12ti 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUllE. 



Fjeb. 



that. I get granulated sugar for wintering-, at 6U 

 cts. per lb. I have taken in all 830 lbs. honey, near- 

 ly all e.xtracted (I feed sugar entirely for winter- 

 ing). Reckoning the honey at 16-,c., and six colo- 

 nies increase, which are not sold, at fUO.OO (I sold 8 

 colonies during the summer and fall), I have cleared 

 just about $300, after paying all expenses, and feed- 

 ing for winter. 1 think this is doing pretty well for 

 this section, where we have no clover or basswood. 

 I work in a store, and have been out but very little, 

 and did nearly all the work myself; but you may 

 believe 1 have not had much spare time for any 

 thing else. R. J. Fox. 



Natlck, Mass., Oct. 20, 1884. 



25 LBS. PER COLONY', FROM 39 COLONIES. 



Honey crop poor; about 2.5 lbs. per colony; 39 

 colonies, spring count; had to drop 4 colonies on 

 account of being cramped. S. D. Rutherford. 



Kearnysville, W. Va., Dec. 16. 1884. 



FROM 15 to 42, AND 11 BBLS. OF HONEY. 



I started last season with 15 swarms and ran them 

 up to 42, and in swarms came out and left without 

 settling. 1 got 11 bbls. of honey last season. I bor- 

 rowed an extiactor. R. S. Nelson. 



New Smyrna, Fla., Dec. 4, 1884. 



FROM 15 TO IT, AND 701 LBS. OF HONEY. 



1 had 15 colonies this spring; got 700 lbs. of comb 

 honey, and two swarms; they are all on their sum- 

 mer stands this winter. They are all living yet. I 

 love to read Gle.\nings. L. J. Hartong. 



Inland, Ohio, Dec. 26, 1884. 



bees AND STRAWBEliRIES. 



I have four hives of bees on their summer stands; 

 they had a fly the other day; they seemed all right. 

 I have out about 2000 strawberry plants. I set 

 them out the 3d day of last July. They looked fine- 

 ly when I covered them up in the fall. 



Anderson, Ind., Jan. 6, 1885. G. W. Brown. 



We clip the following from the Watchman, 

 published at Union, Monroe Co., W. Va.: 



LARGE Yield.— Mr. A. Y. Leach, of Wolf-Creek 

 District, is skilled in the management of bees. Dur- 

 ing the past season, from thirteen hives of Italian 

 bees he extracted twelve hundred nml twenty lbs. of 

 honey. He uses the " Simplicity" hive, some I'i, 

 some 2, and some 3 stories in size. The 3story hives 

 yielded 220 lbs., equivalent to twenty gallons. Who 

 can beat this yield? 



FROM 125 TO 400, and 785 GALLONS OF EXTRACTED 

 AND 1500 LBS. OF COMB HONEY. 



I commenced in spring with 125 colonies of bees, 

 mostly Italians and Cyprians, and two hives of 

 Holy-Lands; got fifteen .52-gallon barrels of honey, 

 and increased to 400 hives, all in good condition for 

 winter; also got 1.50O lbs. of comb honey in one- 

 pound sections. E. Stahl, Jr. 



Kenner, La., Dec., 5, 1884. 



500 LBS. OF HONEY FROM A SINGLE COLONY IN A 

 SINGLE SEASON. 



Bees boomed in one hive in July and August. In 

 July one colony gave 500 lbs. of honey. How is this 

 for a poor season? R. Johnson. 



Plaquemine, La. 



Friend J., we are very glad indeed to get 

 such a report fiom Louisiana ; but your 

 statement is so brief it hardly satisfies us. 

 Can't you give us a little more of the partic- 

 ulars—what the honey came from, etc.? 

 Was it one colony and "increase, or did you 

 so manage there was no increase':' 



FROM 54 to 69, AND 4000 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I commenced the season of 1884 with 54 colonies, 

 and increased to 69, and have taken 4000 lbs. of 

 comb honey. It wasn't a very good season here. 



Bravo, Mich., Jan. 20, 1885. D. B. Lindsey. 



FROM 6 TO 20, AND 303 LBS. OF HONEY. 



Our bees have done well here in the Sioux Valley. 

 We have increased from 6 to 20, and stored nearly 

 300 lbs. of honey, which we sold for 20 ets. per lb., 

 and they went into winter ([uarters with about 50 

 lbs. of honey each. G. L. Hcbbard. 



Fairview, Dak. 



2800 LBS. OF comb honey FROM 30 COLONIES. AND 

 NO INCREASE. 



I keep 30 stocks of bees; and bj' keeping the 

 wings of queens clipped, and running the swarms 

 back into the old hive, or into a weaker colony, I 

 have managed to keep to that number. I took 2800 

 lbs. comb honey the past year, and got $12.03 per 

 hive, after paying expenses. S. R. Neave. 



Hughesville. Md., Jan. 16, 1885. 



FRO.M 15 TO 37, AND 1650 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I am highly pleased with one year's experience in 

 bee-keeping here, and intend to read up and carry 

 on the trade with more system hereafter. Bees are 

 actually getting some honey now. I have none of 

 the winter troubles you have north. One year's 

 harvest from 15 stands is 1650 lbs. honey, and 27 

 new stands. Francis Trueblood. 



Archer, Florida, Jan. 16, 1885. 



from 2 to 10, AND 150 LBS. OF HONEY. 



Well. I started with two colonies in the spring, 

 weak at that, but I fed some sugar, and increas- 

 ed to ten by natural and artificial swarming. And 

 I got 150 lbs. of comb honey; being a green hand 

 at the business I could not have done so well had it 

 not been for your A B C and Gleanings. If this 

 does not go to the waste-basket, you may hearfroni 

 me again. P. L. Anderson. 



Greenfield, Iowa. 



A good report i'ROM AN OLD FRIEND. 



As reports are in order, and as I have not sent 

 you one in a good many j-ears (and, if I remember 

 correctly, that was a very poor one. one that would 

 have made good material for Blasted Hopes); but, 

 however, I lived through it all, and since then have 

 been having better luck. This report is intended to 

 cover the four past seasons. The spring of 1881 

 (after one of the hardest winters on bees I ever 

 knew) found me in possession of two rather poor 

 swarms of bees. To say that I felt blue does not 

 express it; but I went to work with a will, and at 

 the close of the season I had 10 good swarms and 

 500 lbs. of extracted honey; wintered them all suc- 

 cessfully, and in the spring bought two more 

 swarms, so T began the season of 1883 with 12 

 swarms; increased them to 31, and got 1500 lbs. of 

 comb honey; lost five during the next winter, sol 

 began the season of 1883 with 26 swarms; increased 

 them to 54 swarms, and got 2200 lbs. of comb honey; 

 lost four the next winter, so I began the season of 

 1884 with .50 swarms; increased them to 94 swarms, 

 and got 4800 lbs. comb honey. You will see, by tak- 

 ing the spring count for the four seasons, the aver- 

 ago per swarm is just 100 lbs., and during this time 

 I never have bought any thing to feed my bees, 

 they having gathered their own living. 



Eureka, Wis., Jan. 23, 188.5. W. H. Tenant. 



