1S90 



GLEANIlirGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



743 



cipiiUy for comb honey. In tlio apiaries at and 

 near iionic tlie lioncy nsourccs arc limited to 

 clov(>r and hucixwiieat. while his apiary over in 

 Allegany Co. has the advantage of basswood. 

 Mr. Stei)h(Mis and Spragne both i)refer black 

 bees. INInch buckwheat is sown in 8teuben Co.. 

 and on that account the blacks are preferred. 

 The L. hive is used to a large extent, but we 

 saw quite a sprinkling of lleddon hives. We 



W^c.VeY^S^'" 



wiio lielieves in a divei-sitied ])nrsuit. He runs a 

 fai'm, an apiary, a IJi'ahma i)oultry-yai'd. a 

 flock of ii(>ac()cks. and a stable of Perchei-on 

 iiors(>s. This carrying of eggs all in on(> basket 

 does not agree with ]Mr. C. If the season blasts 

 his hopes on one or two things, the others arc 

 successful, and lie is happy. 



While riding along we were shown the resi- 

 dence of an old-tim<> bee-keei)er. INIr. Ilugenoi'. 

 who luid no i'U(\ of peculiaiities. While the 

 bees were swarming he constantly I'epeated in 

 a monotonous undertone the following "charm:'* 



Flutter, low flutter, nigh; 

 Busy bee, don't go high; 

 Wlii'rl around the busy queen. 

 Alight down hei'e upon the green. 

 Steady now, my hearties, steady; 

 Here I have a hive all ready. 



The bees always alight low. so thni say. An- 

 other belief (inite common in the neighborhood. 

 and which came fi'om the same souice. is. that 

 bees choose their course on the first of May. 

 This solves a problem that has been of much 

 vexatious stttdy for the Rambler. To diffuse 

 themselves evenly over a given field must nec- 

 essarily require i)reconcerted action, and that 

 explains why some colonies outdistance their 

 neighbors in honey-gathering. The 1st of IMay 

 is a great day in beedom. We send you a 

 picture of our happy and wise old friend. No 

 doubt he would be pleased to give much in- 

 formation upon the subject; but. come to think 

 of it, he, like old Grimes, the good old man, is— 

 dead! 



Having learned all we could about the bees 

 and the people of Steuben Co., we bade our 

 relatives and transient friends good-by, and ac- 



were shown a very c'neap chaff hive taking an 

 L. frame. It had double walls, packed, and in 

 winter a cushion is laid over the frames and a 

 light case slipped over all. Mr. 8. was so well 

 pleased with the working of these hives that 

 several were under construction. In the honey- 

 house we saw a Novice extractor and an old- 

 style Peabody, which is strong evidence that 

 Mr. S. has been long in the business. A charm- 

 ing point about Mr. Stephens' location is, that 

 his entii-e honey-crop is sold in the home market 



Hornellsville, located only a few miles distant, 

 is a smart and rapidly growing town of abou'. 

 10,000 population. The principal grocers are 

 supplied regularly; and, as long as he can sup- 

 ply the demand, California and other foreign 

 honey does not find lodgment here, but is sent 

 on to other cities. Extracted honey was slow 

 to sell at first: but by putting a good quality 

 upon the market he finds the sale increasing. 

 His good home market will induce him to in- 

 crease his apiaries, and extend the business. 

 Having two energetic sons to help, he is well 

 equipped for the extension. 



Cellar wintering is practiced to a considerable 

 extent, though outdoor wintering would be pre- 

 ferred, and is resoi-ted to in out-apiaries. 



We discussed the many (pialities and ijeculi- 

 arities of extracted honey, and found our friends 

 believing strongly in the idea that candied 

 honey could be made nearly dryi and powdery 

 by draining; but the Rambler, having tried 

 the draining process, is inclined to the belief 

 that a current of air is necessary to drive out 

 the moisture. All of this drained honey is 

 usually found near stave joints or on the sur- 

 fac(!. If we had a shop in which a blower was 

 running we should certainly turn a current of 

 air through sonu^ candit^l honey, and watch 

 the effect. If one temperature did not have any 

 effect we would try another and get a range of 

 temperature from warm to icy cold. Will some 

 one try it and giv(i us evaporated honey ? 



Our next call was upon Mr. Samuel Cotton, 



HAPPY CONDITION OF THE KAMI5LER. 



cepted the invitation of Geo. Silsby to ride to 

 Wallace's Station with him in his barouche. 

 Thougii the roads were muddy and rough, we 

 had a delightful ride. We send a sketch, show- 

 ing the happy condition of the Rambler. 



Friend R., you have actually found a bee- 

 keeper who is well pleased with the outside 

 protecting shell we described on page (598 of our 

 last issue. I believe there is something in it 

 yet, although the senior editor threw cold water 

 over it. What we want is something that will 

 enable bee-keepers to use the single-walled 

 hives we already have in use, with a little more 

 expense added, for outdooi' wint<!ring. I hope 

 Mr. W. B. Stephens, if he sees this, will en- 

 lighten us more concerning it.— Uncle Hugenor 

 looks as thougli he might be a firm believer in 

 a charm for calling down swarms. No wonder 

 his bees alighted low, for they could not do 

 otherwise.— The happy condition of the Ram- 

 bler, as shown in the above, calls vividly to mind 

 some of my experiences. I thought it was bad 



