81(i 



GLEA^l^GS LN IJEE CULTUUK. 



Nov 



HOW^ MANY COLONIES TO THE 

 SQUARE MILE? 



FRIEND PORTER GIA'ES US SOME THOUGHTS ON 

 THE SUBJECT. 



f HE season has been a remarkable one here— 

 never so poor; though bloom in orchard, 

 field, and forest, was abundant, very little 

 nectar was secreted till the last week in 

 June, when the season for surplus honey 

 usually closes; then until after July 15th we had a 

 good flow of honey. My own average will be 40 lbs. 

 of surplus to the hive for 100 colonics, spring count. 

 The quality is ver.v fine, largely from blue thistle. 



OVERSTOCKING. 



The old question, never yet settled, and one, per- 

 haps, like some others, never to be fully settled, 

 will again present itself— stocking and overstocking 

 the field. It is when we have such seasons as the 

 present that we realize what overstocking is. How 

 many bees may be kept profitably upon a given 

 field is no more decided, and, we may say, no more 

 to be decided, than the much-debated one touching 

 the profit of deep plowing, and for much the same 

 reasons. Widely variant seasons so affect the se- 

 cretion of nectar, that, setting aside the ver>- impor- 

 tant question of management, the results of the 

 season's work are in no wise conclusive as to the 

 point at which any given locality is overstocked. 



Somewhere we have read, that in Europe as many 

 as 6000 colonics have been kept on one square mile 

 of land; but no mention is made of the product of 

 these colonies. Who can report the largest number 

 of bees to the square mile in America? It will be 

 interesting in many waj'S to have some comparison 

 of localities by reports from all sections. 



We know of no greater number than 200 so kept 

 in Virginia. Every observant apiarist knows that 

 there are seasons when it seems that the supply of 

 nectar is exhaustless; that, have as many bees as 

 we may, all are employed from dawn till dark in 

 ceaseless movement. 



It will be a matter of interest to know if as many 

 as 1000 colonies are kept on any one square mile in 

 America, with profit to their owners— this without 

 regard to the range inside of the mile. It is true, 

 that four apiaries may be one mile apart, and on 

 the four corners of a square mile; but even then 

 have we any such localities? Can any reader of 

 Gleanings report as many as that ever profitably 

 worked? 



Friend Manum, at Bristol, Vt., who made such a 

 splendid record one year, with his product of 36,000 

 lbs., was obliged the year before to feed 6000 lbs. of 

 sugar to winter his stocks. One year he was surely 

 overstocked. He had bees in five localities not 

 many miles apart. Let us get at the statistics, and 

 see what they will show. J. W. Porter. 



Charlottesville, Va., Oct. 5, 1887. 



Friend P., a few days ago I rode around 

 a piece of swamp land that covers just about 

 a square mile, and I now know better how 

 big a square mile is than I ever did before. 

 As you put it, it seems to me that lifty colo- 

 nies would do very well on each corner of a 

 square mile, and then I would have an apia- 

 ry of fifty or more exactly in the center ; 

 and this is, I believe, about as many as most 

 localities will permit profital)ly. Of course, 

 it would depend a good deal upon what cov- 

 ered tlie fields of tliese f)40 acres. 



MELISSA, OR BEE-BALM. 



ANOTHER PROMISING BEE-PLANT. 



@N page 693, Sept. 15th Gleanings, 1 notice a 

 report from C. M. Bliss, Fox Lake, Wis., a 

 bee-friend] of mine. He there speaks of a 

 bee-plant, melissa, or bee-balm, as a great 

 honey-plant. In earlyspring he kindly gave 

 me 100 seeds of said plant for trial; and for the 

 benefit of the beekeeping community I will give a 

 more minute description of the plant and its value. 

 First, I will say the plant is a perfect success, both 

 in profusion of bloom, quantity and quality of its 

 honey, hardness, and freedom from bugs, tvorms, 

 or plan^-lice. I planted the 100 seeds May 1. To my 

 surprise, every one came up in 5 days' time. The 

 plants were hardy and strong, and were transplant- 

 ed in open ground when three weeks old, neither 

 wilting nor drooping, although not covered from 

 the sun. They gi-ew rapidly right along, notwith- 

 standing the terrible drought we had all summer. 

 The plant resembles the Texas horsemint, growing 

 21/2 feet high, throwing out at least 25 branches 

 from the ground to its top. 



It began blossoming July 10, and soon became a 

 solid white mass, continuing so until Sept. 20, and 

 during all this time the bees were swarming upon 

 it from 5 o'clock in the morning until too dark to 

 see at night. The honey could be seen in the pet- 

 als, as you once described the spider plant. I notic- 

 ed many bees fill up on one petal, and go away. 

 Thei-e is a strong minty odor, also, from the leaves 

 of the plant. The yield of honey was large, and 

 quality and color as good as white clover. I con- 

 sider it ahead of the Simpson honey-plant or spi- 

 der plant, as I have tried both. Motherwort, cat- 

 nip, and sweet clover were deserted for this. 



Another grand feature is, it blossoms the first 

 season from the seed, and is so hardy that a failure 

 of the plant maj' never be feared. I expect to cul- 

 tivate an acre of it another season for its honey 

 alone, and shall scatter seed in all waste places. 

 The seed ripened on the lower stalks while the up- 

 per branches were in full bloom. I saved one 

 peck of clean seed from my 100 plants; quite a lit- 

 tle scattered and came up at once, so that thou- 

 sands of .young plants can be seen at this writing. 

 Believing that the seed will be in active demand as 

 soon as the qualities of the plant become known, 

 I have been careful to save all the seed raised, and 

 shall sow quite a lot next season. The rest you may 

 have for distribution to the bee-friends, or I will 

 mail 1/2 ounce to anyone wishing it, for 12 cts. in 

 stamps. E. A. Morgan. 



Columbus, Wis., Oct. 3, 188T. 



Friend M., we have already had the bee- 

 balm growing on our honey-farm ; but we 

 have not taken as much pains with it as we 

 should have done. In fact, I have become 

 so much discouraged about plants for honey 

 alone, that I have not the enthusiasm that T 

 once had. Our seed came from Mr. A. C. 

 Tyrrel. Madison. Neb.; and one thing that 

 prejudiced me against it was that he charg- 

 ed 50 cts. a package of perhaps half an ounce. 

 Your price is quite reasonable, but I think 

 it should be olfered in five-cent packages, 

 as seeds of other plants are, where a good 

 many want just a few to make a test ; and 

 if you will excuse me, I should prefer to pay 

 you a dollar a pound, say for what you have 



