THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



165 



[For the Amoi-icaa Bee Journal.] 



Observations and Remarks on Bee Cul- 

 tui'e during the Year 1867. 



The active out door labors of bcc-kecpcrs hav- 

 ing terminatt'd lor Ihv season witli the approach 

 of winter, they may now in tlicir quiet homes 

 review the occurrences ot the pah,t j'car, and dis- 

 cuss the topics wliicli observation and experience 

 have presented I'or consideration — various and 

 u.)vel as these liave been. 



Refreshing- vains in the early autumn of 18GG, 

 whicii followed the long continued drought that 

 prevailed during the latter part of the preceding 

 summer, brought a variety of tall plants into 

 bloom, and thus unexpectedl)' furnished the bees 

 with somewhat abundant late pasturage. This 

 I'd to renewed brooding in most of the hives, 

 and caused a rajiid and extensive reduction of the 

 winter stores which had been garncre<l for the 

 support of the colonies. Perceiving this and 

 dreading the consequences, I took seasonable 

 steps to prevent losses by uniting colonies that ap- 

 peared weak, and feeding others that seemed in- 

 adequately supplied. Though the ensuing win- 

 ter was very severe and the weather was unfa- 

 vorable till late in the spring, I still had the 

 gratification to find that most of my stocks es- 

 caped with slight injurj'. This, however, was 

 not the case w'ith those bee-keepers in this dis- 

 trict who had prematurely removed and sold 

 their surplus honey — on whose stands conse- 

 quently many stocks perished. After my bees 

 revived in the spring, I supplied them with flour 

 placed in the neighborhood of the apiary, which 

 was resorted to by them and appropriated with 

 eagerness, so long as supplies of pollen could 

 not be procured from natural sources. 



About this time I observed that robbing bee-; 

 were assaulting one of my weaker colonies 

 Ever anxious to avert and prevent robbing, I 

 immediately examined this colony and found 

 that it had a queen indeed, but was totallj' des- 

 titute of brood. I then resorted to the use of 

 musk, coal oil, contraction of the entrance, dis- 

 guising the hive, &c., without any beneficial re- 

 sult. Convinced thus that the assault had reach- 

 ed a point beyond remedy, I re-examined the 

 hive and found that the queen had disappearetl, 

 and her place was usurped to some extent by a 

 fertile worker. Resolved, however, to turn these 

 robbers to good account and prevent them from 

 proceeding to attack other colonies, I inserted 

 inside of the entrance of the ruined stock a tun- 

 nel-shaped card, having the interior openiui^ 

 only large enough to permit a single bee to jia^s, 

 and elevated about an inch above the bottom 

 hoard. The robbers could thus enter, hut not 

 readily find their way out again; and I gave free 

 access to all that wished to explore the interior. 

 At dusk I closed the entrance, and next morn- 

 ing carried it and its contents to an apiary about 

 a mile distant, where 1 gave the prisoners liberty 

 to lly. Hoon discovering that they were in a 

 strange neighborhood, they returned to their late 

 prison, evidently constrained to regard it as their 

 future home. I immediately inserted a small 

 piece of brood comb containing eggs and larvrc 

 from an Italian stock, and was enabled to take 



from it in a few days, several queen cells to be 

 used elsewhere. In the fall, I found that this 

 colony had secured sutlicient supplies for the 

 winter. J3ut I was still more highly gratified to 

 find that 1 had thus effectually checked the rob- 

 bing in my home apiary. Spring oix'ned late, 

 but suddeidy, and with suchsui)eral)undant sup- 

 plies, that all hands were kept busy in making 

 the recpiisite preparations to enable the bees to 

 apjiropriate the proffered boon. 



At the close of April, I began to form nuclei 

 and artificial colonics, and continued the work 

 to near the end of May, in so far as the movable 

 comb hives in readiness enabled me to operate. 

 Ytt at the usual swarming season, the bees, en- 

 couraged by plentiful pasturage, seemed seized 

 with a perfect furor for secession, and the nmlti- 

 plication of colonies became a source of great 

 annoyance, though I had previously endeavored 

 to guard against mucli natural swarming. From 

 many of t'.ie smaller and later swarms, I removed 

 their queens, thus constraining them to return 

 to their parent stocks. 



On this occasion, I made the observation that 

 the Italian bees are prone to swarm earlier than 

 the black, and that the swarms issue more 

 promptly and with less ado, besides keeping to- 

 gether more compactly while on the wing. 



I might have increased my stock threefold, 

 but a twofold increase is already more than I de- 

 sire, as I regard an average increase of one-third 

 annually quite as much as this district of coun- 

 try will warrant; and even then I resort somc- 

 wliat to "doubling up" in the fall. 



With the exception of a few of the earliest 

 strong swarms, I am better pleased this year 

 with artificial colonies, more especially as tlie 

 latter seem more disposed to conform in comb- 

 building to the prescription of their owner. 



Haste, even in bee-culture, as in most other 

 matters, makes waste, and should be sedulously 

 avoided by every bee-keeper. 



While pasturage abounded I used the opportu- 

 nity presented to acquaint myself with the dif- 

 ference in the honey derived from various sour- 

 ces, such as the blossoms of fruit trees, locusts, 

 lindens, and white clover. Among all these, 

 that from the lindens, the odor of which was 

 distinctly perceptible in the apiary, seemed to 

 me much the best. For this reason the planting 

 of linden trees, (the earlier as well as the later 

 blossoming varieties), should be encouraged by 

 ^very bee-keeper, wherever ornamental or shade 

 trees can be introduced. 



From the beginning of Julj^ onward pasturage 

 rapidly diminislied ; and the want of rain, with 

 drouth, soon constrained the bees to resort to 

 their winter stores for suppoit. 



In the sudden change from abundance to scar- 

 city, amid long-cojitinued severe drouth, may 

 probably be found the source of the diflicultics 

 which I experienced this year, in multiplying 

 the Italian race, and more especially perhaps, 

 of the interl'erencei on the part of fertile workers. 

 Have other bee-keepers made similar observa- 

 tions under like circumstances, in their apiaries? 



Against apprehended attacks from robbing 

 bees, I was ever on my guard, opening hives 

 only early in the morning or late in the evening, 

 when I had occasion to remove honey, insert to 



