1881 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTtlRE. 



583 



A BOOItlING REPORT FROJTI TEXAS. 



210 LBS. COMB HONEY, AND 301: EXTRACTED. IN ONE 

 SEASON, FROM THE DAUOHTER OF A DOLLAR 



QUEEN. 



ffl^ S the honej- season is just now over with us, 

 J(^_ I will send in my report bel>w. I will give 

 "~^* what our best hive did, and also the average. 

 At V2 o'clock. May 30, we placed our best hive ou the 

 scales; thty gathered,— 



June 7 23 lbs. 



That Eve 7 lbs 



31 15 •' 



Juna 1 24 " 



Total.... lliCIbs 



1«. 



Total.... 173 lbs 



Total.... 217 lbs. 



rand total 510 lbs. 



Lost 114 •• 



Net 403 lbs. 



You see, in 2t days they made 546 lbs., and every 

 night they lost 6 lbs.; and how it was we could not 

 imagine. They were always weighed before any 

 bees got out in the morning, and after they all came 

 home at night; so you see, at the time the drought 

 set in, June 3.'d, we had taken them off the scales, 

 and they made more honey in the fall; so now I will 

 just give the e.\act amount of honey we have taken 

 from them. Wc have just the number of times we 

 took honey, and how much each time, without any 

 date. The 1st time, ,5 lbs.; 2d, It; 3d, 4; 4th. 3C; 5th, 

 111; 6th, 140; 7th, comb honey, 107; 8th, comb, 70; 9tb, 

 comb, 39. Total, .520 lbs. You see, we took 304 lbs. 

 extracted honey and 216 lbs. of comb. This state- 

 ment is badly made out, but correct. If anybody 

 doubts it, we can bring forth four witnesses who 

 will testify to the above. This colony wanted to 

 swarm the latter part of March. As we didn't want 

 any more bees at that time, we ran them for honey. 

 All through the months of May and June, the above 

 hive was a 4-story Simplicity, holding 40 L. frames 

 and a good circle of brood in every frame. The 

 queen is a full-blooded Italian that [ raised myself 

 from a dollar queen bought of Mr. Root two years 

 ago, and I now have nearly all iiy hives stocked 

 wiihher daughters. In conclusiijn, my 44 colonies 

 averaged me 1!)6 lbs. of honey each, amounting to 

 $■'624 lbs.; about one-third comb Loney, and Isold at 

 an average price of lij^c per lb. This brought me 

 1228.92. Thisisihe season's work for myself, wife, 

 and two brothers. I fear from some cause my bees 

 have foul brood. I hope not, but they look suspi- 

 cious. E. J. Atculey. 



D.illtAS, Tex.,Nov. 7, 1881. 



FriencLs, there is something more in the 

 above startling rei)oit, than the simple fact 

 th;it friend A. had a greiittlow of honey, nnd 

 wisely made the best of it. If you will look 

 tlirough our back numbers, you will see 

 that l)Ooming reports have unexpectedly 

 turned ui» first in one State and then anoth- 

 er, until iVie beginner who is lookinj; for tiie 

 bts. locality in which to make astiirLis sore- 

 ly puzzled, and perhaps somewhat per- 

 ]>le.xed, to account for these stateraiMits 

 that startle us almost, as ihey slioot up into 

 view almostwiih the sutldennessof aiocket. 

 Is it not true, that none of us half ui:der- 

 stand or comprehend wliat is in store for us, 

 when we once tnidf^rstand our business in- 

 telligently ? — Friend A., the loss every 

 night is caused by the, evaporation of the 



water contained in tlie thin new honey. I 

 believe it is always the case, but it m;iy not 

 be to so great an extent as you mention. In 

 looking the re|)ort over, 1 have been in- 

 clined to think the ro lbs. reported on one 

 (lay might be a mistake. DitI you not skip 

 onie day, or does it not include at least a part 

 of two days V The whole secret of the great 

 yi^ld is in the queen of such astonishing 

 fertility as to keep brood in 40 comlis, all 

 at one time. Those who have been so 

 thoughtless, not to say unkind, as to con- 

 demn the dollar queens as a class, would do 

 well to consider this and other reports of a 

 similar character. I would say to the friends 

 who read tiiis, that I have known friend A., 

 and have dealt with him for many years, and 

 I am sure he has made liis statement hon- 

 estly. — I trust you are mistaken about the 

 foul brood, friend A. There has been quite 

 a little of borrowing trouble where parties 

 imagined they had it, where it was only 

 dead brood from some ordinary cause, such 

 as leaving it exposed, etc. 



^ ■<>■ m m 



CELLAR V.«. OUTnoOK AVINTERING 

 AM) AK^TIL,ATION. 



fW.\NT to put in my plea in l.'ivor of cellar win- 

 tering. I have now for eight years wintered 

 ^ my bees succossfully in the cellar. My cellar is 

 only 12 feet square, directly under our living-room, 

 which contains a stove, of course. Ttie C'^ll-ir is not 

 frost-proof, as our potatoes fre(iuently freeze. This 

 12-foot cellar frequently contains 30 to 40 colonics of 

 bees, besid'^s p >taU)es, apples, l;ud, meat, and sf veral 

 dozens of cans of fruit, and still l?aves room for en- 

 trance and exit. Last winter I plaeed t>ecs in cilir 

 about the middle of November, where Ihey were k-ft 

 undisturbed until February 22d, when 1 set all out 

 for a fly. A few 1 found uneasy with symptoms of 

 dysentery, and comb? somewhat mrlily. The 

 cause was pliinly to be seen: the entrance was not 

 large enougii for proper vcntilition. I use Sim- 

 plicity hives, witb loose bottom-hoard; a si >t cut in 

 liot torn-board, triana:ular, ?« of an inch deep. I 

 then placed a blick % of an inch thick under each 

 corner, slightly raised each cover, and loosened the 

 enamel coth. A few days after, all were dry and in 

 good con'lition. Hereafter T shall thoroughly ven- 

 til ito f^ach hive. 1 had a neighb;">r a few miles from 

 me that kept from 21 to 3fl C(d)nifSof bees in box 

 hives, and always wintered them on their summer 

 stands; he aliveys kept an inch bl^'ck under each 

 corner, and left the cap (a box 12 inches square by 

 6 inches d^cp) on, with the entr.mce of an inch 

 auger-hole in the cap open; and he generally win- 

 tered sucei-s-'fully. F have, at times, put bees in the 

 cellar that were very weak, but wiuld c ime out 

 strong in the spring. Ha\e never had anv trouble 

 from -pring dwindling Wh !• I know that we can. 

 winter our b3e3 at times out of doors, 1 think the 

 bees, as widl as ourselves, would be more comfort- 

 able if warmly housed. It has been frequently 

 demon-'trated that cittle, horses, sh<>ep, and cth r 

 stock, can be wintered in a woodvd lot, or around a 

 straw s'ack; still, I can slo.p much Ictti r wbfn I 

 know my stock is li a good warm barn; jnul I im- 

 ayine the f-tock appn-ciates the acconim )dation? 

 aho. Ill cellar wiiueiing. I ncvc^r remnv • any 

 frames, or contract the brood-nest. Mr. George 



