190 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Amateur Bee Culture. 



Although much has been written on the science 

 of bee culture, yet but few of those who engage 

 in it meet with success. It is with bee-keeping us 

 with every other branch of iiulustry, those who 

 engage in it must understand it, if they expect to 

 succeed. 



If one desires to engage in bee-keeping, he 

 should, in order to be successful, thoroughly ac- 

 quaint himself with the nature and habits of the 

 bees. He then understands how to select a situa- 

 tion for an apiary, and provide for their wants. 

 He sees the advantages of frame bives, and is 

 enabled to select intelligently from the many 

 placed before the public. Like a master builder 

 who thoroughly understands his work, he com- 

 mences bee-keeping, Ivnowing what to do. Such 

 a one is sure to succeed. In my experience, 

 however, I have found only now and then one 

 who commences in- this way. Ordinarily, almost 

 every one commencing to keep bees is entirel}' 

 ignorant of their nature and habits, and fre- 

 quently all the knowledge acquired is got hj 

 slow experience. Is it a wonder, then, tbat so 

 many bee-keepers fail to be successful ? Let any 

 one who intends to keep bees first purchase some 

 practical work on bee-keeping and thoroughly 

 read it, acquainting himself well with the theory 

 before he commences. Let him, in commencing, 

 purchase not more than two or three colonies ; 

 and even tben he will find his bees increasing 

 foster than his experience. It is a sad mistake that 

 many fall into, when commencing bee-keeping, 

 to purchase a large number nf stocks. It will not 

 do for one comparatively well read up in bee- 

 keeping, but has not the experience, much less 

 for one who has no knowledge whatever of bee 

 culture. A few years since a man entirely ig- 

 norant of bee culture was suddenly attaclied 

 with "6ce on the brain,'''' and as a remedy pur- 

 chased a thousand colonies and commenced bee- 

 keeping with visions of honey before his eyes ; 

 and the result was he failed. Several similar in- 

 stances have come under my observation, even 

 when only fifteen or twenty colonies were pur- 

 chased. Two or three stocks aie quiie enough to 

 commence with, and they ought not to be pur- 

 chased unless one has some knowledge of bee- 

 keeping, or at least a practical work to guide 

 him. But with a fair knowledge of bee- culture 

 and the use of frame hives, rightly constructed, 

 success in bee-keeping is certain, when proper 

 attention is given to it. 



J. H. TrroMAs. 

 Brooklin, Ontario 



The greatest favorites of the bees, in early 

 spring, appear to be the catl<in-bearing shrubs 

 and trees, the willow, hazel, osier, &c., from the 

 male flowers of which they obtain the pollen, 

 and from the female the honey. 



In working among bees, woollen gloves or 

 mittens are objectionable, as everything rough 

 or hairy has an extremely irritating effect upon 

 them. 



[For the American Bea Journal.] 



History of our Honey-Emptier. 



Mh. Editor : — Your readers call for facts 

 rather than fancies, though most people take more 

 pleasure in relating their successful exploits than 

 their failures, and it is easier to write theories 

 than to practice them. 



I think as much can be learned from an ac- 

 count of a failure, as from a success, if the rea- 

 sons for the failure are given. Therefore I think 

 correspondents should give both sides of the 

 question and I will endeavor to do so myself. 



That we must have a honey-emptier wns a 

 settled question, but how we were to make it 

 was another thing. The Journal contained 

 the bill of stock required in making several dif- 

 ferent styles, none of which just suited. 



We could not get a suitable tiu-can made here 

 for less than four dollars, so we devised a phm 

 sinular to that described in the last number of 

 the Bee Journal, as patented by Mr. H. O. 

 Peabody, only we did not carry the idea quite 

 so far as he has done. 



We made the "basket" of gauze wire and hoop 

 iron liveted together and fastened to the stand- 

 ard with iron braces. We then made two shields 

 of tin to go over the two sides, covered with wire 

 cloth, in orc^r to catch the honey and conduct 

 it to a shaTOw tub in which the whole thing 

 was to revolve. When ready for use we brought 

 in some well filled comb, but found that we had 

 not got the joints at the corners tight enough to 

 keep the honey from flowing on the floor. As 

 we wanted to use the machine immediately and 

 had no tins for the remaining two sides, we con- 

 cluded to dispense with the tins entirely, and 

 putting it in a wooden cask, try it in the " good 

 old way." 



We supplied it with the gearing of an old 

 apple parer, and very soon extracted one hun- 

 dred pounds of buckwheat honey. • 



Our only trouble now was in uncapping the 

 cells. We tried everything within our reach, 

 from a razor to a butcher knife, but in all made 

 rather bad work. We then concluded that some- 

 body must have for sale knives suited for the 

 purpose, as correspondents, in describing the 

 workings of their machines, say nothing of 

 trouble in this direction. We looked over the 

 advertisements in our Bee JouiiNAL, but could 

 not find them mentioned. Thinking that Mr. 

 Langstroth would be apt to keep them, if anj'- 

 body did, we enclosed him a two dollar note, 

 with a request to send one bj' mail, if he had 

 them. The money was immediately returned, 

 with a note stating that he had none on hand, 

 but thought we could procure one from Mr. M. 

 ]yr. Baldi'idge, St. Charles, Ills. We accord- 

 ingly enclosed two dollars in a letter directed to 

 Mr. B., requesting him to send us a knife as 

 soon as possible, &s, we wished to use it immedi- 

 ately. This was about the 25th of September, 

 and after waiting patiently about two weeks our 

 hope of ever seeing knife or money again be- 

 gan to vanish. We then sent him another letter 

 of inquiry in regard to the fate of the first. 



Some time before this, our friend Mr. S , of 



this place, invited us to come up and try our 



