554 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1. 



lbs. each. Since then I extracted some weeks as 

 high as 80 and 90 ll)s. from them during a very long 

 and good season aiearly six montiis), and tlie result 

 at the end of tlie season was I'^oO lbs. and 1120 lbs., 

 and I am sure two or three other colonies went very 

 close to it. I put down in my yard-hoolt how many 

 tins I extract every day, and I always take a low 

 estimate of the weight. The top-weight hive was a 

 light hybrid, and swarmed once. The second was a 

 pure lot, an October swarm, and I deprived them of 

 a good many combs for queen-rearing. The honey 

 came in so fast that I had to extract nearly all the 

 frames in 30-frame hives to give tlie queens room 

 to lay. 



The last season has been very indifferent, and I 

 got aa average of only b5 lbs. per colony (spring 

 count), the lowest for the last eig'lit years. Since 

 Christmas there has been very little chance of col- 

 lecting honey on account of the windy, rainy, win- 

 try weatlier. It appears you had a better season in 

 your district. H. Pbterson. 



Nuggetty Hill Bee-Farm, Wattle Flat, Apr. 3, lfc94. 



The highest reliable record for this country 

 vi^as between 500 and 600 ius., by Mr. G. M. 

 Dooiittle, we believe. A bee-keeper in Texas 

 was reported to have obtained 7.50 lbs.; but 

 later Inquiries seemed to show that there was 

 some mistaiie; so we shall have to acknowledge 

 that the Australians have just about doubled 

 our record, and well they may; for they have 

 honey-flows nearly the year round, we under- 

 stand. 



A BICYCLE VISIT TO THE APIARY OF MR. 

 VERNON BURT. 



Our readers will remember Mr. Burt as one 

 of the enterprising bee-keepers of Medina Co., 

 and one whose apiary is almost in the shadow 

 of the Home of the Honey-bees, being only four 

 miles north of us. 



As usual he wintered his bees successfully, 

 and, as usual, he is going lo get a good crop of 

 honey. His neighbors have always counted 

 him as being "lucky;" but he insists that it is 

 not luck, but attention to business, and hard 

 work. 



When we arrived at his apiary this morning, 

 June 20, we wondered whether we should find 

 him there as we had always done before. Sure 

 enough, he was at his post. Three swarms 

 were in the air; but he was taking things very 

 coolly, notwithstanding. " Why don't jou get 

 excited, and run about hither and yon?" we 

 asked. 



"Oh! my queens' wings are all clipped," he 

 quietly replied. 



As we neared where he was standing, the 

 bees were boiling out of the entrance like hot 

 shot. He stopped and chatted a little with us, 

 and then leisurely walked into the honey-house, 

 brought out a Peet cage, and waited for her 

 majesty to crawl to the top of a blade of grass. 

 Yes, there she was. He quietly put the open 

 mouth of the cage over her, and then, after 

 carefully pushing the slide in, leaned the cage 

 against the entrance. 



"My! the air is full of bees, and they will 

 unite," we said. 



"I don't care if they do — they will come 

 back," he said, with quiet assurance. 



" But suppose there is a virgin in one of 

 them." 



" Well, I don't suppose there is any, because I 

 watch my colonies pretty close." 



While the bees were flying up in the air, in. 

 one great black cloud, and making a roar, we 

 sat down on the hives and chatted about the 

 honey prospects; and then we looked into a 

 few of the sti'ong colonies to see what they 

 were doing in the supers. 



" But," said we, after we had looked at sever- 

 al where they were doing good work, " let us 

 look into the supers of some of those yellow- 

 banded fellows." 



"Certainly; here is one." 



Sure enough, they were piling in the honey, 

 and building out comb from mere starters. 



"These yellow fellows are among the first to 

 enter the supers," said he, with a little pride as 

 he looked at their yellow backs as they dropped 

 in at the entrance. 



By this time we began to ask where those 

 roaring bees were. 



"Oh! they are clustered over in that little 

 tree." 



And such a cluster as it was! It seemed to 

 be about three feet across, and four or five 

 feet deep, and .>;o large was it that great hand- 

 fuls of them would drop otf on the ground, 

 quickly to arise again to join the crowd. 



" Well, now, are you going to let those fel- 

 lows hang there?" 



•• Oh : they will go back when they get ready," 

 said he, evidently thinking it cheaper for them 

 to put themselves back than for him to do so, 

 even if he could. Very soon a few of the bees 

 began to go into one of the stands from which 

 one swarm had come forth, and it looked a 

 little as if they were all going into that one 

 hive pellmell. At this Mr. Burt leisurely sat 

 down in front ol the hive and worked the Crane 

 smoker until some of them began to scatter 

 toward their own hives, or where they belonged. 

 In about 2u minutes' time all three swarms had 

 gone back to their old stands, but not into the 

 old hive. 



Mr. Burt puts a new hive with empty combs 

 on the old stand while the bees ai'e in the air. 

 From the old hive he removes the supers and 

 puts them on the new hive now on the old 

 stand. The old hive is removed to another 

 location. As it is, of course, greatly depleted in 

 numbers, in a day or so he runs another swarm 

 into it. By this means he k(ieps down increase, 

 and satisfies the desire to swarm, and— piles up 

 the honey. Last year he secured four tons, from 

 a trifle over 100 colonies, most of which was 

 comb honey. That is not bad, considering it 

 was in Medina County — a county that does not 

 boast greatly of its honey resources. 



