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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



July 23, 



Fifteen Years' Experience in Bee-Keeping. 



TiY MBS. SALLIB E. SHERMAN. 

 (Continued from page 452.) 

 It used to be a favorite pastime of mine to watch the 

 queen come out of the observatory hive, for her bridal flight. 

 I have often timed her to see just how long she would be 

 gone. From 5 to 10, and on one occasion 15, minutes. Oh ! 

 what rejoicing there would be on her successful flight and safe 

 return. It seemed to me that every bee In the little hive 

 joined in the happy chorus. They had a regular jubilee. 



I have often watched the first queen that hatched gnaw 

 the other queen-cells open, and then insert her sting, thus 

 killing the immature or unliberated queen. At other times 1 

 have seen them engage in mortal combat; then, of course. It 

 was a case of " the survival of the fittest." 



On one occasion the little colony took a notion to swarm, 

 and swarm it would, and did, and would never be content in 

 that little hive again, so I put them into a large hive, and 

 built them up to a good, strong colony. 



It was always interesting to me to watch the queen as she 

 deposited her eggs, and see the system she used.as she would 

 go around in a circle depositing her eggs in every alternate 

 cell, and as she would go around the second time it was still 

 every alternate cell. 



One fall, after extracting as usual for the last time, from 

 some (to me) unknown cause, the flowers failed in their secre- 

 tion of nectar. I had sold most of my honey before I found 

 that the bees did not have a sulBcient amount in their hives to 

 last them until spring with its flowers came again, so 1 bought 

 a barrel of granulated sugar, and fed my bees for the first 

 time (except to give a few some candy one spring before). I 

 had two large, inside atmospheric feeders which did good 

 work, but as I had quite a number to feed it was too slow a 

 process for me, so I just took the empty combs and poured 

 them full on one side and hung them in the top story. In 

 doing this I was careful to put in as much as I thought they 

 needed until spring, closed the hive and went to the next and 

 did likewise, until all were gone through. Then in the spring 

 following I bought another barrel of the same kind of sugar, 

 and fed them just a little each evening, thus stimulating them 

 to early brood-rearing, etc. I never lost a single colony of 

 bees from starvation, while many throughout the country lost 

 nearly all, and in some cases all, they had. 



However, there was one objection to this feeding, and that 

 was, nearly every queen had gone up into the top-story, 

 which, of course, necessitated her removal to the lower story 

 or brood-nest proper, which caused an extra amount of work. 

 But the fine condition they were in far over-balanced the ex- 

 tra work and expense thus incurred. 



In my early experience with bees I tried to be very syste- 

 matic, and had my hives, after they had been nicely painted 

 with two coats of paint, all numbered. Of course, both stories 

 had to be numbered just the same, so as to correspond. I 

 soon found, with me at least, this would not work satisfac- 

 torily, as I was frequently changing them. For the best re- 

 sults and greatest convenience I soon ignored the numbers 

 altogether; and then it was so annoying to have to explain 

 to everybody that came just why I had them numbered, and 

 why they were mismatched, etc. The first time I repainted 

 them I was very glad to obliterate the numbers, and thus get 

 clear of that annoyance. 



White paint was decidedly my preference for hives. I 

 tried to give them a fresh coat ouce a year. It paid from a 

 financial standpoint as well as in the pleasure it gave in see- 

 ing them so nice and uniform. 



My hives all had loose bottom-boards. I wouldn't think 

 of . having them with fastened bottom-boards. When the 

 weather became warm in the spring, and the bees began 

 lying out, I went to all such hives and raised them from the 



bottom-board, placing little wedge-shaped pieces (that came 

 with the "Eclectic" hives) under the two front corners, thus 

 giving them ventilation. In a few minutes the bees would all 

 go inside, and to work, whereas, without this ventilation, 

 they would have been idlers for days, and in some cases for 

 weeks, and then developed the swarming fever, which would 

 have materially diminished the amount of surplus honey 

 gathered through the season. This is, I think, a •very impor- 

 tant item to be taken into consideration where honey and not 

 increase is desired. 



I have got this ventilation matter down so nicely that for 

 six years I have had next to no swarming at all. This was as 

 it should be in my case, as surplus honey and not increase was 

 my object. If the weather turned off a little cool, it was a 

 very easy matter to remove the little wedges, and not only let 

 them down, but contract the entrance with the same little 

 pieces. 



The earliest swarm I ever had issue was on March 8, the 

 latest Sept. 8. 



There has never been a failure in the honey crop during 

 my 15 years' experience — I mean an entire failure. Of course, 

 some years have been a great deal better than others. The 

 least yield per colony that I ever had was 11 pounds — last 

 year, 1895. I was sick and not able to see after and attend 

 to the bees. The greatest average yield per colony was in 

 1888 — 150 pounds. From 40 colonies, spring count, I got 

 6,000 pounds of honey, mostly extracted ; 100 pounds of 

 wax, and 20 colonies increase. 



In the fall of 1883, when I took the frame of bees out of 

 the observatory hive, I placed it in the brood-chamber of an 

 American hive with two frames of sealed brood, one on each 

 side, then a frame of honey on the outside next to the hive, 

 and two empty drawn combs between this and the brood on 

 each side, making nine frames in all. Over all I put a piece 

 of new oil-cloth, in the center of which I had a round hole cut 

 so as to fit closely around a three-pound fruit-can, in the bot- 

 tom of which I had a dozen small holes punched. Inside the 

 can was placed a thin piece of cloth double, and all fit down 

 snug and close, not permitting the passage of a single bee. 

 The hive being set level on a good bottom-board, I then left it 

 in my gallery all winter for experimental purposes. About 

 once a week I filled the can about % full of warm sugar 

 syrup and honey, about equal quantities, and then put the 

 cap on. 



Little did I think that this would be the best and most 

 profitable colony of bees I ever owned ; but such proved to be 

 a fact. In the early spring it was literally running over with 

 bees. The queen was young and extra-prolific. I divided, 

 sub-divided, and increased until the outcome was eight good, 

 strong colonies. I sold two colonies and got $25 cash for 

 them, and 100 pounds of extracted honey, and 50 pounds of 

 comb honey, with six good, strong colonies after the close of 

 the season. I, of course, gave them all either full sheets of 

 comb foundation or ready-drawn comb. 



After trying various heights for my bees, I finally settled 

 on the ground as being the best, everything considered. I had 

 the rear of my hives raised several inches higher than the 

 fronts, so that all debris could work towards the front, thus 

 materially aiding the bees in house-cleaning, etc. I had two 

 wax-extractors — a solar and a Swiss. During the busy season 

 I put the cappings (after having them well drained) into the 

 solar extractor, and caked the wax into small cakes and laid 

 them away until the rush was over; I then put them through 

 the Swiss, and caked in large cakes, sometimes in an open-top 

 5-gallon can, and put two such cakes in a case for shipping. 

 If the can has had honey in it, all the better ; do not wash it. 

 After the wax cools it will slip out so nicely. Try it once, and 

 be convinced. 



I had an uncapping stand made which I found very con- 



