1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



227 



urn read; to compare stock with any 

 in America. Bees are just booming 

 now. rolling in white clover. <>n 



July 1st 1 had ti swarms ami saved 

 all. 1 prepare lor winter by setting 

 my hives on a 2-inch square frame, 

 to eateli rubbish, take on the covers 

 ami cover with heavy duck, with 

 4 to 6 inches square of wire cloth cov- 

 ering a hole in center Of duck cloth. 

 Grand Meadow, Minn. 



Hurai New Yorker. 



Bees and their Pasturage in Utah. 



.1. B.JOHNSON. 



The bee in Utah is quite a power, 

 especially as we make sugar from 

 neither maple trees, beets or sugar 

 cane, and have only Chinese sorghum 

 and bees to help us to sweetening; all 

 else is imported. Our climate is won- 

 derfully free from moisture and rain- 

 falls are rare, especially in southern 

 Utah; these causes make a scarcity 

 of bee forage growing wild within 

 reach of bee industry. In the north- 

 ern portion of the Territory winter 

 generally brings enough snow to make 

 the wild flowers bloom more profusely 

 than at this place (St. George). In 

 this country the inhabitants live in 

 villages in the foot-hills, and generally 

 have to go to the river bottoms some 

 miles avvav to make farms. The 

 towns are provided with water for the 

 gardens, and here the bees are kept. 

 The gardens and orchards furnish for- 

 age in a great measure, which to- 

 gether with the wild flowers that bloom 

 early, and the great American bee 

 plant, that grows on sandy wastes 

 and blossoms from January till Sep- 

 tember, serve to keep these little honey 

 gatherers busy. 



Where the fields and lucerne 

 meadows are within 3 or 4 miles from 

 town, there are periods when at the 

 blooming stage of the crops,- great 

 help is afforded in honey-making. In 

 some sections the bee plant grows in 

 tracts of many acres, and often bor- 

 ders highways in such a manner as to 

 make bee forage plentiful and rich ; 

 in other regions the seed is sown to 

 get it started, after which the plant re- 

 produces itself without further trou- 

 ble. Where this grows abundantly 

 there is no need of growing plants on 

 purpose for bee pasturage ; where it 

 is scarce we plant patches of mignon- 

 ette, sweet clover, and squash and 

 melon vines, and such garden Mowers 

 as are most productive of honey and 

 pollen. 



In my long experience of bee-keep- 

 ing I have found 3 plants superior to 

 all others for the production of honey, 

 viz : the purple-flowered bee plant, 

 next mignonette, and third melilot or 

 sweet clover. The 2 last named will 

 make honey so perfumed as to be far 

 superior to that made of any other 

 plants, and such honey brings fancy 

 prices in markets where it is known 

 and tested. Lucerne makes a nice 

 amber honey and is worked on indus- 

 triously by the bees, but it does not 

 produce like the plants named above. 

 The mesquite, a shrubby, sprawling 

 tree of the Pulse family, produces a 

 burden of bloom, often twice a year, 

 similar to that of the filbert and chest- 

 nut, from which an immense crop of 

 honey is gathered, and some pollen, 

 also. 



The lycium and several other honey 

 plants are abundant here. Our aver- 

 age yield of honey would perhaps be 

 about 50 lbs. each season to the col- 

 ony. Our varieties of bees are Ital- 

 ians and hybrids. In northern Utah 

 the bee industry has been greatly re- 

 tarded by thousands of cases of foul 

 brood — no case lias as yet occurred in 

 southern Utah. 



Our Legislature has passed a law 

 providing for the destruction of colo- 

 nies affected with foul brood, which 

 will materially lend encouragement to 

 the industry. The bee moth is very 

 destructive here to weak and queen- 

 less colonies, but in strong colonies 

 there is no danger. Thus far there 

 have appeared no other serious ene- 

 mies. 



To beginners in the business I of- 

 fer this advice: Do not be in too 

 great haste to increase your colonies 

 or to eat honey— you will get on much 

 faster by going slowly : that is, never 

 weaken your colonies by dividing, or 



by robbing them of honey ; when not 

 rich with honey and full of bees, then 

 2 frames taken out of a full hive at a 

 time will giveroom to work. I started 

 here with one colony, lor which 1 paid 

 SIT). In li years I had 200 colonies, 

 and had lost, by improperly weaken- 

 ing the colonies lor increase, an equal 

 number. Had I been more patient I 

 doubt not 1 might have had 500 strong 

 colonies, and lost none. 



In case a colony becomes queenless, 

 it is quite probable there are but few, 

 if any young bees in the hive — now, 

 the young bees are the wax workers, 

 and unless there are some in the hive 

 you cannot get a queen-cell made ; 

 the old bees will not do it. When, 

 therefore, a frame of eggs is put into 

 a hive-that a queen may be made, be 

 sure to put in also a good quantity of 

 young bees, or the work is profitless. 

 This 1 have learned by dear experi- 

 ence. A fertile worker is a great 

 nuisance, and difficult to get rid of, 

 but it can be done as easily as any- 

 thing else, thus : Remove the hive 

 containing the fertile worker several 

 rods from the old stand, and on the 

 old stand place another hive, with a 

 frame of brood and a queen ; now 

 take all the frames out of the re- 

 moved hive and brush off all the bees, 

 and return the frames of stores to the 

 hive in the old place. The workers 

 will return to the old home, accept 

 the queen, and it is done. 



Washington, Utah. 



For tbe American Bee Journal. 



Robbing Weak Colonies. 



S. W. SALISBURY. 



The unexpected shortness of the 

 honey crop in many localities seems 

 to develop the tendency of the bees to 

 rob weak colonies. I have tried many 

 expedients described in the books to 

 prevent robbing, with indifferent suc- 

 cess. The easiest and most certain 

 way that I know of is to place a decoy 

 hive, partly filled with honey, be- 

 daubed combs, or undrainedcappings, 

 in the place of the hive being robbed, 

 having first moved the attacked colony 

 a few feet away. After about 10 min- 

 utes I move this colony some distance 

 and give it a new stand. The rob- 

 bers having all left will return to the 

 decoy hive in force, and there con- 

 tinue operations until they consume 

 its available contents, when they will 



gradually resume natural work. The 

 ees that belong to the unfortunate 

 colony that return to the decoy hive 

 will finally cluster therein, and can be 

 safely returned to their own colony 

 late in the evening or early in the 

 morning, without loss. In this way 

 I have saved several valuable queens 

 and nuclei, with but little trouble. 



Bees wintered without serious loss 

 in this locality ; have done only mode- 

 rately in the way of honey gathering 

 or swarming, and are now mostly 

 idle. Honey is in fair demand at 20 

 cents for comb, and 1.5 cents for ex- 

 tracted. 

 Kansas City, Mo., July 11, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How I Remove the Bees from Frames. 



I wish to say to "II. F. B." that I 

 use a very soft flat brush to remove 

 the bees from frames and surplus 

 boxes. The brush is 3}£ inches in 

 width with bristles 4 inches long. I 

 do not know for what use it was in- 

 tended. I found it among a stock 

 of brushes for sale at a paint and 

 drug store. I first give the frame one 

 good shake, and whisk the balance off 

 lively with the brush. The bees do 

 not dislike it, as a feather; it never 

 hurts nor irritates them. Try it. 



Flint, Mich. 



Head before the S. W. Wis. Convention. 



Bee-Keeping for Profit. 



ED. PIKE. 



Profitable bee-keeping is not now 

 carried on as much as it will be when 

 bee-keepers are in possession of more 

 practical knowledge on the subject. It 

 is a business that needs a great deal 

 of study, and considerable physical as 

 well as mental ability to carry it out 

 with profit. The worker bees, the 

 queen and the drone should be well 

 understood in all stages of develop- 

 ment, and the nature of each class the 

 bee-keeper should be thoroughly fa- 

 miliar with, in order that he may 

 start on the sure road to success. 

 There are times when caution should 

 be observed in handling bees, and the 

 when and why should be known, and 

 not guessed at. 



Managing bees for study and curi- 

 osity is one thing, but making money 

 out of them, year after year, is quite 

 another thing. Keeping bees for a 

 little table luxury is often very ex- 

 pensive, as most classes of this kind 

 over-do the matter, and kill their pets 

 by too much attention. Keeping bees 

 on a large scale, with a vague know- 

 ledge of management is something 

 like a large farm poorly managed — 

 considerable expense and small in- 

 come. 



But either bee-keeping or farming 

 on a large or small scale will, and does 

 pay those who have the brains to com- 

 prehend the situation, and make all 

 the conditions favorable to success. 

 Bees need more care than the average 

 number of keepers are in the habit of 

 giving them. There are many differ- 

 ent cares to attend to, and the neglect 

 of one might prove a loss. Good, 

 white honey, well sealed, should be 

 left in the brood-chamber to last them 

 the year round. Otherwise, if they 

 go into winter quarters with late 

 dark honey, unsealed, the honey is 

 very apt to sour and give them the 

 dysentery, and they die of disease. 

 Worker combs should be kept in the 

 middle of the hive as much as possi- 

 ble, and all drone comb placed in the 

 upper story. A good colony should 

 fill both lower and upper stories of the 

 hive by June in order to obtain the 

 greatest possible amount of honey. 

 Feeding a little liquid honey from the 

 middle of April till June will do a 

 good deal in populating a hive early 

 enough for the honey flow. Swarm- 

 ing means increase of the apiary, and 

 that does not mean honey. If there is 

 plenty of forage, and the bee-keeper 

 has help, without too much expense, 

 the increase of the apiary will fill the 

 measure of reasonable expectation. 

 The prevention of swarming means 

 honey. Now, the point, plainly stated, 

 is this : Which will bring us in the 

 most money, honey or bees V If a 

 colony of bees, having surplus honey 

 from the upper story, will bring as 

 much money as their increase, 

 when run for increase, then which 

 course will the most surely bring us 

 profit ? From past experience I would 

 run for honey, because the demand 

 for honey is on the increase. Bees are 

 only wanted for honey and wax, and 

 honey and wax only have a commer- 

 cial value, while the value of bees is 

 limited to the producing classes only, 

 and whether there will be a demand 

 depends entirely on unforeseen circum- 

 stances. 



Success in this business depends 

 largely on the queens. Old queens 

 should be replaced by young ones 

 whenever they cease to be prolific. 

 With the practical bee-keeper, rearing 

 queens from inferior mothers is al- 

 ways avoided, for reasons that good 

 ami prolific queens only are profitable. 

 The real value of good queens is hard 

 to over-estimate, while poor ones are 

 a positive curse. They are worse than 

 useless. Queens can be introduced at 



any time during the season, but more 

 successfully during a good honey How. 

 Good queens air known liy prolific- 

 ness, and the vigor and activity of 

 their progeny, ami are not limited to 

 any particular race of bees, a mix- 

 ture of the different races being desir- 

 able. 



On the supposition that our hives 

 are slocked with good queens, and 

 that at the end of the season we have 

 a large crop of honey, the next prob- 

 lem is successful wintering. Several 

 mollis have been practiced, of which 

 many have been quite successful. Yet 

 the past long, cold winter has demon- 

 strated that in the Northern States no 

 mode of wintering is proof against 

 loss. Some of you may inquire, what 

 is the best method of wintering V To 

 this I would say, that it is rather deli- 

 cate to assert any one method as the 

 best mode. I liave always wintered 

 mine in a bee-house made for the pur- 

 pose. It is much drier than a cellar, 

 and so far as ventilation is concerned, 

 I know the air reaches the bees in a 

 drier and healthier state than in a 

 cellar. 



Out-door wintering and double- wall 

 hives I know nothing of, having never 

 tried them. I have been very success- 

 ful in wintering so far, and so long as 

 I succeed with my bee-house, I shall 

 " let well enough alone." Ventilation 

 is, I think, of great importance while 

 bees are in winter quarters ; and up- 

 ward ventilation is the most essential. 

 In preparing for winter, quilts should 

 never be laid directly on the frames, 

 an open space over the frames is in- 

 dispensable. 



It is the best source by which the 

 moisture can escape and the heat be 

 retained ; the bees also can have com- 

 plete access across the frames ; the 

 heat is evenly distributed over the 

 brood-chamber, and the bees will re- 

 remain on the frame, instead of clus- 

 tering in small squads between the 

 combs to chill and die. The above 

 reasons, in my mind, are conclusive 

 on this subject. 



In conclusion, I would say to those 

 just embarking in the business, ac- 

 quaint yourselves with the proper 

 wants of the bees at all seasons of the 

 year, and attend to them, otherwise, 

 better let them alone. 



Boscobel, Wis. 



Local Convention Directory. 



1881. 



Time and Place of Meeting. 



Sept. National, at Lexington, Ky. 



—Kentucky State, at Louisville. Ky. 

 Oct, 6— Union Kentucky, at Shelbyville, Ky. 



G. W. Demaree. Sec. Christiansburg, Ky. 

 11, 12— Northern Michigan, at Maple Rapids. 

 O. K. (ioodno. Sec, Carson City, Mich. 

 11. la— Northeastern Wis., at Berlin, Wis. 

 12 -Central Ky., in Kxp. B'd'g, Louisville, Ky. 



W. Williamson. Sec. Lexington. Ky. 

 25, 26-Northwestern District, at Chicago. 111. 



CO Coffinberrv. Sec, Chicago, 111. 

 27— Central Michigan, at Lansing. Mich. 



George L. Perry, Sec. 

 27— Western Mich., at Berlin, Mich. 

 Wm. M. S. Dodge, Sec, Coopersville, Mich. 



1882. 



Jan. 25 — Northeastern, at Utica. N. Y. 



Gen. W. House, Sec. Fayetteville, N, V. 

 April 11— Eastern Michigan, at Detroit. Mich. 

 A I!. Weed, Sec, Detroit, Mich. 

 27— Texas State, at McKinney, Texas. 



Wm. R. Howard, Sec, 



May Champlain Valley, at Bristol. Vt. 



T. Brook ins. Sec. 



%W In order to have this table complete, Secre- 

 taries are requested to forward full particulars of 

 time and place of future meetings.— Ed. 



<£g" The Northern Michigan Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold its 

 fourth Annual Convention at Maple 

 Rapids, Clinton Co., Mich., Oct. 11 

 and 12, 1881. O. R. Goodno. Sec. 



l^" The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will meet in Chicago, on 

 Tuesday and Wednesday, October 25 

 and 26. All bee-keepers are cordially 

 invited to attend. It is desired to 

 make this one of the most interesting 

 conventions ever held in the United 

 States. C. C. Miller, M. D., Pres. 



C. C. COFFINBERHY, Sec. 



(^ The Northwestern Illinois and 

 Southwestern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will hold its next meeting 

 Aug. 30, at Rock City, Stephenson Co., 

 111. Jonathan Stewart, Sec. 



