142 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



again hone)- by extracting as we would if we had 

 made them store in boxes. We had three of our 

 strongest with boxes on— got tired of their slow work- 

 took them all out except from one hive which we 

 made finish up those that were nearly full, and ex- 

 tracted the rest. 



Our bees are mostly Italians, think they are much 

 better than the common blacks. I have a few ques- 

 tions I would like to ask. 



1. How do you manage to keen track of your hives 

 that vou have extracted ? do you commence and go 



through the whole apiary at once ? If you skip around, 

 one so soon gets mixed up unless accurate account is 

 kept, on paper. 



We , take each hive in regular order. 

 Some may not be ready 'tis true but we look 

 them over and see that they need nothing. In 

 this way we are sure to see that all Queens are 

 doing their duty etc., also we can readily com- 

 pare oue colony with another. 



2. How did your hemp pay you ? I noticed in 

 Gleanings you 'thought of trying it this year. Would 

 vou advise raising it for bees. 



We did not try the Hemp although Messrs. 

 Shaw & Son did. Bees worked on it some in 

 the morning but perhaps not more than on 

 corn and some other pollen yielding plants. 

 We do not think it would pay to raise it exclu- 

 sively for bees. 



3. Could you tell us the best method of harvesting a 

 crop of mustard s-^ed ? and if the black mustard is 

 better than white for honey, could the seed be sold to 

 advantage do you think? Is the white ever sowed 

 for bees ? 



We will try to collect information in regard 

 to mustard before another season. See page 

 124 last month. 



4. What sized honey jar sells best, one, two, or 

 three lb. ? 



We now use Mason's 3 lb. Fruit Jars. We 

 prefer them because consumers, having no use 

 for jars made expressly for honey, wish us to 

 take them back when emptied, and coming one 

 sit, a time, they are too much trouble. The 

 regular fruit jar can be sold with the honey, at 

 the market price, and thus afford a small profit 

 also. 



5. Do you think bees would go back to their hives 

 if put in a warm room with one south window, and 

 allowed to take a fly in the winter time, if the hive 

 were set against the window? if they would, would 

 it not be a benefit to any colony troubled with dysen- 

 tery ? 



If you could have a window that reached 

 down to the floor, so that the entrance to the 

 hive could be placed very near where they 

 would fall when tired of flying against the 

 glass, it would probably succeed. Perhaps a 

 broad table placed tight against the window 

 sill, that they might not get down on the floor, 

 might answer. The room must not be too 

 warm. We are inclined to think from 60 to 70° 

 enough. They will buzz on the window a good 

 deal the first day, but soon get used to it, and 

 fly about the room safely. 



Will you please describe golden rod and aster? 

 how tall do they grow ? 



Both belong to large families, show many 

 varieties and usually grow from 4 to 6 feet 

 high. The Golden rod may be known by its 

 solid masses of golden hued bloom, composed 

 of many small blossoms. The Aster on the 

 contrary bears flowers singly that are perhaps 

 an inch or more in diameter, and somewhat 

 resemble a Sun Flower on a small scale. Dif- 

 ferent varieties are found of each in different 

 localities. To furnish honey profitably, like 

 all other plants, there must be acres of them. 



6. In using your surplus bees to raise Queens in top 

 of hive will bees enough stay there ? or is it necessary 

 to shut them in? 



Bees enough will usually stay if brood be 

 moved up with them. Sometimes however, 

 we have found it necessary to fasten them in 

 for two or three days. 



7. Some recommend turnips to be planted so as to 

 blossom just after fruit blossoms. Should the turnips- 

 be set out in the spring early, for that purpose ? I 

 think the seed would not blossom so early, and tur- 

 nips would not live in the ground if left in through 

 the winter in this climate. I would think it quite a 

 task to set out a very large bed of turnips, and unless 

 of considerable size, it would not benefit bees. 



We think you are right. Unless one had a 

 job of raising turnip seed for the market, 

 'twould "cost more than it come to." If cover- 

 ed with light top dressing, they might stand 

 the winter, but even this would be rather ex- 

 pensive. To derive any appreciable benefit, 

 we really must have acres of the flowers. 



8. We use the Peabody extractor. Don't see how 

 an extractor could work better, but we have never 

 seen any other. 



The Peabody machine certainly does good 

 work, but it runs hard and works slowly. 

 With thick honey, it must be brought up to a 

 high speed requiring a man's strength ; when 

 this speed is attained, it requires even more 

 than a man's strength to stop it instantly as 

 we readily do those machines in which only 

 the light frame that holds the combs revolves. 

 Your husband is doubtless strong (and pa- 

 tient ?) or he would have complained of heavy 

 Quinby combs ere this. 



9. We also use the Quinby hive and like it real well, 

 don't see that we could better it very much. 



The Quinby frame is certainly a good one ; 

 perhaps the best, where only a man handles 

 them. 



10. We made a universal feeder for each hive, ex- 

 tracted all their honey, made good thick syrup and 

 fed the bees for their winter stores. We have now 47 

 good colonies with plenty of good sugar syrup sealed 

 in their combs ; for winter feed we used about 20 lbs. 

 sugar per colony, they seem to have plenty. 



We like the feeder, only one has to learn how to 

 use it. We got the strongest Indian Head Factory we 

 could find but syrup of what we thought the right, 

 thickness would run through too fast, so we took a 

 swab and rubbed a mixture over it, > 4 ' beeswax and % 

 rosin melted together, not all over it, but just enough 

 to prevent the syrup from running through too fast. 



Use canvas, or "duck," as it is sometimes 

 called, and you can feed even clear water in it 

 if you choose. 



11. Husband made a tent which he thought very 

 handy to finish extracting in, or rather to put over the 

 hives* while taking out combs. We did the extracting 

 in the house, the back of the tent was fixed on two- 

 wheels, and when he wished to move it he only had to 

 lift the front and move it like a wheelbarrow, we only 

 needed to use it at the close of the last honey harvest. 

 We could not have taken all their stores without it. 



Sakaii J. W. Axtell, Roseville, 111. Nov. 3rd, 1874. 



We presume such a tent is an excellent idea, 

 although we have never used one. In remo- 

 ving the honey preparatory to fe'eding syrup in 

 the fall, robbers are so troublesome that 'twould 

 be difficult to get along without some similar 

 device. If you put your tent owfour wheels, 

 and place it on a track which runs between 

 two rows of hives, you have friend Blakeslee's 

 idea precisely. Thanks for your very practic- 

 al and useful letter. 



A. I. ROOT & Co. :— Why Novice! assure as the 

 world if what I find wav down in the corner of cover 

 of Nov. Gleanings is correct, all our dollar Queens 

 are pure, and also the one sent me by H. Alley. After 

 we had learned how to introduce Italian Queens suc- 

 cessfully, (which we have done with more success late 

 this fall than early last summer: we thought we 

 would have one pure if we had to send all the way to 



