1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



67 



as long as possible to be employed thereby. It is becoming 

 the custom of the age to shun constant industry, so that when 

 labor must be performed it is done hastily. When, on the 

 other hand, to be moderately engaged the year around, it trans- 

 forms into habit and enjoyment, which causes no more dis- 

 pleasure than an every-day coat. The commonest excuse is 

 that they do not believe in "falling in love" with animals and 

 things that way. A little consideration often reveals that they 

 possess a deeper love for the "almighty dollar," or something 

 else of corresponding level. 



After all, the constantly employed way is, in reality, the 

 surest way to obtain the mighty dollar, and for more than 

 one reason; the principal one of which may be mentioned as 

 creating an inexpensive and pro6table enjoyment at home 

 which dispels the desire for outside and expensive ones. A 

 division of employment means division and reduction of en- 

 thusiasm, and with the loss of ei.thusiasm goes the enjoyment, 

 although by the transaction hard dollars may crop out here 

 and there, but of the kind which are very liable to be recl<- 

 lessly traded off for some enjoyment, to the exorbitant profit 

 of some one else. Florence, Calif. 



■ % 



Wintering to Have Strong Colonies in Spring. 



BV THOMAS THURLOW. 



My 8 colonies of bees gave me the usual average of extracted 

 honey last summer, 40 pounds per colony, but as two of them 

 gave scarcely any, the average for the 6 was about 59 pounds, 

 which is about what I get from strong colonies every year; and 

 just there is where many failures comes in, to get all colonies 

 strong when the white clover blooms. They start into winter 

 strong enough, but so many bees succumb during the winter 

 that it takes too long to build up in the spring. I lay it to the 

 shallow Langstroth frame. 



I have made bees a hobby, have read the American Bee 

 Journal for years, and in all the controversies about hives and 

 frames it is the decided opinion of experienced beekeepers that 

 hives with a small horizontal diameter, but high, are the best 

 for strong, early swarms, which means the best for surplus if 

 there is any to be gotten. 



One man has carried it to the extreme, wintering his bees 

 in box-hives, hiving his strong, early swarms in the shallow 

 Langstroth hives, getting his crop from them, and dumping 

 them back into the box-hives for winter. Not such a bad plan 

 when you count the wax in the shallow hive at 35 cents per 

 pound, but the two sets of hives doing one set's work seems 

 like going a good ways around when there is a short cut to the 

 same end. 



In my opinion, a 10-frame Langstroth is about the poorest 

 shape that could be invented for wintering, and quick breeding 

 in the spring; there is too much cold air space around the 

 cluster, and the honey is spread over too great a surface. That 

 a shallow frame is the easiest to handle, and the best for comb 

 honey (if you have the bees), is a settled question; but my 

 experience has been that with the best of care I cannot get 

 more than two out of three in good condition, and very few 

 booming-full of field-bees when the white clover commences to 

 bloom, about May. So I have been for several years working 

 to make the Langstroth hive a deep hive in winter. 



First, I tried up-ending the whole hive after the Davis No. 

 7, of Vermont, and packing around with cork; but the Davis 

 was built for that, and the Langstroth was not, and it was a 

 dead failure. 



Then I tried putting five frames over five frames, using two 

 bodies, with division-boards and cork packings at the sides. 

 It did not do, — too much cold air space at the ends; the bees 

 were all at the top before Christmas, and I wanted them at the 

 bottom. Last fall I tried again. I made inside cases out of 

 thin stuff, 20 inches high, and large enough inside to hold 6 

 Langstroth frames standing on end and resting in V's cut in 

 the edge of two thin strips, wide enough to keep the frames 

 an inch or more from the bottom-board. An opening an inch 

 high by 9 inches wide is cut out of the bottom of one side for 

 an entrance. Small wire nails driven in on the inside opposite 

 each frame near the top and bottom and standing out K inch, 

 with a space on the top ends, keep the frames in position. 

 This I set in the centre of a bottom-board with a 9-inch piece 

 cut out of the centre of one side of the strips the body sets on, 

 for an entrance. Then set on two bodies and a 6-inch rim; 

 put in a 9-inch wide bridge between the inside and case and 

 the body at the entrance, and filled in all around with cork. I 

 put in 6 frames of bees and drove the rest in at the entrance, 

 and fed with fall honey until the frames were capped over as 

 far down as I could see. I put a cork filled cushion over on 

 top, then the cover, and the job was done. 



I have fixed 5 hives this way, and have 5 in the old way, 

 with a cork cushion in an empty body over the frames. The 

 difference so far observable is, that with the old plan the bees 

 are up to the top of the frames with a cold-air space all around 

 them ; while in the new-plan hives, by throwing a strong light 

 down between the frames the bees can be seen, and they fill 

 the whole body of the inside case about % the way from the 

 bottom up (no cold air around them), and by the same plan 

 they can be seen hanging to the frames below. Also, what is 

 best and right, there is 25 pounds of honey in those 6 frames 

 right over them — always warm and dry, until they use it up — 

 and are booming-full of brood and bees in the spring. Then I 

 shall put them back to their old position and fill up with comb. 



Although it has taken a good many words to describe this 

 inside case, it is really very simple and cheap. Five cents will 

 pay for all the lumber in one, and the weight is nothing com- 

 pared with the outside case, and they take very little room to 

 store away in the summer. Lancaster, Pa. 



A Visit to Florida and Her Bee-Keepers. 



BY WM. A. SELSEB. 



After leaving Philadelphia, Nov. 24, on a two months' 

 trip through the State of Florida, to examine into the bee, 

 honey, and fruit business generally, my first stop was at Jack- 

 sonville, which is an old city on the St. Johns river, and is the 

 seat of commerce of the State. At this point a large quantity 

 of oranges are received from different parts of the State and 

 reshipped by ocean steamers to Northern cities. After visit- 

 ing some wholesale grocers who deal in honey, the writer pro- 

 ceeded to Palatka, a very important shipping point on the St. 

 Johns river. 



The visitor interested in agriculture will be surprised to 

 learn, in traveling through the State, that general farming is 

 not carried on at all, the soil generally being of a deep white 

 sand, and fertilizing has to be resorted to in order to raise any 

 crops at all. Oranges and vegetables are the principal things 

 grown. Hogs are allowed to run at large generally, as well as 

 cattle, but they do not thrive very well, and are of a very in- 

 ferior quality and growth. The visitor is also impressed with 

 the wild appearance of the country, and on looking out the 

 car window tall evergreen pine trees and palmetto scrub meet 

 the eye on every side. The saw palmetto, which seems to 

 grow wild and thrive everywhere, grows to the heighth of 2 

 to 6 feet. My opinion, since traversing this State, and also 

 nearly every State in the Union, is that there are less human 

 beings living to the square mile of territory in Florida than 

 any other State. 



Across the river from Palatka are the first large orange 

 groves of any extent. An orage tree matures very slowly, it 

 being from seven to ten years before much of a crop is harv- 

 ested, and it hardly arrives at its full bearing before 15 to 20 

 years, when, sometimes, 20 boxes of fruit are taken from a 

 single tree. Orange trees, unlike other trees, live a long time, 

 and will bear abundantly for 100 years, with proper care and 

 attention. In fact, the oldest inhabitants cannot tell, as trees 

 have been bearing as long as they can trace back. The value 

 of an orange tree cannot be told by looking at the grove. No 

 one acquainted with orange culture will buy a grove without 

 seeing the record of what they have produced in past years. 

 All growers of any note keep a record of just how many boxes 

 their orchards produce. 



Another important fact is, that a grove in growing may 

 have good attention, but if neglected before it has attained its 

 maturity, and left to grow wild a few years, no matter how 

 much attention it may have afterwards, it can never be brought 

 up to what it should be. A disease known as the "foot rot," 

 which kills the trees, and an insect which pun-itures the skin 

 of the fruit, producing what they call " russet fruit," are the 

 greatest drawbacks to orange culture, with an occasional 

 frost in some sections — which, if heavy enough, destroys the 

 whole tree. 



San Mateo, a few miles below Palatka, on the St. Johns 

 river, is where the first bee-man is located. It was Mr. A. F. 

 Brown, who is one of the very few bee-men who carry on 

 migratory apiculture. He has about 150 colonies of bees 

 situated on the banks of the river. He came here in October, 

 and by Dec. 20 he expected his bees to commence to gather 

 honey from the swamp maple, which blooms until early in 

 February, is not gathered for market, but used to get the bees 

 in good condition for the orange-blossom flow, which com- 

 mences early in February, and lasts sometimes until in April, 

 according to the season. Some years the orange yields more 

 nectar than others, but, without question, if this honey could 



