50 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Jan. 



ey in the combs, especially where it had a 

 disasreeahle flavor, manufactured " stutf." 

 Most of the readers have had some experi- 

 ence in honey-dew stored in combs, and 

 know to their sorrow that it is stuff, without 

 question, but not manufactured, by any 

 means. If one were goinj? to manufacture 

 lioupy he would piobably have something a 

 good de;)l better than a good deal of the bug- 

 juice that tlie bees have gathered and put 

 iiitocoml)s. I begpardon for using the term 

 '' bug-juice. " but nothing else would fit 

 under the circumstances. 



A SLEIGH-BIDE OF 150 MILES. 



From 400 to 850, and Over 20 Tons of Comb 

 Honey. 



PURSUIT OF BEE - KNOWLEDGE, AND THE RESULT. 



i^ URTNG the last week of March, 1885, the sleigh- 

 tM ing- being excellent and the weather fine, 

 y and having business near Rutland, Vt., 40 

 ^ miles from my home, I resolved to perform 

 the journey with my little black pony " Nig." 

 The journey was easily and safely made; and the 

 next day at 3 o'clock, my errand having been ac- 

 complished, I called for a map of Vermont, and 

 sought out the location of Bristol, the home of A. E. 

 Manum. I found I should have to travel about 3.5 

 miles further to i-each that highly favored place. 

 At 8: 30 in the evening. Nig had put 23 miles under 

 her feet, and we found ourselves at the Addison 

 House, in Middlebury, Vt. 



While entering the State of Vermont from New 

 York, one would think, from the nature of the 

 view before him, that very hilly roads were to be 

 encountered; but an agreeable disappointment is 

 in store for the traveler. The roads follow up the 

 streams; and though there are rugged mountains 

 upon each side, the road is comparatively level; 

 and as we pursue our winding way the scenery is 

 ever shifting, showing us beautiful and romantic 

 A'iews, and which occasionally i-each the point of 

 grandeur. 



From Rutland we follow up the Otter-Creek Val- 

 ley; and from the amount of dairying and stock- 

 raising that is carried on here I should judge it to 

 be a good honey locality; and from appearances 

 there are many locations that are not occupied with 

 bees. There is much alsike clover raised upon 

 these low meadows, and an abundance of basswood 

 upon the mountains. 



Learning that J. E. Crane, one of the great bee- 

 men of Vermont, had moved to Middlebury, I soon 

 found him and had a brief visit with him. At that 

 time Mr. C. had about 800 swarms, in several api- 

 aries. It is needless to say that Mr. C.'s yield of 

 box honey is many tons. Mr. C. occupies a new 

 house, which is a model of taste, and, I suppose, so 

 fair an exterior must have a convenient Interior. 



A ride of 13 miles from Middlebury brought me to 

 my objective point, Bristol. This little manufactur- 

 ing village nestles snugly in a notch in the famous 

 Green Mountains; a considerable stream tumbles 

 through here, and gives power to several manufac- 

 tories for working up wood. Among these ig Mr. 

 Manum's manufactoi-y of bee-hives, and the fa- 

 mous white -poplar section. The manufacture of 

 these is now conducted by Messrs. Drake & Smith. 

 I found Mr. M., as we should find all bee-men who 



count their colonies by the hundreds, busily en- 

 gaged in preparing for the coming season. I told 

 Mr. M. that the object of my journey of 75 miles 

 was to learn, if possible, how to winter bees. 



After looking over the factory we adjourned to 

 his residence, where is located his home apiary. At 

 the time of my visit Mr. M. had about 400 swarms, 

 in several apiaries. The well-known Bristol hive is 

 used. This and the N. E. hive, manufactured by 

 H. D. Davis, are vei-y similar, and are largely and 

 successfully used thi-oughout the N. E. States for 

 wintering outdoors. The packing used by Mr. M. 

 is poplar shavings. The peculiarity of this wood is 

 the amount of water it will absorb, and the shav- 

 ings will absorb much moisture, and not become 

 damp. We examined several hives, digging down 

 through the loose shavings, and turning back the 

 quilt. We found the hives full of bees, and very 

 lively. The entrance to this hive is from the under 

 side toward the center, and nearly all dead bees 

 soon find their way to the ground. I think the hive 

 would answer for W. F. Clarke to try his hibernat- 

 ing theory with. Mr. M.'s method is to leave a por- 

 tion of honey and pollen. These frames of honey 

 are all placed at one side of the hive. If there ia 

 any brood it is placed at the other side, and empty 

 combs inserted, and the bees are fed up on granu- 

 lated sugar. The stores are in such shape that the 

 sugar is mostly consumed through the winter, 

 while the honey and pollen are consumed in the 

 spring. Mr. M. claims that honey is far better th an 

 sugar for stimulating brood-rearing in the spring. 

 Not only the method of preparing for winter, but 

 the hardiness of the bees, is of importance; and 

 Mr. M. claims to have bred that good quality; and 

 if we are to judge from his successful wintering of 

 them, he has attained success in that direction. 

 His yields of honey have also been i-emarkable. 

 The 400 swarms in the spring increased to 850, and a 

 yield of upward of 30 tons of comb honey, I believe, 

 has been obtained. One swarm on scales gained 

 911/2 lbs. in three days— 30, 90%, 31, during basswood 

 bloom. 



Mr. M. has many appliances of his own invention. 

 His appliance for reversing frames is simpler and 

 better than any thing I have ever seen. It is sim- 

 ply a piece of hoop iron, one end bent to form a pro- 

 jection and hook; the other end is provided with a 

 hole by which it can be attached to the middle of 

 the end-piece of a frame. A small notch is sawed 

 in the frame for the hook to catch into. 



I could spend but a few hours with Mr. M., and at 

 4 o'clock Nig and I were on our way back to Middle- 

 bury. The next day we got over the distance of 50 

 miles through another portion of the State, and 

 parallel with Lake Champlain. We passed several 

 apiaries of Bristol hives, and longed to call upon 

 the owners; but the beautiful snow was wasting, 

 and we had to speed homeward or encounter much 

 bare ground. After passing the night in Whitehall, 

 an easy drive put us home again. 



As a result of the trip, I am wintering ICO swarms 

 of bees outdoors, not in Manum hives, but packed 

 very similar to them, and fed to a certain extent on 

 granulated sugar. I also have nearly 100 in the cel- 

 lar. Should any one desire a more full description 

 of Mr. M.'s method they will find an article from 

 his pen in Alley's Handy Book, latest edition. 



Hartford, N. Y., Dec. 31, 1885. J. H. Martin. 



I am sure, friend M., we are very much 



