1887 



GLEA.N1NGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



97 



see a swarm passing over almost any day; how- 

 ever, we did not lose any that we know of, neither 

 did we allow ours to swarm more than once. 



The white-clover and basswood yield was rather 

 short. Basswood yielded honey only a few days. 

 All the white honey we secured was about 100 lbs. 



About the 28th of .June we had one of the heavi- 

 est rains seen here for years; and after that we had 

 none to amount to any thing for two months. This 

 cut our honey-flow from flowers very short, as it set 

 in very liot and dry just after the rain; but. fortu- 

 nately, the honey-dew came in abundance, and the 

 bees lost no time in taking advantage of the situa- 

 tion. They would be out at daylight, and from that 

 until al)Out 10 o'clock they seemed almost wild; but 

 during the warm part of the day they would take a 

 rest. This, we suppose, was due to the honey-dew 

 being too thick when the water had evaporated. 

 As nearly as we can estimate we e.\tracted about 

 4.50 lbs., and procured about a.") lbs. in 1-lb. sections. 

 We do not know exactly how much we extracted, as 

 we have supplied father's house with honey since 

 our first extracting; and being a family of seven, 

 all of whom like honey, you may know that no 

 small amount was consumed. Neither can we esti- 

 mate just what it net us per pound, as we have not 

 yet received returns for the greater part of it, but 

 think it will be about 6 cts. per lb. We increased 

 from 6 to 12, and bought three colonies from our 

 brother, who promises to stay out of the bee-busi- 

 ness in the future, so we count 15 colonies in Sim- 

 plicity hives, not in the very best condition for win- 

 ter, but trust they will come through all right, as 

 they are sheltered from the northwesters by a bluff 

 —something which we consider a great advantage 

 to an apiary. 



We almost forgot to mention, that our own bees 

 gathered some honey from a tall white flower that 

 grows along the roadside, the name of which we do 

 not know. We consider it equal to any honey we 

 ever tasted. It is of a golden color. 



If a hive is opened while the bees are gathering 

 this honey, one can detect the scent of this flower 

 at some distance from the hive. It is a very com- 

 mon weed here, but we consider it a splendid thing 

 for bee-keepers, as it commences flowering in the 

 latter part of August, and continues until frost. 



Mn,LER Bros. 



BluflFton, Montgomery Co., Mo., Dec. 31, 1886. 



HOTV OUR FATHERS DID. 



HOW Tf) SECURE WORKER COMB WITHOUT FOUN- 

 DATION. 



ip CCORDING to the conclusions of several 

 ^. writers who tried to get perfect worker comb 

 P without the use of full sheets of foundation, 

 '^ as practiced by Mr. Hutchinson, it would 

 seem as if there had never been any good 

 set of combs before we had foundation. I wonder 

 whether they have nevernoticedgood combs among 

 a lot of box hives to transfer. Wherever such are 

 found it can safely be said that they are built by 

 after-swarras. There may not be many so found, 

 but more regular results can be obtained; and a 

 review of old-time bee-keeping will make it more 

 plain. As stated before, we then kept our bees in 

 straw hives, cone-shaped, and others consisting of 

 rings piled up with flat covers, all wide enough to 

 hold 8 to 9 combs. We put a piece of guide-comb 



in the center, and made them build straight. As 

 the hives were all round, it will be seen that the 

 center cruubs were the longest, and the extreme 

 sides about the size of a hand. In order to get 

 good stocks, with all worker cells, we put in early 

 strong second swarms, natural or driven, and I do 

 not remember of failing to get all worker comb, 

 with the exception that one or at times both of 

 these small side combs were biiilt drone comb, sim- 

 ply enough needed by e\'ei-y colony. I say needed, 

 because, if no drone com!) be allowed them they 

 will disfigure other combs or go into the sections 

 for that purpose. In first swarms we expected more 

 drone comb, especiallj- where the queen was older 

 than one year. Ifmay therefore be best to give the 

 latter foundation where new combs have to be 

 built. I used to trim down the lower edges of too 

 tough old comb, aftei- swarming, which would he 

 renewed, as soon as the young queen would he 

 pressed for rooin, with worker comb. If such was 

 practiced before swarming, more or less drone 

 comb would be the result, and that for immediate 

 use. Ever since I have used frames I do the same 

 as I did in straw hi^•es to get worker comb. I put 

 strong swarms with young queens on 7 to 9 frames, 

 12x 10*2, and seldom see more drone comb than a 

 little on one side. I so treated several last sea- 

 son, some of which are in L. frames. In the latter 

 it is much harder to get full frames, on account of 

 their large size and shape. It is necessary that such 

 swarms be put in early, so that they fill the frames 

 thoroughly: for if left for the next season they are 

 almost sure to be finished with drone comb, unless 

 the hive be inverted to have them finished above, 

 and then there might be some, if they are in need 

 of it. 



To what extent foundation can be used profitably 

 depends much on circumstances; what it costs one, 

 whether he makes it himself, what his time is worth, 

 etc. Foundation pays in all cases where no good 

 results can be obtained without it, as in filling out 

 the spaces in transferred colonies, building up of 

 nuclei, late swarms, and adding frames, in in- 

 creasing generally, where it is hard to get perfect 

 worker combs built. As to moving surplus-cases 

 with new swarms, 1 have also always v^racticed it; 

 and as I work mainly for box honey I find it the 

 best way to get even with bees that persist in 

 swai'ming. It was also Mr. H. who remarked, some 

 time ago, that as much comb as extracted honey 

 could be obtained. Among the few believers in this 

 I am one. C. H. Luttgens. 



Hammonton, N. J., Jan. 9, 1887. 



"WARMING OUR HOMES. 



FRIEND TERRY GIVES US A LITTLE TALK ON THE 

 SUBJECT. 



fRIEND ROOT: — Some weeks ago I received 

 two letters, thanking me for some things 

 said in Gleanings, and asking me to tell how 

 we warm our home. I am always glad to get 

 and answer such letters, for then I know 1 

 am writing something that some one wants to know 

 about. Like every other family. I presume, wife 

 and I have our particular notions. For example, 

 we do not like a furnace. Having been brought 

 up around wood fires in stoves and fireplaces, we 

 do not feel quite warm and all right, some way, 

 unless we can see the fire. Then, again, a furnace 



