w. 



GLEANED BY 



J. Andrews, - Columbia, Tenn. 



Sketches from Tennessee. 



POLLEN STIMULATES. 



We want strong stocks of bees early, 

 to secure good yields of honey; and to 

 secure such stocks, it is necessary to 

 begin operations in the apiary early. — 

 It appears to be the generally received 

 opinion, that bees rear their brood in 

 proportion to the amount of honey 

 they are gathering, and many bee- 

 keepers, who wisJi to stimulate their 

 queens to early action, even witli plenty 

 of honey in the hives, resort to feeding 

 on liquid sweets. Is there not a mis- 

 conception as to the wants of the bees 

 in such feeding, and is it not pollen, or 

 some substitute for it. that is required 

 to reacJi the end desired? We fre- 

 quently find, diu-ing a great tlow of 

 honey, when the gathering of pollen is 

 iilmost wholly suspended, compara- 

 tively, a small amount of eggs and 

 brood, but so soon as the flow of honey 

 begins to subside, and the bees are 

 again gathering pollen freely, the 

 queen is stimulated to great activity; 

 hlling, in many instances, all the unoc- 

 cupied space in both apartments to the 

 liive with brood, and Avitli a normal 

 -colony, will be kept so until these con- 

 ditions are frustrated. The reason is 

 obvious. The queen oviposites but 

 sparingly, except when the hive is sup- 

 plied with plenty of pollen. It follows, 

 as a consequence, that the bees supply 

 lier, as well as the young bees, with 

 food, principally prepared from pollen. 

 This accounts for the eagerness with, 

 which bees gather pollen at the ap- 

 proach of warm weather, and if natural 

 l)ol]en cannot be obtained, for the 

 avidity with which they take any sub- 

 stitute accessible to them. 



REPOKT. 



We began the season of 1877 with 36 

 colonies, mostly weakly ones, and 

 increased, by artificial swarming, to 92. 

 The linden harvest being a failure, our 

 honey crop was light; tliough from a 

 single colony we obtained 232 fts. of 

 honey. 



Our greatest increase from a single 

 colony was 8, which are now all in a 

 fair condition. Have lost 2, up to tliis 

 time, for want of attention at the 

 proper time. After disposing of some 

 and uniting others, we have 79, with 

 prospects of safely carrying them 

 through. S. D. McLeak, 



[ Eight glad, friend McLean, to wel- 

 come you to our '^Southern" depart- 

 ment. Here's our i^ and may we 

 have the pleasure of freiiuently griping 

 it. Our old friend Moon has fallen in 

 line, and gives ns an occasional item; 

 now, you have stepped in. Will not 

 some more of the old World family give 

 a greeting V AVhy not have a reunion 

 of that old family in these columns i* — 

 Come, Dixie friends, let's hear from 

 you !— w. J. A.] 



Muth's Shipping Crate. 



Friend Andrews: — Your favor of 

 December 20, 1877 came to hand in due 

 time. Also your comb-guide. It 

 seems to be, of late, the general dispo- 

 sition of our friends, to improve on the 

 style of tlieir comb honey; and it is 

 very essential, also, that comb honey 

 should arrive at its destination in as 



good style as it is shipped from home, 

 lur friends nse, generally, too large 

 boxes; boxes which are calculated for 

 two men to handle, but which are often 

 handled by one man only, whoi works 

 the boxes along on their corners and 

 In-eaks most of the combs. Much to 

 the dissatisfaction of the dealer and 

 producer. Several very good sliipping 

 boxes were exhibited at the Conven- 

 tion in New York. Still there is room 

 for improvement. The frames, or sec- 

 tions should be no smaller than to hold 

 U to 2 lbs. of honey ; because, we can 

 sell, just as readily, 2 fts. of honey in a 

 frame as 1 ft; and we can produce more 

 honey in larger frames, because the 

 finishing part occupies the bees, appar- 

 ently, the longest time. The shipping 

 cases should be neat, substantial and 

 cheap. They should hold no more than 

 about 50 or 60 fts. of honey, and a 

 handle should be on each side, towards 

 the upper half of the case, which pre- 

 vents those baggage-smashers from 

 setting the cases down on a corner. — 

 The honey should also be seen behind 

 the glasses of the section boxes, and at 

 a safe distance from the outside. 



I have sent you one of my shipping 

 cases, with 4 sectional boxes, as a 

 sample. Imagine, if you please, those 

 empty sections to be filled nicely with 

 comb honey, and tell us through the 

 Journal, whether my shipping boxes 

 find your appreciation, or, what objec- 

 tion you have to them, and oblige. 



ClIAS. F. MUTH. 



[ The shipping box and frames came 

 duly to hand. Thanks. We certainly 



