PRACTICAL FARMER 



137 



(Ffom the Vermont Chronicle.) 



be:f.s and honey. 



Honey raised in a cold climate and mountain- 

 ous country, is the jiurest and best. As a source 

 of profit, very few persons in Vermont keep bees, 

 and yet we are convinced that the Green Moun- 

 tains might become as distinguisiied lor excellent 

 honey, as they are for first rate Beef, Pork, But- 

 ter and Cheese. 



We lately cut the following from a New York 

 paper : — 



Honey, — In passing through the garden em- 

 ployed by the American Institute, our attention 

 was directed to some boxes of Honey, of a clear, 

 vvliite and beautiful transparent appearance, such 

 }is hcis seldom been seen in the New York Mar- 

 ket. It is presented by Messrs VVijcox & Cone, 

 of West Broonifield, Ontario County, Ohio. One 

 of the firm has furnished us with the following 

 statement : — 



"Last spring we had not more than 220 swarms, 

 this fall we had over 420 ; nearly all of the yoimg 

 swarms are good to winter over. We have taken 

 from our bees 3,700 lbs. of box or cap honey; in 

 addition to this, we furnish all the vicinity where 

 we live with boxes, showing them how to rnannge, 

 promising to buy all ihe honey that was built in 

 them. This adrled to our own, made 5,641 lbs. 

 All of this was taken away without destroying a 

 single swarn? of bees. Near seven-eighths of this 

 honey was of the white, such as was exhibited to- 

 day ; it arrived in New York market on the 9th 

 of September ; nearly two-thirds of it is already 

 sold. We have adopted this plan to make our 

 bees profitable, and not destroy an insect that is 

 such an example of industry." 



Wishing to give our readers more inform tion 

 respecting such an instance of successful business 

 in the hive, we wrote to Messrs Wilcox &, Cone. 

 From their very obliging answer to rur inquiries, 

 we copy the following: 



Our hives are of almost all descri[itions com- 

 monly used, having bought many of them. We 

 prefer the smaller size.-^, such as will hold about 

 thirty pounds of honey when well filled, as that 

 will be sufficient to winter a common swarm, and 

 such hives swarm the tuost. We procure our 

 honey from a box of about seven inches square, 

 jdaced on the top of the hive. The box should 

 be made to fit very close to the hive, and no com- 

 munication out of it only through the hive. The 

 hole should not be less than three inches square. 

 These should be put on the old hives, before the 

 Bees begin to gather from the white clover, and 

 on the. young swartns when they are first put into 

 the hives. In this way instead of the bees lying 

 on the outside of the hive, idle, as they commonly 

 do, ihey have room within the box, where they 

 continue to build, and gather, till they are ready 



to swarm. Many of our swarms do not work on 

 the boxes at all ; but by boxing them all, we av- 

 erage from 7 to 16 lbs., from every old swarm. 

 Last year we got over 16, it being more than a 

 conuTion season for honey. 



We have not been troubled much with the 

 moth ; having so many hives together the birds 

 keep them mostly subdued. We think it the best 

 plan to raise the hive so that the bees can just pass 

 out all round the hive : they keep the bottom 

 board clean of comb dust, so there is less chance 

 for the millers to deposite their eggs, where they 

 will not be destroyed. Care should be t-tkeu to 

 kill all that can be found on and around the hives 

 every day or two. 



We use no tneans to furnish our bees with food, 

 excepting to feed some light swarms towards 

 spring ; which we do, by [)uttiiig comb filled with 

 honey, in the box on the top of the hive. Bees 

 flourish the best where there is plenty of Elm, Su- 

 gar Maple and Basswood, and where the soil is 

 natural for white clover. Elm and Mapde blos- 

 som early in the spring ; after the sjiring flowers 

 are gone, bees stir but little, until white clover be- 

 gins to blossom ; if it fills well with honey, bees 

 soon fill their hives and begin to swarm ; if not, 

 they swarm late, and the swarms stand a poor 

 chance ; the Basswood and Buckwheat are t.ie 

 principal flowers they have to gather from. — 

 Soinetimesthere are honey dews which help them 

 much. 



Our box honey which is pure and free from 

 bread, is gathered principally from Clover and 

 Basswood blossoms. 



Our hives stand in the same situations winter 

 and smnmer. We are careful to have the tops 

 secured so as to keep the snow and water out, and 

 not admit a draught of air through the hive. Ev- 

 ery hive should have a three quarter or half inch 

 hole from four to six inches from the bottojn, in 

 front, to aflford air in winter. In very cold weath- 

 er, frost accunujlates in the hive, from the breath 

 of the bees, and in mild weather it melts and runs 

 down to the hole at the bottom and freezes to ice 

 and shuts out the ai*', if there is no other airhole. 

 Many bees are smothered greatly for want of this 

 knowledge. Bees winter the best in straw hives, 

 but do as well in summer in board or tub hives. 



There is a variety of opinions on the subject of 

 bees, owing we think, to their being liable to 

 change. Two swarms in the spring may staiul 

 side by side, and to appearance, be equally good ; 

 one may prosper well, the other dwindle away and 

 die ; or they may both swarm equally well, and 

 one a few weeks after swarming be robbed ; the 

 other winter well. 



Our reason for this is, that in swarming time, 

 the Queen or Queens, if there bj more than one, 

 (as there fre^juently is at this season of the year, 



