1908 



GLEANINGS IN REE CULTURE. 



1197 



lem Lake, formerly a broad sheet of water, but 

 now converted into rich farm land, where cabbage 

 and mustard are extensivelj- cultivated for seed. 

 Fruit bloom with us falls about the same time, 

 but the yellow cabbage and mustard flowers yield 

 far more honey than fiuit-blossoms (although 

 not of so delicate aroma), //the season is favor- 

 able, which, unfortunately, has not been the case 

 very often in recent years. 



About the middle of June the colonies at Haar- 

 lem Lake can also begin gathering from the pas- 

 tures abounding with white clover; but our main 

 hopes are always fixed on the honey-producing 

 qualities of buckwheat and heather. Unfortu- 

 nately, however, the cultivation of buckwheat is 

 rapidly on the wane, our farmers not considering 

 it a profitable crop. On the other hand, only 

 very poor soils are now used for buckwheat; and 

 such soils, being mostly found in the neighbor- 

 hood of heather-fields, the practical bee-keeper can 

 look out for a place from whence his bees can 

 work on both buckwheat and heather, the for- 

 mer bloomingduringjuly, the latterfrom the be- 

 ginning of August until the early part of Septem- 

 ber, and sometimes later. However, one night of 

 frost, such as we had last year as early as the 25th 

 of August, will stop the honey-flow at the heath 

 at once. 



Until now, Mr. M. has not favored any for- 

 eign race of bees. He sticks to the common 

 black bee, believing this kind to be best suited 

 for our changeable climate. Neither has Mr. M. 

 discarded altogether the old-time straw skep. 

 When properly made, viz., with walls two inches 

 thick, bees winter uncommonly well in them. 



and very often they will begin brood-rearing in 

 them some weeks before they do in wooden 

 boxes, thus giving earlier swarms. Besides, a 

 good many Hollanders are not yet familiar with 

 extracted honey, preferring the comb honey of 

 their youth, especially when gathered on the 

 heath (we being a conservative people, Mr. Edi- 

 tor). To gratify this taste, Mr. M. had made 

 very attractive-looking fiat tin boxes of a size to 

 contain a square piece of comb honey of exactly 

 one pound. For the filling of these he mainly 

 depends on the produce of the straw skeps, first 

 killing their bees or transferring them to modern 

 hives. Heather honey being almost inextractible 

 on account of its thickness, that gathered in 

 movable-frame hives is generally left with the 

 bees for their winter stores. 



In managing his apiary, Mr. Matthes follows 

 American methods to a great extent, and Glean- 

 ings keeps him posted concerning such. He is 

 ably assisted by hisforeman, also by the charming 

 Mrs. Matthes, whenever her household duties 

 permit it. The old way of putting hives close 

 together in long rows Mr. M. still sticks to, 

 however. At home the colonies stand under 

 cover, which can be removed in parts — a practical 

 idea originating with Mr. M. himself. But con- 

 sidering he has now reached the number of 400 

 colonies, which he does not wish to increase, it 

 would seem a Ivisable to have the colonies placed 

 in groups with sufficient space between them to 

 put the non-swarming metliods or Heddon's way 

 of preventing after-swarms into practice, primary 

 swarms usually finding a ready sale at The Bee. 



Compared with the reports Gleanings occa- 



FIG. 3. HOI LAND SERIES. RESTING AFTER A HARO DAY's WORK. 



