1890 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



409 



honey were left in each hive. The frames were 

 fastened at top and bottom, and what we thought 

 would be ample screens for air were given them; 

 honey-boards were screwed down to prevent bees 

 from getting out, and just at night entrances were 

 closed with wire screen. Then my son, Oscar B. 

 (aged 19), commenced hauling' them to the depot, 

 where we had engaged a car. He worked till an 

 hour after midnight, hauling a part about two miles, 

 and the rest from the home apiary, nearly ?4 of a 

 mile. In the morning two more loads had to be 

 hauled; but we had all ready for the train, which 

 took us safely to Smyrna by 11 A. m. We had en- 

 gaged a flat-boat, or lighter, as it is called here, of 

 friend J. Y. Detwiler, to take the bees about three 

 miles south to the locality where we had decided to 

 keep them. There is a strong tidein the Hillsboro 

 River, and we had to wait till about 6 o'clock be- 

 fore we could have the tide with us. Then Oscar 

 fastened our own light row-boat to the bow of the 

 lighter, and we started, Oscar rowing as hard as he 

 could in order to make as much speed as possible; 

 yet darkness overtook us some time before we 

 reached our landing. When within 80 rods of our 

 destination the lighter ran into some oyster-bars in 

 the darkness, and we left it while we spent half an 

 hour in hunting for the wharf where we were to 

 land. Then another half-hour was spent in working 

 the lighter among a net-work of oyster-beds; and 

 when we reached our wharf we were two tired and 

 somewhat disgusted individuals. There was no 

 profane language used, I believe, as neither of us 

 had ever had any practice in that line; but I fear 

 that we felt in a frame of mind such as some of our 

 friends do when they use pretty strong language. 

 Not a light was to be seen. 



A NIGHT WITH MOSQUITOES AND SANB-FLIES. 



Our friends had retired for the night. The path 

 to the house was through a hummock little known 

 to us, and it was about 60 rods to the house. Oscar 

 eaid he could do no more, and, rather than try to 

 find the road and then awaken our friends, he lay 

 down on the wharf and slept till morning. After 

 looking to the bees, and bailing out the lighter, I 

 followed suit by making up a bed on top of some 

 bee-hives. Fortunately the night was clear. We 

 had plenty of bedding, a tent, etc., and were pre- 

 pared for camping out; but the mosquitoes and 

 sand-flies were on hand and ready for business, thou- 

 sands of them. We had bee-veils over our faces, and 

 our hands covered. We finally had to cover our faces 

 with our blankets, all we could, and leave room to 

 breathe. It was nearly midnight before I slept. By 

 sunrise we had eaten our breakfast, and spent the 

 entire day in getting the bees to land. 



PCKE ITAI.IANS BETTER FOR MOVING. 



We found them all right except one colony evi- 

 dently smothered, and a few bees dead in a few 

 hives. I noticed that the pure Italians lost less 

 than the dark hybrids. We afterward moved one 

 colony of Italians over 25 miles in a wagon, and 

 they made very little disturbance. The dark bees 

 seem to get more excited, and crowd for the en- 

 trance and ventilating screen, thus shutting off the 

 supply of air. 



A POOR YIELD FROM MANGROVE. 



The mangrove did not yield much honey before 

 the 10th of July, and then the flow was not con- 

 stant. It seemed to do better after a good shower 

 of rain, while a few days of hot dry weather would 

 be a sure indication of idleness in the apiary. We 



secured only about 600 lbs. of honey, and the last of 

 that was undoubtedly mixed with cabbage-pal- 

 metto honey, which is also a very light-colored 

 honey, and of fine flavor. Every bee-keeper with 

 whom I talked upon the subject said it was one of 

 the poorest seasons for honey ever known. Some 

 thought that the yield is always light when the 

 mangrove-blossoms are so late in the season. In 

 counting the profits of our experiment, the 000 lbs. 

 of palmetto honey taken before moving would have 

 to be added to the 600 of mangrove, as we could not 

 have extracted the palmetto honey had the bees 

 b'jen left at home; l;'00 lbs. at 7 cents, what we have 

 been getting for most of our honey in our home 

 market, would give .f 84.00. Less cash expense of 

 moving, $24.00, would leave about $60 for our labor 

 — not very high wages, certainly. Large quantities 

 of honey could not be disposed of at 7 cents per 

 pound. One beekeeper shipped several barrels to 

 the North, and realized only 4 cts. Another sold 

 8 or 10 barrels at home for .5 cents. We left the bees 

 at the coast till December. The last time we ex- 

 tracted, which was during the first half of August, 

 we left plenty of honey in the hives. Some honey 

 was to be had from various flowers, but not enough 

 for the needs of daily consumption; and by the 

 last of October there was very little left. It looked 

 as though the bees would have to be fed or starve. 

 Oscar and I went over to look after them about the 

 first of November, and found them storing 



HONEY FROM SAW-PALMETTO BERRIE.S. 



This product is more like a poor quality of syrup 

 than honey; but the bees seemed to thrive on it. 

 We concluded to let them work away while we took 

 a two weeks' trip 50 or 60 miles north on the Halifax 

 River, and Smith's Bulow, and Tamaka Creeks, 

 camping out and adding to our collections in botany 

 and conchology. On our return we found the bees 

 still storing from the palmetto-berries, so we left 

 them a few weeks longer. When we moved them 

 home in December the hives were quite heavy with 

 honey. I am satisfied that, had it not been for the 

 palmetto - berries, we should either have been 

 obliged to feed the bees for a long time, or let them 

 starve. The palmetto is said not to yield a crop of 

 berries everj- year. 



WOOD-ANTS. 



We lost two colonies from robbing, and two from 

 attacks of the large wood-ant that is sometimes so 

 destructive to bees near the coast. Had we been 

 with the bees we could have saved those four colo- 

 nies. The ants can be destroyed by following them 

 to their hiding-places. Those that did the mischief 

 for us first made their nests in the top of the hives; 

 and when they got pretty strong they commenced 

 killing, and, I think, eating the bees. I saved one 

 colony they had commenced on. In one corner of 

 the hive there was about a pint of dead bees with 

 wings torn off, and the bees torn to pieces. The 

 rest of the bees were on the combs all right, and 1 

 was satisfied that the ants were eating a few every 

 day. I brushed the ants out of the hive, and a flock 

 of chickens snapped them up as fast as they struck 

 the ground. They made no more trouble in that 

 hive. The hives were set on large spikes, and the 

 spikes in cans of water; but the cans got empty, 

 and the ants found their way into the hives. They 

 work only at night, remaining hid during the day. 



On the whole it is hard telling whether our ex- 

 periment paid us in any way except in the experi- 

 ence gained or not. I have no doubt that, in a good 



