1874. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



113 



OUR PRIMARY DEPARTMENT, 



Or First Principles in Bee-Keeping'. 



[Designed especially for the veriest novices, stad 

 those who know nothing of bees whatever. Conduct- 

 ed by a fellow Novice of several years experience 

 replete with blunders, as well as with occasional 



su ccesses. ] 



WE promised to tell how to "swarm grape 

 vines artificially." Very well; your 

 one vine is supposed to have become strong 

 and vigorous, and to have not only covered 

 the trellis completely, but to have seemingly 

 become impatient of being restrained by the 

 continual pinching back necessary to keep it 

 within such narrow limits. It in fact has per- 

 haps manifested this by blossoming and at- 

 tempting to bear grapes out of season near the 

 top bar of the trellis. It is precisely like a 

 colony having too many bees for the size of 

 the hive. Very likely each one of the ten up- 

 right caues has produced three or four tine 

 (dusters of extra large nice berries, but still 

 the vigor of the vine, (if our directions have 

 been carefully complied with) is equal to some- 

 thing more, and accordingly we encourage one 

 of the outside cane^ by allowing it to send a 

 new shoot up above the rest of the trellis. 

 When this is well started, the whole cane is 

 bent over so as to go strait down to the ground 

 and then curved outward so as to lie in a trench 

 a few inches deep, that it may be covered with 

 soil enough to protect it from injury. 



A new trellis is now to be constructed, if it 

 has not been done before, just 3 feet from the 

 old one ; that is, the two trellises are to have 

 a walk of just 3 feet in width between them. 

 The new shoot grows very rapidly and can 

 soon be tied up to the first post of the new 

 trellis and across the lower bar. Now select 

 a side shoot for each wire, and almost before 

 you are aware of it, you have another complete 

 grape vine. 



The accompanying engraving will make it 

 all plain. 



furnish shoots for not only a new one at the 

 right and left, but also for the whole six that 

 are to surround the original one, even in a sin- 

 gle season if need be. As the new vines take 

 root almost as soon as laid down, the old vine 

 suffers but little loss, and new ones that were 

 started in this manner the 4th of July last 

 season, are now pretty well loaded with line 

 grapes; their connection with the old vine en- 

 abling them to become bearing vines in one 

 year only. Although their remaining attached 

 to the old vine does not seem to impair its 

 productiveness, the aid they receive from it is 

 quite important. This matter we tested this 

 season by chopping one of the new vines off 

 where it left the old one, as we were hoeing 

 about them. It had been growing with great 

 vigor, and hail considerable fruit on it, but the 

 next day the sun hung its foliage like wilted 

 cabbage leaves. By heavy mulching, and buck- 

 ets of water, we induced it to look up again, 

 but it is tar behind its comrades and we have 

 decided it best not to sever "parental ties" in 

 future at all, and if we are careful in tieiny- 

 them close to the posts in laying them down, 

 they are never in the way. One strong Con- 

 cord vine, we think could in this manner be 

 easily increased to 100 in three years, and they 

 would all bear a crop in the year following the 

 one in which they were started. So far as 

 quality and size is concerned, of fruit from 

 vines trained in this manner we would only 

 say that we have never before seen it equaled. 

 Our vines are now loaded with delicious fruit, 

 and Blue Eye's eloquent praises of "Papa's 

 whole lot o' dapes," coupled with the appear- 

 ance of the great purple bunches (which we 

 would willingly share with our readers if we 

 could) is enough to give one a mania for "grape 

 growing," almost equal in virulence to the bee 

 fever. Long may these two innocent and fas- 

 cinating industrial pursuits, thrive in harmo- 

 ny. The idea, that the culture of either in any 

 way interferes with the other is a joke entirely 

 outside of our experience. Where grapes are 



"swarming" a grape vine. 



The view is taken from the south side, and 

 the hives are just visible through the foliage 

 in their proper places. One strong vine will 



trained thus, fowls if allowed will make sad 

 havoc among them ; the bees of course then 

 work on the bruised ones but never otherwise. 



