250 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Aug. 10, 



at home. I hope to see you at the 

 National Convention, at Lexington. 

 Versailles, Ky., July 29, 1881. 



[Sow Kocky Mountain bee plant 

 (CUome) seed in the fall, either in 

 drills or broadcast ; drill 30 inches 

 apart, with plants every 6 inches, or 6 

 pounds per acre broadcast, harrowing 

 it in nicely. It is biennial, blooming 

 the secoDd year after planting, and 

 continues reproductive. We fear you 

 have hardly given sweet clover (Meli- 

 lolus alba) a fair trial. Sow one acre 

 this fall, harrowing it in nicely ; in 

 the spring sow % pound mammoth 

 mignonette, to give bloom the first 

 season, as sweet clover is also a bien- 

 nial. We think, all things considered, 

 it has no equal.— Ed.] 



The Honey Crop. 



O. CLUTE. 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Method of Obtaining Comb Honey. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



The white clover is over and gone, 

 and we may look at the result as to 

 crop thus far in the season. Bees 

 generally were weak when, about the 

 middle of April, spring opened. A 

 few bees in a hive, many moldy 

 combs, little courage either among 

 bees or bee-keepers,— such was the 

 condition of things. But when spring 

 came, it came all at once. Very 

 warm weather brought forward the 

 early flowers as if by magic. No 

 sooner could the bees fly outthan they 

 found both pollen and honey. The 

 most marvelous change was at once 

 wrought in the hives that the hard 

 winter had spared. The good queens 

 began to lay rapidly. There was 

 abundance of food for the growing 

 brood, and it came on apace. The 

 long, warm days were musical with 

 the merry humming. Willows, elms, 

 maples, cottonwoods, box elders, ap- 

 ples, and the small fruits, especially 

 the raspberries, — all yielded honey or 

 pollen, or both. 



With such favorable weather, and 

 such a good supply of food, the few 

 colonies that were alive when spring 

 opened increased in bees with unusual 

 rapidity. Yet it is doubtful if they 

 were as strong as colonies ought to be 

 when white clover began to open. 

 Their winter depletion could not be so 

 easily overcome. Soon after white 

 clover opened we began to have rains, 

 which washed out the honey from the 

 flowers, and prevented the bees from 

 flying. In some sections rains were 

 so prevalent during Linn bloom that 

 but little was obtained from that 

 source, which usually gives such an 

 abundant yield. 



But the white clover has been quite 

 abundant, and the rains somewhat 

 prolonged the season, so that in spite 

 of some weakness in the hives and the 

 drawback of the heavy rains, a very 

 fair harvest has been secured. We 

 have hives that have given 80 pounds 

 of surplus honey, in addition to fur- 

 nishing the bees for making two 

 swarms. But not all our bees have 

 done so well. Moreover, our bees 

 have had but little comb to build, for 

 at the opening of the surplus honey 

 season, we put on the second stories, 

 tilled either with frames of nice old 

 comb, or with foundation. This gave 

 the bees a great advantage. The time 

 and honey they would otherwise have 

 devoted to comb building they were 

 able to give to nursing the growing 

 brood and gathering honey. 



On the whole, the honey crop thus 

 far has been fair in the vicinity of 

 Iowa City. We see reports which in- 

 dicate a fair yield generally. In some 

 sections the yield has been rather 

 above the average. As the rains have 

 been so abundant we may expect a lux- 

 uriant fall bloom, and a pretty good 

 yield of honey from it. Should these 

 expectations be realized, the present 

 season, since the middle of April, will 

 have been one of prosperity for the 

 bee-keeper who was so fortunate as to 

 bring his bees through the terrible 

 winter. — Iowa City Stock Journal. 



"The best method of obtaining 

 comb honey" has been sent me, with 

 a request that I use it as a text upon 

 which to write an article for the Bee 

 Journal. 



The tirst and greatest necessity, is 

 plenty of bees. While a few bees can 

 be made to work in the honey recepta- 

 cles to some extent if rightly managed , 

 still success, as a rule, is rarely at- 

 tained unless the hive is well crowded 

 with bees. 



Plenty of bees are of no advantage 

 unless we have them at the right time ; 

 for if they are only obtained at the end 

 of the honey harvest, they become 

 consumers instead of producers, there- 

 by thwarting the object we have in 

 view. If the harvest is white clover, 

 we must build the bees up strong, 

 early ; if basswood, a little more time 

 can be taken ; if buckwheat and fall 

 flowers, the bees will usually become 

 strong enough, if allowed to take their 

 own course. As white clover is the 

 main honey crop with the majority, 

 the bees should be stimulated during 

 the month of May by feeding, spread- 

 ingthe brood, etc., so as to early obtain 

 all the bees possible. 



The next thing is to know just when 

 to put on the boxes, or surplus arrange- 

 ment. This is something quite diffi- 

 cult to decide, for if put on too early, 

 brood-rearing is retarded, and if put 

 on too late, much loss of honey will be 

 the result. I have found it the best 

 plan to wait about putting on boxes 

 until I see little bits of comb being 

 built at the ends of the frames and 

 next the honey-board, with honey be- 

 ing put in them. When this is observ- 

 able, you may know that honey is to 

 be had, and that more room is needed. 

 Do not wait until your bees swarm be- 

 fore putting on boxes, for bees often 

 refuse to swarm, and hang idle on the 

 hive all summer. Swarming is re- 

 tarded very little, if any, by putting 

 on boxes, and if a start is made in 

 them before swarming, they are en- 

 tered much quicker when the hive 

 gets populous again, from the hatch- 

 ing of the brood. 



Another important item, is not to 

 put on too much surplus room at first. 

 Put on a capacity of from 10 to 20 lbs., 

 according to strength of colony, and 

 when the bees are well at work in this. 

 add more by spreading apart those 

 they are at work in, and putting empty 

 boxes between those partially full, till 

 the full capacity of the hive is reached. 

 From many experiments, I have be- 

 come convinced that surplus room to 

 the amount of 60 pounds is about right 

 for a good strong colony , where worked 

 for box honey, and 120 lbs. where 

 worked for extracted honey, exclusive 

 of the brood frames. 



In putting on boxes I have found it 

 a great help to have a few boxes full 

 of comb, left over from the previous 

 season, to place on at first, as the bees 

 will store honey in these before they 

 will build new comb or draw out comb 

 foundation. 



If you adopt the tiering-up plan , raise 

 up those put on first, when two-thirds 

 full, and put an empty tier under 

 them ; and when they are two-thirds 

 full, raise them again. Do not keep 

 tiering up, however, toward the close 

 of the honey season; but as it draws 

 near, reverse the operation, so as to 

 have the bees finish as many as possi- 

 ble of those they have started in. 



This tiering-up process is preferred 

 by many of our best apiarists ; but I 

 prefer the side and top-storing plan 

 combined, and fully believe that better 

 results can be obtained by its adop 

 tion. In this case put on boxes as be 

 fore till the top of the hive is covered 

 and when more room is needed, put 

 on those at the sides. For this plan, 

 cases and separators for holding the 

 section boxes are a necessity. These 

 should hold the number of boxes most 

 convenient for the hive in use. I use 

 a case holding two prize boxes. As 

 soon as those first put ou are capped 



over, they are taken off, and those 

 partly filled at the sides are raised to 

 the top, in place of those taken off, 

 and trie empty boxes placed at the 

 sides every time. In doing this, I 

 generally handle them by the cases 

 instead of by the separate box. Keep 

 on taking from the top, and placing 

 empty boxes with starters at the sides, 

 till the season draws to a close. Now, 

 instead of placing more boxes at the 

 sides, close up the sides with your fol- 

 lower, as you raise the partly-filled 

 boxes, till the bees are shut out of the 

 side boxes entirely. By this means 

 you throw the full force of the bees on 

 the few remaining boxes, which are 

 partly filled, so most of them are fin- 

 ished up at the end of the season. I 

 take off all finished boxesonce a week, 

 and consider this none too often to take 

 off the honey, for by so doing it is not 

 soiled by the bees traveling over it. 



Thus, I have told you, in short, just 

 how I manage my bees for box honey. 

 One writer thinks that to move sec- 

 tions from the side to the top is too 

 much work, and says that " the opera- 

 tion looks easier on paper than he finds 

 it to be in reality;" and another wri- 

 ter wants me to give an " article whose 

 points are based upon reason, and not 

 upon my perspnal experience." When 

 I write I give things as I find them, 

 and methods as I nse them, and not 

 high-sounding theory, to tickle the 

 ears. If any do not see fit to work as 

 I do, let them work as they choose— 

 this is a free country. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Another Letter from Frank Benton. 



FRANK BENTON. 



By the courtesy of Mr. D. A. Jones, 

 of Beeton, Ontario, we are able to 

 present to our readers another interest- 

 ing letter from Mr. Frank Benton : 



Friend Jones : They have me be- 

 hind bars and locks, with plenty of 

 guards about ! I am not alone in my 

 misery for, among the 30 other pas- 

 sengers, is Mrs. Fluhart, who came on 

 the same Austrian Lloyd steamer, 

 having been on a journey to Palestine. 

 What are we charged with V Why, we 

 touched the Syrian coast, and quaran- 

 tine has been established here, since a 

 few cases of the terrible disease known 

 as the " black plague " have been re- 

 ported from Mesopotamia (Bagdad) a 

 thousand miles from Beyrout, or fully 

 40 days journey from any port of the 

 Syrian coast. We have but 3 days to 

 stay, and get along very well since 

 food is daily brought us from our 

 friends outside. After not having 

 seen my wife for over 5 months, I am 

 now permitted to speak to her through 

 a small window, sne remaining at a 

 distance, and I have not shaken hands 

 with her yet. We have had visits 

 from the ladies of the American 

 school, and many of the pupils, also, 

 but they are "distant calls." 



I brought with me, from Syria, a 

 lot of bees, from Mt. Lebanon, and 

 they are also in quarantine (that is. 

 nights, for I have " stolen a march" 

 upon the officers ; as soon as the hives 

 had been ranged in the shade of a 

 wall, I opened the entrances. To-day 

 one colony swarmed, and the swarm 

 clustered on a tree in the outer in- 

 closure of the quarantine. Everyone 

 outside of our part, not being quaran- 

 tined, left ; but by permission of the 

 physician in charge, I went out and 

 hived them. As things can be passed 

 in for us, I sent home for empty bee 

 hives, and have been transferring ! I 

 have had about 30 spectators inside, 

 and those having come to see friends, 

 by climbing up outside, could look 

 over our walls. 



My letter, mailed at Suez, probably 

 prepares you for the statement that I 

 have now no living specimens of Apis 

 dorsata. In that letter I explained 

 that my severe illness (malarial fever, 

 or, jungle fever, as they call it in In- 

 dia) just before leaving Ceylon, pre- 

 vented absolutely my caring for and 

 preparing for shipment the bees I had 



obtained, and my weakness while on 

 the steamer, as well as lack of facili- 

 ties, rendered it impossible to remedy 

 the matter. When on the Ked Sea we 

 experienced a very sudden change of 

 temperature, from the hot breezes of 

 the deserts to, what seemed to us, a 

 cold northern blast, and I found my- 

 self again down with the fever. Most 

 of the passengers suffered, and many 

 who were strong and well before be- 

 came suddenly ill, not from seasick- 

 ness, however, for the sea was not 

 rough. 



At Suez I was too weak to go on 

 shore, so as to come by rail to Alex- 

 andria, and avoid, thereby, any quar- 

 antine here, hence I went on to Port 

 Said, but could get no steamer for 

 Alexandria for some days, although I 

 could get one for Beyrout the same 

 day. Ichose the latter route, since I 

 thought I might have to wait several 

 days in Alexandria also, if I did not 

 connect with the English steamer from 

 there ; then, too, I supposed I would 

 be sure of an English steamer each 

 week from Beyrout to Larnaca, but 

 upon my arrival in Beyrout I found, 

 to my surprise, that this line had dis- 

 continued for the present sending any 

 steamers from Beyrout to Cyprus, and 

 I must wait some time for the Aus- 

 trian Lloyd for Larnaca. 



As soon as I gained a little strength 

 in the bracing air coming down from 

 Mount Lebanon, with its snow- 

 crowned peaks. I went out in search 

 of bees. Some of the colonies I bought 

 were obtained of a man you bought 

 from last year. These I brought in a 

 boat to Beyrout, thinking they would 

 arrive in better condition, but it was 

 very trying to see those stupid men 

 (Arabs and Turks) persist, after re- 

 peated caution and when I carried a 

 jug of them myself to show them how, 

 in turning them all ways but the right 

 one. After many delays, much talk, 

 and no small number of lies on the 

 part of the officials at the custom- 

 house, as well as some backsheesh, I 

 got the colonies on the steamer, and 

 now they are here, and, strange to say, 

 a few escaped with whole combs. 



If anyone thinks that it is an easy 

 matter to buy up, prepare, and trans- 

 port bees from these lands to our far 

 western home, he would need but one. 

 such trip as my last to convince him 

 to the contrary. 



As to the great East Indian bees 

 {Apis dorsaUi) I can say they were 

 alive when I reached Beyrout, but 

 seemed to have withstood a trying 

 journey, so that, when I let them out, 

 they dwindled. I could not prevent 

 it, and at last there were no more left. 

 It would have been interesting to have 

 experimented with these bees, but I 

 doubt greatly their excelling, if they 

 equaled, Apis mellifica. I have still 

 some bees of the species Apis flprea, 

 and at least one queen is alive. These 

 are very small bees, and not of much 

 value. One thing very much sur- 

 prised me, namely, the wonderful te- 

 nacity of life the 2 races just men- 

 tioned have shown. Under the same 

 conditions Apis melifica would, I be- 

 lieve, scarcely have reached alive % 

 of this long journey of 6,000 miles 

 from Ceylon. 



LATER— OUT OF QUARANTINE. 



We are busy getting things fixed up; 

 keeping house in the old mansion, but 

 could only get the promise of it for 

 one month, since the owner thinks 

 some of coming to Larnaca to live. 

 You know it is owned in Nicosia. 



I found the bees in fine order, with 

 some increase. My dear wife has 

 done wonderfully well with them ; she 

 has hived all the swarms, etc., given 

 them empty combs, and has smoked 

 the surplus combs with sulphur, so 

 they are in good order, and I will soon 

 have them covered with bees. 



Those "pesky" Greeks said : "That 

 American has now gone, and we hope 

 steps will be taken to prevent his re- 

 turning to our Island and sending 

 away the few bees left in Cyprus." 

 But there is no fear, for our work here 

 has interested those who, by reason 

 of their positions, could counteract 

 any petitions sent to the Government. 

 Frank Benton. 



