106 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 6, 



consume lJa lbs. of honey per month, 

 and endure confinement without soiling 

 the combs for 6 months ; now, if they 

 consume G times this amount in 2 

 months, they must fly at the end of that 

 time or the combs will be soiled very 

 soon thereafter. We often read, " My 

 bees wintered well and consumed but 

 very little honey," while the fact was 

 that their consuming but little honey 

 was the reason they wintered well. 

 Thus we are able to answer the question 

 why one colony dies, and another at the 

 side of it does not. It is because one 

 gets discontented and consumes large 

 quantities of honey, while the other 

 does not. 



Now comes the rub : why does one 

 colony get discontented within 1 month 

 after being confined, and another does 

 not under 3 or 4, or in case of cellar win- 

 tering, ti months. Well, I will be can- 

 did and say I do not know ; but I do not 

 believe the cause is in the honey alto- 

 gether. One thing Mr. Heddon and 

 myself will agree on I am sure, and that 

 is, if as soon and as often as a colony 

 gets uneasy and goes to eating honey 

 ravenously they could have a day to fly, 

 all would be well, even if such a colony 

 was obliged to fly 3 or 4 times where an- 

 other did not have to but once. 



To keep bees quiet the longest possi- 

 ble time I would recommend : 1st. A 

 good bee cellar in a bank, covered all 

 over with no less than 3 feet of earth, 

 and an even temperature maintained 

 inside at 44° to 45"; 2d. Hives so con- 

 structed that chaff could entirely sur- 

 round the bees to the depth of 4 inches. 

 To sum up, we should winter one-half 

 of our apiary one way and one-half the 

 other, inasmuch as our winters vary so 

 that one winter has come out the best 

 on summer stands, and another the best 

 from the cellar. I will refer to this 

 subject again in the next Weekly Bee 

 Journal. 



Borodino, N. Y., March 22, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



K( pr the American Bee Journal. 



Extracting Bees.— The New Industry. 



H. T. COLLINS. 



As the exigencies of the times have 

 created the new industry of " extract- 

 ing dead bees " from the cells, and as 

 many of the bee-keeping fraternity may 

 want to do so without delay in order to 

 save time, I give my plan, as I think 

 the one suggested by our editor, though 

 good in the main, is apt to break the 

 combs too much. The necessary tools 

 are a small pair of tweezers (such as 

 taxidermists use), a light and sharp 

 darning needle, and last but not least, a 

 shallow tin pan, say one inch deep and 

 Vd%x.Vl% inches. Every keeper of 10 or 

 more colonies should have one or more 

 pans— they just fill the bottom of a 10- 

 frame Langstroth hive, and are as 

 handy as a pocket in a shirt. Instead 

 of the pan, a common table waiter will 

 answer. Sitting in a good light, place 

 the pan lengthwise across the lap, and 

 lay the frame across the pan, but paral- 

 lel with the lap. The use of the pan is 

 to give a convenient rest to the frame, 

 and ro hold the dead bees. If you are 

 right-handed, let the top of the frame 

 be towards the right hand, if not, vice 

 versa. Holding the tweezers in the 

 hand, which is right (often the left one), 

 grasp the bee and pull it out slowly and 

 gently, and with the motion of the 

 hand towards the top of the frame. As 

 in the natural position, the base of the 

 cell is horizontally the lowest, the above 

 mentioned motion extracts the bee with 

 the least friction. But income combs 

 they will stick so tight as to break off 

 at the junction of the abdomen, and to 

 prevent this, with the darning needle 

 pierce the thorax as it comes to the 

 edge of the cell, and by its help you can 

 nearly every time drag out the too- 

 tightly lodged bee. A cup of warm 

 water will be convenient in removing 

 the sticky deposit that will often adhere 

 to th# end of the tweezers. To the in- 

 experienced, the above may seem to be 

 a slow and tedious way of extracting 

 bees, but a little practice will make one 

 skillful, and if any one has a better way 

 ple;ise communicate it piomptly, as 

 this new industry promises, from the 

 weekly reports, to be a large and grow- 

 ing one. 



Jacksonville, 111. 



Separators for Surplus Honey. 



.TAMES HEDDON. 



For the benefit of some who do not 

 as yet understand all my argument 

 against the use of separators I wish to 

 add, that I am well aware that the sys- 

 tem of sections within frames hung in 

 a super, is entirely impracticable with- 

 out the use of separators. I know too 

 that, as Messrs. Greiner Bros, remark, 

 bees take more kindly to wood than to 

 tin or glass, and there is just where the 

 trouble comes, as they sometimes kindly 

 attach the sides of the combs to them. 

 Some seasons, under peculiar circum- 

 stances, the loss of honey by the use of 

 separators might, as Greiner Bros, say, 

 be very slight, but in many seasons they 

 will be found to be a serious detriment 

 to the amount of surplus obtained. But 

 why not use a system that does not need 

 them, and is much handier than the su- 

 per system besides V 



I supposed that the younger bee-keep- 

 ers, who keep posted, knew that many 

 old producers on a more extensive scale 

 never used separators at all, and of that 

 class who did many others are laying 

 them aside. Bees do finish up their 

 combs full better with separators, be- 

 cause as the season draws to a close they 

 are less inclined to start another comb 

 in one of those little compartments, and 

 as long as there is honey coming in they 

 finish with it to keep from perfect idle- 

 ness. I think the unfinished combs 

 are just so much extra. If itis "strange" 

 that 1 should declare against the use of 

 all separators, while still many promi- 

 nent bee-keepers use them, how dare 

 you, Messrs. G., declare against tin, 

 compared with wood, when you know 

 that tin is the popular material V Gali- 

 leo said, " The world is round ;" all oth- 

 ers said, "It is flat," and there being 

 more of the " flats" than Galileos, these 

 " flats" put their greatest scientist be- 

 hind the prison bars. 



Before I close, I wish to call the atten- 

 tion of the readers of this paper to the 

 able article of A. B. Weed, on " Queen 

 and Supply Trade," in the Bee Jour- 

 nal of March 23d. I think all bee- 

 keepers, whether supply-dealers or pro- 

 ducers strictly, if posted upon the 

 points therein taken, will say, "Thanks 

 to Mr. Weed." 



Dowagiac, Mich., March 26, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Pure Liquid Honey in Glass Jars. 



CHAS. F. MUTH. 



The above subject is one which has 

 provoked considerable comment, and it 

 appears we are not quite done with it 

 yet. I dare say that there is not a dealer 

 of any note in Cincinnati, by this time, 

 who imagines that my jar honey is any- 

 thing but pure honey, or who suspects 

 any fioney when it comes from my store; 

 and I am just as positive in the state- 

 ment that there is not a dealer in Cin- 

 cinnati, having extracted honey from 

 New York or Chicago in store, who does 

 not believe it to be glucosed. There is 

 hardly anybody in our community who 

 suspects the purity of the honey when 

 my label is on the jar. Jar-honey, in 

 general, is not mistrusted any more in 

 our city, unless the jar contains besides 

 the liquid, also a piece of comb honey. 

 Such is the case in Cincinnati, to all ap- 

 pearances, and I am willing to be cor- 

 rected if wrong. 



The subjoined letter from a party in 

 New York, and my answer to them, 

 show an interesting difference in the 

 state of the market for extracted honey 

 in our city and New York, the home of 

 Mr. W. M. Hoge, Wm. Hogue or John 

 Long. To avoid misunderstanding, I 

 may state that Hoge, Ilogue or Long, 

 while in New York, was bottling honey 

 for the firm of Thurber & Co. In ex- 

 planation of the letters following, I may 

 state that the editor of the Cincinnati 

 Grocer had been recommending my 

 honey to Messrs. Guernsey & Co., N. Y., 

 who opened correspondence with me, 

 and to me he had recommended them as 

 perhaps the best party to introduce my 

 honey in the New York market. The 

 result was that I sent them 1 gross of 

 1 lb. jars and 1 gross of % lb. tumblers, 



at cost, on 60 days' time. The honey 

 commenced granulating in the course of 

 a month or more. This fact, and the 

 general mistrust to extracted honey in 

 New York must be taken into conside- 

 ration to do the following correspon- 

 dence justice : 



New York, March 17, 1881. 

 Mr. C. F. Muth— Dear Sir : Enclosed 

 please find bill of lading for the honey 

 sent us. We find it totally impossible 

 to sell the goods, as parties here are 

 afraid of glucose, etc. We waited for 

 parties to decide about them, and they 

 concluded not to take them. We are 

 sorry, but such is the case. We have 

 retained one box of each, bottles and 

 tumblers, to pay us for the freight paid 

 on goods here. Yours very respectfully, 

 Guernsey & Co. 



To which I replied as follows : 



Messrs. Guernsey & Co.— Gents : 

 Your favor is at hand. I expect the 

 return of my honey with all the charges 

 deducted you feel disposed to make. I 

 had supposed that there were some men 

 in your city with enough sense to deter- 

 mine the difference between honey and 

 glucose. My honey is strictly pure, and 

 1 will pay you $100 if you will prove that 

 I am wrong. Yours truly, 



Chas. F. Muth. 



Cincinnati, Ohio, March 21, 1881. 



[We were shown quite recently a let- 

 ter received by a prominent dealer in 

 strictly pure honey in this city, from a 

 correspondent in Virginia, who had or- 

 dered and received from him a keg of 

 honey. They say : " The keg of honey 

 came to hand on the 25th; you may 

 imagine my chagrin on opening the 

 package and finding the contents solid. 

 In its present condition it is of no value 

 to me." Although a dealer, we suppose 

 this was really the first package of 

 strictly pure extracted honey he had ever 

 seen, or he would have felt pleasure, in- 

 stead of chagrin, to find it granulated 

 solid. The truth is, the public have 

 been so much deceived with a spurious 

 article in liquid form, that many do not 

 know the genuine when they see it. A 

 bee-keeper or person perfectly familiar 

 with honey in a northern or central lat- 

 itude, would require something more 

 convincing than the mere assertion of a 

 respectable grocer that his honey was 

 strictly pure, if not candied or granula- 

 ted in cool weather.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Separate Swarms. 



BRAY & SEACORD. 



An experience of 20 years with bees 

 has taught me to wait upon them and 

 not to nave them wait upon me ; in 

 other words, always hare your work 

 ahead of time. Next, to have your bees 

 in strong condition at the time of the 

 first flow of honey. The great mistake 

 of beginners is to aim at too large an 

 increase, either by division or natural 

 swarming. If the season is good, an 

 increase of 3 from each colony is a 

 plenty ; if a medium season an increase 

 of one from each colony is enough. 



The brood chamber is the mainspring 

 to work upon for a good yield of honey. 

 We allow no queen to live over 3 years, 

 and if not a prolific queen she only 

 lives one year. We allow no brood 

 comb to remain over 3 years in the cen- 

 tre of the hive ; by this plan we get fine 

 developed bees, and of longer life. 



Our plan of separating swarms of 2 

 or more, when they come out and clus- 

 ter together, may be of benefit to some. 

 It is as follows : Make a box 3 feet long 

 (or any size that will fit the frames of 

 your hive), make one entrance to the 

 box for the bees to pass in and out ; 

 make a tight cover to tit the box, with 

 cleats on 2 sides, no end cleats ; make 3 

 or 4 division boards ; then the box is 

 ready for hiving the bees. 



Now take the box and hive the cluster 

 of 2 or more swarms, and as soon as all 

 the bees are in the box, put it in a shady 

 place, and let it remain there until the 



next morning ; then push the box- 

 cover lengthwise of the box and you 

 will observe each queen with her colony 

 clustered by themselves ; now place 

 the division board between each cluster, 

 push the cover back again over the 

 cluster and hive at pleasure. 



The present season is fully 6 weeks 

 ahead of last season ; drones were in 

 the air on the 28th of Feb. We keep our 

 colonies in a condition so that the queen 

 can breed up to her full capacity. The 

 Italian queens we received from the 

 Bee Journal apiary last fall, wintered 

 well, and we now have several nuclei 

 started for queen-rearing, as we mean 

 to Italianize all of our bees by the end 

 of the present season. The prospects 

 were never better than now for a boom- 

 ing good year. 



At some future time we will give our 

 experience in wintering bees in a cold 

 climate on 4 lbs. 2 ounces of honey per 

 colony, before chaff packing was in- 

 vented. 



If a Syrian queen cross with the black 

 drone, would not this cross produce the 

 Italian bee V Success to the Bee Jour- 

 nal. 



Warthan, Cal. March 15, 1881. 



[If the Italian bee is a hybrid, and 

 originally produced by mating the black 

 drone with the Syrian queen, then, of 

 course, a like cause will again produce 

 a like effect ; but if the Italian bee is a 

 distinct race, then no crossing of other 

 races will produce it as a fixed type. — 

 Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Raspberry as a Honey Plant. 



D. D. PALMER. 



The raspberry can be grown in any 

 land that will produce a crop of corn or 

 potatoes. It furnishes a fine quality of 

 honey, and a delicious fruit, coming 

 immediately after strawberries. Sandy 

 or light soils produce a better flavored 

 fruit but not so much nor as large as 

 clay soils. 



The ground should be spaded or 

 ploughed deep, and raked or narrowed 

 thoroughly so as to pulverize it. If you 

 get plants by mail, dip them in water 

 as soon as received and bury the roots 

 in moist shady ground until you are 

 ready to set them out. Plants can be 

 sent by mail with as much certainty of 

 arriving in good condition as if carried 

 personally or sent by express. Handle 

 so as to expose the roots to the sun and 

 wind as little as possible. For garden 

 or field culture plant 2% or 3 feet 

 apart in the row and the rows 6 feet 

 apart. A convenient implement to use 

 in setting any small plants is called a 

 dibble, made similar to a mason's 

 trowel, and cost me 25 cts. each. Make 

 the holes deep enough to take in the 

 long roots without doubling them up. 

 Spread the roots out like a fan, fill with 

 mellow soil and pack snugly among 

 the roots, if the ground is dry pour in 

 water before filling up, then fill up with 

 dry or moist soil, leaving the surface 

 loose and mellow. If dry weather pre- 

 vails, remove the top soil and pour in 

 plenty of water ; after the water has 

 settled replace the soil. They may be 

 cultivated the same as corn, being 

 careful not to cultivate too deep as some 

 of the roots grow near the surface. 

 Cabbage or other root plants may be 

 planted and cultivated among them the 

 first season. Fruit trees maybe planted 

 with them in the row. 



There are several ways of training 

 the bushes ; some use stakes. This we 

 consider an expensive practice, unless 

 it be for garden planting, when very 

 close planting is required and it is not 

 wished to have a spreading bush. Our 

 method consists in training them while 

 they are growing. When 18 inches high 

 pinch off with the fingers, or where a 

 field is to be pruned we have found a 

 pair of large scissors, with blades 5 

 inches long, to be an excellent thing to 

 prune with ; with them we can prune a 

 row as fast as we can walk. 1 ou will 

 need to prune the patch 2 or 3 times 

 each season. In the spring, when the 

 plants are one year old, prune or cut off 

 all the laterals within 12 or 18 inches of 

 the main stock before they start to 



