1875 



GLEANINGS IN BEE UULTURE. 



12o 



fjces liave some of them been busy on the red 

 clover for some days past, and we have been 

 <liute anxious to see about iiow muchoftlie 

 honey tluy were gettinij was from this same 

 red clover. By careful watcliiufj; we discover- 

 ed that these bot's always collected a dark 

 jj;reeu iKjllen while they worked on tJie clover, 

 and then we went to the hives and found the 

 .same bees going iu with the dark, unsightly 

 looking polTeu, and we decided to tell you all 

 that when you saw this pollen, your bees were 

 certainly at work on red clovei'. Now when 

 we found thiit this jn'opolis from the quilt was 

 precisely in iippcarauce like the clover pollen, 

 we concluded to "go slow" in drawing conclu- 

 sions. 



To-day a visitor, on looking into the auger 

 hole entrances, remarked that the bees were 

 closing them up, and sure enough, they had 

 built walls or^sheets of propolis so perfect that 

 one entrance was reduced to the size of ones' 

 little ringer, and the funny part is that these 

 walls are all at the inner end of the tubes, 

 ■close to the combs. Are we sure that they do 

 not know what is best for them, and is it not 

 right for them to coat the whole inside of their 

 hives with this propolis, at the approach of 

 cold weather ? We confess that having seen 

 ,so many colonies winter nicely thus prepared, 

 — out of doors, — has given us quite a strong 

 notion of letting them fix their hives in the 

 house Apiar^^ just as they ivant them. See 

 page 1^4, Vol. 2. 



i<ept. iltJi.- — Home once znore, and to confess 

 the truth, our own Apiary looks about as dis- 

 orderly as any we have seen. The weeds have 

 ii;rowu much iu our absence, ))nt the empty 

 boxes, sticks, rubbish, etc., that are scattered 

 about are certainly as we left then). Why is it 

 that such things always accumulate in the fall 

 months y It seems to ))e an easy matter to 

 keep tilings nejit in the spring and summer, 

 but when Irosty weather comes, things irlll get 

 to looking loose and disorderly, and when the 

 bees are buzzing about, trying to i'o)j each oth- 

 er, etc., somehow the wdioh; aspect seems dis- 

 j)iriting, and then we are very much inclined 

 to want to get away and forget all about them 

 in tl'.e discharge of some pleasanter duties. 

 Now this is all wrong; very likely our Apiary 

 needs more attention now, than during any 

 other month in the year, and we are going 

 td)out it at once to put everything in as nice 

 order as we know how, and then when we are 

 feeding, uniting W"eak colonies, examining 

 stores, etc., avc can feel thai such duties are a 

 pleasure, and not mere drudgery, and as a con- 

 se((uence they will stand a chance of being /cell 

 ifotie. Who among us all will have the neatest 

 and tidiest looking Apiary during the month 

 of Oct. ? You do not deserve to liave your bees 

 winter safely, if you do not see that all such 

 work is faitiifully attended to Just as soon as 

 thisnvimber reaches you. 



\HHAT A LAOV t'A.^ OO. 



- /• SELL at 20 cts. at home, but have about 3 barrels 

 ];([ which I would ship. Can you ndvise me ? It's all 

 — ~J heavy, gootl quality honey, ouc bariel mixed with 

 buckwheat which givc.s it a red(li^^h catt snul rather 

 dark, and -J barrel? rich yellow lionuy. 1 am not ac- 

 ••ustoiiied to assorting: and claisifyinjc the honey, so 

 •■an't tuU just whatit is made ot." A little of every 

 tiling I guess, as we have almost all kimls of blossoms 

 in this section, and bees take their choice. I have 



have ill );(i(iil .stocks IVom 10 last 



taken -U:y, lljs. 

 ■spring. 



Have you niblici- gloves, ;.nd jirice :■' I believe my 

 bees are related t<j the Kgyiiiiaiis, lor ihev areso cros.-,. 

 Mus, i\l. A. i;;i,i,s, Osn'eo, 



Sept. hilli, ls7r.. Jlilltdale Co.. Mich. 



We can give you no other advice in selling 

 honey than, to develop your home markets as 

 we have advised in back numbers. If you 

 have a large cr(^p go personally and see the 

 grocers or dealers in honey for, if necessary, 40 

 or -GO miles around, and if they will not buy, 

 arrange to leave it on commission. iSee lliat 

 they ktej) samples in a couKpltnious place, ;ind 

 keep them neat. Of course this will cost mon- 

 ey, but it is the only way to prevent the city 

 jobbers from otl'ering yim ten cents for lioney 

 that is to be sold to the <;onsumer i'ov fifty. If 

 you can arrange that the consumer pay 25, and 

 you get 20, it is jilain that both parties ari' 

 greatly benelited. Our recent visit has given 

 us an insight into the city niarket,s, and ena- 

 bled us to comprehend how even ^romen — beg 

 ging your j)aixlon, ladies, — in the state of Mich- 

 igan, can from 10 colonies get over a ton of 

 honey, Ixisides increasing to 40. 



^i*! m 



REPORT FROm JAl^iES BOEIN. 



^^pJ^ljilJEND iNOVlCE:— I think the seasc 

 JiHI ' uiay be safely set down as being at oa< 

 *!!* and poorest 1 have ever known,— th 



season of 187.'» 

 once the best 

 ,— the best lor 

 rearing bees, and poorest for surplus honey. Fruit 

 blossoms were destroye<l to a great extent b.y frost in 

 Ai)ril. Of white clover there has been any amount all 

 siunmer, and even at this date there is slid considera- 

 ble to be louml, but so far as yielding honey, or at 

 least surjilus, is coucerned, it has been almost a lail- 

 ure, owing to the wet weather. Basswood standing 

 in the forest did not IjIossoiu to any extent, but a nian- 

 ber of small trees that 1 set out in the springs ol" '71 

 and '72, were literaiiy covered witli blossoms, and I 

 might add. with bees. 



Ji they may be taken as a samitle of what trans- 

 planled"trecs will do when those in the woods lail, a 

 basswood orchard would be a good investment. 



Jiees procured honey enougli during the summer to 

 keep the.ii breeding freely, but not enough to lih up 

 the brood combs so as to prevent the i^ueens I'roni 

 laying enougli to keep the hives full ot bees at all 

 times; that is, where the Queens were as proliiie as 

 they sliould be. Any Queen that would not keep her 

 colony strong under such oircumfctances, was rated in 

 my Aidary, as a four cent one, and her head pinch- 

 ed 01)'. 



1 had a i)rctty fair exami)le of the difference between 

 4 cent aucl §25.00 (Queens this season. 1 had a few of 

 the former last spring, and their colonics merely man- 

 ageil to live while they were ruled by such cheap sov- 

 ereigns, while others," that were no stronger early in 

 the season, but having s^2r).0O Queens, cdmmenced 

 swarming in Mav, and one of the swarms swarmed 

 Jul" 4th, after lilling their liive and tix 4 lb. boxes. 

 Moral : pinch oil' tlie iieads of all 4 cent Queen.s. 



At no time during t)ie siunmer lias the jield of hon- 

 ev been sudicieni Vo prevent a frame of emjity coinb 

 that was inserted in the center of a colony having a 

 good Queen, froni being Jilled with eggs; and an emp- 

 ty frame inserted in the same way has almost invaria- 

 bly been lilted with worker cond), whii-li is seldom 

 tlie case when lionev is i)lenty. 



I have never had natural swarms till so large a pro- 

 portion of their frames with worker comb as they 

 have this season. This is no doubt owing to the poor 

 yield ef lioncy, the bees not being cramped for storage 

 room. 



Owing to the large number of workers and their 

 persistent labors, more than to anything like a good 

 yield of honey at any time iluring the season, they 

 have been graduallv lilling up their hives until they 

 are well sujjplied with winter stores, and will yield 

 some surplus, but not one-fourth of what 1 ex;>ected. 

 1 cannot tell yet je.st what the vield will be, as much 

 of it is on the hives yet. It wilt i.robably be aljout one 

 ton -all comb lioney. 



JSees will go into winter .juarters stronger in num- 

 bers than thev ever have since I have kept tlieui. 



J.\MKS ISoMN. 



Went Lvdi, O., Scj't- !»</(, '75. 



