1498 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 1 



He could not take time for this; but as a re- 

 sult of the work the managers of the Monroe 

 County fair saw that such an exhibition would 

 be an important and practical attraction, and 

 they consequently arranged with jNIr. J. C. 

 Wood, the florist and apiarist, of Strouds- 

 bui'g, who had seen Mr. Owen's demonstra- 

 tion, to give an exhibition for two hours dur- 

 ing each forenoon at the county fair, trans- 

 ferring bees from old hives and "skeps"' to 

 modern hives. In announcing this, one of 

 the local papers says, •'The l)ee-keepiug in- 

 dustry in Monroe County is not among the 

 least of its many industries, and the care and 

 culture of bees among our enterprising farm- 

 ers is an interesting topic at all times. There 

 are between seven hundred and eight hun- 

 dred bee-keepers in this county alone; and 

 the promoters of the INIonroe County fair. 



keepers' Association, in which he said that 

 the greatest obstacle to progi-essive and most 

 profitable bee-keeping in that State was the 

 failure of bee-keepers to use modei-n hives. 



UPPER ENTRANCES. 



This Plan Advised for the Production of 



Extracted Honey; Shaded Colonies Vs. 



those in the Sun. 



BY W. F. CARD. 



Under separate cover we are sending j'ou 

 a view of our apiary. It is located six miles 

 west of Croswell, Mich., and, as will be seen, 

 it is partly in the shade and protection of an 

 orchard. We have lieen unable to see any 



AN APIAKY IN WHICH UPl'EU ENTUANCES ARE FOUND TO BE AN ADVANTAGE. 



who are always on the alert for what most 

 interests the agricultural community, have 

 at considerable expense arranged for a spe- 

 cial display and demonsti'ation at the coming 

 fair, by one of the most experienced and 

 practical bee-men in the county. This fea- 

 ture of the fair will untloubtedly add to the 

 general attractions, and l)e instructive to the 

 many who are interested in bee culture." 



It is interesting to know that there are yet 

 a few of the old-fashioned straw "skeps" 

 used in that county, and Prof. Surface re- 

 ports that he has procui'ed some of them for 

 the apiarian section of the new State Museum 

 at Harrisburg. The tendency to change from 

 the old to the modern hives is along the lines 

 suggested by Prof. Surface in his last aiUlress 

 as President of the Pennsvlvania State Bee- 



marked difference between those that are in 

 a position where the sun strikes them early 

 in the morning and tho.se that are in heavy 

 shade. They both "dig out" at about the 

 same time, and, apparently, one works just 

 as well as the other. 



We are running most of our hives to ex- 

 tracted hoiiej'. using one and two upper 

 stories, giving upper entrances to most of 

 them, especially to those of two and three 

 stories. The upper entrances are used more 

 for the upper stories than for the brood- 

 chaml:)er below. By using upper entrances 

 for upper stories the bees are enabled to 

 reach the combs in the third story, and de- 

 posit their load much quicker than they could 

 if theyuseil the lower entrance only — at least 

 it proves more satisfactory with us. The hive 



