742 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mv. '45, 



conditions are very much different in other sections of coun- 

 try from that experienced here. 



Bees swarm. Yes, and I presume the conditions coinci- 

 dent thereto are of much the same character throughout the 

 country, and with the various plans of non-swarming hives, 

 caging of queens, etc., I have learned of but one that ap- 

 peared and proved practical in results, and that is the one 

 recommended and practiced by J. A. Golden, of Ohio, as set 

 forth in an article publisht in our esteemed Bee Journal, in 

 1896. Certainly, Mr. Golden knew whereof he spoke, and 

 the only really bad thing I can see in this plan is, the slice to 

 be cut for the manufacturer of hives would be left compara- 

 tively on the loaf when once a man had obtained the number 

 of colonies wanted. 



I tested six colonies the past season on IVIr. Golden's plan, 

 and it proved an entire success. However, I had some trouble 

 with the first two colonies casting swarms. After the fifth 

 day arrived, and on which the yueen was to be liberated, I 

 made a failure in getting all the queen-cells cut out. as he 

 recommended, and as result a swarm issued the second day 

 after liberating the queen. Three others swarmed, and I re- 

 solved to be more careful, and with care came success. One 

 colony did swarm, and from it I received the poorest result in 

 securing honey, however it did better than others kept in the 

 regular or orthodox way. 



The results on the Golden plan are as follows : The best 

 colony yielded 64 completed sections of honey, and the poorest 

 yy. My yard contained 56 colonies, spring count, and I in- 

 creast to 68. Had the 56 colonies, spring count, yielded pro- 

 portionally to the result obtained from the poorest colony on 

 the Golden plan, my crop would have been 2,U28 completed 

 sections of honey, whereas I obtained only l,lS-i, all told. 



Honey obtained in this locality the past season is of poor 

 quality, and sold at a very low price, viz : 10 cents per pound, 

 f. o. b. cars. But from the market reports appearing in the 

 bee-papers I conclude that the price is fair. But at the 

 prices honey is, and has been, selling at for the past several 

 years, I for one have concluded that keeping bees for profit 

 does not pay for time and labor expended, and therefore I 

 purpose, if possible, to dispose of my bees and quit the busi- 

 ness. It took me four years — bad ones, too — all in succession 

 to make up my mind, but learning that all depends upon con- 

 ditions to insure a crop of honey, even with an abundant sup- 

 ply of nectar-producing flowers, all rests at last on conditions. 

 I have at last become discouraged, and conclude that for time 

 and labor expended, and crops of honey secured, I should 

 have had at least 30 to 50 cents per pound. 



In conclusion, allow me to say I prize and esteem the Bee 

 Journal for its manly bearing, condemning the wrong, up- 

 holding the right, honoring the deserving, setting at naught 

 and warning the unsuspecting against the rogue. May its 

 editor prosper in his endeavors to uphold the good and deserv- 

 ing, and may the Bee Journal ever hold its place as at present 

 conceded to it — one of the very best in bee-literature, and in- 

 dispensable to the bee-fraternity. 



Should I be compelled to be in bee-culture another season, 

 all colonies will be workt on the Golden plan, and a report 

 made at the close of the season. 



Somerset Co., Pa., Oct. 30. 



Methods of Producing Comb Honey. 



Br J. A. GOLDEN. 



It costs no more to be a successful apiarist than to be an 

 unsuccessful oue ; nor to produce a No. 1 article of merchant- 

 able honey, than it does an unsightly product, which somehow 

 finds its way into the markets of to-day. In the one case 

 there is pleasure to one's self, and to his patrons ; in the other 

 there is disappointment, and results which show that labor, 

 money and time have been spent in vain. No one can over- 

 estimate the pleasure of a thoroughly well regulated apiary, 

 or measure the disappointment of a haphazard system In api- 

 culture when it Is considered that the one is just as easily pro- 

 duced as the other. The questions are, then, How can this 

 be done ? and by what method, or methods ? 



Xhe questions may be answered thus : First, a proper 

 knowledge of the honey-bee, its habits, needs, and instinct, 

 are all essential. Second, properly constructed appliances, 

 and how and when to use them to the best advantage to suc- 

 ceed. Then It can be truthfully said that success in api- 

 culture means simply care, judgment and knowledge In ma- 

 nipulation. 



As apieultural appliances can now be said to be very 

 nearly perfect In construction, competition has accomplisht 

 wonders for the apiarist of to-day, and ho or she can obtain 



for their work the various appliances at low prices. Surely, It 

 can truthfully be said that apiculture is not only progressive, 

 but is a science of a high order as well. 



There being several methods practiced in the production 

 of comb honey by which success has resulted, I will give only 

 the results of my method, and the non-swarming methoJ, re- 

 ferring the reader to pages 481 and 833 of the Bee Journal 

 for 1896, which fully explains " Golden's method." 



Thus approximating the methods mentioned, I invite the 

 reader to examine my report of the two systems practiced the 

 past season (1897), and note the difference in results. 



And before giving the report, I wish to say that my 

 method positively requires bees to swarm naturally in order to 

 succeed. Second, all queen-cells must be destroyed if a queen 

 is to be returned. Third, plenty of surplus room must be 

 provided, and the prize is sure. Having done all I could, I 

 succeeded in getting only five swarms from my non-swarmers. 

 They just wouldn't swarm. But I rejoice to know that 

 every colony in my apiary for 1898 will be governed by 

 queens of mixt blood — Italian and gray Carniolan — and if 

 nectar flows in 1898,1 will " get there, and don't you for- 

 get it." 



However, it must be remembered that the locality in 

 which I live is perhaps the poorest bee-pasturage section in 

 all southeastern Ohio, from what I can ascertain, when I view 

 it outside of two principal sources — that of white clover and 

 sumac. True, we have other sources, from which a meager 

 supply of nectar is obtained — common throughout the State. 

 While I have tried to encourage the raising of Alsike and 

 crimson clovers, for the past two years, I have known but one 

 field of three acres of Alsike clover to be grown, and that was 

 \'^^ miles from my apiary, and one field of four acres of crim- 

 son, which was 4 miles distant. Buchwheat is seldom ever 

 raised in this locality of late years, and when arguing with 

 the farmers on the utility of raising the above grasses — Alsike 

 and crimson clovers — the final answer is, " Oh, yes, Mr. G., 

 you want pasturage for your bees." So when considering my 

 report, remember that I am not situated amongst groves of 

 orange and basswood. Here is my report : 



Colonies manipulated on the Golden method, average per 

 colony, 119?i one-pound sections of honey; colonies on the 

 non-swarming method, average per colony, Sa.ig one-pound 

 sections. All is first-class white honey, and will be sold in 

 my home market at 15 cents per section. 



No account has been taken of unfinisht sections in either 

 method, and at this date (Oct. 18) all colonies are in prime 

 condition, both in healih and stores, and their keeper rejoices 

 from the fact that after all his reverses and misfortunes in 

 the past two years, his bees have made him more than is re- 

 quired to pay every dollar of indebtedness, which will be can- 

 celled in the near future. 



Comments on my report will be cheerfully read by the 

 writer. Morgan Co., Ohio. 



% 



Transferring Bees — Some Information Wanted. 



BY GEO. II. STIPP. 



Transferring. — A fellow can't find out things without 

 asking questions, nor tell other people how much he floi't 

 know, without saying something. Therefore, even at the 

 risk of becoming a nuisance, I must Indulge in a few more 

 interrogation points. 



Some months ago a writer In the Bee Journal suggested 

 that an excellent plan to transfer bees from an old to a new 

 hive was to put the old hive atop the new one. The bees 

 would gradually fill the up-stairs with honey and go down- 

 stairs to keep house and " tend the babies." As I had a hive 

 filled with crooked comb, and which 1 was anxious to trans- 

 fer, I thought this a splendid chance to experiment. I fol- 

 lowed directions carefully, and the bees soon got to travelinf? 

 through the new hive in a self-satisfied and encouraging man- 

 ner, but week after week rolled by and there was no change 

 in the situation ; honey and brood kept close company up in 

 the attic, and never a sign of business down below. 



I then concluded that the perverseness probably lay In 

 the queen, so I placed a zinc honey-board between the two 

 hives and put the "old lady " down below, thinking the other 

 members of the family would come down and build her some 

 comb. Weeks rolled by as before, and still the first floor was 

 "to let," the brood all hatcht, and the queen simply mourned 

 down-stairs for her lost throne, and refused to be comforted. 



In disgust I concluded it was time to do something, so I 

 drove the bees down-stairs out of the old hive, cut out and 

 gave them some of the honey, destroyed the old queen (which 

 I had longed to be rid of). Introduced an Italian queen, and at 



