rrMB rn'mmmicmm mm^ j&ismf^mi^. 



697 



feet long, ami 2 feet above ground 

 (upper end), at eacli end of the pit or 

 hole, as a ventilator. As I generally 

 watch the bees pretty close for awhile, 

 I went in and examined the hives 

 about three weeks after I put them in, 

 and found that a gopher had utilized 

 tlie ventilator to store waste dirt ; but 

 the ground outside was'frozen so hard 

 that I could do nothing for them, so, 

 after seeing tliat the bees were all 

 right, I just left them until Marcli 25, 

 when I opened the hole, and found 

 them all right, witii not over a pint of 

 dead bees in the entire lot. The bees 

 were put in the first week in Decem- 

 ber, wliieh is about tlie right time to 

 put them in, in tliis latitude and 

 climate. 



I am satislied that if these directions 

 are strictly followed, success will at- 

 tend ever}- ett'ort ; and whiU^ it reijuires 

 some manual labor, it has the advan- 

 tage of scarcely any ex])enditure of 

 moiiej-, as the lumber can be taken out 

 in the spring almost as good as new, 

 and can be used over and over again 

 for tlie same purpose. 



I liave never kept over 20 colonies 

 togetlier, but I can see no good reason 

 why .50 may not be kept as well, only 

 requiring the more room. My bees 

 always come out 'plump and fat," 

 and apparently vigorous. I always 

 try to select a tine, warm day to open 

 the pit, and if chilly at night, I put the 

 hives in again, with only the boards 

 for a (covering, unless bad weather en- 

 sues, when I again put on the bagasse 

 for a day or two. or until the next 

 warm day, when I put the bees out to 

 stay. 



My bees have not been troubled 

 with spring dwindling to amount to 

 anything, and I believe that musty, 

 moldy cellars have more to do with it 

 tliaii damp combs and soured liouey. 



Hedrick, Iowa. 



BLACK HONEY. 



Pcoiilinr Kind of Xcftar 

 Gatlierod l>>- the Bees. 



Written Sor the American Bee Jnurnal 

 BV WM. S. BARCLAV. 



From Sept. 7 for about two weeks, 

 my bees gathei'cd a substance some- 

 wliat the color of thin ink. 1 have no 

 dotibt that it was honej'-dew, but tlie 

 source whence it was obtained, is what 

 mystifies me. I have never failed to 

 trace my bees to where they gathered 

 their stores — that is, when tliev were 

 working freelj- ; but in this instance I 

 failed entirely. 



They worked as freely as I have 

 ever known them to do on buckwheat, 

 and brought in fully as large loads as 

 they do from that plant ; but tlie rea- 



son they could not lie traced was, that 

 when they left their hives, they arose 

 high in the air before they struck their 

 course, and as we have a high hill im- 

 mediately back of our village, oviu- 

 whicli they Hew, it was impossible for 

 me to again obtain th(;ir direction of 

 (light. 



This black honey was quite thick, 

 and after standing a short time, it pre- 

 cipitate<l a black, sandy sediment, 

 which, when shaken up, gave it a 

 grainy appearance that was very re- 

 pulsive. The taste was sharp and dis- 

 agreeable, while it gave fortli an odor 

 which was anything but pleasing. 



While gathering the substance, tlie 

 bees built the whitest of comb in which 

 to deposit, and I was greatly surprised 

 to find, in eating it, that this comb 

 was as tougli as comb that had been 

 bred in three or four times ; but wliat 

 astonished me tlie most, was that tliis 

 honey was sealed up almost as rapidly 

 as it was gathered. I think that it was 

 done more rapidly than I have ever 

 known honey to be sealed before. The 

 appearance which it presented when 

 placed in a comb partly filled with 

 sealed wliite honey, was astonishing, 

 and would have to be seen to be full}' 

 realized. 



Now the question is, will this honey 

 be safe food on which to winter bees ? 

 I know that some of our prominent 

 bee-keepers take the position, " that 

 any fully sealed honey is proper food 

 for winter," but I fear to take the risk. 

 I have left a portion of it with some of 

 my colonies, in their comlis in the 

 body of the hive, but I removed all of 

 it that was deposited as surplus, pre- 

 ferring to feed it in the spring when 

 the bees would have daily tliglits, and 

 when I would apprehend no danger. 



I have written to Mr. Chas. F. Muth, 

 of Cincinnati, in relation to this hone)', 

 and shall send him asamjile of it wlien 

 I hear from him. I should .also like to 

 have Mr. Newman and Prof. Cook see 

 it, and have their opinions of it. 



Xlie IVatioiial Flower. 



In relation to our national flower, I 

 would saj- that my choice most de- 

 torniinedly is the "golden-rod;" and 

 this in tlie face of the fact that bees 

 in our vicinity do not gather a particle 

 of honey from its beautiful bloom ; but 

 this may be stated with equal truth of 

 the spider-plant. For fall hone}- give 

 me, first, sweet clover, and then the 

 motherwort and catnip. 



For its adaptation to all soils and 

 climates ; for its beauty, as it waves its 

 golden plumes over liillside and valley; 

 for its tenacity of life ; but more, for 

 the beautiful interinetation of its cog- 

 nomen, give me golden-rod in prefer- 

 ence to all other flowers, as emblematic 

 of our now united and glorious nation. 



Beaver, Pa. 



SECTION-CASES. 



Frceiiisr!^eetioii-CaseN Iroiii Bee» 

 ivhile oil tlie Ilii'eM. 



Written for the American BceJournu!. 



BV KKANK COVERDALE. 



On page (il^G, Mr. J. M. Burtcli ask.s 

 how to get bees out of the section- 

 cases before removing them to the 

 honey-house, or from the liives. Very 

 truly it is quite a task, wlien it has to 

 be done as Mr. B. says tliat lie has 

 tried, or in the way that well-nigh all 

 of our progressive apiarists are con- 

 tinually practicing, and most especially 

 is it hard to accomplish it witli the 

 Italians, for they arc so docile, and 

 jirone to hang and stick to the comb. 



Getting bees out of the surplus cases, 

 has also caused me a great deal of 

 bother and vexation, especially when I 

 have to drive them tlirough a per- 

 forated wood-zinc jioney-board. I 

 have spent many hours, thinking nut 

 a way by whicli we could prevent this 

 hardshijj, and tlie best way I know of 

 at present is this : 



Take a board .', or i of an inch thick, 

 saw it so as to just fit the section-cases; 

 after which a strip is nailed all tlie 

 way around it. These strips should. 

 when nailid, project jj of an inch 

 higher than tlie board, which will leave 

 a bee-space on top, so that the section- 

 cases will fit on this the same as on the- 

 hive with the bee-space. 



After this is done, bore a ;-inch 

 auger-hole near the rear, or almost 

 anywhere will do. though it will be 

 better, perhaps, to have the hole over 

 the openings of the sections. 



Make a wire-screen cone, about Ij 

 inches long, with the toi) to just fit 

 the auger-hole, and the bottom so that 

 a bee can just creep easily down 

 through. Now go to the hive that lia.« 

 one or two cases of capped honey, 

 that you wish to remove, raise up the 

 top eases, and slide in th(! board ; drop 

 the little wire-cloth cone down in the 

 hole that you bored — small enil down- 

 ward ; let down the case, and the bees 

 will soon become uneasy, for they have 

 neither queen nor brood, and down 

 through the cone they will go, until 

 every bee is out of the way. 



Tlien how pleasant it is to carry the 

 bee-deserted cases to the hoiiej-roora. 

 It scarcely can be imagined how glad 

 I felt the first trial, to return and find 

 a case of honey without a bee on it. 



This will save much valuable time, 

 for one can adjust one of these boards 

 very much (piicker than to putV and 

 smoke the bees down, blowing fire and 

 ashes on the bees and nice comb 

 honej'. 



The boards can be made \or\' 

 cheaply, and I should think that a man 



