1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



177 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Bees during Drouth in Illinois. 



Mr. Editor. — With your permission, I would 

 like to t^ive the readers of the Journal a brief 

 history of my summer operations. The last 

 season was an unusually unfavorable one, owing 

 to the long continued drouth that prevailed in 

 this section of country. It did not rain here 

 from the 1st of April until the 13th of July. On 

 the 20th of June there was not a clover blossom 

 nor any other flower to be seen. It was dry 

 enough to burn, and as I do not live within six 

 miles of timber land, I must say that I did well 

 for a beginner. It must be i-emembered that the 

 weather was so dry and hot that the bees could 

 not breed, and there were consequently very few 

 swarms in any part of this section. I made five 

 artificial swarms, thus making the whole number 

 of my stocks forty-five. Befoi-e the 1st of August 

 I got two hundred pounds of clover honey, and 

 in August and September I got twenty-eight 

 hundred pounds — twenty-three hundred pounds 

 of box honey, and five hundred pounds of ex- 

 tracted honey. 



My buckwheat seed lay in the ground five weeks 

 before it came up. It and my Alsike clover 

 came into bloom in September, and the bees 

 made a good deal of honey from these sources. 



There is a bee-man living twenty miles west 

 of me, whom I saw three weeks ago. He has 

 not any artificial pasture, and says he did not 

 get one pound of honey. He is afraid his bees 

 will starve this winter, for they did not gather 

 enough to winter on. 



When I commenced the bee business, I argued 

 that if bees could do well on natural pasturage, 

 they certainly could do better on well preijared 

 artificial pasture, and I think no apiarian can 

 gain the liighest point of success in bee culture, 

 unless he has plenty of artificial pasture for his 

 stocks. My greatest difliculty is to winter my 

 bees well. It is in fact my only trouble. With 

 best wishes for the Bee Journal and its readers, 

 I am, &c. R. Miller. 



Bochelle, Illinois. 



[For the American Bee JournaL] 



Partial Success. 



Friend Wagner, when I commenced my ex- 

 periments in bee-keeping in 1860, it was with a 

 conviction that one hundred (100) pounds of 

 surplus might be secured from one hive. This 

 was about the height of my anticipations. 

 Within three years I secured this result. 



Not satisfied with this result, in my continued 

 experiments, I made some important improve- 

 ments in my hive, as I imagined, and in 1867 

 secured one hundred and seventy-four (174) 

 pounds in one hive. In 1870, the past season, I 

 have secured two hundred (200) pounds from one 

 hive — almost the whole of it from white clover. 

 I think they have in the breeding department of 

 their hive ample stores for the winter. 



Although I think this is doing well — tolerably 

 well — in rather a poor section of country for 



honey, for my neighbor near by, secured in old 

 fashioned hives, but one box full ; and others in 

 the vicinity have very ordinary returns in surplus 

 honey ; yet I am obliged to consider this as only 

 purtial success. 



It is suggestive of improvements ; and I am 

 now inclined, after having passed four score 

 years, to try for three liundred (300) pounds 

 from one hive, if a few years more are added to 

 my four score years already granted. 



My experiments thus far have resulted in cer- 

 tain conclusions, which I regard as important to 

 the greatest success. 



1. A colony of bees in a hive giving room for 

 storing all the honey gathered by the whole 

 colony for the season, will not throw out a swarm 

 unless from extreme heat, the pi'esence of ene- 

 mies, or when, from other cause, the dwelling 

 becomes objectionable. 



2. A colony in a non-swarming hive, which has 

 no disposition to swarm, will secure a much 

 larger amount of surplus, than a colony in the 

 same class of hive, which casts swarms, or has 

 the disposition to swarm. As to the amount of 

 honey, we refer to the 100, 174 and 200 pounds 

 already mentioned. In the past season I have 

 had from five colonies of non-swarmers 629 lbs. 

 In 1868, fnmi two hives, one 105 lbs. and an- 

 other 147 lbs. In this season, I had fifteen colo- 

 nies in the same class of large hives as those that 

 gave 629 lbs., each of which fifteen gave swarms. 

 Wishing to secure new swarms for an experi- 

 ment, I shaded but a small part of my hives the 

 past season. The result was, that fifteen of my 

 twenty colonies gave swarms. The fifteen old 

 colonies with their fifteen new swarms, gave 

 four hundred and fifty-four (454) pounds of sur- 

 plus ; 629 lbs. from the non-swarmers, to 454 lbs. 

 of surplus from fifteen swarmers and their 

 swarms. The average from the hives that gave 

 no swarms, is 126 lbs. nearly. The average of 

 the fifteen that gave swarms, including the sur- 

 plus given by their swarm.s, is SO^- lbs. 



3. Colonies in hives of 2000 cubic inches, with 

 only small boxes upon the top, that give swarms, 

 will not, so far as my observation goes, average 

 half as much surplus per colony, as colonies in 

 the large hives. So far as my experience goes, 

 they have not averaged one-fourth as much. 

 Mr. Quinby, in his work, estimates the average 

 at $2, at twenty-five cents per pound. This 

 would be eight ])ounds. At twenty cents it 

 would be ten pounds. 



4. Every farmer and horticulturist, in gather- 

 ing his harvest of grain or fruits, desires to 

 expend as small a portion of it as possible in the 

 cost of gathering. How does this principle apply 

 to the case as before stated ? Every colony of 

 bees, old colony or new swarm, will require 

 sixty pounds of honey for consumption in the 

 breeding season and in wintering. At ten pounds 

 per colony, it will require sixty-three old, and 

 their say sixty- two new colonies. For their 

 breeding and wintering 7,500 lbs. will be re- 

 quired ; and they give in surplus 629 lbs It will 

 be seen then, tliat by this system, in this small 

 hive, the keeper secures one-thirteenth of his 

 product, and his harvesters consume twelve-thir- 

 teenths. To secuie 629 lbs. by the large hives 



