280 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CtJLTUUE. 



June 



how I helped her to take care of our first 

 swarm of bees, but that was more than 30 

 years ago. I think it has been pretty well 

 shown that bees would much rather have a 

 dry, clean hive, and I know of nothing that 

 would be likely, in my opinion, to have any 

 weight with them to induce them to stay, 

 uuless it was some empty combs, or, better 

 still, a comb containing brood, as we have 

 so often mentioned on these pages. 



I took uiy bees out of the bee-house on the last 

 day of March, all alive except one out of 30. Last 

 year, I lost over half. To-day bees are carrying- in 

 pollen rapidly. Of the swarm which died the hive 

 contained a dead mouse. 



SMOKINQ BEES WITH MULLEN LEAVES. 



I must tell you of an invention of my own- -a 

 smoker which "knocks" all your smoker-fellows in 

 the "shade". I haye been in the habit of smoking 

 dried mullen leaves for quinsy, and, being at that 

 industrious occupation a few days ago, I discovered 

 a swarm being- robbed; I went for tbem with my 

 clay pipe filled with mullen leaves, and you ought to 

 have seen them "git". Right here, I wish to ask 

 one question. This swarm which was being robbed, 

 I put in the bee-house a few days ago, and after 

 keeping it in there about 3 days, I put it out on a 

 different stand from the original. Sometime after 

 I put it there, I saw the queen on the corner of the 

 alighting board. I put her on the bottom board, and 

 she went into the hive. Now, what was she doing: 

 there? Sunning herself?— I shall nut patent my 

 smoker. 



PREVENTION OF AFTER-SWARMING. 



In the "Report of the Department of Agriculture*' 

 for 1867, 1 find these words: 



"Those who depend on natural swarming for an 

 increase of stocks, are often troubled by over- 

 swarming. They would be glad to prevent more 

 than the issue of at least one swarm yearly from 

 every hive. There is one sure way to prevent this. 

 So soon as a swarm issues, remove the hive from 

 which it came to a new location some yards away, 

 and place the hive into which the new swarm has 

 been put directly where the parent hive stood. The 

 principal part of the mature bees will thus find their 

 way into the new hive, and that will be very strong, 

 while the old hive will contain few except young- 

 bees, and, though it will soon be populous, no after 

 swarm will issue." 



The writer says this has been tried in hundreds of 

 cases without a failure. Now, I would like to en- 

 quire, is this so? If it is a fact, it is worth money to 

 me; for honey is what I am after instead of bees to 

 die in winter. I had a swarm issue last year which 

 had a clipped queen; I removed it to a new location, 

 and gave the stand to the new swarm, and the par- 

 ent stock swarmed again in a few days. 

 "Bee-Seechingly" yours, 



Embarrass, Wis. A. W. Willmartii. 



The only objection which I can see to your 

 smoker, friend VV., is that people who see 

 you going about with a clay pipe in your 

 mouth might think that you smoke tobacco. 

 — Your plan of preventing after swarms is 

 generally successful, as you will see from the 

 remarks in regard to it in the A B C. That 

 it is not to be relied on always, you have 

 yourself demonstrated. It does nothing 

 more than to prevent swarming by weaken- 



ing the colony ; and reducing their numbers 

 by any other method so as to induce them to 

 destroy their queen-cells, will do just as 

 well. As the Italians pick up much quicker 

 than the common bees, this plan is less re- 

 liable with them. In fact they will swarm 

 at any time and with half a chance, if honey 

 only comes in continually. 



FLORIDA. 



1 started hist spring with an apiary of 30 stands, 

 increased by natural swarming to 7'J, lost 4 during- 

 the winter, have therefore now 7 r >, and shall aim to 

 increase it during the ccming season to 12"> or 150 

 stands. 



HOW TO DEVELOP ONE'S ROME MAKKET, ETC. 



Last season, my bees made some 3,C00 lbs. of most 

 delicious honey, which was extracted by patented 

 extractor, and about l /s of it was put up in Mason's 

 patent jars, l A gal , quart, and pint, and the other 

 half in odd barrels and tin cans, such as I happened 

 to have about the place. So far, I was successful; 

 but, while I sold some 700 lbs. put up in jars, at pay- 

 ing prices, in this neighborhood, I could not get a 

 fail- offer for it in Chicago, New Ymk, or Boston, 

 and consequently have the larger portion on hand, 

 which is rather discouraging, especially as I mean 

 to increase the business this season. The last offer 

 from a Chicago house was S'»c. there. I evidently 

 made a mistake in putting it up, as the honey itself 

 was pronounced as first class, and strictly pure, by 

 those who offered the price named, and similar ones. 



Can I, from this warm climate,- safely ship comb 

 honey, put up in section boxes? If so, should I 

 make % in comb and the other half in extracted 

 honey? Should I put up the extracted honey in bar- 

 rels or in tins? At what price could you furnish me 

 with barrels? and what is the freight to Jackson- 

 ville? At what price could you furnish me tin, al- 

 ready cut in proper sizes, and crimped ready to be 

 soldered by me here? Have you an apparatus for 

 marking boxes and barrels with address of the buy- 

 er? I mean cut letters or some revolving letters 

 which I understand are now being used. 



These are a good many questions to be asked of 

 you by a stranger, but I feel sure you will pardon 

 me for the sake of the good cause; I am living so 

 far from any one with whom I could talk profitably 

 about these matters, and I know of no one who has 

 more experience and ability to advise than yourself. 



Lake Maitland, Fla., Apiil 4, '80. R. G. Mayo. 



1 think you can ship comb honey without 

 trouble, but the only way to decide the mat- 

 ter will be to try a case and see. If your ex- 

 tracted honey sells best in jars, by ail means 

 melt and put in jars. Pretty much all the 

 questions you ask, friend M., will have to 

 be answered by actual tests. — We could not 

 furnish barrels or cans at less than our ad- 

 vertised prices, and it seems to me it can 

 never pay to send barrels so far made up. 

 You surely have timber that will make 

 them, and if you have not coopers, have 

 some of your people learn the trade. It is 

 much the same way with tin cans ; Ave can 

 furnish you the tin, but the tools required to 

 make cans for honey are so cheap and sim- 

 ple, your tinners should surely be able to 

 make them for you. The pint and two quart 

 honey pails, we can probably furnish cheap- 

 er than any one can make them, unless they 

 do them in very large quantities. — We have 



