(^LKANINGS IN BHH CULTURE. 



K.").'i 



It is by casting our bread upon the waters that 

 we reap. 



M. G. CH.\SK. THK GILT-KDCHD-HONHY MAN. 



SoMH little time ago I gave a picture o. 

 Vernon Kurt as one of the bee-keepers in the 

 ininiediale vicii ity of Medina wliotn it is my 

 privilege and pleasure to consult occasionally 

 on the various subjects that pertain to our 

 pursuit. Mr. M. G. Chase, whose postoffice 

 address is Whittlesey, some eight or nine 

 miles southwest of here, is another local bee- 

 keeper with whom it is my privilege to talk 

 bees Whenever a new thing is brought out 

 at the Home of the Honey-bees the opinion of 

 both of these men is sought, and the lollow- 

 ing season they are given .samples of the new 

 things to test. During the past season, for 

 instance, both tried for us the deep-cell foun- 

 dation, and during years past they have tested 

 for us in a similar way comb-honey supers, 

 and various styles of self-spacing frames. 



While Mr. Burt makes bee-keeping a spe- 

 cialt}-, running two apiaries, Mr. Chase man- 

 ages a 200-acre farm, besides an apiar}' that 

 varies anywhere from To to 125 colonies. He 

 is not only a first-class progressive farmer, 

 but an excellent bee-keeper. If there is any 

 man in this county or in the State of Ohio — 

 yes, and I might say in the whole United 

 States — who produces a really gilt-edged arti- 

 cle of comb lionej^ it is M. G. Chase ; and he 

 is likewise one of the first to get his honey on 

 the market. 



He took his start in bee-keeping from his 

 father, who had 100 colonies in box hives ; 

 but the younger Chase could not keep them 

 that way, and accordingly transferred them, 

 increasing them to 1 25 tlie first year ; and, if 

 I remember correctly, he secured 22 cents a 

 pound for his honey. This was away along in 

 the early 70's. But his good fortune was 

 quickly followed by disaster in wintering. 

 Just how many he lost I do not know ; but he 

 quickly recovered, and ever since has been 

 making the apiarj- turn out some extra nice 

 honey. His largest yield I think, was 2700 

 lbs. from 2U colonies, while his smallest yield 

 was about <S00 lbs. from 80 colonies. Of late 

 years he has not had the seasons that he for- 

 merly had. Basswoods have been cut oflf 

 around him, and the clovers have disappeared; 

 but somehow even in the poorest seasons he 

 manages to bring up some honey when nearly 

 everybody complains of not getting any, un- 

 less it is our friend Vernon Burt and Mr. 

 Chase's brother-in law, Mr. U. Prince. 



And that reminds me that Mr. Prince is 

 another of my consulting bee-keepers. The 

 other day, when he called at our office I show- 

 ed him the fence and plain sections. He 

 would like to use them next season, but he 

 had so many old fixtures that he could not 

 afford to throw them away : but he was inter- 

 ested enough to try a few when I told him he 

 could use his old supers. Well, this Mr. 

 Prince runs two apiaries, or did the last I 

 knew. The out-yard is managed on the 

 Elwood plan to prevent swarming ; namely, 

 the queens are caged in the hives at the ap- 

 proach of the swarming season, and in eight 



or nine days the cells are cut out, and again 

 in eight days more. Mr. Prince says it is a 

 great deal of work, but that, b}' that plan, he 

 can handle swarms wlien it is convenient for 



him to go to the yard. Mr. Prince also secures 

 a nice lot of honey every season. 



I take pleasure in introducing both Mr. 

 Chase and Mr. Prince. They, together with 



U. PRINCE. 



\'ernon Burt and Dr. Miller (who is also my 

 near neighbor), act as a sort of balance-wheel 

 on the boys ; and I do not deny that we some- 

 times need one. 



