1880 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



591 



over 100 gallons each. Last winter I had 32 swarms 

 of bees. They came out all right in the spring, and 

 looked very promising. I was sick all winter and 

 spring, and let out my bees. They did not swarm 

 till the first of '.July, and then only a part of them; 

 but they were the largest swarms that I ever saw. 

 They hived them, but they left for the woods, all but 

 three swarms. 1 think it was forthe want of honey. 

 It was the poorest season for honey in this section 

 that 1 ever knew. They put boxes and sections on 

 the most of them, but very few made any surplus 

 honey probably ','> lbs. 



1 got up a sawing-machine, and run it by horse- 

 power. I made my hives and frames with saws, 

 ready to put together and nail. One-half of them I 

 made chat!' hives. You may look for a small sample 

 of sorghum syrup made on Cook's evaporator from 

 the Amber cane; also a sample of our apple jell. 

 The jf 11 was made from part sweet and part sour 

 apples; not as good flavor as all sweet apples. I 

 think if we should use a little time to neutralize the 

 acid, it would do to feed to bees spring or fall for 

 winter stores. J. T. Weeks. 



Napoleon, Mich , Oct. 12, 1880: 



The samples are both very nice ; many 

 thanks to you, friend W. The Amber syrup 

 is certainly very much lighter in color than 

 our own, but I think it was because some of 

 our cane was not well ripened. At the first 

 planting, some of it failed on account of the 

 dry weather, and so we planted again, and 

 the second crop was not fully ripe when cut. 

 T think the apple jelly might do for bee feed 

 late in the spring, or in very early fall, to 

 keep up breeding; but I would under no cir- 

 cumstances think of using it for winter 

 stores. The Amber syrup is so near the 

 color of honey, I should not be surprised if 

 it would do very well, even for winter stores; 

 but such experiments should be made cau- 

 tiously, on a few colonies at a time. What 

 can you sell such for, by the barrel ? Our 

 children are inclined to prefer it to honey. 



that waterixg-trough; a suggestion. 



I was reading about your watering-trough, and I 

 wonder why you have that mudhole beside it. Sure- 

 ly, that is neither neat nor convenient. My brother- 

 in-law has a trough at which the public, man and 

 beast, may drink, but it is minus the mudhole. Be- 

 fore he set the trough, he dug a deep drain, com- 

 mencing where the back of the trough would be, and 

 running it on down the side of the road a few rods, 

 and then across the road; then he Idled this drain 

 with broken stone, and set the trough, after cutting 

 a nick in the back edge, so that the surplus water all 

 runs out on the stones and away down the drain. 

 He covered the drain with earth, on which the grass 

 stows, and it is dry and nice all about the trough. I 

 have noticed people look down at their feet when 

 standing near the trough. I suppose they were 

 looking for that mudhole. E. H. McCLYMOND. 



Templcton, Armstrong Co., Pa., Oct. 21, 1880. 



Neither is there any mudhole around our 



watering-trough now, friend H.'; but I fear 

 it, is not as tidy as the one you mention. 

 Thanks for suggestions. 



FORTY SWARMS FROM BTVTB, AMI THEIR INCREASE, 

 / ETC. 



1 am around again: Well, I must tell how my bees 

 haw done. They did not do much but swarm. X 



was too busy to attend to them until it was too late 

 to keep them from swarming. I had 40 swarms out 

 of 5 colonies, and the increase. Whew: nothing but 

 bees; it was too wet, more than half the time, for 

 them to work through the latter part of buckwheat. 

 My last buckwheat was a failure for honey; but 

 buckwheat is good, and goldenrod helped them 

 along, so that I will have 23 in fair condition for 

 winter. O my! the doubling up, you just ought to 

 see. Don't you think I ought to be in Blasted Hopes, 

 only about 100 lbs. of honey from 5 colonies? Well, 

 friend Boot, no giving up, even if I am nearly in 

 there. I will get about 15 hives with nice straight 

 combs to start for next summer. 



I A WORD TO BLUE EYES. 



Now, see here, Blue Eyes, I am after you: I want 

 to know how many swarms you can raise out of 

 your hive of bees. I see you sitting on your pa's 

 lap. God bless you, your pa and ma, and brothers 

 and sisters'. May be I will come to see you yet. If I 

 go to Ohio, to see my brother and sisters, I will come 

 home that way; but, oh how I will pull your nose! 

 My baby is now 13 years old. Ain't she a whopper 

 for a baby? I am going to send you some radish 

 seeds, and if you sow them I will tell you how to 

 make big ones. If they commence to shoot up for 

 seed, you just go after them and pick those shoots 

 off, and you can raise them three inches through in 

 good deep soil. Well, this old ugly man who scolded 

 your pa once had better stop writing, had he not? 



Your friend, and friend of all young folks. 



St. Johns, Mich., Oct. 17, 1880. H. L. Warstler. 



Many thanks, friend \V. Blue Eyes will 

 be very glad to see you if you can get her 

 over her bashf ulness. You must have had 

 a long-continued yield of honey to have had 

 so many swarms from live, it seems to me. 

 If they should happen to keep on, and do the 

 same thing next year, where will you be? 



BUILDING COMB ON THE WAY. 



The queen and bees seem none the worse for their 

 long trip. They had built comb, and attached it to 

 the side of the box, and the queen had filled it with 

 eggs. I cut off this comb and inserted it in a queen- 

 less colony, and will try to raise a qu?en from tho 

 choice eggs. I am much pleased with the queen and 

 bees. Thank you for your liberality. 



F. N. Wilder. 



Forsyth, Monroe Co., Ga., May 18, 1880. 



MOTH-WORMS IN THE BOXES. 



Worms have made their appearance in my 1-lb. 

 sections, which I have kept in a tight case since 

 their removal from tho hives, and so I suppose I 

 must have carried in somo eggs or worms with the 

 honey. Can you give me a remedy, if there is any, 

 that will not damage the honey? I can not tindany 

 thiDg concerning worms in surplus honey in the A 

 BC. ILL. Band. 



BoBton, Mass., Oct. 14, I860. 



Under the head of bee moth, my friend, 

 you will find your case fully considered. 

 Tick out the worms by hand, if there are but 

 lew, and no more will come. If there are 

 too many for that plan, fumigate the honey 

 according to directions in A 15 C. 



WINTERING BEES IXDER THE SNOW. 



It has been a rather poor honey season hero. It 

 has been tho driest season we have had for fifty 

 years. I have taken 80 lbs. of box honey from 12 col- 



