242 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



§WM^ §n§€uraQmg. 



SOME ENCOURAGING WORDS FROM FRIEND MARVIN. 



JT has been the best year for selling honey, since I 

 have been in the city. This is the first year of 

 clearing out the entire stock in 7 years that I 

 have been over-stockecl;'one of the seasons, an en- 

 tire failure, the only one in thirty-three years. I can 

 sell 20 to 30 bbls. of extracted and 3 to 6 tons of comb 

 honey more readily than I did at the commencement 

 with 300 to 600 fts. J. M. Marvin. 



St. Charles, HI., March 3, 1884. 



never used double-story hives, because my knowl- 

 edge and finances were limited. I extracted from 

 the body below, I knew it was not the right way, 

 but they were all strong, and I took only a little 

 from each hive. I live in a good locality, if I am a 

 judge. I am surrounded by timber on all sides, con- 

 sisting of nearly all kinds, including plenty of bass- 

 wood and willow. Of the amount of honey I raised, 

 1 had some over 200 lbs. of basswood. I intend, an- 

 other season, to run principally to extracting. I 

 keep Italians and hybrids. R. H. Lawrence. 



Clarendon, Mich., Feb. 14, 1884. 



FROM 4 TO 18, and 400 LBS. OF HONEY. 



In the spring of 1883 I started with 4 colonies — one 

 queenless, and Increased to 18, mostly by artificial 

 swarming. I got 400 lbs. comb honey — no big mon- 

 ey, but still I am not willing to be classed with the 

 " Blasted Hopes " party. P. C. VanDoren. 



Curran, 111., Feb. 21, 1884. 



HONEY REPORT, 1883. 



Commenced last spring with 48 swarms; went into 

 winter quarters with 88; worked for comb honey; 

 got40001bs. ; sold from 12 to l.')C per pound; very 

 poor season lor honey, after white clover got through 

 blooming. S. Pardee. 



Volga, Iowa, Jan. 14, 1884. 



$140 FROM 9 SWARMS, AND 5 SWARMS INCREASE- 



Willi your permission I will tell you what 1 have 

 sold from 9 swarms of bees, spring count, for 1883. 

 Sold $95 worth of bees, and $4,5 worth of honey, and 

 I have 14 good swarms now. This I claim to be 

 clear gain for me, as I can not work. The five 

 swarms will pay for the hives, so you see I make 

 more money from nine swarms of bees than any 

 man makes from 9 of the best cows, taking out the 

 expense of the cows. I have not said any thing 

 about the honey we have used at homo. 



Sherburne, N. Y., Feb. 8, '84. A. W. Denison. 



making A SUCCESSFUL START WITH 50 COLONIES. 



1 began bee-keeping last spring; procured fifty 

 colonies, partly in boxes and old gums; procured 

 two months' practical help of one person. I took 

 olOO lbs. extracted honey; no comb; increased to 110 

 colonies; have all in good hives, and have all but 10 

 swarms in cellar, well ventilated. So far all seem to 

 be doing well. W. H. Minnick. 



Oskaloosa, Iowa, Jan. 31, 1884. 



Friend M.. you are almost the only man I 

 ever heard of who commenced with so large 

 a number, and succeeded. But I presume 

 the whole secret of it was, that you hired a 

 practical man to work with you, and show 

 you how. There is a pretty good moral 

 right here. 



FROM 13 TO 38, AND ABOUT HALF A TON OF HONEY. 



For the past few years I have been experimenting 

 with bees under the new mode of culture, and have 

 found that bee-keeping is a paying business, if we 

 have plenty of knowledge of the little creatures. All 

 the knowledge I have has been gained from the A 

 B C and actual experience. This last year was my 

 first experience in extracting. From 13 colonies I 

 extracted between 500 and 000 lbs. I also raised, 

 from the samycolonies, between 400 and 500 lbs. nice 

 section honey. I put up for winter, 38 strong colo- 

 nies. How is that for an A B C scholar? I have 



FROM 8 TO 15, AND |55 00 WORTH OF HONEY. 



I will give my report for 1883. The season was not 

 very good here, being cold and wet much of the 

 time. Most of the bee-keepers got no surplus at all. 

 I had 8 swarms, spring count; increased to 1.5, and 

 one went to the woods; sold about $.55 00 worth of 

 honey, getting 20 cts. for comb and 15 for extracted. 

 My first new swarm gave me CS lbs. comb honey; 2d 

 swarm, from same hive, gave 25 lbs. My weakest 

 swarm in spring gave 90 lbs. of extracted. One 

 swarm, with as good treatment as the best, gave 

 none. I began keeping bee? in 1879, and have never 

 lost one in winter. Geo. P. Howard. 



Marion, N.Y., Feb. 11.1884. 



44 LBS. OF HONEY FROM A SINGLE COLONY, IN A 

 SINGLE DAY. 



My little boy, Bennie, 9 years old, who died on the 

 4th of this month, and myself, had quite a prosper- 

 ous year with our bees. Started with 15 colonies; 

 increased to 38; got 3O0O lbs. of surplus honey— 1000 

 lbs. of comb, in section boxes, and 2000 lbs. of ex- 

 tracted — an average of about 200 lbs. to the col- 

 ony, all white-clover honey, and nearly all the sur- 

 plus honey was made by the new swarms. One col- 

 ony of Italians made, or, rather, filled, 260 1-lb. sec- 

 tion boxes, and had abundant stores for the winter. 

 The same colony gathered 44 lbs. of honey in one 

 day, when put on empty combs, as Brother Hall, who 

 was to see you last fall, can testify. That amount 

 includes what they took with them when they 

 swarmed, and many others did nearly as well. We 

 had no honey but white-clover; saved plenty for the 

 family and bees; sold the rest— comb, 20 cts ; ex- 

 tracted, 1.5. When I left home, Nov. 1, many of my 

 chaff hives were crammed full from bottom to top, 

 2t frames. I worked, watched, and waited three 

 years tor a big flow of honey, and was at last paid 

 for all my trouble and expense, with good interest, 

 and an abundance of good feelings- Bees have 

 gathered honey and pollen every day this winter 

 here, with the exception of about seven, and will be 

 ready to swarm about the last of this month, or as 

 soon as the orange blooms. The honey is not so good 

 hero as the white-clover honey of the North. 



J. F. Miller. 



Orlando, Orange Co., Fla., Fob. 7, 1881. 



Friend ISI., we do not doubt your word in 

 the least; but I can not help wondering if 

 you have not made some mistake some- 

 where. You allude to the honey they took 

 with them when they swarmed. Will you 

 please give us the full particulars, and tell 

 us how you weighed the colony, and how 

 weighing the honey was done V If I am cor- 

 rect, this is ahead of any thing on record ; 

 yet I suppose it is possible, with an extreme- 

 ly powerful colony and a great flow of honey. 

 May God help you in your affliction for the 

 loss of your little Bennie. 



