IS'.fJ 



(iI-KANlN'(;s IX 15HH CUI/ri'KK. 



229 



liiiiiils of Iriiii-iiiowfis. .so iluil.if \\»' tiiul it 

 lU'CfSsary to ;;o into court, w r may have proof 

 tliat tlicM' imliiiH'ly sprayers had know Icdti'' >'f 

 tln' criuic llicy wcic (.•omiiiiUiiiK. 



llisiu)t iiiv purpose to disiMiss l\w merits of 

 our system of governmental assistance; bnt it 

 seems to me tliat, since oiIkm- indnstries are 

 reared anii fattened at the >rovernment crib at 

 our expense, we miglil no\s- receive hack a 

 small percentage of the taxes levied on us for 

 tlie maintenance of our olderand stouter hrotli- 

 ers. Apiculturi> is now a section in the Divi- 

 sit)n of Kntomolofiy; so at one time was orni- 

 tholoRy; so w as sili<-raisiii<r. l>olli have been 

 raised to independent divisions. I leave it to 

 any iutelli-ient man whether our |)ursuit is not 

 of more im port a nc(> lluiii either or lutth of these 

 divisions. 1 should be glad to t\)rtify my posi- 

 tion with statistics, but. unfortuiuitely, we 

 have none. The census enumerator informed 

 me that he had no place on his l)lanks for hon- 

 4'y. The least that we can ask is, that the suc- 

 tion of apiculture be raised to an independent 

 division, and that it be put under the supervi- 

 sion of some practical l)ee-keeper like Henton. 

 ofsulficient scientilic and executive ability to 

 perform the dutii>s of the ot'lici'. I want to 

 i*mphasize the fact that wc shall have nothing 

 satisfactorily done until the work is in charge 

 of a bee-keeper. To ask an entomologist to 

 superint^'ud this work is like putting a lawyer 

 in charge of a hospital, with a corps of physi- 

 cians doing his bidding. A lirst-class experi- 

 ment apiary should be established at Wasliing- 

 ton. Larrai)ee. or some other good man, should 

 be called in as an assistant: and a chemist, 

 botanist, and other help should be at the ser- 

 vice of the superintendent at all times. Hulle- 

 tins should be issued to bee-keepers, giving re- 

 sults of work done, and also giving crop reports, 

 gathered with a thoroughness and exactness 

 impossible with the private enterprise now col- 

 lecting them. Lastly, congress should remem- 

 ber the blow they dealt us when they removed 

 the duty on cane sugar, the chief competitor of 

 honey, and provide liberal means for carrying 

 on this apicultural experiment station in the 

 most thorough manner possible. 



The State of New York expends about S:i:3,(X30 

 yearly on farmers" institutes; t*;4U,000 on experi- 

 ment stations, and .?9~\0U(J on the dairy commis- 

 sion. Hee- keepers help pay for all this, but 

 get no benefit. In justice the .State ought to 

 appropriate at least a thousand dollars to be 

 expended under the direction of practical bee- 

 keepers in holding one or more bee-keepers' in- 

 stitutes or conventions, and for other necessary 

 work in advanced bee culture. Other States 

 should do liktiwise. Illinois has already set the 

 example. Our country is so large that it is dif- 

 ficult to maintain a national organization. 

 With State aid this could be made a delegated 

 body, with the traveling expenses of delegates 

 paid. P. H. El\vooi>. 



Starkville. N. V. 



[Mr. Elwood ha.s so thoroughly and ably cov- 

 ered the subject above, that we have but littk; 

 to add. We heartily indor.se what he says, and 

 hope the article will be widely copied, not only 

 in the bee-journals, but in the agricultural pa- 

 pers also. Silk culture, in point of magnitude 

 and importance, is small in comparison with 

 that of bee culture. IJut perhaps tiie only rea- 

 son why we have not risen to greater recogni- 

 tion at the hands of the government is because 

 bee-keepers have not taken tiie pains to proper- 

 ly present their needs. Let's see. Mr. Ehv(M>d, 

 Mr. Ilershei.ser. and Capt. J. E. Hetherington 

 were appoint^'d by the N. A. JJ. K. A. at the 

 meeting in Albany to look after these matters. 

 We are glad that they are already at work. 



(ii.i';.\.N'iNos will gladly assist in anyway she 



can. 1 



THE VALUE OF DRAWN-OUT COMBS ; WHEN 

 AND HOW TO SECURE THEM. 



.\ MOST VAI,rAl?l,K ,\KTK'I-K ON TIIK AI'I.\ 



iust"8 bkst f'AiTrAi,; HY r. a. hatch. 



The best thing a bee-keeper can have in the 

 spring, is plenty of hives full of t)ees; and tlie 

 next liest thing is jili'iity of good combs to go 

 with them. The dill'erence between :.'0 good 

 colonies in as many empty hives (no combs), 

 and 10 good colonies in 10 hives full of drawn- 

 out combs, is not so much as some might think; 

 how much do i/o(( think'.' Lvery be.e-i)ook has 

 its chapter on increase of colonies; l)ut how 

 many have a chapter on increase of combs? 

 Yet we can but give it second place in impor- 

 tance to the bee-master. True, if you have 

 bees enough, in time you will get the combs; 

 but to get them at the least expen.se of bee- 

 force, which is our capital stock, and in the 

 shortest time, is the object of this article. If 

 we lose the use of our bees in lioney-gathering 

 because all their force is used up in comb-mak- 

 ing, we have lost the use of our capital for that 

 season; and. if a hard winter follow, it may be 

 for the next year too; so lime becomes an 

 important consideration. 1 remember one year 

 in which, during basswood bloom, good colonies 

 filled an extracting-super in two days chock 

 full, and yet the flow continued. Having only 

 one set of combs for each colony, the bees were 

 forced to spend almost time enough to till an- 

 other set of combs before the honey already 

 gathered would do to extract. In this instance, 

 one set of combs w as almost as good as a colony 

 of bees. This was an unusual year, but I have 

 found that a surplus of empty combs in the 

 spring is a grand thing to have, if we do not get 

 them by the bees dying to make a surplus. 



How many combs are profitable ? After care- 

 ful thought and observation I have fixed on 

 three extra hives full for each colony, spring 

 count, as just about the right number. These, 

 with what foundation can be used advanta- 

 geously during the season, ought, with good 

 management, to insure every bee opportunity to 

 do its very best, and not hang out around the 

 entrance as a sign there is no room within. 



HOW TO USE TIIEM. 



At the risk of getting the cart before the 

 horse, and telling how to use the combs before 

 the way of getting them lias been told, we will 

 say right here that one set of combs is to be 

 used for increase and two for surplus storage; 

 not that we mean that each swarm is to be 

 hived on a full set of combs, but one .set is to be 

 judiciously used for the lienefit of the swarms 

 or increase of bees; but to tell just how these 

 are used w'ould require an explanation of my 

 entires method of increase of colonies, and would 

 make this article too long. 



The other two sets of combs are to be used as 

 extracting supers for tin; strongest colonies on 

 the tiering-up plan. 



COMB FOtNDATION. 



I regard coml) foundation as an advance in 

 bee culture second only to the movable-frame 

 hive in importance, and it is to this we must 

 look mainly for our new combs. But to get the 

 most advantage from it. car(! and judicious 

 management are required. I have seen in- 

 stances where foundation had been us(!d .so as 

 to be almost if not quite a damage to the i)ees. 

 But I have noticed that the ones who used most 

 foundation are, as a rule, the successful ones. 



