434 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



JUNli 



was willing to settle up at 9 cts. per lb. for the lot. 

 It netted me less than 8 cts. I shall not ship much 

 more at that rate. 



7. I worked hard among the grocei-ies of Spriiig- 

 fleld. They took something over 1600 lbs. Here 

 was the tield of battle. Here I wrestled hard for 

 prices. Generally I either compromised or surren- 

 dered. 1 had to. The Muth 2-lb. honey-.iars took 

 fairly well. All I sold to grocers, of extracted hon- 

 ey, some 600 lbs., was in this shape. I realized from 

 10 to 12 cts. for comb honey, and about S^j cts. for 

 extracted. I got 12 cts. at the hotel. To private 

 parties I charged 14 cts. for comb, and 10 cts. for ex- 

 tracted. At home my price for nice comb honey 

 was 121/4 cts. Competition compelled me to come 

 down to that. I sold extracted at 8 and 10 cts. For 

 broken and some very inferior comb honey, I got 8 

 and 10 cts. I obtained Vi cts. for the comb hone.y I 

 shipped to Kansas, and about 8^,1 cts. for extracted, 

 packages thrown in. I shall try that kind of ship- 

 ping again. 



1 gave away about 135 ll)s. to relatives, brothers 

 chiefly. All this foots up to about 4150 lbs. Allow- 

 ing 50 lbs. for lenkage and shrinkage, there are some 

 400 lbs. yet unaccounted for. What became of that? 

 Why, bless your heart, we ate it. 



Yd 11 see T have worked hard to sell my honey to 

 advantage. I did not pack it up and lump it ofif to a 

 big city, and take the chances. Yet one will have to 

 produce cheaply Indeed to make a living at even the 

 prices I obtained. Mj' sales footed up to $432.85. I 

 obtained about 123.10 for beeswax — in round num- 

 bers, $445 from 57 sta^ids of bees in a flush season, 

 with glutted markets, or less than $400 net. 



George F. Bobbins. 



Mechanicsburg, 111., May 5, 1887. 



S"WABM1NG, ETC. 



SOME SEASON.4BLE HINTS FROM G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



/^^ICKING up a bee-paper lately I found this 

 Kf statement given by quite a prominent apia- 

 ^^ rist, regarding swarming: " If we allow bees 

 '*' to swarm they will cast their first swarm on 

 or about the commencement of the honey 

 season: and in about twelve days we may expect 

 the second swarm ; and in four days more the third. 

 I think this is the average time of swarming; there- 

 fore it is sixteen days from the time the old queen 

 leaves the hive with the first swarm until the third 

 swarm issues." Having allowed natural swarming 

 in my apiary during all of my 18 years of bee-keep- 

 ing, and believing that the above is not correct, also 

 knowing that much of the interest of bee-keeping 

 hovers about the natural swarming of bees, I 

 thought I could please the readers of Gleanings 

 no better at this time, just as swarming is about to 

 commence in the Middle and Northern States, than 

 to tell some facts as I find them, relative to when 

 swarms may be expected. 



To the beginner this is a matter of much impor- 

 tance; for by them, hours and days are spent need- 

 lessly in watching bees, which a little knowledge of 

 the matter would save, as well as to do away with 

 much anxiety in the matter. As to when the first 

 Bwarm of the season will issue, be the apiary large 

 or small, I have never known it to fail that such a 

 one came with the sealing of the first queen-cell, 

 this being the rule with all swarms; but after 



swarming gets under headway in a large apiary, es- 

 pecially with the Italian bees, some swarms issue 

 without any preparation for swarming at all; oth- 

 ers, when eggs are laid in queen-cells, etc. ; but I 

 ne\er knew such a case with the first swarm of the 

 season. Understand, I do not say that a first swarm 

 of the season never did issue without this prepara- 

 tion, but only that 1 never knew one to do so. Then 

 we have the sealing of the cell as the indication of 

 a first swarm. Now, all persons familiar with 

 queen-rearing know that the time the queen re- 

 mains sealed in the cell does not vary much fi-om 

 seven days; hence in seven days after the old queen 

 leaves with the first swarm, the first young queen 

 is hatched. If a second swarm is to issue, this 

 queen begins to peep or pii>e when from 6 to 8 hours 

 old. If she commences to peep I never knew a 

 swarm to fail to issue, unless the object of the bees 

 was thwarted by the keeper or exceptionally bad 

 weather. This piping is kept up for from 36 to 45 

 hours, when, unless kept back by foul weathei", the 

 second swarm issues. 



An item worthy of note is, that the weather must 

 be very bad to keep after-swarms from issuing, for 

 they often issue on cloudy daj's, or on the least 

 streak of sunshine in a rainy day. Then, again, 

 they come out at all hours of the day, from five in 

 the morning till seven at night, while the time of 

 issuing of first swarms is usually between 9 a. m. 

 and 4 p. m. Then, as a rule, all second swarms may 

 be expected in 9 days after the issue of the first 

 swarm, instead of 13, as our friend quoted tells us. 

 If the bees conclude to swarm still further, after 

 the second swarm has issued, another queen is al- 

 lowed her liberty while the rest are kept confined 

 in their cells, being fed through holes in the cell, so 

 they are virtually of the same age and strength as 

 the one which has her liberty. The queen let loose 

 at once begins peeping, keeping it up for about the 

 same length of time the others did, so that the third 

 swarm comes two days after the second, or 11 days 

 after the first. If a fourth, fifth, or sixth swarm is- 

 sues they come out the next day after the third, 

 and each other, so that, should the sixth swarm is- 

 sue it would come on the 14th day after the first. 

 Five swarms is the highest number I ever knew cast 

 from one colony during our swarming period; but 

 I believe as high as six have been reported. 



As I believe all after-swarms are a disadvantage, 

 I wish to tell the reader, before closing, what I con- 

 sider the simplest way of stopping them when the 

 first swarm is hived on a separate stand, instead of 

 on the Heddon plan. If the first swarm issued ac- 

 cording to rule, the first young queen will be hatch- 

 ed in 7 days, and, unless prevented, lead out a sec- 

 ond swarm on the 9th day. Taking advantage of 

 this fact I wait 8 days after the issue of the first, 

 when the hive is opened and all the queen-cells are 

 cut off, when we have a sure thing in the matter, 

 which can not be said regarding any other plan de- 

 pendent upon the cutting of queen-cells. Where a 

 jterson has not too many hives I find it as good a 

 way as any to listen for peeping in the evening 

 after it is thought.a young queen has hatched; and 

 if the queen is heard you are certain of her pres- 

 ence among the bees. It not heard, then listen the 

 tiext evening, and so on till she is heard, when you 

 know you are safe in cutting all cells. In cutting 

 these cells it is well to shake the bees oft the combs 

 or else you may fail to see all of them, in which 

 case, if one remains a swarm is sure to issue. 



