750 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 15. 



E. A. TOBEY'S APIARY AND FAMILY. 



The picture shows my whole family. The 

 cat is in the girl's arms; the corner of the build- 

 ing at the left is my shop; honey-room in fur- 

 ther end not shown. The woods back of the 

 house are a swamp. The woods at the right 

 are sugar-bushes. The fence between bees and 

 house is a windbreak, with two panels taken 

 down. Near the carriage is the solar extractor. 

 On top of the Dovetailed hive near the lady is 

 the bird-dog — a useful animal to me, as I take 

 the birds on the wing. The top of the picture is 

 north. E,. A. Tobey. 



Caton, N. Y. 



REPORT FROM GERMANY. 



By C. J. H. Onireiihorst. 



In Germany the bees came through the past 

 winter in very good condition. They wintered 

 well, not only in such hives as experienced bee- 

 keepers think best for wintering, but also in all 

 others, even by the most careless management. 

 The winter of 1895 was not severe, but such a 

 one as, in other years, the bees came through 

 with more or less losses. How did this occur? 

 I think it was because the season of 1895 was a 

 very good one throughout Germany. The bees 

 had not only much honey, but this honey was 

 first rate as food for wintering bees. Though I 

 am of the opinion that a good sheltering hive, 

 also that the right management (something 

 out of the slipshod way) has something to do 

 with the wintering of bees, I nevertheless set 

 the greatest value upon well-capped and suffi- 

 cient provisions, being careful not to disturb 

 the colonies in any way by uniting, unqueen- 

 ing, etc., before they are put into their winter 

 quarters. In more than one case I have ob- 

 served that strong colonies with sufScient good 

 honey and prolific queens will stand a severe 

 winter, even in bad hives and on their summer 

 stands; at least, it is so in Germany. 



The German bee-keepers were full of hope 

 after the last winter had passed, and every one 

 of them dreamed of excellent returns in the 

 near future; but, alas! by the quick turns of 

 good and bad weather in April and May, many 

 a colony lost more bees than developed; and 

 then, as Dr. C. G. Miller says, "Every thing 

 seems in a hurry this year." So it happened 

 that the colonies of most of the German bee- 

 keepers were not in working order, as the blos- 

 soms yielded more or less honey, or the bees got 

 the swarming fever at the wrong time, if the 

 bee-keeper did not interfere. This, and the 

 fact that many of the blossoms did not yield as 

 much honey as in the year before, is the reason 

 that the honey crop failed in most sections of 

 onr country — especially where the honey har- 

 ▼est is over in the middle of July. 



Bee-keepers who live in those sections of our 



country where the Erica vulgaris (heath) is 

 abundant, or those who move their bees to the 

 large heath-plains in North Germany, may get 

 a good honey harvest ; for, at the time I write 

 this, the prospects are very good. The first 

 part of August I carried all my bees to the 

 heath after I had extracted all the honey they 

 could spare. I have already had a good honey 

 harvest, and it would have been somewhat bet- 

 ter, like the one the year before, if every thing 

 had not been in such a hurry. But I am satis- 

 fled with the result, and hope to be more so if 

 the Erica vulgaris does not miss the mark. 



Afler the winter had passed, my bees were in 

 excellent condition. Later, as some of my colo- 

 nies, on account of the unfavorable weather, 

 did not thrive as I expected, I gave the weaker 

 ones bees and frames of brood from those that 

 could spare both, and made all my colonies 

 equal as to bees, combs, and honoy. Such an 

 equalization I never forgeiin the spring, if it 

 lies in my power to get the first swarms at a 

 fixed time, say within eight to twelve days. 

 The second swarms will come in due time if I 

 prefer to have such. All this saved me much 

 time, otherwise the strongest colonies would 

 swarm in May and others in July. All the time 

 from the middle of May to the end of July I 

 should have to attend to swarming. 



How do I manage my bees so I may have all 

 my first swarms within eight or twelve days? 

 Let me explain that. My best colonies, which, 

 after the winter is gone, occupy nine or more 

 frames in my hives, containing sixteen frames 

 abreast, I encourage after their first general 

 cleansing flight, say at the close of March or in 

 April, according to the progress of vegetation, 

 by feeding or uncapping some patches of their 

 stores. This I do toward evening, when I ex- 

 pect a good sunny day and not a rainy one; 

 otherwise I might feed too many bees out of the 

 hives, which very likely would fail to returncto 

 their home. If I think it best to strengthen a 

 weak colony at flrst with bees only, then I take 

 a large feeder with food and give it to a very 

 populous colony toward evening. 'If] the bees 

 then cover the feeder thickly, I take it with all 

 the bees and give it to a weaker colony when 

 night sets in. The bees will stay here, as many 

 of them are young ones. I repeat this as often 

 as I need bees, and as I have them. I never set 

 a populous colony in the place of a weaker one 

 to strengthen the latter, because the queens^ 

 of both of the colonies may be lost. Later I 

 take combs of brood from the best colonies, and 

 give them the weaker ones, but never more than 

 the bees will cover. I never take more bees or 

 combs of brood from a colony than it can spare, 

 but so much as is necessary to avoid swarming 

 before the fixed time. Should there be weaker 

 colonies in my apiary than I have bees or combs 

 of brood to assist them, then I unite some one 

 of them or let them alone. If some of them are= 



