80 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



I have heard it often and especially 

 in the evening with wonder. But 

 whether the queen began this song 

 from a feeling of pleasure (which 

 we cannot doubt animals to possess 

 as well as grief) by reason of the 

 abundant harvest, or if she by that 

 means roused her dependents to 

 renewed diligence, I cannot say. 

 It may be both. 



Modheim, Germany, July 25, 1783. 

 (To he continued.) 



BEEKEEPING IN THE 

 SOUTH 



By J. P. 11. Bkowx. 



On this subject there has been 

 considerable said in the Journals,- 

 mostly by persons whose enthusi- 

 asm was slightly in advance of 

 their practical experience and cor- 

 rect obse^rvation. 



The pursuit of apiculture is at- 

 tended with advantages and disad- 

 vantages in any country. The 

 great advantage the south possesses 

 over the north is, that the winters 

 are so mild bees need no special 

 repositories, or extra preparation, 

 to protect them from the cold. If 

 a colony in the fall has plenty of 

 bees and from twenty to twenty- 

 live pounds of honey it will come 

 out all right in the spring in any 

 sort of hive. A few winters ago 

 I went to an old box-hive apiary to 

 purchase some bees, and I found a 

 number of gums were knocked 

 down horizontally on the ground 

 with the cap-board torn off, and the 



cold winds blowing through the 

 hive from end to end, but the bees 

 were all right in their shabby quar- 

 ters. This demonstrates how eas- 

 ily bees are wintered in our climate. 

 But there are other essentials, be- 

 sides successful wintering, neces- 

 sary to make beekeeping profitable. 

 There must be an abundance of 

 honey-producing plants. The mel- 

 lifluous flowers must secrete the 

 nectar in profusion, and the atmos- 

 pheric conditions must be favorable 

 for the bees to gather it. 



In the south, the natural flora of 

 the country supplies nearly all the 

 pasturage, and this is chiefly found 

 along our water-courses, swamps, 

 and lowlands. The nearer the api- 

 ary is to these localities the better. 

 In some few places white clover 

 will do well and yield honey pro- 

 fusel}^ but in sandy soils the hot 

 sun soon kills it out. 



In the latitude of Augusta, Ga., 

 which is about 33^° north, breeding 

 generally commences about the 

 twentieth of January ; but no sur- 

 plus honey of any consequence is 

 taken before the first of April. In 

 order to support the great amount 

 of developing brood till April, it is 

 necessary for the colony to have at 

 least twenty pounds of surplus laid 

 up in the fall. 



This is quite as much hone}' as is 

 required to winter your colonies in 

 the north. All our surplus is taken 

 between the first of April and the 

 fifteenth of June. Through July and 

 August bees gather a bare subsist- 

 ence ; in very dry seasons th ey do 

 not hold their own. All experiments 

 thus far, in the way of cultivated 



