tS75 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



n 



[For Gleanings.] 

 ABOl T XlIK RAIL, KOAD APIARY. 



1!\ 1'. W. MCFATKIDGK. 



\»J|U1END NOVICE :— "That dwindling down in 

 ISn oiTK OWN Ai)iary" has been given to the past. 

 .J. How did \Tc do It ? 1 will tell you. It was that 

 Hail K»ad that did It. Yon see about the 24 Ik of 

 March when tliose "zero freezes" were kilUug your 

 iiusealed larv:e we had just simplv to run our whole 

 Ai'iAKY into tlie liouse where th'e temperature was 

 from 4,") to SO '. No killing larva; there. No Sir-e-c, 

 4Uid it was all done in -20 minutes. No lugging hives 

 ■either. Well, soon as It was warm enough we run 'em 

 out again, and when the great freeze came on Thurs- 

 <ia»- night April l.'ith, 187r), I awoice about 15 o'clock 

 V. M. Friday morning the HHh, and looking out of the 

 window saw the snow on tlie Apiary. It didn't take 

 me long to hnUer out "i?()^'S get up and let us put 

 the bees in the house," and in less than half an hour 

 ■our whole Ai)iary was snugly in a warm room we had 

 then 80 colonies, "many had been weakened down du- 

 ring the winter and we had, before this, united tliem 

 into 80; tliere were wlieu Urst set out, 113 colonies. 

 AVe kept them in the room until Monday morning, 

 iibout 9 o'cUx'k A.M., when we run them out again 

 ■and tliey never "Ajiott'cci" that there had been an aw- 

 inl freeze. IJut they were most awful thirsty. Why 

 what do you think? They took away 22 gallons of 

 •sweetened" water before the sun went down that day. 

 'The water was the washings of our honey barrels and 

 ihe sa-aps of honey laid aside tlie previous summer, 

 M'as perliaps as sweet as four gallons of sugar water 

 boiled into one. A large portion of our colonies have 

 to-day sealed brood in 8 combs, and we have been 

 obliged to give them combs in the upper story, to pre- 

 vent preparation for swarming. 



Yes, our Kail Road system has cost us some money, 

 i)ut we have better control of our Apiary tlian ever 

 before, with a great deal less labor. The w'hole R. li. 

 aipparatus cost us about SIOO.OO and by adding SlO.OO 

 »nore (two cars) will accommodate 160 colonies of bees. 

 This includes only the R. R. attachment. You say in 

 April No. (jiLEANiNGS in alluding to our machinery 

 ■"It would be rather expensive." Don't you think that 

 yoiu" 50 colonies would b.ave been to-day, worth S2.00 

 each, more than they are if they could have been In a 

 ,svarm room during those two cold spells ? If so, then 

 your R. R- would have paid you all expenses first poj). 

 Llnd I think you would certainly have had them in 

 the house if you could have put them there without 

 '■•Ingging.'' 



1 was at J. S. Hill's Ai)iai^' (12 miles north of Cincin- 

 nati) a few days ago, and think I never saw an Apiary 

 in better order. Every thing in the nicest trim. 

 Eighty colonics, 5Quecnlcss, 3 or i having brood in 

 'i or o combs, and the balance in fair condition. Win- 

 tered on summer stands with quilts on and chaff in 

 upper story so arranged that it can be taken off at any 

 lime without disturbing the chaff. 1 like the plan of 

 <;uilt and chaff so well that we will adopt it next 

 spring in connection with our R. R. system, after the 

 bees are run out of the house. Friend Hill and I were 

 wondering what Novice's next liobby would be. I 

 told him I tljought out-door wintering. You have 

 tried a good many devices but don't go back to out- 

 <loor wintering yet, trv a R. R. once. 



Bee City, May 10th, 1875. 



We fully appreciate your idea friend M., but 

 still think the same thing may be accomplished 

 easier. For instance, your hives on the cars 

 iire not in a convenient shape for extracting, 

 and we should fear they were too close togetli- 

 for either Queens or workers during the sea- 

 son. "Our next hobby" would be something 

 to give the bees just the protection you men- 

 tion, and yet leave them on their summer 

 si^ands, grape vines and all. An Apiary of 80 

 colonies if arranged hexagonally need not cov- 

 er so much ground but that a roof might be so 

 arranged on wheels as to be run over the en- 

 tire enclosure, oven easier than you run out 

 your hives; this would leave the hives undis- 

 turbed, and in fact should our stocks noio (May 

 17th) be wheeled in and out on cars, we fear 

 some of them would "bile out," just a little. 

 A\'e really feel as if we would like to let our 

 bees remain in quietness the rest of their lives 



where they si and, and if any protection be giv- 

 en them, it is to be quietly pushed over them. 

 The walls of this enclosure can be made doub- 

 le, and tilled with sawdust; and for that mat- 

 ter the north roof might also, as all we want 

 in the working season is .til of the sun-siilne 

 and plenty of air, without high winds. To 

 avoid moving this heavy roof, perhaps we can 

 make use of friend Kern's curtains. At pres- 

 ent, we believe such an enclosure to keep off 

 the severe frosts in the spring, would bo just 

 as well, or better, without any windows, and 

 keeping the bees in darkness as near as maybe 

 when it is not warm enough for tiiem to i]y 

 out of doors, we believe would be for their ben- 

 efit. If all cold winds were kept otf, the bees 

 would work on meal inside such a l)uikling, 

 when they would not outside, as we have 

 proved by experiment, but we doubt the poliej- 

 of ever letting them know they are "shut up" 

 and when ever they are flying, they should Ixi 

 allowed to go out if they wish, that is, no glass 

 should restrain them, and we much doubt the 

 policj' of commencing to stimulate before April. 

 There are many difficulties in the way, such 

 as depriving them of all the benefit of a cover- 

 ing of snow in winter etc., but we do hope 

 those who feel interested, will make some care- 

 ful experiments. Patent right men are alreadj' 

 claiming they have made it a success, and are 

 oflering to sell townships and counties, but 

 flonH yau heliew a tcord they say. We will take 

 all pains to keep our readers fully posted in 

 regard to any real improvement. 



^ ■»■ ^ 



[For Gleanings.] 

 THE EGITPTIAIV BEES IN THEIR 

 NATIVE LAND. 



FURNISHED BY J. H. PIEKCE, DAYTON, O. 



^j^JiROM Swineforth's "Heart of Africa" I condense 

 "^ the following "first-rate" notice of the Egyptian 



Bee as observed by him on his voyage up the 

 Nile. "As our towing rope was being drawn along 

 through the grass on the banks, it disturbed a colony 

 of bees. In a moment like a great cloud they burst 

 upon tlie men who were rowing; they all plunged in- 

 to the water and sought to regain the boat. The bees 

 followed them and in a few seconds filled every nook 

 and cranny of the deck. I was arranging my jilants 

 in my cabin, and called out to know the cause of tlie 

 noise and confusion, but got onlv excited gestures, 

 with the cry of "Bees ! Bees !" 1 tried in vain to light 

 my pipe. In an instant thousands of bees are about 

 me, and I am mercilessly stung, all over my face and 

 hands. Vainly I try to protect my face witli my liaiul- 

 kerchief, and tlie more violent my motions, the greater 

 the fury of the bees. The maddening pain is now in 

 my cheek, now in my eye, now in my head. The tlojp 

 under my bed are lian'tic and burse out overturning 

 every thing in their way. Losing well nigh all con- 

 trol, I fling mvself in despair into the river; I dive, 

 but all in vain, for the stings still rain down upon my 

 head. I creep through the reedy grass to the swampy 

 banks, and with lacerated hands try to gain the 

 mainland to find shelter in the woods, but am di-agged 

 back by my servants with such force that I am nearly 

 choked in the mud. Again on board, I drag a sheat 

 Irom niv chest, which affords me some protection, 

 while I gradually crush the bees enclosed within the 

 sheet. Bv great courage on the part of my people, 

 my large dog was brought on board and covered with 

 cloths, a smaller one was never recovered, stnng tb 

 death no doubt, by the bees. Cowering down under 

 my sheet, I lingered out full three hours, whilst the 

 buzzing continued uninterruptedly, and solitary stin^ 

 pcnttrated i)eriodically through the linen. Everyone 

 become equally passive with myself, perfect silenae 

 reigned on board, and the bees subsided. Some of the 

 crew then crept stealthily to the bank, and fired the 

 reeds. Tlie smoke scared awav the bees, and the 

 lioat was drawn to tlie other bank. 



With the aid of a looking glass and pincers I ex- 

 tracted the slings from my hands and face, but could 



