THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



23 



is as good as that made from grapes, 

 that one gallon of honey will produce 

 at least two gallons of wine, worth at 

 the very lowest estimate, $1.25 per 

 gallon, it is easily seen that the man- 

 ufacturer can use 10 cent honey and 

 yet make a large percentage on his in- 

 vestment. 



Thus we have endeavored to give 

 some of our reasons for believing that 

 extracted honey, at least, will become 

 a staple article in our markets, so 

 soon a's the supply may be relied upon 

 to answer all the demands whicli will 

 be made upon it, and this rests 

 entirely with the producer. Comb 

 honey will likely continue a luxury, 

 as long as producers treat it as such, 

 by reducing the sensible one-and-a- 

 half and two-pound boxes down to 

 those containing a mere mouthful. 



New York, Jan. 1883. 



ror tlie American Bee Journal. 



Wood Separators for Small Sections. 



J. C. NEWMAN & SON. 



Having read with much interest the 

 proceedings of the Michigan State 

 Convention, and also the article on 

 page 802 of the Bee Jouknal, we will 

 state something of our experience in 

 the use of small packages for comb 

 honey. 



In the season of 1878 we decided to 

 use small sections for honey, the size 

 being, if we remember rightly, 

 3}4x3}ixm, and without separators. 

 The sections were filled complete with 

 foundation and we supposed we were 

 sure of having them all very perfectly 

 filled, but, on taking them from the 

 hives, the very opposite was the case. 

 The worst of all was the difliculty of 

 putting into the crates; but, after 

 much patience, it was completed, and 

 shipped to Thurber & Co., of New 

 York, with very good results. 



It took but one season to decide that 

 it was ^U^e^iy impossible to produce a 

 fancy article of comb honey without 

 the use of separators, eveu with small 

 sections and the use of comb founda- 

 tion. After the above experience we 

 decided to adopt a very different plan, 

 which was as follows : To change the 

 size of package and use them on the 

 same section racks that we used for 

 other sizes ; which would necessitate 

 a size 3x5^x2 to hold exactly one-half 

 pound, and right here we will say that 

 we have put up many hundred crates 

 of Hfty sections, weighing from 24 to 

 26 pounds. 



We use separators of very thin wood, 

 and we are very particular to take the 

 honey from the hives as soon as fin- 

 islied, for the bees will soil the small 

 packages very quickly. 



In the season of 1880 we produced 

 about 6,000 of the half-pound sections 

 of honey, and made a sample shipment 

 to Voigt, Mahood&Co.,of Pittsburgh, 

 with returns at $6.75 per case, and an 

 order for all we had, at the same price, 

 stating that it was the neatest article 

 of the kind that had ever been placed 

 on their market. The past season we 

 made a sample shipment to Crocker & 

 Blake, of Boston, with returns at $7 



per case, and saying it was the finest 

 of anything they had ever had. 



The only objections to Mr. Bing- 

 ham's ■4,i4x4>4 would be the extra ex- 

 pense of foundation, and the combs 

 being so very thin. Would the bees 

 work out tlie wax as well, or would 

 they leave the (so-called) lish bone in 

 the center ? And, also, would not the 

 time occupied by the bees in capping 

 80 large a surface, for so little honey, 

 be a more serious objection y 



After an experience of four years 

 with the half-pound sections, and for 

 the benefit of those who are about to 

 begin their use, we will say that the 

 coming season we shall again change 

 our package, which will be ;U4x4xl% 

 for the following reasons : It would 

 give a better-sized comb for cutting 

 up, and the combs, being thinner, the 

 bees would hll out better around the 

 outside, next to the wood. 



Unless properly adjusted to the hive, 

 and very particular attention is given, 

 the yield per colony, will be very much 

 less than if larger-sized packages were 

 used. If any of the brother bee-keep- 

 ers used half-pound sections before 

 1878, let him report through the 

 columns of your rery valuable Bee 

 Journal. 



Peoria, N. Y., Jan. 1, 1883. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee-Keeping in Nebraska. 



WM. STOLIiEY. 



I started " Apiculture " here. 150 

 miles west of the Big Muddy (Mis- 

 souri River), three years ago, with but 

 two rather weak colonies of black 

 bees, without having at that time the 

 slightest knowledge of them. As was 

 to be expected, under such circum- 

 stances, I blundered in my first sum- 

 mer's management, viz.: increasing 

 from 2 very weak, to 3 still weaker 

 colonies in the fall, but with very lit- 

 tle honey for winter stores. 



Then I got hold of the excellent Bee 

 Journal and found how far I was 

 missing the mark. But, following 

 strictly its teachings, I succeeded in 

 providing, in time, my bees with the 

 required winter stores, by feeding 

 night and day with coffee A sugar 

 syrup; and, in the spring of 1881,1 

 found to my great satisfaction that 

 every colony was alive, although seri- 

 ously afflicted with dysentery ,and two 

 of the old queens dead. So I com- 

 menced the season of 1881 with 6 colo- 

 nies, and, aided by the use of comb 

 foundation, I increased to 14 colonies 

 that season, and obtained 230 pounds 

 of extracted surplus honey. 



Meanwhile, I procured, of Rev. A. 

 Salisbury, 4 tested queens, three of 

 them Italians and one pure Cyprian ; 

 all of them were properly introduced 

 before cold weather set in, in 1881. 

 Only 2 of these queens proved suitable 

 for breeders ; and, in particular, the 

 Cyprian queen outstripped all the rest. 

 She proved to be, not only exceedingly 

 prolific, but her worker bees are also 

 amiable and the best honey gatherers. 

 From these 2 qipeens I have reared 20 

 queens in 1882, of which 17 are Cypri- 



ans and but 3 Italians, allowing no 

 drones to be reared in my little apiary 

 but in the Italian colony; hence, all 

 my Cyprian queens were mated with 

 Italian drones. 



Ttie spring of 1882 found me as the 

 owner of 12 good colonies of bees, viz.; 



1 Cyprian, 1 Italian, and 10 black and 

 hybrids ; since 2 colonies had lost their 

 queens during winter, and I had to 

 unite the queenless ones with other 

 colonies. 



With the aid of 4 additional Italian 

 queens bought, one from G. M. Doo- 

 litle, one from Chas. Dadant & Son, 

 and two from Scovell & Anderson, 

 the aid of 70 lbs. of foundation, and 

 the pasturage of one acre of melilot 

 clover, I increased to 38 strong colo- 

 nies in the fall, and obtained .520 lbs. 

 of extracted, and 80 lbs. of comb 

 honey, in 2-pound sections, which I 

 readily sold at 2.5c. per pound. 



Towards the close of the season I 

 lost my Uoolittle queen, after I had 

 reared 4 queens from her. I also 

 reared 4 queens from the Dadant, and 



2 from theScoville& Anderson queen. 

 I have superseded all my black and 

 hybrid queens, except 3, which proved 

 to be the best of that race of bees, as 

 I desire to winter them once more, 

 and compare results next spring. 



About the middle of October I fin- 

 ished packing my bees (inside the 

 hives) with woolen blankets and chaff, 

 and about the middle of November I 

 moved them back to the rear wall of 

 my bee-house, and packed them in 

 prairie hay, sheltered the entrance 

 with slanting boards, and then coi'ered 

 the whole 2 feet thick with prairie hay. 

 On December 17 my bees had their 

 last flight, and I hope that they will 

 pull through the winter all right. 



Whether bee-keeping can be carried 

 on successfully, in this, the so-called 

 "Desert of America," I consider prac- 

 tically solved. At least, I have got the 

 requisite confidence to persevere, and 

 my little success has already inspired 

 others, who will try their hand at it 

 during the coming season. 



I have partly sold, and partly ordered 

 12 colonies at from $12 to $15 per col- 

 ony, the risk of wintering to rest with 

 the purchaser.and, with the proceeds, I 

 propose to build a honey-house in ad- 

 dition to my bee-house, 80 feet long. 



Our lands are cheap, and melilot, 

 matrimony vines and borage will 

 always do well with us, hence, what 

 should hinder us from becoming suc- 

 cessful apiculturists ¥ I now have 114 

 acre of matrimony vines well estab- 

 lished, which will feed my bees from 

 early spring till frost. Near me, are 

 about 20 acres of melilot [Melilotus Al- 

 ba) which are entirely devoted to bee 

 pasturage and also 1 acre of borage. 



We are preparing another bee-farm 

 on a larger scale, on the Loop River, 

 where 50 acres or more will be sown 

 with melilot, and as many acres with 

 matrimonv vines as can be grown with 

 plants obtainable ; and as soon as 

 ready, we propose to put the bees there, 

 and do not care much about white 

 clover, basswood, etc. 



I predict that " the Desert of Amer- 

 ica," willcountbig, in the near future, 

 as a honey-producing section of this 

 land of plenty, and the American , 



