274 



NEW ENGLAND FARMEK. 



June 



For the New England Farmer. 

 BEE CULTURE. 



Me.. Editor: — During the last summer, I sent 

 you a few short articles on the above subject, 

 which you had the kindness to publish. It was 

 my intention at that time to continue the subject 

 until I had gone through with all its depart- 

 ments. But quite a number of experienced api- 

 arists, to whose judgment I defer, took up the 

 pen, and cast "your humble servant" quite in the 

 shade. When I have grown wiser in the business, 

 I may resume. My present object is to call the 

 attention of the readers of the New England 

 Farmer to their bee?, if they have any. "The 

 winter is over and gone, and the singing of birds 

 has ccme," and a little attention bestowed upon 

 your l)ees no^o, will pay a handsome return when 

 the honey harvest is over. 



Last fall, when putting my bees in their winter 

 quarters, I tried Mr. Quinby's plan — that is, I 

 put my hives in a cool, snug, dark room, well 

 ventilated, and turned the hives bottom up, and 

 kept them so until a few weeks ago. That win- 

 ter management is good, which preserves your 

 bees and brings them to spring in a sound and 

 healthy condition, and not greatly reduced in 

 numbers. I cannot say but my swarms have come 

 out well this spring ; they did, with one excep- 

 tion, and probably I lost that by some experi- 

 ments which I subjected them to. Still, I do not 

 like the Quinbyplan of turning the hives bottom 

 up. There is no mistake but by so doing you get 

 rid of the moisture generated by the breath of 

 the bees. I examined my hives a number of 

 times during the coldest weather, and never saw 

 any moisture in or about the hive. But this 

 moisture can be got rid of equally as well in 

 another way, and not be liable to the objection 

 which the "bottom up" plan has ; by this treat- 

 ment, all the filth and dirt of the bees, dead bees 

 and all, is retained in the hive, and I found it al- 

 most impossible to clean them so as to make 

 them fit to be seen. Mine were all chamber hives, 

 which must be more favorable for the "bottom 

 up" plan, than with hives without a chamber. 



Now my hand is in, let me say a word about 

 hives. I have four different patents in operation, 

 but I have about come to the conclusion that be- 

 tween "Patent Bee Hives" — moth 2^roof included 

 — and "Humbug," there is no great difference. 

 If you have a hive like Bevan's cross-bar hive, 

 ■with a chamber to it, and the lower part, or liv- 

 ing room, about twelve inches square, thorough- 

 ly made and painted white, don't spend your 

 money, thinking to get any thing better. Dur- 

 ing the past few weeks of pleasant weather, those 

 ■who have taken notice have found their bees 

 hard at work, coming in from the fields with 

 their baskets loaded down with pollen. Of course 

 your hives are on their stand, and have been these 

 three weeks. See that your hives are thorough- 

 ly cleaned, particularly the bottom, and all filth 

 removed from every part. This saves your bees 

 a very hard job. You have also weighed your 

 hives, or by some other means satisfied yourself 

 that they have plenty of stores to carry them safe- 

 ly into the honey season ; if they are deficient, 

 supply them at once. Every few days, I put in 

 the outer channels of the chamber, two table- 

 spoonfuls of honey, and let it run where it pleas- 



es. This "strikes the fancy" of the bees, makes 

 them bestir themselves, and is said to promote 

 early swarming. 



During the middle of the day, just pass around 

 among your hives and see that there is no rob- 

 bing going on, and bees are more prone to rob 

 each other at this season and in the fall than at 

 any other time. I take the precaution to contract 

 the entrance to all my hives to one inch, and keep 

 it so until the weather becomes quite warm. If 

 the farmer wants a good crop he must use the 

 means to produce one ; if he does this, nothing 

 will prevent its coming, but "the hand of God." 

 So in bee-culture, they must have the care and 

 attention of the master ; it is not much they need, 

 but this little they must have, or there is no suc- 

 cess ; with it, nothing pays better in the whole 

 range of the farm of the same cost. 



Now, friends of the bee, just give them this 

 care for a few weeks, and then they will care for 

 themselves. I am often inquired of as to the 

 price of a swarm of bees, including a good hive. 

 I don't know. I have always sold mine in the 

 spring, about this time, for ten dollars ; never 

 have sold any without a hive, but should suppose 

 six to eight dollars a fair price. NORFOLK. 



King Oak Hill, April, 1858. 



THE TKOUT. 



In some remarks made before the Farmers' 

 Club in New York, by Robert L. Pell, Esq., we 

 find the following interesting information con- 

 cerning this highly esteemed fish : 



"The trout is the only fish that comes in and 

 goes out of season with the deer ; he grows rap- 

 idly, and dies early after reaching his full growth. 

 The female spawns in October- at a diff'erent 

 time from nearly all other fish ; after which both 

 male and female become lean, weak and unwhol- 

 some eating, and, if examined closely, will be 

 found covered with a species of clove-shaped in- 

 sects, which appear to suck their substance from 

 them ; and they continue sick until warm weath- 

 er, when they rub the insects off on the gravel, 

 and immediately grow strong. The female is the 

 best for the table. She may be known by her 

 small head and deep body. Fish are always in 

 season when their heads are so small as to be 

 disproportioned to the size of their body. The 

 trout is less oily and rich than the salmon ; the 

 female is much brighter and more beautiful than 

 the male ; they swim rapidly, and often leap, like 

 the salmon, to a great height 'when ascending 

 streams. When I first stocked my trout-pond, I 

 placed 1500 in it, and was accustomed to feed 

 them with angle-worms, rose-bugs, crickets, grass- 

 hoppers, &c., which they attacked with great vo- 

 racity, to the amusement of those looking on. 

 They grow much more rapidly in ponds than in 

 their native streams, from the fact that they are 

 better fed, and not compelled to exercise. Trout 

 are the only fish known to me that possess a 

 voice, which is perceived by pressing them, when 

 they emit a murmuring sound, and tremble all 

 over." 



CuRCULlo. — Mr. Walker of Kentucky, through 

 the Ohio Valley Farmer, suggests the following 

 remedy : — "As soon as the fruit is attacked take 

 a tin-pan, into which soap-suds has been placed 



