1895 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



303 



COGGSHALL'S SPRING MANAGEMENT. 



ONE day's AVOKK AT THE OUT-YARDS OF AN 



EXTENSIVE AND PRACTICAL 



I>EE~l\.l!jEPEK. 



By Harm S. Howe. 



On Thursday, May 10, 1894, I received the 

 following card from Mr. W. L. Coggshall: 



Friend Hairy :— Come over Saturday, and help us 

 make the grand circuit. If weather is favorable. 

 Apple-bloom is nearly over. W. L. C. 



West Groton, N. Y., May 9, 1894. 



With me the apple-bloom had been for some 

 time over, for I was teaching at that time 

 twelve miles west, near Cayuga Lake. 



We always wish to unpack the bees just at 

 the close of apple-bloom, for there is nothing 

 to gather for a time then. If they were un- 

 packed during the flow, they would lose a day 

 or two of honey. There is sure to be a slacking- 

 up of brood-rearing at the time of unpacking, 

 and also when apple-bloom is over; so we bring 

 the two together when we can, for they are not 

 apt to slow up much more for both than for one 

 alone. Of course, the weather has also to be 

 consulted in regard to the best time to unpack, 

 for it would not be well to set them out when a 

 cold wave was expected, even if they had to 

 stay in another week. This time, however, the 

 weather was all that could be desired. 



When school was out Friday afternoon, I got 

 out my wheel, and arrived at Mr. C.'s house in 

 time for supper. After supper, Mr. Coggshall, 

 Russel, and I sat down to talk over the cam- 

 paign for the morrow. Just here, perhaps, is a 

 good place to introduce Russel Stennet, a young 

 man from Virginia, who came North to put the 

 finishing touches on his education as a bee- 

 keeper. This was to be his first trip to the 

 south yards. After talking a few minutes, Mr. 

 C. remarked, "Well, Harry, I have started a 

 new yard this year again." 



"Where?" 



"In that nice location near Etna we talked 

 about last year." 



"Why did you like that better than the oth- 

 ers?" 



"It is near the station, and will make a good 

 place to store the honey from the other south 

 yards, if I do not want to ship right off early." 



" Yes, I remember that we figured out that 

 the Etna station was the nearest one to most of 

 the honey. By the way, how are we going to- 

 morrow?" 



" We will take the team and democrat wagon. 

 It would be a rather big load for the buggy; be- 

 sides, I want to take some smoker fuel." 



" When were you at those yards last?" 



"I have not been to Ellis since they were 

 packed last fall." 



" What time shall we set the alarm-clock?" 



"It is a long drive there. Perhaps we had 

 better start by six; that would get us up by five." 



After some more talk on bees in general, we 

 went to bed. The next thing I knew, the clock 



was ringing away for us to rise. The chores 

 were quickly done, and the wagon run out and 

 loaded with the things that were to be taken. 

 After breakfast, came the seven-mile drive to 

 the Brown yard. Arrived there, Mr. C. showed 

 Russel where to put the team, while I unlocked 

 the honey-house and lit the smoker. The sup- 

 ply of fuel for the season was put in place, and 

 a box of matches in the match-box. 



The fifty colonies at this place are in chaff- 

 packed Eclectic hives. It took but a short time 

 to take off and pack away the cushions from 

 the tops, and see that there was no loss. The 

 bees were apparently in need of nothing, plenty 

 of honey having been left the previous fall. 



Russel and I put the team out while Mr. C. 

 went over the yard to see that every thing 

 was all right, and that no fire had been left. 

 Then the three miles to Etna quickly passed, 

 where the same business with the team was re- 

 peated. This yard required more work, how- 

 ever. It was put in place while the snow was 

 on last winter. vSome of the bees were drawn 

 from other yards; others were bought. Those 

 new ones were not in the best shape for rapid 

 handling. The combs of some had grown to- 

 gether so they had to be cut apart. The five 

 miles of road to Ellis is over a high ridge of 

 hills, the last two miles over an old wood road 

 upon which three or four families have settled. 

 Russel said that it looked much as it did down 

 home in the mountains, where they have done 

 no work on the road in years. The land on 

 each side had been covered with pine, which 

 had been cut off, giving place to thickets of 

 chestnuts and brush. The Ellis yard, however, 

 is situated iu a fertile valley. We ate our din- 

 ner, which we had brought along, before be- 

 ginning work. For a cold dinner we have found 

 nothing to equal good bread and milk. This 

 time we had a loaf of Mrs. Coggshall's bread, 

 and she can't be beat as a bread-maker. A 

 two-quart can of milk, some strawberry sauce 

 and cookies, taken together, makes a meal 

 which a king might envy. When I go on my 

 wheel, I take my dinner with the people we 

 rent the yard of; but it would not always be 

 convenient for three to drop in on them just at 

 meal time. 



This yard of 67 live colonies was set out in a 

 hurry. They are in Mr. C.'s own style of pack- 

 ing-case, which he will describe for Gleanings 

 soon. The places where the stands stood were 

 plainly marked in the grass. This yard is the 

 hardest to reach, but every thing is so handy 

 when we get there that we do not have to stay 

 long. 



We are now fifteen miles from home, and two 

 o'clock finds us on the road back over the hill. 

 The road we take is, if possible, worse than the 

 one we came by; but we are at Varna at last. 

 Here the work is much the same that it was at 

 Ellis, except that about 40 of the 90 live ones we 

 find are in chaff hives, which do not have to be 



