72 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



LETTER FROM MISSOURI. 



BEEKEEPING COMBINED WITH OTHER 

 PUKSUnS. 



There is much being said about com- 

 bining other pursuits, profitably, with 

 apiculture. 



Since I have had experience in that 

 line, I will give the readers of the Api 

 the benefit tliereof. I will begin at a 

 time previous to beekeeping experience. 

 I am a Pennsylvania Dutchman, came 

 to Missouri in the year 1873, attended 

 college two years, taught school one 

 term, married, now have three boys and 

 one daughter. My ambition is to give 

 them a good education, and have them 

 help pay their way, and as I have only 

 40 acres of land I am compelled to 

 combine and concentrate so as to econ- 

 omize time and money. Well, in 1880 

 I had a severe attack of bee- fever. I 

 chopped a bee tree, saved the bees, next 

 year by purchase and natural increase I 

 >owned 19 colonies, mostly weak ones. 

 I purchased "A B C of Bee Culture" 

 which told me to double up, and win- 

 ter in the cellar, so I purchased eight 

 :Simplicity hives, doubled up in August, 

 ;put them in the cellar Dec. ist, put them 

 •on their summer stands Mar. 25, 1882, 

 and in four days they had doubled up 

 into ofie colony. By this time I had read 

 my "A B C, etc.," through, and of 

 course I knew "it all," but I was not 

 discouraged, I read my book again. I 

 then found where it told me to begin 

 with one colony, and not get in debt, 

 and bees and money would come as 

 fast as care and experience poukl bestow. 

 I took the advice and found it correct. 

 Now, then, for the "combine." I di- 

 vided my farm as follows : ten acres in 

 pasture ; ten acres in meadow ; ten in 

 cultivation ; ten in fruit, yard and truck 

 patch. Now to combine profitably you 

 must select such as can take care of 

 themselves a part of the time ; hence 

 I keep two mares, two cows, a few good 

 sheep and hogs, all of which need most 

 of their care early in the morning and 

 late at night, and in winter ; then I keep 

 three varieties of thoroughbred fowls, 



so you see there is a great deal of light 

 work in which I can use my children to 

 good advantage when I most need help. 

 I also teach school six months in the 

 year. 



The above receipt is intended for a 

 man like myself, who had not a cent 

 when I came to Missouri in' 1873, and 

 who walked to and from college four 

 miles every night and morning and paid 

 for my board by working in the dairy. 



In making your first start, always get 

 the best you can afford, thorougJibred, 

 if possible. And subscribe for and read 

 a journal devoted to every avocation in 

 which you engage. 



When you work your corn the last 

 time, sow buckwheat, it will afford a'n 

 abundance of bee and fowl pasturage at 

 a time when most needed. 



Fidton, Mo. 



D. R. Phillips. 



REMARKS ON BEES, WINTERING, 

 ETC. 



I presume I might say a few words j 

 on the above heading, although it may \ 

 not harmonize exactly with the opinions 

 expressed in the Api, and possibly find i 

 its way into the waste basket ; but as 

 the Api has of late had quite an oppo- ,. 

 sition in regard 10 "Punic bees," and I 

 am rather inclined to think that the 

 editor enjoyed it, so I venture 'to give a 

 few ideas on wintering, as I see it. But \ 

 before going any further I will just say ; 

 a word about the Punic bees. I have j 

 two of these queens, but did not get I 

 them early enough last fi^U to test their ! 

 honey-gathering qualities or their dis- f 

 positions when handling. 1 think that 

 they will compare quite well with the \ 

 Italians. The queen is not as nervous \ 

 as the ordinary blacks. I have quite \ 

 freciuently seen them depositing eggs ! 

 in a comb after I have removed it from 

 a hive. So far I think that they will be 

 a bee that will winter well ; mine are ^ 

 averaging with the best of my others. 1 

 I feel anxious to know what they will do \ 

 in getting honey next season ; if they 

 are as good as the Italians I think that 



