1S9U 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



mountain we stopped to admire the beautiful scene- 

 ry abounding on every side. Far away in the dis- 

 tance, like a silver ribbon, we could discern the 

 Sacramento River, and the miles of valley border- 

 ing on each side. To our left rose the majestic 

 summits of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, covered 

 with snow, while in front of us, on the opposite 

 ridge, a dark belt of silver firs girdled the moun- 

 tain. After resting a few moments we again began 

 the ascent of the mountain. The first thing that 

 attracted our attention was a small mountain 

 meadow with its crooked streams, covered with 

 Rocks and lonely flower leas, 

 Playgi-oundsof the mountain breeze. 

 There were innumerable wild flowers in bloom, 

 of all hues and colors. We found a number of bees 

 working on Mexican clover. In a few moments we 

 had a line started, which ran directly up the moun- 

 tain-side. Arriving at the top, and not finding the 

 tree we were in search of, we continued down the 

 other side, and soon came across their home, situat- 

 ed in a tall black flr, about lOU feet from the 

 ground. We found two more trees that afternoon. 

 Fatigued with our day's journey, we proceeded to 

 make camp for the evening, and get supper. We 

 soon had a great fire blazing, wood being there in 

 abundance. Our journey had sharpened our appe- 

 tites, and we ate our supper with a keen relish. 

 After supper we gathered a fresh supply of wood, 

 and then made us a bed of pine needles. We re- 

 tired early, and slept soundly until morning. Get- 

 ting up early, and rekindling the fire, we soon had 

 our coffee boiling, and made preparations for 

 breakfast. After breakfast we concluded we would 

 cut one of the bee-trees and have some honey to 

 eat. We intended to cut the tree we found first, a 

 large yellow pine. Two of us worked a cross-cut 

 saw, and two more chopped. The tree was over 

 five feet in diameter. After five hours of steady 

 work, a monarch of the forest came crashing to the 

 earth, bringing in its fall a couple of smaller trees. 

 The bees were terribly confused at this sudden 

 downfall of their long-cherished home. After 

 waiting for the bees to get filled up with honey, so 

 they would not be so cross, we went to work and 

 soon had the tree opened. We took out comb after 

 comb, filled with honey. We obtained almost 300 

 lbs., and if the empty comb had been filled as it is 

 at certain seasons of the year, there might have 

 been nearly 300 lbs. of honey. Some of the combs 

 were over five feet in length. The bees clustered 

 up in one corner of the log, and I placed their 

 brood inside, fixing it up with sticks so that It 

 would not tumble down. In a few hours the bees 

 were covering their brood nicely. I fixed some 

 bark over them to protect them from wind and 

 rain until I should have time to come after them. 

 Placerville, Cal. S. L. Watkins. 



To he continued. 



MRS. AXTELL'S REPORT. 



WINTERING ; TAKING OFF HONEV ; MARKETING ; 

 DISPOSING OF CHUNK HONEY, ETC. 



The weather has beeo very warm for several 

 days. Bees In the cellar are quiet, although the 

 thermometer is up to 53. We carried water, and 

 poured it along the alleys between the htves. We 

 keep the cellar dark, but keep two windows open, 

 and the door that comes up into a large room, and 

 both doors of the room are open. I think pouring 



water around in the cellar has a great deal to do in 

 keeping them quiet. Before we did that, they 

 were very uneasy. There are 1.56 colonies in the 

 cellar, which is 20x20 feet square. We also have 

 114 wintering out of doors at the out-apiary. The 

 bees seem to be in very good condition this fall, but 

 they are light in stores. 



We obtained about 13,000 or 14,000 lbs. of honey, 

 mostly gathered in the spring. It is white honey. 

 As it Is a good deal of work to prepare so much 

 honey for market, we sell the most of ours in Chi- 

 cago, where it is sold by commission men. It would 

 be impossible for us to sell our honey ourselves. 

 We have orders for it as fast as we can get it ready 

 for market, and could sell much more if we had it. 



The honey that is not well filled out, we cut out 

 and sell in pans and candy-pails. We fill a pall full 

 of chunk honey, then fill solid with liquid honey. 

 We next melt up some rosin and lard into a soft 

 wax, and wax the top of the pail, and nail down the 

 lid. We instruct the buyer, as soon as he receives 

 it, to loosen the top a little at one side, and drain 

 off the liquid honey, or bore a hole in the bottom 

 and let it all drain off. This is the way we fix it 

 when we send it a distance by the cars. 



HOW WE TOOK OFF OUR HONEY. 



We took off all our honey this fall without the 

 use of a smoker or bee-hat. When the first frost 

 came we hurried out in the morning to the work, 

 and found the bees below out of the supers and in 

 the brood-combs, except a very few hives, and 

 those we left until a colder morning. We slipped 

 off the supers and set them on top for a hand to 

 carry into the honey-house; laid back the honey- 

 boards, and did not cover the hives until the supers 

 were all off. There were a very few bees carried 

 into the honey-house ; but during the day they 

 flew to the window, which we swung open, and 

 they went home. We tried using Dr. Miller's small 

 tents of mosquito-bar over the supers during warm 

 weather, and found the bees soiled the sections by 

 their droppings when confined inside of the tent 

 before they found their way out at the top. We 

 found but little trouble in getting the bees out of 

 the supers by smoking them vigorously at first, not 

 too fast, so as to confuse the bees, but enough to 

 drive them down quickly, and then snatch them off 

 before the bees came up into them again. 



PACKING FOR MARKET. 



In packing honey for market, great care is taken 

 to have the bottom and three-fourths of an inch or 

 so up the sides well protected by two or three thick- 

 nesses of paper, with no break in the paper to let 

 the honey leak through. We generally have it 

 packed several days before sending; and if any 

 crate leaks we unpack and fix it so not a drop can 

 run out. It liurts tlic mle of honey very much to 

 have it leaky and dauhu to handle. It soon becomes 

 very untidy in looks; and it is the appearance of 

 the honey that makes it sell quickly. We have 

 taken great pains, in packing, to put all weak 

 combs between two strong ones. Occasionally we 

 find a crate or super of very nice honey, but sealed 

 only at the top and a little at sides. Such ones we 

 pack between two strong ones, and turn them bot- 

 tom upward. We hear no complaints of their be- 

 ing broken down, though I believe If we could 

 make sales of all such honey at home it would be 

 better; but we had more of it than we could well 

 sell at home. 



