The American Apiculturist. 



KXTKRED AT THE POST-OFFICE, WENHAM, AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER. 



Published Monthly. . Henry Alley, Manager. 



VOL. V. WENHAM, MASS., JUNE i, 1887. No. 6. 



We deal in flrst-class apiari- I Establislied in 1883. Terms:! Anv yearly subscriber is en- 

 an supplies of all kinds, lowest | $1.00 per year, 50 cents per six | titled' to one of our selei'ted 

 prices. Prompt delivery. I months, 2.') cents per three I queens anytime lietween June! 



Send for price list. | months. Cash in advance. | and Oct. 1, by remitting 50 cts. 



Address all communications, AMERICAN" APICULTURIST, "Wenham, Mass. 



For the American Apiculturist. 



COMB HONEY. 



METHODS A.S PRACTISED AND AD- 

 VISED FOR THE PRODUCTION' OF THE 

 LARGEST NUMBER OF POUNDS 

 IN ANY SEASON AT THE LOWEST 

 COST OF LABOR AND TIME 

 AND IN THE BEST MARKET- 

 ABLE STYLE. 



METHOD NUMBER ONE. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



In order to produce good results 

 by way of getting plenty of well- 

 filled sections of comb honey, the 

 first requisite is plenty of bees 

 when the honey harvest arrives ; 

 for, whatever else we may have, 

 success cannot be obtained with- 

 out plenty of bees. Then one of the 

 greatest objects looking towards 

 an abundance of bees is a good 

 queen, for without such a queen it 

 would be impossible to get the re- 

 quired force of bees at the time it 

 was positively necessary that we 

 have them, if success is to crown 

 our efforts. These bees must be 

 on hand in time for the honey har- 

 vest, else the}' become merely con- 

 sumers instead of producers. How 

 often we find people keeping bees 

 on this consuming plan, getting 

 nothing from them in the time of 

 section hone}' except perhaps a 

 little fall honey of inferior quality, 

 for the reason that they do not have 

 anything but colonies weak in bees 



11 



at the time the harvest of white 

 honey occurs. Such beekeeping 

 does not pay, and if we would suc- 

 ceed, our first step is to get plenty 

 of bees in time for the honey har- 

 vest. 



Wliite clover is the principal 

 honey-producing plant in most 

 localities, which blooms about 

 June 15, and is at its best fi'om 

 June 25 to 30, hence our bees must 

 be in readiness at that time if we 

 wish to succeed. After years of 

 trial I find that it takes about six 

 weeks to build up an ordinary 

 colony in the spring, to where they 

 are ready to get honey to the best 

 advantage, so we should commence 

 active operations about May 1, 

 where clover produces our white 

 honey crop. There are several 

 ways of working our bees to get 

 the greatest possible number at the 

 right time, the best of which as I 

 consider them, after years of trial, 

 is the spreading of the brood in 

 connection with chaff" packing as 

 given to us by J. H. Townley in 

 1877. 



For this packing some prefer 

 one kind of material and others 

 a different kind, such as sawdust, 

 leaves, the many kinds of chaff 

 and hay. After trying nearly all 

 of them I find that oat straw is 

 fully equal to anything, and less 

 objectionable on account of litter 

 and scarcity. Having the colonies 

 (135) 



