18S2 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



353 



about one aero of alsike and white clover. I should 

 like to bo with Mrs. Lucinda Harrison one season, 

 to learn bee-keeping, for I dearly love to work with 

 the little pets. Honey is 'Z'> cents per lb., and bees 

 $8.00 per stand. It is a most protttablc business 

 here. Mrs. Nelson Kelly. 



Ferndale, Wash.Ter., May 1, 1883. 



The number of your Spider plants was so 

 small, my friend, and other forage so plenty, 

 I presume the bees did not discover that on 

 • the Spider plant. If you have a larger patch 

 of it, or it comes in at a time when there is a 

 dearth of honey from other sources, you will 

 find them on it "■ with a vengeance." 



BLOSSOMS, BUT NOT HONEY. 



A lady writes me as follows: "lam entirely dis- 

 couraged. My bees are nearly all dead — at least, 

 two-thirds of them. 1 think they have committed 

 suicide — starved themselves in the midst of plen- 

 ty," AVhat a mistaken idea, that such greedy little 

 fellows, with lively appetites, would "commit sui- 

 cide"! People are crazy who commit suicide, and 

 we have thought sometimes that bees were crazy 

 when houey was lying around loose. " Starved 

 themselves in the midst of plenty!" This lady is a 

 novice In bee culture, and supi^oscs that, as there 

 are oceans of bloom, there is plenty of honey. We 

 are told to provide' pastiu-e for our winged stock; 

 but " Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is 

 God that giveth the"— honey. We can not make 

 the weather. We may plant and sow; "so far shalt 

 thou go. and no further." And what are you going 

 to do about it? Sit still and repine? No, indeed! 

 Be up and doing; have f)ur dishes right side up, so 

 If it rains porridge we shall catch some. 



We have learned something, while feeding our 

 bees such a long time, and one thing is, that news- 

 papers don't always tell the truth. It is all a myth 

 about p:itent comb being filled with glucose, and 

 sealed up by the bees. We have fed diluted honey, 

 and also syrup made of the best white sugar, and as 

 long as they needed it to preserve life, they carried 

 it down; but as soon as there was a How of honey, 

 it was left to sour in the feeders. When we have 

 fed, in order to have box honey completed, it was 

 slow work — the bees worked industriously for a 

 few days; but after that, appropriated only what 

 was necessary for their daily wants and feeding 

 their young, thus becoming very strong, but neg- 

 lecting the boxes. 



At the present writing, June 11th, there are thou- 

 sands of white clover-heads bobbing in the breeze; 

 black locQsts and raspberries in bloom, and yet bees 

 are barely making a living. Weather rainy and 

 cool. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



Peoria, 111 , June 11, 1883. 



One hive swarmed yesterday about 10 a.m. On 

 examination (after we saved the swarm), we found 

 a queen in the old hive, and three queen-cells. In 

 the afternoon we went to the hive to remove the 

 Queen-cells to form a new colony, and found one of 

 the cells open. We have now 9 colonies; had4tobe- 

 gin with this spring. For my own pleasure, satis- 

 faction, and profit, and to I)enefit others if I can, I 

 keep a record of my experience in bee culture. 



Mrs. Carrie L. Stallard. 



Kussellville, Ind., May 27, 1882. 



The queen you found was probably one 

 that had just hatched, and it was a wonder 



that your cells were not all torn down when 

 you went after them in the afternoon. 



We are beginners in the bee business — just com- 

 mencing our third season. I have wintered 35 colo- 

 nies without loss, in chafl" hives, on summer stands. 

 They are in what we call splendid condition. 



Mrs. T. Harrison. 



Grand Ledge, Mich., May 31, 1882. 



CYPRIANS. 



The Cyprian queen I bought of you last fall was 

 introduced safely, and seems to be very prolific. 

 She has a good colony now. 



Mrs. Jennie Howard. 



Lawsville Center, Pa., May 31, 1882. 



Fancy an Ohio woman in Western Texas, with two 

 colonies of bees, and no lumber yard within fifty 

 miles, and you have my reason for writing you, in a 

 nut-shell. I don't expect to use an extractor for a 

 long time yet. I don't want to raise honey to sell, 

 but I do want some hives for my bees to make comb 

 honey in, (and how fast they do make it inthis land 

 of flowers!) something that 1 can just go to and 

 take out the surplus honey for my own family use. 

 Mrs. J. a. Bonnell. 



Center Point, Texas, March 19, 1883. 



Please make a little correction in tnat letter in 

 April number, as printed in Ladies' Department. I 

 meant to have written you of it before now. It is 

 this: "Our bees did well the past season, especially 

 in the fall, and honey was in good demand, and could 

 have sold as much more," instead of " /could have 

 sold as much more." Mr. Axtell sells the honey. I 

 do not sell much, though I try to help him in every 

 way I can. I believe if we want our husbands to 

 succeed as bee-keepers, or in any other business, we 

 must do our part — do all we can. 



Our bees average very strong, and are in good 

 condition this spring. All were alive when taken 

 out of cellar, 120 colonies; but on examination, 3 

 were queenless, and one very weak. We united with 

 a queenless one; the first lot, taken out the 15th of 

 March, began raising drone brood, and none were 

 queenless. The last ones, taken out about 18 days 

 later, were the queenless ones, and the first set out 

 by the time the young queens were ready to fly had 

 drones. I think we kept the last ones in a little too 

 long. One morning we found them in quite an up- 

 roar—so much excited we could not carry them out 

 of the cellar, so we poured pails of water all around 

 in the cellar, and left it until next morning, when 

 they were quiet; took them out without difiiculty. 



At our apiarj', 4'/j miles east of here, we had 9D col- 

 onies, most of which are very strong, but have used 

 up nearly all their honey, so they will need from 5 

 to 10 lbs. more to carry them through to white clo- 

 ver. They have used more honey than any winter 

 since we kept bees, I think; but, fortunately, we 

 had some 225 or 250 combs full of honey set away for 

 emergencies, and now all we have to do is to set 

 them in the hives; it is nearly as cheap for us to 

 give it back as to feed sugar, counting the time of 

 extracting the honey and preparing the sugar, etc. 

 We are deficient also in experienced help to take 

 care of our bees. 



The first lot of bees set out of cellar will also have 

 to have from 5 to 10 lbs. of honey, but last ones will 

 ha%-e a plenty, I think; but at date there are not 

 more than half as many bees in the hive, but a large 



