1877.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



ill 



THE APIARY. 



How to Begin Bee Keeping. 

 Every ))er(on who has a home, he It ever so home- 

 ly, shoiild keep heee. The time wasted by almost 

 every one could he spent profltahly, In keeping a few 

 itoekd. It would not only afford recreation and 

 pleasure, but would replenish the purse also. There 

 is no pursuit I know of that will pay so large a jier 

 cent, on the investment. Bees frive delicious honey 

 to their owner and thus make his home pleasant. 

 They work for nothing and board thcmrclvee. A 

 few stocks well managed will pay. In almost any lo- 

 cality, 100 per cent. 



To begin bee keeping for profit it is necessary to 

 b4gin right. To begin right is to procure a few 

 flwarms, and adopt some good movable frame hive, 

 the frames not over ten or twelve inches in depth. 

 Choose any of the standard hives in use, and stick 

 to them; don't be made to believe that changing 

 hives is the only road to success — It has been the 

 cause of many a beginner gotting discouraged and 

 • glTing up the pursuit in disgust. I tell you begin- 

 ners, it does not make much difference what kind of 

 hive you use, so it is movable frame. Begin cau- 

 tiously, and you will learn as you advance. If you 

 have any fondness at all for the [nirsult. It will in- 

 crease as you proceed, and you will become "fonder 

 still." You will find that the lime spent with them 

 and you may keep strict account of every hour) will 

 be the most pleasant, instructive and profitable you 

 have ever spent in any rural pursuit. Don't be de- 

 ceived by patent right venders of moth traps. Many 

 of them have no practical knowledge of bee-keeping 

 at all, and could not tell you whether a drone is a 

 male or female, and that their traps would exclude 

 a gnat, and yet admit a bee, that is twenty times 

 larger. Strong stocks are the best moth traps, don't 

 fear the moth — a good strong swarm of bees with a 

 good prolific queen never has, nor ever will be de- 

 stroyed by moth. I fear the moth no more than I 

 do the common house fly; never lost a single stock 

 by them since I have used the frame hive, of either 

 Italians, hybrids, or blacks, but in my locality the 

 Italians are superior in every respects. 



Any one desiring to begin bee-keeping should get 

 both Italians and blacks; try them side by side, give 

 the same attention to both, then if you find the Ital- 

 ian superior, or vice perfa, common sense will teach 

 you which you should keep. In fact common sense 

 Is the great lever that moves tons of honey Into our 

 markets, and thousands of dollars into common 

 sense men's pockets. Beginners should not expend 

 much in making bee-houses, fanciful hives, etc. 

 Frequently such expenditures overrun the profits, 

 and the beginner thinks bees won't pay, gives it up 

 and ventures on something else, with enthusiasm 

 cries Eureka, bends every energy to it, and finds by 

 experience it is worse than bee-iieeping, retires from 

 it to try something else, and never finds It. "A 

 rolling stone gathers no moss;" fortunes are seldom 

 made by many changes in one's business. Neglect 

 your business (whatever it may be) and you will 

 come to grief; stick to it, and nine out of ten will 

 succeed . 



1 would advise every person to keep bees. 1 love 

 them so much, I think everybody ought to love them 

 too. Now you faint hearted who fear you will be 

 laughed at, called enthusiasts, or anything else, I tell 

 you get beex; pay no attention to what people say; 

 mind your own business, and, my word for It, you 

 will make these same fellows feel that you were not 

 §0 foolish as they supposed; when by close application 

 and study you have conquered all diflicultics and 

 derive from your fifty or sixty stocks an annual profit 

 of four or five hundred dollars. Much depends upon 

 the locality for large profits, some being much better 

 than others. In concluding this article, I would say 

 again to all who have any interest in bees, keep them 

 and whether you make enormous profits or not, what 

 you do realize will be the easiest money you have ever 

 made. It will be clear profit, for the time spent on 

 them would otherwise be lost on something probably 

 worse than nothing.— Cor. Bee Keepers' Magazine. 



Italian and Native Bees. 

 I sec there still is some trouble in the camp with 

 regard to keeping bees through the winter. One 

 corresjwndent writes plaintively to an agricultural 

 journal that he lost his entire stock, and they had 

 plenty of boi-honey. Nothing uncommon ; I have 

 no doubt if he had twice the number he would have 

 lost them all. The apiarist can commit no greater 

 error than allowing large quantities of surplus honey 

 to remain in the hive. Bees, like the human species, 

 have a natural instinct to protect their stores, and, 

 when they have vast possessions, will throw out 

 guards, pickets and scouts for protection, and If sud- 

 denly overtaken by a cold snap thousands of them 

 will perish in a single night. Again, if the months 

 of Octotier and November are mild, the honey In the 

 surplus boxes will be removed to the centre of the 

 hive, where every available comb and cell is filled to 

 Its utmost capacity. If this, as was the case last 

 winter, is followed by extreme cold weather, these 

 combi will very nearly reach a zero temperature, 

 and with only the narrow intervening passages be- 



tween them which prevent their clustering closely ; 

 hence hundreds of colonics have been frozen in I Ills 

 way, " surrounded by plenty (too much) of honey," 

 The bee, unlike ttie wasp or many other insects, once 

 dead or stiff from cold, is <icad forever. 



There, also, are still those in the field who claim 

 that the Italian beo is superior to all natives ; that 

 they will winter better, are more gentle, licfcnd 

 themselves against the moth, and gather more honey 

 than the blacks, but I generally and Invariably llnil 

 that thi.s "superior" song conies from persons only 

 who have Ihem for sale. The experience of myself 

 and neighbors, who represent one hundred colonics, 

 is that we have less honey from the Italians— and 

 we have them as jmre as ever winked at by an Italian 

 sun — than wc had from the same number of natives. 

 I never had more than thirty pounds of box honey 

 from Italians, while the blacks have given me forty. 

 Hut the hybrle— that is a mixture, half-breed, of 

 Italians and blacks — have quite frequently yielded 

 double this amount of surplus honey in one season. 

 Will some one rise and explain ? — J. M., Slackwatcr, 

 ,June 5, 1877. — Kxamincr and Express. 



.^ 



Beeswax. 

 The uses for wax are numerous and important. 

 Its property of preserving tissues and preventing 

 mold or mildew was well-known to the ancients, 

 who used cerecloth for embalming, and wax for en- 

 caustic painting, as in the wall pictures of Pompeii. 

 Wax candles and tapers play an important part in 

 the processions and ceremonies of the liomau Catho- 

 lic Church. Wax Is used by the manufacturers of 

 glazed, ornamental and wall papers, and on paper 

 collars and culls for polishing the surfaces. It is 

 used in varnishes and paints and for the "stuffing" 

 of wood which is to be polished, as for pianos, coach 

 work, fine furniture, and parquettc floors. Electro- 

 typers and plasterers u.^^e wax in forming their 

 moulds. Wax is an important ingredient In prepa- 

 rations for covering surfaces of polished iron and 

 steel to prevent rust. Combined with tallow it 

 forms the coating for canvass and cordage to prevent 

 mildew, as in sails, awnings, etc. Artificial flowers 

 consume much wax, and despite the introduction of 

 paraftine, ceresin, and mineral wax, its use api)ears 

 to be extending. One of the oldest of its applications 

 is in the laundry, and in polishing wood-work. The 

 product of wax In the United States Is stated to be 

 '2(1,000,000 pounds annually, and increasing— worth 

 in money at least ?fi,000,000. Of this about 8700, 

 000 worth are exported, and about 81,200,000 worth 

 of honey also goes abroad. The total' product of 

 honey and wax is worth at present In the United 

 States nearly $1.5,000,000. The ingenious production 

 of artificial combs, in a machine recently constructed 

 that turns out combs with cells rivaling, if not ex- 

 celling, the natural product is an Important Ameri- 

 can improvement in apiarian culture, which will add 

 largely to the economy of th.at Industry, yet in Its 

 infancy. As the bee is said to consume three-fourths 

 of Its time in producing comb at the very time when 

 the honey harvest is at its best, it is evident that the 

 invention of artificial combs must be a great econ- 

 omy in collection and storing of honey ; but It is not 

 so clear how the stock Is kept up unless man deceives 

 the bee by using "mineral wax" in the formation of 

 the artificial comb ; and this wax is not true wa.\, 

 but a natural paraftine. — American Grocer. 



Extracted Honey. 



At all of our principal city grocery stores honey in 

 glass jars and tin cans is sold at much less price than 

 it can be purchased for in the comb. To many this 

 is a mystery. . The general supposition is that the 

 article is not pure. Such, however, is not the case. 

 The quality is quite equal to that which is sold undis- 

 turbed in the combs. The comb, which is a fatty, 

 solid substance produced by bees, is first excreted 

 from a row of pouches along their sides in the form 

 of scales. This being masticated and mixed with 

 saliva becomes whitened and tenacious and the sub- 

 stance is employed In the construclian of their cells, 

 the repositories for their honey and eggs. The bees 

 consume about three-fourths of their time construct- 

 ing their comb, whilst gathering the honey only re- 

 quires one-fourth. 



In this age of progress aparians take a sharp knife 

 and skim off the tops of the cells, and, with the ex- 

 tracting machine, throw the honey from the comb by 

 centrifugal force. The comb Is then put back into the 

 hive, the operation being repeated frequently during 

 the season. This enables the bees to gather three 

 times the quantity of honey by relieving them of the 

 necessity of liuilding their combs, hence the reason 

 why there is always more extracted or "strained" 

 honey on the market and Its consequent cheapness. 

 The honey thus extracted can be eaten without fear 

 or sickness. It is eating the comb which often pro- 

 duces attacks of indlgestlon.-Wo-muK^oi"?! Telegraph. 

 ^ 



The product of wax In the United States is stated 

 to 1)6 20,000,000 pounds annually, and increasing 

 — worth in money at least Stj, 000,000. Of this about 

 $700,000 worth are exported, and about $1,200,000 

 worth of honey also goes abroad . The total product 

 of honey and wax Is worth at present in the United 

 States nearly $15,000,000. 



THE POULTRY YARD. 



Effects of Cold Storms on Poultry. 



Each season of the year l)rings lis special work and 

 care, demanding the attention of the keepers of poul- 

 try. Excejjtlng the bleak autumn storms, no perioil 

 of the year is so trying to the constitution of fowls as 

 cold, spring rain storms. Thegermsof disease, how- 

 ever, are sometiniep conlractcil durln;: confinement in 

 winter, and the sudden change of weather, experi- 

 enced during a cold rain, will dcveloji the malady, 

 which is likely to become contagious. Fowls that 

 have lieen highly fed and kept warm to induce lay- 

 ing, will, like a forced plant, be too tender to stand 

 neglect during the early dienchlng rains that pene- 

 trate to their very skins. 



The danger need not tie feared, however, by those 

 who will take a little extra careof their stock during 

 such weather. As soon as the earth softens under 

 the first mild breath of spring, fowls are all awake 

 to the prospect of getting worms and other insects 

 from the ground. They will then be off, prowling 

 about before it Is light enough to see their prey, but 

 as they evidently know that the early bird catches 

 the worm, they are on the ground betimes. Perhaps 

 the next day there is a severe change in the weather, 

 with sleet or rain, and you will see the birds hunting 

 about. In hopes of finding insects, till they get soak- 

 ing wet through their feathers, and If not well cared 

 for, this often jiroves fatal. 



Most fanciers have noticed that a cold storm fre- 

 c(nently stops hens from laying for a week. Now, 

 this delay and risk of sickness may often be prevent- 

 ed by giving them a liberal mess of soft, warm food, 

 with a little cayenne pepper in it. To this should be 

 added a generous amount of animal food, either 

 .scraps or haslets, to take the. place of the supply of 

 worms, which is stopped when the fowls cannot get 

 out. With this little extra care, hens will often keep 

 on laying, retain perfect health, and be profitable to 

 their keepers. — Henry Hales, in Jiural yew Yorker. 



Vermin on Poultry. 



Jolin E. 'Roberts, In the Southern PoultryJouriutl 

 says : 



".Many fanciers use the carbolic (or carbolated) 

 liowder in order to rid their fowls of lice and mltee. 

 It is considered the very best of remedies. My plan 

 is one which, I think, is used by no other breeder ; 

 has never failed me in completely ridding my fowls 

 of every insect, and has demonstrated to me its in- 

 fallibility. It is simply the use of oil of sassafras 

 mixed with sweet oil. To one ounce of oil of sassa- 

 fras put five or six of sweet oil, and ap[ily a small 

 quantity to difl'crent parts of the body of the fowl, 

 selecting those points where the vermin would be 

 most apt to hide. 



"In applying the preparation I fill with it a small 

 oil-can, so that I can force out as much or as little of 

 the oil as I wish. A very small bit can be made to 

 go a great ways, for one drop can be rulibed over two 

 or three luches of space, and is no more trouble to 

 apply than the various Insect powders. I use sweet 

 oil because of its curative powers, but any kind of 

 grease, no matter what, will do to mix with the oil 

 of sassafras. The oil of sassafras is the eradicator, 

 the other oil merely the vehicle. I believe common 

 sassafras tea would be wonilerl'ullycllicacious. 



"Make it in a large pot, then alter allowing it to 

 cool, dip the fowls in bodily. In one second the lice will 

 he dead, and in ten seconds the fowl will be perfectly 

 dry, if placed In the sunshine. It is hard to form an 

 idea of the magical cflbrt produced liy the oil of sas- 

 safras. I have never tried the remedy in greater at- 

 tention than that mentioned, (one to five or six), but 

 believe that it would be eciually good if composed of 

 one ounce of oil of sassafras to ten or twelve of any 

 other oil or grease." 



Purification of Hen Houses. 



Advice like the followincr, which wc find in the 

 Lii'c Stock Jonrnal, is always in order : 



As the season advances, poultry keepers should not 

 neglect the purification of the fowl houses. Proper 

 sanitary measures must be taken, or health and suc- 

 cessful poultry raising cannot be expected, nor Is it 

 deserved. Lime is an excellent purifier, and, when 

 carbolic acid is added to the whitewash, will ell'ectu- 

 ally kcej) away vermin from the walls. After every 

 cleaning of the floor it should be sprinkled with car- 

 bolic acid ; dilution, twenty of water to one of acid. 

 This is one of the best disinfectants and antiseptics 

 known, and is not used as much as it deserves. The 

 roosts should be s|)rlnkU'd with it every week. This 

 whitewashing should be done twice at least, better 

 three times a year. Th« nests of setting hens should 

 besprinkled with carbolic acid to keep off vermin; 

 and the coops, also, where young brood are kept for 

 a time, should be purified in this way. If a hen gets 

 lousy, the dilute acid will destroy the lice, if put 

 under the wintrs, and on the head and neck. Wood 

 ashes arc excellent to be kept in fowl houses for hens 

 to dust themselves with. They are much more 

 effectual than sand ; but sand should be kept for a 

 bath. Without proper attention to these matters, 

 poultry keepers cannot expect to succeed. 



