74 



GLEAN i:NG8 IN BEE CULTUKE. 



Jan. 



dropping frequently to zero, and several 

 times six or eight degrees below. If this 

 weather continues much longer I am fearful 

 of the results among our bees. As I stated 

 in Nov. 1st Gleanings. I did not then en- 

 tertain a very hopeful view of the situation 

 — foul brood having reduced our bees. If we 

 had colonies instead of nuclei, I should have 

 no serious apprehensions, even if the weath- 

 er did continue to be cold. 



FROM 68 TO 96, AND 2400 LBS. OF HONEY. 



T COMMENCED the season with 68 stands; in- 

 m creased to 96, and took 2400 lbs. of comb honey, 

 ]jl nearly all white, which is a trifle over 35 lbs. 

 ■*■ per colony. This encourages me, as I see 

 Doolittle did no better than I. They are all 

 packed on their summer stands, with nearly one- 

 half under the snow, out of sight, where T shall 

 let them remain, as I know from experience that 

 they are all right, for they drift under in the same 

 way each winter, and always come out as bright 

 as a dollar. M. T. Williamson. 

 Covert, N. Y. 



A GOOD REPORT FROM ONE OF THE PIONEERS. 



I have sold over 11,000 lbs. of box honey from 80 

 hives last spring. Gain R. Smith. 



Victor, N. Y., Nov. 29, 1886. 



108 GALLONS OP HONEY FROM 20 COLONIES. 



I have 20 stands of bees, all in good condition. I 

 did very well last summer. This summer I secured 

 108 gallons of extracted honey. Albert Carter. 



CarroUton, Mo., Dec. 11, 1886. 



AVERAGE OF 190 LBS. PER COLONY. 



My bees gave me an average, this season, of 190 

 lbs. each, spring count; had no increase; the best 

 season for honey I ever had, and I could have done 

 better had I been prepared for the honey-flow. 



Carbondale, Pa. J. Rutherford. 



600 LBS. FROM 15 COLONIES. 



I have had a pretty good harvest of honey— about 

 600 lbs., in pound boxes, from 15 hives. I took 98 

 lbs. from one swarm, and it swarmed 3 times this 

 summer. I increased them to 40 swarms. Inclos- 

 ed find one dollar for Gleanings. I have found 

 that the monej' expended for it has been a profita- 

 ble investment. Jacob Richard. 



Elmwood, 111., Jan. 4, 1887. 



HYBRIDS AHEAD. 



I began the season with 8 colonies, increased to 

 21, and took 945 lbs. of comb honey. My bees are 

 mostly hybrids, and they gather almost 2 lbs. of 

 honey to the Italians one. I have one hive of the 

 yellowest bees I ever saw, and they gather almost 

 nothing in the sections, although they will fill a 

 brood-frame quicker than any other bees I have. 



Stark, Mich., Dec. 1.5, 1886. Benj. Passage, 8-21. 



FROM ONE TO FIVE, AND OVER 3.50 LBS. OF 

 HONEY. 



My first swarm was pure Italians, purchased 

 July 17, 1885. They gathered enough for winter 

 stores, and I wintered them in a chaff hive of my 

 own make after your pattern. They came out in 

 fine condition In the spring. This season I increas- 



ed them from one to five, by dividing, and one 

 natural swarm, which came out late in September. 

 The surplus stores amounted to from 3.50 to 400 lbs., 

 besides leaving 10 full frames of honey in the low- 

 er stories, and 8 lbs. in the upper story, all in chaff 

 hives. Frank Ferris. 



Mt. Clemens, Mich. 



FROM 125 TO 208, AND 13,000 LBS. OF COMB 

 HONEY. 



My report for 1886 is as follows: I began the sea- 

 son with 125 colonies in fair condition; increased by 

 natural swarming to 208, and have taken in nil, 

 13,000 lbs. of comb honey, all in 1 and 2 lb. sections. 

 The past season has been one of the best I have 

 known in my 14 years' experience in the business. 



Cambridge, 111. J. V. Caldwell, 125—208. 



AN AVERAGE OF OVER 200 LBS. PER COLONY, 

 AND BLACK BEES TOO. 



I commenced bee-keeping last spring. I bought 

 50 swarms, one of which deserted when let out of 

 the hive, after being taken ofl:' of the cars, leaving 

 me 49 when the honey season opened. I com- 

 menced extracting May 29, and stopped July 6, 

 after extracting 9839 lbs. of honey, which was 

 mostly from white clover. I increased to 81 

 swarms. The average per swarm was 200?^ lbs. 

 When they went into winter quarters they had 30 

 lbs. apiece. My bees are all blacks. They are in 

 quadruple chafi' hives. About the first of Novem- 

 ber I moved them about a mile. I had three 

 teams, and two extra men, besides myself and horse, 

 and it was all that six of us could do to lift them on 

 the wagon. We moved them in half a day. They 

 had a good fly the 11th and 12th of th.s month. 



Brodhead, Wis., Dec. 20, 1886. P. H. Fellows. 



ENCOURAGING WORDS FOR ALSIKE AND BUCK- 

 WHEAT. 



I commenced the season with 60 colonies, spring 

 count; increased to 100 colonies; got 2000 lbs. of 

 honey in one-pound sections, and 500 lbs. of ex- 

 tracted, about half white and half dark. I worked 

 some bees for my neighbors. I brought home my 

 share of the increase, 15 colonies, making me 115 

 colonies to winter; .50 are packed in dry sawdust in 

 chaff hives on summer stands; 65 are in the cellar. 

 All are heavy with natural stores. The season 

 commenced very early, but clover did not last long, 

 on account of dry weather. Basswood did not 

 bloom at all. 



ALSIKE. 



I had 16 acres of alsike clover. Bees worked on it 

 early and late until the drought. It makes very 

 nice hay for all kinds of farm stock. I sowed 

 16 acres this year, mixed with timothy. I sowed 

 the silverhull buckwheat so as to fill up the gaps 

 between other bloom as much as possible. 1 sowed 

 one acre in August. Bees worked on it the most I 

 ever saw" bees on buckwheat. We cut it in the 

 afternoon, and the next morning uncle Tom Frost 

 had killed every thing so that the bees did not work 

 any more. We drew the buckwheat into the barn, 

 and thrashed it, and had 25V2 bushels. This was 

 getting three crops from the same ground in one 

 season, as we cut about two tons of hay off before 

 we plowed it for buckwheat. We think we got as 

 many pounds of honey as we had of buckwheat 

 from that ground. Taking the season together, 

 it was very poor tor honey, W. T. Roe, 



Candro, N. Y. 



