1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



393 



were light of honey, while I would sec the greatest 

 need, if the colonies were heavy with bread. I be- 

 lieve, however, that if colnnies are well supplied 

 with honey, and the packin;,' so arranged that the 

 stores are easy of access (thus allowing a choice be- 

 tween honey and bread), and the whole protected 

 against extreme cold, to take the chances, is, in the 

 long run, the greatest economy. If they lack in 

 honey, sugar syrup, properly prepared, or a mixture 

 of syrup and honey from a voluminous feeder, is 

 my preference for supplying the same. 1 tind It 

 neither protitable nor pleasurable to open hives, or 

 do aught that will excite bees to robbing, at any 

 time when it can possibly be avoided. The opening 

 of hives to insert combs will: the use of a good feed- 

 er will not. The superseding of old queens by 

 younger ones, I consider of no importance at this 

 time of year. The less breeding the less bread is 

 manipulated, and the less dysentery is the result. 

 The cheapest and best way that a bee-keeper ever 

 produced queens for his own use is in full colonies, 

 very little varied from the plan of the old farmer, 

 who lets the bees do it all themselves. 



I favor the late removal to the repository. In re- 

 gard to the proper temperature, I have found that, 

 in the same cellar, with all the conditions the same, 

 ns far as irr ran detect, that in one winter my bees 

 would remain most quiet at 42°, while in another at 

 34°. A change of 2 to 4° either way from these 

 points in either of the respective winters would 

 cause the bees to " scold." Wlni, I can not tell; but 

 I lirraly believe the best temperature in each case 

 was the one in which the bees kept most quiet. The 

 description of Mr. G.'s cellar is interesting, and it 

 strikes me as a good cellar. 



The way to keep the temperature down in a warm 

 spell, is to put but 40 or .50 colonies in this cellar. 

 Yes, I know that that makes more expensive hous- 

 ing, but that leaves the facts regarding the temper- 

 ature the same. I heartily agree with Mr. G. in re- 

 gard to carrying out our bees to fly at once, and not 

 in the night, etc., as advocated by some writers. I 

 would add two points left out by him, and they are 

 these: Place your colonies in their respective places 

 in the cellar or house xo quictln tliry will nut know uf 

 any removal. Instead of upward ventilation through 

 open holes, place at least a light packing over the 

 bees, the same as outdoors, only uncovered. Eo not 

 forget that bees can not pass the combs and spaces 

 for a free choice in stores, in a temperature of 42°, 

 unless the space over the frames above referred to 

 is given. I am glad that Mr. G. has read with confl- 

 dence the disastrous reports of those who were pre- 

 pared equally well with himself, which I infer from 

 his remarks twice, " except the bees are sick with 

 the dj'sentery." 1 very well know that all these pre- 

 cautions, yes, even more and better perfected, will 

 prove utterly futile in some localities during some 

 winters. That Mr. G., and his father before him, 

 have an exceptional locality for freedom from dys- 

 entery, and for candied honey, has been my opinion 

 for years. I have no doubt but that such a winter 

 as last one would in its severity drive bees to dysen- 

 tery, while those well housed would have it but lit- 

 tle or none. This disease rages to such an extent in 

 some places during certain periods, that all jirecau- 

 tions and fa^■orable conditions that the master can 

 command, prove of no benefit. Again, I have 

 known cases where bees have been misused in every 

 conceivable way, and die they would not. No dys- 

 entery, success ; dysentery, no success. What is the 



cause of the disease, and how can we best and most 

 cheaply remove that cause? James IIeddon. 



Dowagiac, Mich., July 11, 1881. 



While I am strongly of the opinion tliat 

 bees will winter better without pollen, and 

 without raising any brood, 1 am hardly as 

 yet prepared to take the very strong ground 

 of friend II. , that pollen causes all the trouble. 

 I have seen bees winter most beautifully 

 where they had new light combs, with scarce- 

 ly a trace of pollen. An old box-hive bee- 

 man once told me it Avas pollen and pollen 

 alone that made bees spot their hives in 

 spring. The matter will be, most likely, 

 thoroughly tested ue.xt winter and spring. 



HORSEItlllNT IN TEXAS, ETC. 



E have just passed through a bountiful har- 

 vest of honey from horscmint, our great 

 honey-plant. This plant begins to bloom 

 the last week of April, and in order to obtain the 

 full benelit of this choice crop, every colony must 

 be strong, and in fine working trim by the 1st day of 

 May slmrii. Bees work on this bloom about live 

 weeks, and they do a rushing business. It is a de- 

 licious honey, of light amber color, and of a pleasant 

 aromatic flavor. The plant grows in great profu- 

 sion in this county, and never fails. Our bees do but 

 little during the months of July and August, it be- 

 ing generally too dry and hot. We had but few 

 swarms this spring. We expect to reap a rich re- 

 ward from our bees ne.xt season. We have nothing 

 to fear in wintering. Keep each colony strong >vith 

 plenty of stores, and they will come through all 

 right without any protection whatever. It is of 

 paramount importance to have a theoretical know- 

 ledge of bee-keeping, and this can be obtained only 

 by a thorough perusal of the several excellent books 

 on apiculture, now well known to the fraternity. 

 But this is not altogether sufficient to make one 

 practicaUtj expert. The advantages of each locality 

 must be well noted, and as we are all of the ABC 

 class here as regards scientific apiculture, it is im- 

 portant to us as beginners that we should have a rec- 

 ord of the apiary in which we should record the 

 monthly work in the apiary, as well as to note the 

 honey-plants of each month. I have adopted this 

 method, and next season I will have this valuable 

 aid for reference. I find this to be essential in or- 

 der to avail ourselves of all the advantages in ob- 

 taining the entire honey crop. For our locality, 

 empty hives, frames of wireil fdn. (which are always 

 best in this climate), must be in readiness by the 1st 

 of Mai'Ch ; the swarming or dividing m ust be done 

 with by the 15th of April; supers of wired fdn. for ex- 

 tracted, or sections with starters of fdn., or nice 

 comb for comb honsj-, must be put on by the 1st of 

 May. 1 purpose running my apiary for extracted 

 honey, because I think it will pay better in this lo- 

 cality. We expect a light crop of honey in the fall, 

 if not too rainy. When dry, the live-oak balls are 

 said to yield quite a quantity of fine hSney. We have 

 the morning-glory {convolcidns miiior), which is a 

 good fall bloom. I shall discard the black race next 

 year. The Italians have proven vastly superior, for 

 many reasons I will not now mention. I shall pro- 

 cure for trial the Cyprian and Syrian races also, this 

 being about the same latitude of their native home. 

 My opinion is, that they will prove an invaluable 

 acquisition. J. E. Lav, M. D, 



HaUetsville, Texas, July 9, 1881, 



