818 



GLEANINGS IN J3EE CULTURE. 



Dec. 



to take the law in our own hands. Keep 

 level, dear brother, and remember that our 

 happiness does not consist altogether in im- 

 munity from thieves. 



MY HEPORT FOR 188i. 



I commenced the season with 39 colonies, having- 

 lostliu wintering-; wintered on summer stands. 

 We had a hard frost on the 29th and 30th of May, just 

 as fruit-blossoms were at about their best. June 2, 

 bees began killing- oflf drones; no honej' coming in, 

 had to feed. White clover and red raspberries com- 

 menced to blossom about June 9; and by about the 

 14th bees became self-sustaining, and the 22d I began 

 putting on sections. June 30, first swarm issued. 

 Only eight issued in all, the last one Aug. 6. 



About July 30, bees began working on buckwheat, 

 and I never had a better crop of buckwheat honey. 



Aug. 25th had a frost, which closed the season for 

 surplus, but bees found enough after this to just 

 about keep them out of mischief. Hard-maple 

 blossoms were a total failure; so also were bass- 

 wood; not a solitary blossom of either could I find; 

 but of white clover I never saw such an abundance. 



Results of the season are 16.50 lbs. comb honey in 

 sections, and 182 lbs. extracted ; in all, 1833 lbs. I 

 sold one swarm, and go into winter quarters with 44 

 colonies. 



With basswood a failure, and no increase to speak 

 of, I still think my bees have done well for me, and 

 I am satisfied with the result, and thankful. 



Otsdawa, N. Y., Nov. 17, 1884. Thos. Decker. 



A GOOD REPORT FROM AN ABC SCHOLAR. 



Seeing other reports of our friends in Gleanings, 

 I thought I would send in mine. From 9 colonies, 

 spring coun*-, I have taken 500 lbs. of comb honey; 

 sold 420 lbs. at 15 cts. per lb., $63.00. The profits of 

 my bees for the season are $75.00, exclusive of the 

 increase. Don't you think this a very good report 

 for an A B C scholar? I attribute my success to the 

 ABC and Gleanings. 



HONEY-THIEVES. 



Honey-thieves are abroad in our county. 1 visited 

 a bee-friend of mine a few days ago. and found his 

 apiary of 15 colonies wild with robbing, caused by 

 thieves breaking open one of his best hives, and 

 scattering honey all over his apiary. He offered 

 $25.00 for their apprehension, but so far has gained 

 no clew. Among others who have been visited by 

 these sneak thieves are Rev. Mr. Travis, Rev. Mr. 

 Davis, and an estimable widow lady. So far I have 

 escaped their depredations, but I am in continual 

 fear of a visit fi-om them. 



HONEY FROM THE COW-PE.4. 



I secured about 100 lbs. of honey from the cow- 

 pea; it was of a beautiful color, but I did not like 

 the taste. My wife thought it equal to clover 

 honey. E. W. Stayton, 9—18. 



Martin, Tenn., Nov. 18, 1804. 



Friend 8.. can it bfi possible that anybody 

 would visit an apiary for the purpose of 

 stealing honey, if he understood the injury 

 he might do tlie b?e-kepper, and also the ad- 

 ditional trouble caused. on account of rob- 

 bing, where our hives are broken open and 

 scattered about in this manner? If it really 

 is true, that \ve have people who wojild steal 

 lioney, knowing this fully, I shall have to 

 confess that human'tv is worse than I had 

 supposed it to be. I do not believe there are 

 any such people, and it seems to me, there- 



fore, as I have said before, that the great re- 

 medy consists in education, and along with 

 it a full luiderstanding of tlie thought em- 

 bodied in tlie text, " The fear of the Lord is 

 the beginning of wisdom." One may decide 

 to ignore the fear of men, or the fear of con- 

 sequences from the law ; but, who shall set 

 aside the fear of the Lord?— I am glad to 

 hear additional facts to the effect that the 

 cow-pea does yield honey. 



FROM 4 TO 11, and 347 LBS. OF HONEY. 



As I have been reading the reports in Gle-^nings, 

 and am an A B C scholar in bee culture, I thought I 

 would give you my report. I commenced in the bee 

 business in the spring of 1883 by buying one stand 

 of Italians, paying SIO.OO for them. I got 2 swarms 

 from it in Aug-ust. I bought one box hive of black 

 bees, quecnless and full of worms; paid $1.00 for 

 them; transferred them; paid $1.00 for an Italian 

 (jueeu, and gave her to them. I received from all, 

 84 lbs. of honey. I packed in chaff hives on summer 

 stands. Now for my report of 1884: Spring- found 

 all living— 3 strong, one weak, my hives full and 

 strong. They commenced swarming June 15; I got 

 7 swarms — two apiece fx'om the three strongest 

 hives, and one from the weakest one. I received 

 from all, 347 lbs. of honey, or 86?4 lbs., spring count. 

 All comb honey. I might have done better if I had 

 had the ABC book for a guide. I go into winter 

 with 13 stands. I have made all my own hives and 

 sections by hand. W. D. Burnett. 



New Vernon, Pa., Oct. 17, 1884. 



FROM 6 TO 13, AND 400 LBS. OF HONEY. 



I bought two swarms of bees one year ago last 

 fall, and packed them away. They came through 

 the winter all right. Last summer was pnor. I in- 

 creased to 6; not much surplus; packed them on 

 their summer stands by putting boards around 

 them, leaving the entrance open, the hives about a 

 foot apart; packed the space between them and 

 the sides with shavings from the planer. I started 

 with 6 last spring, the most of them weak, one with- 

 out a queen. 1 have now 13, with about 400 lbs. sur- 

 plus. I received a queen one year ago last August. 

 This year I raised a few queens from her. I like 

 them, they are so nice to handle. A black bee has 

 no business around them. A rather poor summer 

 for bees again this year. My bees are one hive 

 Italians, four hybrids, the rest blacks. One queen 

 I raised from the Italian has bees that are all black; 

 how is that? 



BEES AND RED CLOVER. 



My bees all (Italians, hybrids, and blacks) worked 

 this year equally on red clover, but they don't gen- 

 erally do it. I. B. Whiton. 



Ithaca, Gratiot Co., Mich., Nov. 1, 1884. 



A REPORT ENCOURAGING THAT IS NOT ALL BEES 

 AND HONEY. 



J. P. Israel, p. 738, gets the same amount of honey 

 from 18 colonies that I got from 22. My honey is all 

 extracted, however. I did no feeding. I lost three 

 colonies, or, what is the same thing, I put them in 

 box hives. I increased to 45 colonies; got 680 new 

 brood-combs built on half-sheets of foundation. 



The above is my honey report very much con- 

 densed. I have something more to report as the re- 

 sult of my seas&n's work, and that is 1400 bushels of 

 corn, besides some truck, and all for my own laboi-, 

 except harvesting the corn. C. A. Wheeler, 



Selma, Bexar Co., Texas, Nov. 8, 1884. 



