18&5 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUBE. 



was dried in the sun so as to be quite dry, it 

 took the bees so long to manage it they work- 

 ed on it almost as tliey worked on ijatural 

 stores ; but a little sprinkle of waier would 

 start robbing at once. Bake some sugar in the 

 oven, if you choose, until it is as dry as yoii 

 can make it. Then put it in the sun in the 

 middle of the day. in a time of drought, 

 when bees are crazy for any thing sweet, and 

 they will take it "up and use it at a pretty 

 fair rate. In our back vohimes this process 

 is described for making bee candy direct 

 from sugar, without any boiling, and I used 

 it largely in hot dry u-eather. Very likely 

 they bring water to "^moisten it, for this, of 

 course, I can not dispute. If a jar of 

 water, with a cloth over the mouth, be in- 

 verted over the candy lliey will take it much 

 more rapidly. — It seems to me we have 

 had several experiments, showing that bees 

 during confinement, as in winter, may live 

 ninety days or more. The little cages of 

 bees we get from Italy, I think have some- 

 time s been as much as six weeks on the way. 

 May be they will not live more than 80 days 

 when confined in the mails ; but I should 

 hardly be inclined to set the limit there, be- 

 cause worker-bees do not ordinarily live 

 longer. I am glad to hear of even so much 

 success, for it is a good deal better than we 

 have accomplished ourselves in mailing 

 queens. 



ALLEY'S DRONE-TRAP. 



A REPORT NOT VERV FAVOKABI.E. 



TN the bill for goods last April I reqiiestod 24 

 /^ queen and drone traps, as advertised.' 1 sup- 

 ^l posed that you had plenty on hand. In your 

 '-*■ bill you have charj,'od inc with 12; but by some 

 mistake there was but one trap sent. As mat- 

 ters have turned out with me, the disappointment 

 amounts to but little. I saved atmut 20 swarms of 

 blacks and Italians, and have not a single hybrid in 

 either stock. I set the trap before; a stand of bees; 

 they could pass in and out very well when so mind- 

 ed; but about a third of them, after makinjr a trial, 

 became united, and went to other stands, and. in 

 less than a minute, Rot uj) a tight, .\fter making 

 three or four such trials I laid aside the trap. 



SELLING, HANDLING, ANP SHIPI'ING HONEY. 



Bees in this section gathered honey the fore part 

 of the season briskly; but after the ft rst of August 

 they made no surplus. Mine took the swarming 

 fever just at the beginning of basswood bloom, 

 which was over by the first of August, so I do not 

 consider myself as an apiarist in running bees for 

 money. I think it unnecessary to make a report of 

 loss and gain. I will say, that I made about 2000 lbs. 

 of section honey, about a third of which is not fit for 

 market, owing to not being filled out and sealed 

 over. Bug juice has not yet made its appearance in 

 this country. There were some 30,000 visitors at 

 the White Sulphur Springs, near Waynesville, last 

 summer, many of whom cam(> to sec the bees and 

 honey. The most of the honey that I sold was to 

 them for samples to take home. Some bought a 

 single box, some half a dozen, some a dozen, and 

 some a whole case of 48 bo.\es. The ladies were so 

 highly pleased with the honey and apiary they give 

 it the name of Honey Dale. I have 15 cases ready 

 packed for shipping, but the way they handle things 

 on railroads, 1 am deterred from offering to ship. 



unless I could go with the goods and handle them 

 myself. Fortunately I am not needing the money, 

 and may be able to sell at home next summer. 



With the exception of section boxes, I have bee- 

 furniture on hand, ready to meet the seasonable 

 demands of another summer. My Italians have 

 not had a chance to show their honey-gathering 

 qualities, from the fact that I have kept down by 

 making artificial swarms, and the latter part of the 

 season we had ten weeks without a single shower of 

 rain; though the landscape was blooming with gold- 

 enrod and asters, they furnished but little honev. 



1 have in all, 94 or 9.5 stands, nicely packed for 

 winter, on their summer stands. W. Frances. 



W'aynesville. N. C, Dec, 18^4. 



Friend F., we sent you one drone-trap, 

 and it was a clerical error in charging you 

 for more than one. I have had some fears 

 that the drone-traps might induce bees to 

 go into the wrong hives— especially Italian 

 bees, for in the busy season they often seem 

 to think it does not" matter much what hive 

 they go into to unload their stores. Setting 

 the hives f ui ther apart might partially rem- 

 edy this. Have others had any like experi- 

 ence y 



SOMETHING FROM OUR OLD FRIEND 

 GALLUP. 



CALIFORNIA THE PLACE FOR WIDE-AWAKE, ENTER- 

 PRISING BEE-KEEPERS. 



T WISH to describe the success of one of our bee- 

 f|^ keepers here as nearly as I can, for the benefit 

 ^. of your readers. He commenced a few years 

 "*• ago a poor man. He took up a government 

 claim of 160 acres. He now has a small stock of 

 cattle, and during the winter season he sells on an 

 average .50 dollars' worth of eggs and butter per 

 month; raises quite a quantity of fruit, a nice vege- 

 table garden which produces vegetables the entir<> 

 year. His cattle obtain their living, and keep fat 

 and thriving on the natural feed, without any care, 

 the entire year. There has never been a season 

 that he has not made some surplus honey 'since he 

 commenced, and this season he has made 80,000 lbs., 

 or 40 tons, as we reckon here. He has money at in- 

 terest, and is now well fixed financially, so that he 

 can hold his honey until the price suits. He has 10 

 tons of la t year's honey on hand— in all lUO.OOO lbs. 

 He hired one hand this season for 3 months at ^25.00 

 per month. He keeps his own team, and docs his 

 own teaming. With the exception of the hired 

 man he has done every thing himself, with some 

 help from his excellent wife and children. He has. 

 or had in the spring, 2T0 stands of bees. 



The price of honey here now is 4 '4 to 5 cts. whole- 

 sale. Now, this man has demonstrated that bee- 

 keeping is a .^access when properly nuinaged, even 

 in a i)oor season; as. since he got his stock of bees 

 up to 100, he has made honey every season. I think 

 the lowest was 6 tons, and from that to 8 tons; but 

 when he had the small .yield? he had a good price. 

 His cash out is 80 cts. per case of 120 lbs. 



There is no loss of bees in wintering, and no care 

 whatever from September to February. He always 

 keeps his bees in good condition, and leaves their 

 hives full of honey at the end of the extracting sea- 

 son. 



I might tell you of another num who commenced 

 about the same time within six miles, and is now 

 some .*t)00 in debt, and this season made 8 tons of 

 honey, sold it for 4'i cts., keeps three dogs, no stock 

 of any kind, because it won't pay to bother with 



