1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



317 



ment that requires grooves, notched rabbets, or 



some spacing arrangement /// the hiue itself, is a 



serious mistake, and any beginner should go slow 



before he adopts any thing of that sort The 



fact that it has been so generally abandoned where 



it has been tried should discourage any advocate 



of the principle from going into it extensively. — 



Ed.] 



»»»«« 



PROFITS FROM BEES. 



ped, the knife goes practically to the same depth, 

 BO that only the new wax is cut off, leaving the 

 stout old comb in the middle untouched. 

 Vigo, Texas. 



52 Colonies Supported a Family of Six 

 Children. 



BY M. E. PRUITT. 



We have a hundred colonies, and run them 

 for both extracted and comb honey. We have 

 the three-banded Italians and Carniolans. We 

 like the Carniolans a little better, as they seem 

 to be gentler. 



1 notice that some have inquired whether bees 

 pay. Well, I should say they do pay! Last 

 year, with the profits from our bees we bought a 

 $75.00 buggy, a $^5.00 Singer sewing machine, a 

 $27.00 bicycle, and we supported and clothed 

 ourselves and six children. Besides this, we paid 

 two or three outstanding debts. All this was 

 done with the profits from only 52 colonies. 



This is a splendid locality for bees. Our hon- 

 ey-flow lasts from March to October almost con- 

 tinuously. We have catclaw, mesquite, castor 

 bean, live oak, and sumac. There are a few oth- 

 er plants, which do not seem to amount to very 

 much so far as surplus honey is concerned, such 

 as the wild plum, the cactus, the elm, and others. 



Our colonies winter on their summer stands. 

 We aim to contract the widest entrances, al- 

 though we sometimes neglect to do it. So far 

 this spring we have found no queenless colonies, 

 and only one that is rather weak out of 108 col- 

 onies that went into winter quarters. We do no 

 feeding. 



UNCAPPINC-KNIVES. 



I have been very much interested in the discus- 

 sion of uncapping, and should like to give my 

 experience, notwithstanding the fact that I have 

 had but two years' experience. 1 first began 

 with the upward stroke, but this year tried cut- 

 ting down, and would not go back to the old 

 way for anv thing. After a little practice I found 

 that I could hold the frames steadier, and tiiat I 

 had more power in my wrist, since the weight of 

 the knife is a help in cutting downward, rather 

 than a hindrar.ce, as is the case when the upward 

 stroke is used. Then with the do-vnwaid stroke 

 the cappings roll off free from the uncapped sur- 

 face of the comb. 



I want a two-edged knife, ard I always have 

 it hot and sharp. The knife should be neither 

 too hot nor lukewarm; the former leaves a thin 

 scum of wax over the cells, and the lattf-r un- 

 doubtedly is worse than a col J knife 1 have 

 had no experience with a thin knife; but I think 

 1 should prefer the thick one because it is heav- 

 ier, and requires les? force to push it down under 

 the cappings. 



I like to cut detp — that is, level with the top- 

 bar. I pet more of the wax, which is quite an 

 item St the end of the sess n, and no honey is 

 saciificed. The next t nie ihe combs are uncap- 



BUCKWHEAT AS AN EARLY SUM- 

 MER CROP. 



How it May be Plowed Under to Advan- 

 tage; Growing Alsike with Buckwheat. 



BY H. B. HARRINGTON. 



Many of our bee-keepers are farmers with me- 

 dium or small-sized farms. It is the owners of 

 these we are trying to show that buckwheat 

 is a good paying crop besides giving a nice lot of 

 honey at just the time when wild flowers are 

 lacking. We have reckoned the price of the 

 seed at the price of chicken or cow feed, because 

 we never see buckwheat quoted in the market re- 

 ports. Buckwheat flour is always high — far out 

 of proportion to the price paid or offered by the 

 millers or grain-buyers, and the point is, feed it 

 to the stock before we allow the millers to beat 

 us out of half of its actual value. 



As to the land to sow to buckwheat this year. 

 We have always raised our very best crops when 

 we turned under wheat stubble. One can set his 

 wheat in rows, and commence to plow as soon as 

 the wheat is cut; then finish up where the wheat 

 stood, as soon as it is dry enough to draw. 



Last fall was a bad time to put in wheat. Much 

 of it looks bad now, and the grass seeding is al- 

 most worthless. We do not need to lose the use 

 of our land, but raise a big crop of buckwheat 

 and honey, both of which will be extra and a 

 clear gain. 



When we drill our buckwheat in July we sow 

 about five pounds of alsike clover per acre, v\hen 

 we are booked for a fine crop of clover honey for 

 next year. Drill the wheat or rye right on the 

 buckwheat stubble wi'hout fitting; buckwheat 

 leaves the ground so mellow that it is in the best 

 possible condition that it can be for the fall crop. 



In drilling the wheat some of the alsike clover 

 may be killed; but if it rains soon there will bs 

 very little lost, and with a fi^e-pound seeding 

 there will be enough left any way. 



In this section the season is late, and many 

 fields that farmers intended for oats this spring 

 are not sown. 



Now, ins eid of raising a poor crop of late oats 

 why not raise a much-better paying crop of buck- 

 wheat.? The oats will leave the land hard and 

 soggy, and in poorcondition for fall wheat, while 

 the buckwheat lea-es the land light and mellow, 

 and in the best possible summ r fallow. 



About the 15th of May, as soon as we can es- 

 cape the frost we drill in buckwheat with a Utile 

 fertilizer to make it boom. In t'omg tf is we 

 stand a show of getting quite a little honey from 

 this first crop; but the main object is to get the 

 very best coat of natural fertilizer; then in July 

 we plow this crop under and sow a second cr p 

 to harvest for the grain. 



Try this on a thin worn-out piece of land, t' en 

 take a good laugh to see how you have helped 

 nature reclaim the waste places. Seed rather 

 heavilv for a cri p to plow under. 



Mfdina, Ohio. 



