[04 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



more surplus vet as we generally have a good yield 

 of fall honey, t he country being yellow with golden- 

 rod after the middle of Auk. This is only my third 

 year at Bee-keeping, and all I know I have learned 

 fry reading and observation, and no one to go to for 

 information, lor movable comb hives are as scarce as 

 "chicken's teeth." I have about lioo lbs. of White clo- 

 ver and 450 of Fruit blossom honey, and if I can sell 

 this readily I will go deeper still. " 



('. II. Rue, Manalapan, N. J. Aug. 6th '74. 



N o. May ", Ji>a J Jim J Jra j Jul | Jul < Jul • Jul j Au S Total 



hive 30 | 11 | 21 | 27 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 25 | 4 



1 each, 

 lbs. 



1 I 7¥ 3? 4 20 ' 4 31 X 35* 53 52 X 73 27X1 304 



60 24><i 242 

 90 27 296 1 4 

 65 18 229 



7'-, 

 6 '., 

 

 



•J'.. I J, 26 ^ 37 3(!;i 34 



4 l 4 1S>_, 32 'i 43% 44 31 



2 16 23 # l!» l 4 48 38 



4 lil 44% 45# 43X 35 



xtng 

 day. 



270^ 

 1842 



Tot'll 27 17X 85»,15S, 180 2 

 Spring I Clover and 

 honey. | Raspberry. 

 Average yield per hive 2G8 2-5 lbs. 



Editor Gleanings : The above is what I have 

 done this season with five, 32 (Kidder) frame, Gallup 

 hives and Italian bees. As you perceive, bees did not 

 gather much until the middle of June, the spring be- 

 ing very cold and backward here. The secret of large 

 yields of honey is to keep strong stocks. I have just 

 put division boards in the ('enter oft hives and intend 

 to have i) swarms if they keep strong enough, as I gave 

 them an entrance at each end of the hive. The divi- 

 sion boards are perforated and covered with wire- 

 doth thus giving the two swarms the heat of one. 1 

 want 18c for my honey which is very thick and nise. 



Wai. H. S. GitODT, Poland Centre, Chant. Co., N. Y. 



Thanks for your very complete report. We 

 fear we shall become converged to 32 frame 

 hives, but from Quinby's report are we nut at 

 liberty to consider a two story arrangement of 

 them, at least equally as good, as a horizontal V 

 Is it not possible that the approaching hive is 

 to be double width, and two story, whatever 

 may be the frame V can no one furnish a report 

 from a similar hive composed of 40 Langstroth 

 (fames? Kidder frame is 14 by 12 Ave think. 



Be careful of wire-cloth on division boards, 

 see page 74 July No. 



cd if I am somewhat skeptical in regard to the advan- 

 tages of extracted over box honey. Where the yield 

 of honey conies with a rush, for instance, where" it i- 

 nearly all basswood, I have no doubt the use of the 

 extractor will prove most profitable, but where the 

 yield is gradual, lasting a long time, as it generally 

 does with us, 1 have, as yet, seen nothing to prove 

 that the use of the extractor will yield most profit 

 here, especially when we take in consideration the 

 difference in the demand. Dealers come a distance of 

 ten or twelve miles and take away the box honey, but 

 the extracted I have to carry to them, and then find it 

 dull sale. I believe in building up" a home market, 

 hence, try to furnish what there is a call for. 



James Bolin, West Lodi, O. Aug. 12th, 1874. 



There, friend B., we had suspected you of 

 heresy before ; however, we are content to let 

 you work out your own reformation as the rest 

 of the bee-keeping world are doing rapidly. 



FRIEND NOVICE:— 1 fear you will often have 

 cause to be disappointed by my mistakes and short- 

 comings, since to err, you know, is human. But were 

 you not "putting it on pretty thick" in expecting me 

 to report 100 lbs. to the hive, which is, perhaps, nearly 

 double the average amount reported in Gleanings 

 tor July? 



We have, less white clover this season than I have 

 ever known, as it was nearly all killed last winter, 

 and the same may be said of red, in this neighborhood. 

 Two miles north ot here there is considerable red 

 clover and nearly all the clover honey we have came 

 from there. However I will do the best I can, and if 

 I fail to reach the standard you have set up for me, 

 please don't, "view me with a critic's eye etc." 



But is extracted honey really so much more profit- 

 able than box, in all places, and under till circum- 

 stances ? With your permission 1 will give a little of 

 my experience. Three years ago I had a pretty severe 

 attack of "extractor on the brain" and determined to 

 surprise the natives, by the amount of honey I would 

 obtain from some of my bees. So in the spring I se- 

 lected a number of my very best stocks, and as soon 

 as they needed more room I put on the Upper story, 

 filled with empty combs, and as fast as they filled 

 their hives with honey I extracted it. 



Now for the result. The most honey I obtained 

 from any one of them was 168 lbs. while several 

 swarms that I let "fool away their time on box honey" 

 yielded over 120 lbs. each ; and from one stock that 

 swarmed twice, and the swarms that came from it, I 

 obtained 216 lbs. of box honey. Isold the extracted 

 at 18, and the box at 25 cts. per lb. The account 

 would stand about as follows: 



216 lbs. box honey(5 25c $54.00 



168 " extracted' " 18 30.24 



l tifference in favor of box honey 123.76 



or, ad ling value of the two swarms, $15.00 each. . .30.00 



153.76 

 Now, in view of the above, I hope I may be pardon- 



A I ROOT & Co :— I must say a word further in regard 

 to what was called errors in judgement. I had said 

 in circular that we had extracted 361 lbs in one sea- 

 son, from one hive, and over 200 lbs box honey: and 

 intimated that even this amount might be exceeded. 

 Part of such result was attributed to giving abundant 

 room in the hive. Capt. Hetherington, Cherry Valley, 

 N. Y., will reach this amount of box honey from a 

 hive—I will venture to say, from 100 hives— this sea- 

 son. Mr. P. Elwood, Starkville, Herkimer Co., N.Y., 

 had one stock last spring— in Quinby hive— the Queen 

 of the family came from you. Began with eight combs. 

 As the center ones became filled with brood, they 

 were m oved toward the outside, aud the empty 

 ones put in their place, till sixteen were full, on the 

 bottom board ; and then another course was placed 

 directly over them, and the bees had increased to oc- 

 cupy the whole.No brood had been taken from them to 

 assist others ; neither did they have assistance from 

 others. He commenced extracting before they had 

 accumulated much, and kept, the date of each time, 

 and amount obtained— will give them at another time . 

 1 only remember the product of two davs— 57 V lbs. 

 In the aggregate, 502 lbs. I visited him Aug. 11th. 

 Before that day he had taken 440 lbs. This was so 

 extraordinary that I expressed a wish to see how 

 much was accumulated since the last was taken. To 

 accommodate me and some others present, he let us 

 witness his taking 62 lbs. All up to that time was 

 white honey. Buckwheat was just beginning to yield. 

 What it will amount to is yet to be seen. The crop is 

 promising, and usually amounts to half or two thirds 

 as much as the white honey. It seems safe to esti- 

 mate over 800 lbs. that this "one hive will give in one 

 season. The parts relating to what he already has, 

 can be substantiated beyond dispute. When this a- 

 mount can be obtained from any hive except one on 

 this principle, I would like to know it; your readers 

 would also. 



M. Quinby, St Johnsville, N. Y. Aug. 21st, 1874. 



Lest it might appear we had a position to 

 defend, we will submit the question to our 

 readers whether this great result is to be at- 

 tributed to the hive, locality, their owner, or 

 the queen. We are much obliged indeed to 

 Mr. Q. for the reports, but we really should 

 have liked with them, a report also of the rest 

 of the Apiary. Capt. Hetherington has, or 

 had, near 1000* colonies, and Mr. Elwood, as 

 nearly as Ave can determine, about 200; what 

 the rest did, and the general average, it seems 

 to us should be given Avith the above to pre- 

 vent mistaken impressions. Reports have been 

 given in Gleanikos nearly if not quite equal 

 to the above, and with a diversity of hives. 

 Is it not much due to plenty of empty combs 



and an intelligent but stay; if the Queen 



came from us 'tAvas certainly a "dollar Queen," 

 and Gallup, and some others, say that "dollar 



Queens" Why can Ave not rear such Queens 



every time, and get such crops of honey from 

 every hive V Truly perfection belongs not to 

 bee-keepers, any more than to mankind gener- 

 ally. We gave directions for making a mam- 

 moth hive "similar to the one d< scribed by Mr. 

 Q., on page 37, Vol. 1. 



