120 



THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



tending in the apiaries of others whose practice 

 it is to "let nature take its course." 



I shoukl saj', dccidedlj^ that we liad affected a 

 cure of foulbrood by means of tliose remedies, 

 were it not for the fact- that there are some colo- 

 nies in my neighborhood which were certainly 

 foulbroody last year, and which are apparently 

 thriving now, and have swarmed this spring. 

 But these are mostly such stocks as are usually 

 looked after with attention only once a year — 

 about the time of the honey harvest. It is there- 

 fore far from certain whether these, nothwith- 

 Rtanding their fair seeming, are really free from 

 the disease. I have, however, seen with my 

 own ej'cs that stocks which were thoroughly 

 foulbrood,y last year, and to which the medicine 

 was freely administered, are entirely free from 

 the disease this year. Another season will fully 

 decide. J. Coxiiad. 



Bees in Russia. 



In the northwestern parts of the Governments 

 of Novogorod, Peskov, and the former Polish 

 provinces of Ismolensk and Witebzk, the iiives 

 are wintered in the open air on their summer- 

 stands, without being protected by straw or 

 other covering. Even the cracks and crevices 

 are not closed with clay. The hives in general 

 use are lagers, and as they are placed at a small 

 elevation from the ground, they arc often so 

 covered with snow that they are scarcely visible. 

 Though they are exposed to very severe cold — 

 the thermometer being irequently as low as 30'^ 

 Reaumur — these colonies generally pass the 

 winter safely. Perhaps the snow in which 

 they are almost buried contributes to their pre- 

 servation. They are placed, not horizontally, but 

 with the end containing the entrance consider- 

 ably elevated. The end-pieces are movable, 

 and are taken away in hiving, or when honey 

 is wanted. Vfliile I resided in the Government 

 of Ismolensk, in the winter of 1860-Gl, the 

 lower end-pieces of two hives belonging to one 

 of my neighbor's dropped out, and the end, six 

 inches square, remained open till spring; yet 

 the bees survived. I subjected one of my 

 own hives to a similar experiment in the 

 winter of 18G1-G3, leaving the lower end open 

 all the time, and exposecl to storms and snow. 

 On the 20tli of April the bees few finely for the 

 first time, and I found less than loOdead. Next 

 day they gathered pollen from the Anemone 

 'Pulsatilla. ' Dr. Asmutz. 



For the Amcricaa Bee Journal. 



Editor Bee Journal : I wish to correct or re- 

 write my last article — see October number, p. 80. 



"Having the empty combs, I have taken 

 from three swarms of bees 75 pounds of honey 

 each — worth $23.50 each. From a stock of 

 Italians, three hundred pounds, or ninety dol- 

 lars worth, was taken; and seventy-five pounds 

 each was taken from two stocks that deserted 

 or sioarmed out last spring for want of food. 

 They were rehived and fed five pounds of 

 honey each, leaving a balance of seventy pounds 

 to each hive." J. M. M. 



St. Chaules, III. 



For tlie Americau Beo Journal. 



Extraordinary Swarming. 



I presume the readers of the Jouknal would 

 like to know when anything unusual happens 

 in Bee-land. I am not much of a writer, but 

 more of an observer. Last year I had a hive of 

 half-breed Italian bees that beat anything I 

 have heard of in the swarming line, having 

 produced an increase of ten from one— all 

 natural swarms. They came otf in the follow- 

 ing order: The first on May 12th; the second, 

 May 16th; the third, ]May 18th. The first 

 young swarm sent off two about the same time; 

 and tlie old stock swarmed again in August, 

 thus making in all ten young swarms. The 

 old stock gave 37^ pounds box honey. 



Delhi, Ohio, Nov. 15. J. L. Davis. 



Draining Honey from the Combs. 



Those of our readers who j^refer eating " run 

 honey" to lioney in the comb, may be glad of 

 some instruction as to the best way of separating 

 the two. For this purpose it is better to let the 

 honey run without squeezing, in order to pre- 

 serve both its transparency and flavor. 



Take a sharp knife and slice the combs on 

 both sides, keeping the knife parallel with the 

 partition wall, so that cveiy cell may be laid 

 open. Place these broken combs in a sieve or 

 on a piece of muslin stretched across and tied 

 round the opening of a pan or large-mouthed 

 jar. Allow the honey to flow out of the combs 

 spontaneouslj^ and reserve the squeezing pro- 

 cess for a separate jar, so that the drained honey 

 of the first jar may be perfectly pure, both in 

 appearance and flavor. That which has pres- 

 sure put on it will be waxy in flavor and thick. 

 Some persons recommend that the opened 

 combs be placed in the sun, as the heat will 

 cause the honey to run more freely. The great 

 disadvantage of this is the temptation the honey 

 will ofl'er to the bees, who will be eager to gain 

 a share. 



Honey, whilst in the combs, keeps remark- 

 ably well when left in the supers; if cutout, the 

 combs should be folded in writing paper and 

 sealed up, so as effectually to prevent the free 

 entrance of air. They should be placed in a 

 warm dry closet. 



The culture of bees would be greatly pro- 

 moted if a knowledge of it were considered 

 necessary as one of the regular qualifications of 

 a gardener. So little time is needed to gain 

 the skill requisite for the tendance of an apiary, 

 that it seems only reasonable to expect it of a 

 well-taught gardener, and he should feel a 

 pleasure in the circumstance of its forming a 

 part of his duties. In Germany, where a 

 country-gentleman's table is kept constantly 

 supplied with fresh honey, the gardeners are 

 expected to understand the management of 

 hives, and in Bavaria, modern bee-culture is 

 taught in the colleges to all the horticultural 

 students. Travellers in Switzerland will call to 

 mind the almost invariably practice of placing 

 new honey on the breakfast tables at hotels iu 

 ' that country. 



