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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Migratory Bee-Keeping. 



Since the disastrous failure of 

 migratory bee-keeping, as tried by 

 Mr. Perrine in 1S76, by conveying 

 them on steam barges on the Missis- 

 sippi River, to follow the bloom, we 

 have heard but little about it. 



That such things do pay when 

 properly managed, is demonstrated 

 every year in Scotland, where bees 

 are taken to the highlands where a 

 perfect " sea " of bloom is provided 

 by the heather ; and in Egypt, the 

 bees are taken up the Nile to gather 

 the sweet nectar from the bloom, in 

 its successive development. Messrs. 

 Dadant & Son often move their bees 

 to the "bottom lauds" of the Mis- 

 sissippi River with complete success, 

 and a remunerative yield of honey. 



Mr. Baldridge, in connection witli 

 Mr. Flanagan, has inaugurated a 

 similar experiment, and from an ex- 

 change we quote the following : 



Last November they took to the 

 neighborhood of New Orleans some 

 300 colonies of bees for wmtermg. 

 Tlie plan was to keep them there to 

 work in early -spring, say to about the 

 second week of June, then ship them 

 north to Kane Co., 111., to feed upon 

 white clover and other superior 

 lioney-producing plants, until the 

 first of August; then move them 

 down to St. Clair county to gather 

 honey from heart's-ease, Spanish- 

 needle, etc., until cold weatlier closes 

 honey-gathering. It is expected to 

 secure three distinct honey seasons, 

 and if desired, three periods of natural 

 increase. Besides the advantage of 

 an early honey crop, it is calculated 

 that inthe mild climate of Louisiana 

 there will be little if any loss in win- 

 tering. „ , . 



The first part of this programme 

 has been carried out, and the 300 col- 

 onies, filling two cars, have arrived m 

 St. Charles, their summer home. Mr. 

 Baldridge informs us that the bees 

 wintered without loss, but that the 

 extreme wet weather along the lower 

 Mississippi greatlv interfered with 

 plant bloom, and that the honey crop 

 was exceedingly light— indeed less 

 than for many years, so he does not 

 consider the profit settled for the first 

 third of the season. The test tor the 

 second third will now be entered upon 

 in Kane county. 



The freight on bees m quantity, 

 from New Orleans to Chicago, is about 

 one dollar per hive, to which expense 

 must be added the time and services 

 of the attendants. To take them 

 back, stopping at St. Clair county, 

 will add something to the cost of 

 freight and handling. Apiarists will 

 watch the progress of this new bee- 

 enterprise with interest. 



®- TheKentuckyBee-Keepers'Con- 

 vention meets in Louisville, Ky., dur- 

 ing the opening of the Exposition (day 

 not fixed). N. P. Allen, «ec. 



Another Bee-Paper Gone. 



The New England Apiarian has 

 ceased to exist. The June number 

 contains the following announcement : 



My expectations have not been re- 

 alized, and I find that I have lost con- 

 siderable money during the past year, 

 with a prospect of losing a great deal 

 more this year. I think none of my 

 subscribers or patrons desire me to 

 run this at a loss, and certainly I do 

 not feel like continuing to publish it 

 unless it receives proper patronage. 

 I propose to discontinue its publica- 

 tion, and want to be honorable and 

 just with every subscriber. Those 

 who have paid in advance I will ar- 

 range with some other bee-paper or 

 magazine to send them copies for the 

 time they have paid. 



Making Honey- Vinegar. 



Mr. W. T. Maddox, of Jflexandria. 

 La., write us as follows : 



In the pamphlet on " Honey as Food 

 and Medicine," I find this receipt for 

 making honey vinegar : 



•'Take 30 gallons of rain-water; heat 

 it, and put it into a barrel ; add two 

 quarts of whisky. 3 pounds of honey, 

 •5 cents worth of citric acid, and a lit- 

 tle mother of vinegar. Fasten up the 

 barrel. and put it into the cellar, and in 

 a short time it will contain vinegar 

 unsurpassed for purity and excellence 



I wish to ask the following questions 

 concerning it : 



1. Is it necessary to heat the water V 

 If so. why '■ 



2. Is it absolutely necessary that 

 ram water alone should be used V Will 

 not clear bayou or river water do as 

 well ? 



3. Having no cellars here, will not a 

 house do to keep it in V Is it a cool or 

 a warm place it needs to be kept in, 

 after making V 



i. AVill it make a No. 1, strong vin- 

 egar, like the old-time apple or cider- 

 vinegar, to warrant one in making it 

 on a large scale V What is its color V 



5. How long after making, before it 

 will be readj' for use? Should the 

 bung be driven tightly, or the hole 

 left open ? 



6. If. bv adhering strictly to the 

 recipe, it is made in warm weather, is 

 there any chance of a failure V 



7. What is the best method of 

 making " mother of vinegar " by the 

 quantity V 



I have always been under the im- 

 pression that "it was necessary to put 

 the barrel in a warm place (in tlie sun 

 even), to make it work freely and 

 quicklv. and that it should be left 

 open. " A reply to the above questions 

 will oblige. 



As Mr. T. F. Bingham has had con- 

 siderable experience in making honey 

 vinegar, we requested him to answer 

 the foregoing questions, and he has 

 sent us the followng : 



Two pounds of honey to two gal- 

 lons of water is not far from my plan. 



and it would change (color, time of 

 making and quality of vinegar) vastly. 

 I am doubtful whether such vinegar 

 would pass in our family. I think, 

 however, that the merchants make 

 vinegar about as above described. 

 But I have never bought vinegar at 

 the stores since we began to make it 

 for our own use. There is no money 

 to be made in producing such vinegar 

 as we make. It is simply good to 

 use. and we always have it in the 

 house. T. F. Bingham. 



Any one who has had experience in 

 making honey vinegar is invited to 

 answer the other queries. 



Beeswax. 



In an Exchange we find the follow- 

 ing, concerning the care of cappings, 

 and obtaining beeswax from them : 



The " cappings " which accumulate 

 in the extraction of honey, and all 

 odds and ends of comb, should be 

 carefully saved, but in warm weather 

 it is well to render them into wax as 

 soon as possible ; otherwise they are 

 liable to become infested with the 

 bee moth's larvae. What is called a 

 "Wax Extractor is a very convenient 

 utensil for rendering wax. It is 

 simply a " basket" of perforated zinc, 

 inside a " steamer " which is set over 

 a kettle of boiling water. The refuse 

 comb is placed in the basket, and the 

 steam rises and melts the wax, which 

 is caught by a false bottom in the 

 steamer, and runs out through a 

 spout in the side. When there is not 

 much wax to render, the cappings of 

 combs can be put into a tin sieve, 

 the sieve covered, and then set over a 

 pan of boiling water. The steam will 

 melt the wax, which will run down 

 and rest upon the water in the pan. 

 The pan and its contents can be set 

 aside until cold, when the wax will be 

 found formed into a cake. Another 

 metliod is to put the combs into a 

 cloth sack, and the latter into a wash- 

 lioiler— the sack being held at the 

 bottom of the boiler by means of a 

 stick, the upper end of which presses 

 against another stick, lying across the 

 top of tlie boiler, and tied to its 

 handles When the wax is melted, 

 the boiler is set aside until the wax is 

 cool enough to be removed. Wax can 

 be cleaned from utensils by using a 

 cloth saturated with kerosene oil. 



1^" Comb, in frames, can be kept 

 over the summer free from the depre- 

 dations of the larvte of the bee-moth 

 if thev are suspended in the light and 

 air. and are 3 or 4 inches apart. 

 Moths love darkness and uncleanli- 

 ness. and deposit their eggs in cracks 

 and crevices about hives, where bees 

 cannot gain access to tliem. Do not 

 permit refuse comb to lie around the 

 apiary or bee-house. I have put frames 

 of comb containing their larv* into a 

 hive of Italian bees, and in half an 

 hour could see the Viees bringing them 

 out. There is no need of any other 

 moth-tiap. for they are always baited 

 and set.— Exchange. 



