1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



135 



HIVE-STANDS MADE OF RAILS. 



nier the flat will hs abandoned, not to be seen 

 again until October. 



Bee-keeping as a tonic has cost me $1500, but 

 it is worth it. The bulic of this (SlOOO) went for 

 the lot, $273 for the cottage, and the rest for bees 

 and appliances. As the interest on the investment 

 would be about $7.50 a month, it is cheaper than 

 doctors" bills. 



Chicago, 111. 



[The great majority of those who keep bees 

 take up the business as an avocation, as our cor- 

 respondent has done. While they are not all 

 newspaper men, of course, they are made up of 

 our best class of professional men and farmers. 

 See page 138. 



We hope Mr. Haxton will use the opportunity 

 that he has (if he has not already done so) to cor- 

 rect the general impression that comb honey is 

 manufactured. This old canard bobs up every 

 now and then, and our bee-keepers among the 

 newspaper men can do much to restore confidence 

 in our product — Ed.] 



ELEVEN YEARS' PROFITABLE EXPE- 

 RIENCE WITH BEES. 



Shade vs. No Shade. 



BY WALTER GARABRANT. 



Though I had bees before, my books show 

 that I have been keeping account with them for 

 eleven years, or since liS^>8. So far as I can re- 

 call, they have always balanced the account on 

 the profit side, though the margin was rather 

 small several times. Since they are a side issue 

 with me, and I was away at normal, and teaching 

 for five years, there might be some excuse for a 

 deficit. 



I had 1200 lbs. of honey one season. Proba- 

 bly the average has been 500. This season I had 

 thirteen or fourteen colonies, spring count. 



Counting every thing, I have had over 875 lbs. 

 of honey, about 300 of which was extracted. I 

 have increased to 21 from my own colonies, be- 

 sides losing two swarms that I knew of. and pos- 

 sibly more. The gross returns were $166 from 

 the 850 lbs. sold. As somewhat of a drawback 

 I have been combating foul brood the last two 

 years. 



I have a retail trade for the bulk of my crop, 

 though I could sell much more, both whole- 

 sale and retail. In fact, I have sold 14 cases be- 

 longing to one of my friends. 



SWEET CLOVER TO FLAVOR OTHER WHITE HONEY. 



I am near the central part of Morris Co. I 

 think there must be something in the white-hon- 

 ey-flow here different from that of some sections. 

 A number of my customers who travel to some 

 extent have told me that the quality and flavor 

 were better than they could obtain elsewhere. 

 The only thing that I know to account for it is 

 the abundant flow of sumac that we generally 

 have to finish the clover I like the blend better 

 than any thing else, and it agrees with an article 

 I read in Gleanings last year. It may be the 

 absence of basswood, as I know of none of any 

 account within reach. The yellow sweet clover 

 is spreading, and I do not know what effect it 

 will have on the flavor, though I know it length- 

 ens the flow and the flavor is good. I think I 

 had more aster honey (surplus) this fall than in 

 all my past seasons put together. 



I have read with interest the many opinions 

 about shade for hives. My experience here is 

 that there is more profit in the long run with no 

 shade. I don't dispute the fact that a shade-board 

 for the front of the hive on a hot day is good, nor 

 that, if we could have a portable tree or some 

 shrubbery to roll into place for a few hours, it 

 would be of advantage for the time. Chance has 

 always made it so that I have generally had a hive 

 or two in the shade, more or less, andji do not 

 recall ever making any profit fromthem. 



