1875. 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



5 



3ffc^sicl;titf of Cfi*5iiil.|, 



FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS, 



1 



EAU NOVICE:— I iim working now on the prob- 

 5)) Icni (ifiiirreasin!? my bees next summer, witli 

 '' oiilv a (lav or two at a time, some « or 10 times. 

 1 liardlv know "whetluT it is best to hiive eadi colony 

 Jjuilii combs iMioiigh to 1111 a secoiul .story, and 1111 both 

 l)oJore making new colonies, or make new colonies 

 Hirst, and liave both working on the comb building. 

 iVrom mv expoiinients I am satlslied if I could bo home 

 to attenil to it, I could furnish them at least half the 

 vax for their comb, but I can't have the time, so must 

 3et tliem make all the wax. I was in liopcs you woulil 

 have been readv before this to put on tlie market mer- 

 <'hantablc coinb founilatious. 1 am not certain but 

 thin sheets of wax, without any indentations, if jtro))- 

 ■orlv preiiareil, are just as good as any. 



t'an voii tell any thing about the culture of catnip? 

 Shall it \)V sown broad cast and left to grow as a weed ? 

 Or shall it be sown in drills with room to cultivate 

 with a horse, between the rows ? How much seed will 

 ji .square ixxl or any given space require ? Or is the 

 Jjcst way to scatter seed i)i-omiscuously in fence rows, 

 •and waste places? 



C. ('. MiLLEK, Chicago, Ills. Dec. 2nd, 1874. 



If .s\varnni)j>: could be prevented and drone 

 comb building avoided, perluip.s the former 

 method would give most comb. All things 

 considered however, especially if you have fall 

 jiasturage, and desire surplus combs Ave think 

 you had better divide them as soon as they are 

 strong enough to admit of it safely. Will 

 friend Nevins give us some more detinite di- 

 rections for the culture of Catnip, especially 

 raising plants to bloom the same season ? 



Mr. J. R. Gardener, of Christiansburg, Va., 

 Is the only person we know of who succeeds 

 with artiticial comb foundations. We suc- 

 ceeded in getting the bees to use them partial- 

 ly, but it took too much time to fasten the 

 foundations in the frame etc. Bees can work 

 cheaijer than we can. 



There are but few men interested in bees in this 

 County and great prejudice exists against improved 

 iiives and Italian bees, charging my Italians with 

 being the cause of the death of their bees. 



I'EUKV Daniel, Springhills, Champaign Co,, O. 



Take courage friend D., they have accused 

 our l>ees ot the same thing, and backed up 

 their assertions by saying they knew they were 

 ours because they had flour on Uiem. We had 

 been feeding meal to all the bees in the vicini- 

 ty gratuitously, and because they died after- 

 wards, it was all laid to the Italians. This 

 was some time ago, they are learning better 

 now. 



TRIEXD NOVICE :— I have ma<le a foot power bu/.z 

 saw, it works well. I have kept bees for eight years 

 l>ast. 1874 has been the best season for honey out of 

 the eight. Wintered 7 swarms out of 9 last winter on 

 summer stands. Houace Eibbi', Lewiston, Maine, 



Have just housed my bees. I secured but .350 lbs. 



cxt'd honey, and 200 lbs. box honey, from 45 swarms. 



William Tkoveu, Annawan, Henry Co., Ills. 



But w^e want to know more a])out this, friend 

 T. If an apiary of 45 colonies, average less 

 than 121^ lbs. fjer colony, and with an extract- 

 or too, Ave fear either j'ou or the bees haven't 

 tried very hard. 



Bees swarmed freely but gave little box honey, 

 .some filled one box, others not any. Old Geauga "is 

 not a bee count}'. They are never known to till more 

 than two boxes'in one season. 



W. McBkide, Chardon, O. 



But, begging your pardon friend B., it is the 

 bee-keeper, not the County. Ten years ago it 

 was generally said that since the country was 

 cleared up, no honey Avas to be had about here, 



and bees Avere voted unprofitable. We now 

 think that there is lioney to be had every sea- 

 son, if we only have the utroiicj I'olonieH in time 

 to gather it. See reports in our back Nos. 

 Great yields are reported from all quarters 

 occasionally, and the most successful seem to 

 l)e coming to the conclusion all around that 

 honey is everyAvhere if it is only collected. 



My bees all died in the winter of '7'2 and *73. I think 

 they hail gathered lioney dew. They Avere heavy in 

 stores. June 1S7;5, bought a box hive and increased to 

 15; wintered them in a clam)), lost 3 in the spring, ect 

 them up to .'{5 this summer, and 600 lbs. ext'd honcv. 

 They are clamiicd again, in clay land, they came out 

 as dry as when they went in!^ My cellar is dami). 

 There is a yelloAV llower that grows"in the wet marsu, 

 a kind of sjjanish needle that yields honey plentitully 

 in Aug. and Sept., of an amber color, rniliau hemj> 

 and milk weed both catch the bees feet. I have seen 

 it. Both yield funny tasting honey. 



Jas. McLaY, Madison, Wis. 



Is it not amazing, that our friends build up 

 up so rapidly after their losses i* If Ave arc 

 making progress in no other direction, Ave cer- 

 tainl}' are learning to "pick up" ()uickly. 

 Fifteen from one in a season, is about the 

 greatest on record, if friend M. really means 

 he did that. 



Mk. ROOT, Dear Sir:— I am well pleased Avith the 

 two Vol's of Gleanings, but think I will not take it 

 the coming year. I am in fear 1 Avill get too wise, and 

 try diflerent ])lan8 and perhaps some that would not 

 Avork so well as my shed with the curtain arrange- 

 ment to it. 



D. N. Kern, Shimersville, Lehigh Co., Pa. 



There noAV ! Ave have certainly lost one of 

 our old friends, and Avith a true manly frank- 

 ness he tells us Avhy. We are getting "too 

 Avise" and too many "ucav plans." We don't 

 "plead guilty" to the former, but really fear 

 you may be right in the latter, friend K. Do 

 you really mean to bid us "good by foreA'erV" 

 Who knoAVs but Ave may "sAving round" to the 

 "shed Avith the curtain to it," finally. We haA-e 

 a kind of feeling that aa'C shall see you again 

 sometime after all, but in any event, we can 

 say heartily "long may you live and prosper," 

 and may you continue to be as frank with all, 

 as you have been Avith us. 



Bees did very well here last spring, until the drouth 

 set in, then thev ate up most of this honey. 1 hail 

 new swarms till their hives Avith honey in three 

 Aveeks. Have kept bees for eight years and never 

 lost a swarm from any kind of disease. Hives stand 

 out all t^e time. Sun Flowers, after the seed is 

 threshed out make excellent feeders. Fine wire in 

 front of a bee hat answers better than a veil as it ena- 

 bles one to see better, stands out from the face and is 

 cooler. Bees like vinegar Avith their syrup, say a 

 spoonful to a pint. 



C. H. English, Sullivan, Franklin Co., Mo. 



Did you ever ! Sunflowers ! There friend Mil- 

 ler ; raise a field of them for your bees — they 

 are excellent for honey — Avhon the honey is all 

 collected and flowers are dry. thresh out the 

 seed (can't it be ground into meal or "some- 

 thing" to feed them, winters'?) dip them in 

 melted Avax and there's your artificial comb, 

 strong, light, etc. If it "Avorks" thank Mr. 

 English. 



AVe hardly agree about the Avire cloth, all 

 that we have ever tried, obstructs vision much 

 more than the Brussels Net, that we use. We 

 are aAvare that bees like vinegar. IIoav many 

 of our lady readers have seen them "go for" 

 sweet pickles'? But is there no danger of its 

 making them unhealthy, as cider does '? We 

 should fear it. 



