1881 



GLEi^JNI^^GS IX BEE CULTUEE. 



23.5 



slip by getting a queen-cell tucked in some corner 

 where I missed it. I took 50 lbs. box honey and 150 

 extracted. Of course, I made mistakes, and could 

 see when too late where I could have done better; 

 for instance, about the 20th of Aug. I extracted all 

 the honey from some hives. A dozen others, equally 

 full, I left for box honey, and got but 50 lbs., when, 

 if I had thrown it out of their combs, they would 

 have filled up in ten days, as the others did, and I 

 could have taken it again the 1st of Sept., for they 

 kept gathering honey till nearly the last of the 

 month. I left them on summer stands with no pro- 

 tection, except quilt over frames; lost (i swarms, but 

 they were some that had small chance for their lives, 

 although they each had CO or 70 lbs. of honey. I had 

 used some hives with only loose covers or boards 

 laid over, and, in a rush of other things, afterward 

 neglected to get covers made. One year from the 

 time they were bought I had sold, of bees and honej^, 

 all that the 7 cost, and had IS swarms left, which I 

 increased to GO; sold $15.00 worth of queens, and 

 took 1500 lbs. of extracted honey. I never fed them 

 except on rye flour in Mai-ch. It was so dry, and 

 honey so scarce in July, that the bees would not take 

 care of all the eggs from the best queens. Then I 

 ought to have fed, and would if I had thought of it. 

 I worked all the time with them from the 15th of 

 May to the 30th of Sept.; went through every hive 

 twice a week, and nearly always found something 

 that needed to be done. I think bees can be made 

 to do much more by changing frames from center as 

 soon as full, and by keeping close watch, to right any 

 thing which gets wrong. Making swarms seems 

 much easier to me then hiving natural ones, even 

 when they alight on the lower limbs of an apple-tree, 

 as I had a few do. My way is to take a frame of 

 brood that is nearly ready to hatch, and covered with 

 bees from each of three hives; put them in a hive, 

 and after a day or two give them a queen-cell, or, if 

 a queen, cage her for two days, which, after losing 

 several, I concluded was the safest way. Enough 

 bees would remain with those that hatched, to make 

 a nice young swarm. 1 always work with bee-veil 

 and gloves fixed so no bee can get in, which 1 think 

 the better way, for ladies especially; then they are 

 safe, and need not feel nervous. I seldom use 

 smoke: open a hive slowly, and let it be a minute or 

 two before I move at all, and then not too quickly. 



Last fall, of course, I did not dream of such a win- 

 ter, for wc never had any thing like it, therefore did 

 not protect the bees. The last time I examined, 1 

 had lost over half of them, and expect to lose more. 

 They have not had a flight since early in November; 

 but if I had lost them all I should say, " trj' again, " 

 for I believe Nebraska is one of the best places in 

 the world for bees. Usually, they begin to gather 

 pollen in March, and they can live and Increase all 

 spring and summer on forest and prairie flowers. 

 We have as yet but little clover. Hcart's-ease and 

 other wild flowers give our honey harvest from the 

 1st of Aug. to late In September, and our winters are 

 dry, with very little snow. I think the bee business 

 is very interesting, and much better for the health 

 than being confined indoors. Mrs. J. N. Martin. 



Tecumseh, Neb., March 10, 1881. 



Yeiy well done indeed, my friend, and 

 your resolution not to be discouraged, but to 

 try again, even if you lose them all, is one 

 that some of our older oues would do well 

 to copy. 



^ AM a little girl 9 years old. My name is Cora J. 

 jij^ Sawdey. I sent my photo to Blue Eyes two 

 years ago; it was taken standing with my doll's 

 carriage, and one doll in it, and one sitting in a chair 

 by the side of me. I go to school at Poolville. It 

 was out last Friday. I attend the Methodist Sunday- 

 school at Earlvillo. My papa has got 77 colonies, or 

 did have last fall; he is trying to winter 43 on sum- 

 mer stands in chaff hives, the rest in a bee-house 

 made for that purpose. I claim two or three of 

 them, and mamma two. You see that makes papa's 

 number smaller. Papa gets mine mixed with his so 

 much I can't hardly keep track of them. I can tell 

 one of them, for I have my name stamped on the 

 front of the hive. I guess I shall have to mark the 

 rest of them in the spring, if I can find them. Papa 

 says it is a hard winter for bees. It has been 32" be- 

 low zero here. Coua J. Sawdey. 



Poolville, Mad. Co., N. Y., March 7, 1881. 



Very good, Cora. If I were you I would 

 have my name written on the hive in great 

 big letters, so that everybody who comes to 

 your house would know which are your bees. 

 Many thanks for the picture of yourself and 

 the dolls. 



I am a little girl 13 years old. Papa keeps bees. 

 We had 56 last fall, but lost 6 this winter. Our bees 

 are in pretty good condition this spring. Papa uses 

 the Langstroth frame. He gave me a hive of bees 

 the other day. Axnie Siggixs. 



. East Hickory, Forest Co., Pa., March 39, 1881. 



Very good, friend Annie, for you and your 

 father too. Let us hear how much honey 

 you get from your hive. 



Seeing so many letters from the boj's and girls, I 

 thought I would not be behind. Now, in the first 

 place I don't know but it would be as well to say 

 that my brother takes Gleanings, and likes it very 

 much; but I don't think it would be as well to waste 

 a great deal of time over unnecessary talk, so I will 

 " speak my piece " and step out. 



Well, what I had to say was this. Last summer, I 

 think it was, my father was " looking at " the bees, 

 and mother, being very much interested in them 

 (more than she has been since), took her sun-bonnet, 

 and, being vmwell, a stool also, and started for the 

 bee-yard. Arriving there, she placed her stool (not 

 very near the bees, I assure you) an<l sat down to 

 witness the operation. But I think my father wit- 

 nessed the funniest operation, when, a few minutes 

 after, he heard a noise, and looking up, saw his good 

 wife, cricket in hand, coming for the house at about 

 the rate of half a mile a minute. But the sun-bon- 

 net—oh! where was that? She found it a little 

 while after out in the yard. She also found a sting 

 in her hand, and she didn't lose the swell of it either 

 for as much as a week. Well, I presume when moth- 

 er sees this letter she will think I have wtitten 

 enough for this time and on this subject too; so, 

 promising to write again if you want me to, I will 

 close. I am 13 j-ears old. Julia R. Tuxtlpj. 



Hampden, Hampden Co., Mass., March 30, 1881. 



Here is your book, Julia, but are you sure 

 it is just the thing to be making sport of 

 your mother's mishap? She might take the 

 stool and chase after you. 



