38 ^_^^^o^ 



J^j^uthcru 



GLEANED BY 



W. J. Andbews, - Columbia, Tenn. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Notes from Gr3orgia. 



Friexd Andrews:— Tlie weatlier is 

 Vi'anii, and bees are caiTyinj» in pollen; 1 

 examined several colonies and fountl brood 

 in all stayes. .Seein"; bees come and jio 

 from the hive, with that familiar linm, we 

 are lead to judjj;e that they think spring has 

 come in good earnest. 



ITALIANS VS. BLACK BEES. 



The Italians are carrying in pollen quite 

 freely, when scarcely a black bee is seen 

 with a pellet on his legs. "Well, what of 

 it?" Why, in the spring when honey 

 comes, it will result in at least two weeks 

 time in favor of Italians. 



honey MARKET. 



We are pleased to see that the honey 

 market keeps in advance of what many 

 expected; this, perhaps, may be attributed 

 largely to Messrs. Tliurber »fe Co., who have 

 taken' hold of this "luxury," and are not 

 only selling to people of moderate means, 

 thereby placing it beside butter, cheese, 

 and other delicacies, but are shipping it to 

 all parts of the world, by the ton. With 

 these facts in view, it will stimulate bee- 

 keepers of this country to apply themselves 

 to the work, and see that the little busy 

 bees are well cared for. 



Bee-keeping is destined to develop a 

 source of untold wealth to this country, and 

 we hope the time will come when they will 

 be kept in sulticient nembers to gather the 

 millions of tons of honey annually wasted. 



ITALIAN BEES. 



Very nntch has been said, not only by 

 American bee-keepers, but by the Germans, 

 as to what constitutes the true markings 

 and color of the Italian honey bee. Some 

 of these opinions need priming pretty close- 

 ly, as they vary about as much as the 

 weather. A. F. Moon. 



In my article on Grape Sugar, 

 instead of " put the water in a copper kettle, 

 on a wooden tank," etc., read " o?* a wood- 

 en tank." This makes a great difference. — 

 As soon as I get a good chance to work at 

 it, I intend to make up a batch of glucose, 

 and try it. 



I have ordered honey boxes for 1,000 lbs. 

 of honey, and 200 section' frames, or cases, 

 for next seasim, so you see I mean business. 

 I will double the number of colonies I have, 

 and raise everything for box honey, and 

 will raise a few queens to Italianize in time. 

 S. C. Dodge. 



[We wish you abundant success, friend 

 Dodge. If yon will raise a crop of box 

 honey, you will have no difficulty in finding 

 a ready market with friend Muth, at Cincin- 

 natti. We are now having about 200 hives, 

 and a large number of section boxes made 

 up. We expect to raise box honey exclu- 



sivelj-', the coming season; and to be sure 

 that we would have it in suitable market 

 shape, we sent to friend Muth for a sample 

 of his sections. He kindly sent us one of 

 his two-story Langstroth hives, with full 

 complement of frames, sections, etc., 

 making us a present of the same, and even 

 prepaid freight. As a matter of course, he 

 has our warmest thanks. — w. j. A.I 



For the American Bee Jonrnal. 



Transferring Bees, 



Our method of transferring bees from the 

 the box hive to that of the movable frame 

 is both simple and easy; we have practiced 

 it successfully for several years. 



Every bee-keeper should have in his 

 apiary a pan made of sheet-iron, 4 inches 

 deep, 4 inches wide and from Ifi to 20 inches 

 long; the length of the pan should coires- 

 pond with the length of the frame used. — 

 The pan should have rings in each end for 

 ha)idling; the cost of such a panis25cts., 

 and with care, it will last a lifetime. 



WAX FOB FASTENING THE COMBS 



is made as follows: To 1 lb. of common 

 English resin, add }4 of a pound of bees- 

 wax; be sure to get the preparation as 

 above described; if too nuich wax is used, 

 the weight of honey, together with the heat 

 of the bees will cause it to drop down. 



When the wax is prepared as above, 

 neither bees nor moth will effect it. This 

 pieparation we use for comb foundation, 

 and never knew one to become loose. 



Melt the resin and wax in the pan, over a 

 slow tire; be sure tl)at it does not get too 

 hot, or it will melt the combs when dii)ped 

 into it; it just needs melting. Prepare a 

 table, or a large box with tight cover, to put 

 the bees upon while transferring; have a 

 wide board or plaidc, to lay the combs upon 

 when taken from the old hive. You should 

 have a bee smoker, but it you have none, 

 make a good roll of cotton rags, and puff a 

 little smoke in the entrance of the hive you 

 wish to transfer. Raise up the edge of the 

 hive, and smoke until the bees buzz quite 

 lively; this is a sign of their surrender. — 

 The time to conquer them generally takes 

 less than a minute; bees ricli in stores take 

 a little more siiu)ke than a swarm with but 

 little honey. As soon as the bees are uiuler 

 control, take the hive to the table and turn 

 it bottom upwards; with a saw, or long 

 knife loosen the combs on two sides of the 

 old hive, saw off the sticks, if any— leaving 

 the combs standing in the old hive, with 

 the ends to your work; this will yive you a 

 chance to blow a little smoke on them occa- 

 sionly, causing them to retreat. Takeoff 

 two sides of the hive, by cutting the nails 

 with an old chisel; if a chisel is not handy, 

 split them off with an ax, leaving two sides 

 standing. The bees will soon cluster 

 upon the otttside. ' Should any remain 

 on the combs, blow a little more 

 smoke on them. The operator wants a 

 turkey or goose-quil, to brush what few 

 bees stick to the combs; with a sharp knife 

 commence on one side, cut the combs as 

 close to the hive as possible. As fast as 

 you cut out the comb, brush off adhering 



