April 16, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



251 



abundantly all around in the vicinity of this 

 apiary, and tlie owner said that it was tine tor 

 bees. There are luany resources for honey ; 

 ■during March, yellow jessamine, ti-ti, sajje, 

 fruit-blooiu of many kinds. 



The most of the people living on home- 

 steads in the piney woods keep a few colonies 

 in log gums. On my asking them if they had 

 much honey last year, they invariably 

 answered, " I have not robbed them yet; we 

 don't care for honey; prefer syrup." 



From my observations I think bees con- 

 sume more honey in this climate than in a 

 cold one. They work all winter, carrying pol- 

 len and a little honey, and are usually cross. 

 What they store during the spring flow is con- 

 sumed during drouths in summer. I am often 

 told, " My bees all starved during the drouth 

 last summer,'" or, " The moth ale them up." 

 So the winter of their discontent is not Ijy 

 freezing, but the opposite — heat and lack of 

 moisture. 



An intelligent bee-keeper, who lives on the 

 St. Johns river, told me that the best locali- 

 ties in the South for prolitable bee-culture 

 were very malarious, and had many annoying 

 insects. Mus. L. H.^krison. 



Washington Co., Fla., March 23. 



Shaken Swarms— Sweet Clover, Etc. 



Lately I have noticed a number of articles 

 on "Shook Swarms" and ■' Sweet Clover," 

 and thougtit I might add a little of my ex- 

 perience. 



I bought my first swarm when I was 16 

 years old (about 10 years agoj. 



For the first 3 or 4 years my bees did not do 

 much swarming, owing either to mismanage- 

 ment or the season. 



As increase was what I wanted, I tried some 

 experiments along that line. I tried dividing 

 the bees, brood and honey, leaving one or 

 two nuclei to rear a queen on the entrance of 

 an empty hive and letting them run in; but 

 results were not satisfactory. 



The first artificial swarm that pleased me 

 was hived in July, on lU frames with starters 

 in the brood-nest and 9 frames with full sheets 

 in the extracting super. They built full a set 

 of brood-combs and stored enough honey in 

 them to winter on, besides 60 pounds for me 

 in the upper story; this was about 5 years 

 ago. Since then 1 have practiced the same 

 system with many others, which would be 

 like this: 



Take 3 or 4 boxes (cracker-boxes for in- 

 stance), lay one down on the side with the 

 edge on the hive-cover or sheet by each col- 

 ony you wish to shake from. 



Then smoke and drum on the first two 

 colonies you intend to shake from. When 

 this is done start at No. 1, pick out combs, 

 one or two at a time, and shake in front of 

 the clustering-box; work fast and use the 

 smoker some to hurry them into the cluster- 

 ing-ljox. 



When the combs have all been shaken, and 

 you know the queen is in the box. put on the 

 upper stories, if any, and cover. 



Proceed to No. 2, and so on until each box 

 has a "shook swarm " clustered in it. Now, 

 if enough time has elapsed to make them feel 

 homeless, commence with No. 1, and take 

 them to their new home, which should be in 

 readiness. Shake them down at the entrance 

 the same as a natural swarm, and they will 

 hive themselves. 



I have made as many as 20 or "25 in one after- 

 noon. 



I notice that some writers are afraid sweet 

 clover will not stand close pasturing. That 

 has not been my experience. We have about 

 1.5 acres of sweet clover on clay point in a 

 pasture of SO acres grazed by cattle and hogs. 

 It comes up every spring and keeps spread- 

 ing. In isoi the blue-grass and timothy all 

 dried up, but this clover furnished feed for 

 the stock and some honey for the bees. It 

 was cropped so short that the blossoms laid 

 on the ground, and the bees could walk from 

 one bloom to the other without wearing their 

 wings out. 



We had about an acre on rich low land that 

 got the start of the stock in the spring, and 

 grew higher than the backs of the cattle and 

 horses. The neighbors thought tliis was queer 

 stuff to sow for pasture, but when the dry 

 weather came, in July and August, feed got 



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G. B. LEWIS CO., Watertown, Wisconsin, U.S.A. 



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13.\4t R. I.. Winchester, Ind. 



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We have some of the seed of that fa- 

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 It should be scattered in all waste- 

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Book orders for Golden Italians, Red Clover and Carniolan Queens ; for pri- 

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C. H. W. WEBER, 



CINCINNATI, OHIO. 



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