



My chaff hive last year gave me 118 lbs. nice sec- 

 tion honey, and 35 more sections partly filled. My 

 expenses last year, including bees, work, lumber, 

 nails, grapevines, sections, tdn., cinders, sawdust, 

 hauling, etc., were $78.80, and my income from 

 honey $83.60, leaving me cash $4.80, and 30 stands of 

 bees, at $5.00 each, $100.00; total, $104.80. So you see 

 that I am not much discouraged yet, although they 

 sting me fearfully. My object this season is honey. 

 I have all the bees I want at present, and as my 

 chaff hive did not swarm last season, I think I can 

 get them all in the large hives I am making now, be- 

 fore swarming time. Tim Calver. 



Portsmouth, Ohio, Feb. 23, 1883. 



UPWARD VENTILATION, AND WHEN IT IS NEEDED. 



I see much said now about upwaid ventilation. I 

 am satisfied that a colony fed up in the fall, and in- 

 duced to raise lots of young bees, making the stock 

 perhaps doubly as strong in bees as it would have 

 been if no feeding had been done, will need upward 

 ventilation; or where two or more colonies are 

 united in the fall until the hive is crowded with bees, 

 having doubly the bees that we usually find in hives 

 where no feeding or uniting have been done, should 

 have upward ventilation ; but where bees are not 

 thus unnaturally dealt with, no more upward venti- 

 lation is needed than is allowed with a good chaff 



