78 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUEE. 



Feb. 



well enough, perhaps, in its way; but I fancy these 

 plans do not and will not meet the wants of the av- 

 erage bee-keeper. Now let us talje a look at the lay 

 of the land, and see what we can make of it: — 



I take it for granted, that most of us have tools, 

 and a shop of some kind where we can make our 

 hives, and do all the plain work necessary to the bee 

 business. Now, this shop, nine times out of ten, is 

 handy in some out-building — generally in the barn. 

 Yes, and wilh no extra expense — jus' so ! So we 

 have got provided for the shop. Now, the bee and 

 honey house that we were looking for a long time 

 ago not materializing, we got tired of waiting, and 

 so, like a great many others, built a honey-house 

 10x16 feet, for the purpose of storing honey and 

 keeping all the bee-fixtures, such as extractor, sec- 

 tions, quirs, mats, and other things too numerous 

 to mention, placing it among the hives just "where 

 it would do the most good." Yes, I think I hear a 

 good many of you saying, " I did just that thing:" 

 So we have our honey-house. 



And now we come, lastly, to our bee-house, or, 

 rather, hce-lwuses. We would build them for the 

 bees — bee-houses — just large enough for them, and 

 room enough for ws to work in with comfort— small 

 and inexpensive, and yet good — made something- 

 after the plan of Oliver Foster's, in May Gleanings, 

 18S2. We think this plan of a bee-house a step in 

 the right direction, at least for a large portion of 

 bee-keepers, say those having 75 stocks or less. 



In conclusion, let me say, we seem to need three 

 rooms, for we have at least three departments nec- 

 essary, or in the business, whether it be a large or a 

 small apiary. And now the question comes, Shall 

 they all be under one roof, or shall they be separate? 

 I take mine separate. Next. R. H. Mellen. 



Amboy, 111., Jan. 10, 1883. 



Seems to me, friend Mellen, you are still 

 drifting toward the old house apiary, and I 

 confess that I too have a strong leaning to 

 it; but it has somehow always worked a 

 great deal nicer theoretically than practical- 

 ly. I have tried a good many hands at it ; 

 but while I have no trouble in getting them 

 to keep their hives nice and clean outside, 

 it is almost always an untidy, sorry-looking 

 place inside. I am a little afraid many of 

 our nice honey-houses will also get to look- 

 ing untidy after a little, if the good wife 

 doesn't go in as a sort of " silent(y) partner " 

 for the institution. 



^ I ^ 



THE MAMMOTH KUSSIAN SUNFL-OWER. 



ALSO SOMETHING ABOUT SUNFLOWERS IN GENERAL. 



M S sunflowers in many localities yield con- 

 ^^^ siderable honey, we have thought best 

 — -" to give the following, which a friend 

 has sent us, clipped from the Farming 

 World:— 



There are forty varieties of the sunflower. Gen- 

 erally, the plant is not esteemed, but it has many 

 valuable uses. It is cultivated in the south of Eu- 

 rope as a held crop. The Mammoth Russian sun- 

 flower Is the largest, best, and most productive va- 

 riety. I raised heads of it larger around than a half- 

 bushel. They are, on the average, larger than a 

 common water-pail. The seeds are very valuable 

 for stock-feeding. Give horses a pint of seed in 

 oats once a day ; this will keep them fat. The leaves 

 are valuable for cattle. The stems serve for fuel, 

 and contain much potash. Sunflower seeds are the 

 best egg-producing food known. They keep poul- 



try in good condition, and largely increase the pro- 

 duction of eggs. This plant should be grown by ev- 

 ery poultry-breeder in the country, who has oppor- 

 tunity to raise only a few stalks, even for Its prop- 

 erties in glossing the plumage of exhibition birds. 

 For several years the seeds have been used in small 

 quantities by breeders in fancy poultry as food for 

 choice birds. They are mixed with other food, and 

 the peculiar properties of the seed impart a beauti- 

 ful gloss which no other grain gives to the plumage 

 of adult birds. This plant grows very readily, and 

 is a rank grower. It may be planted in any soil 

 where other fruits and vegetables can not be con- 

 veniently raised— alongside of fences or wherever 

 the soil is not easily cultivated. The flowers are 

 double the dimensions of the South American varie- 

 ties, and far exceed the latter as a bearer. A single 

 head contains a larger quantity of seed. In south- 

 western Russia, near the Ulack Sea, the sunflower 

 is universally cultivated in tteld and garden, and ev- 

 ery part is turued to practical account. A hundred 

 pounds of the seed yield forty pounds of oil, and 

 the pressed residue "forms a wholesome food for 

 cattle, as do also the leaves and stalks when green, 

 cut up when small, all being eagerly eaten. The 

 fresh flowers when in bloom contain a large quanti- 

 tj' of honej', and so prove an attraction for the bees. 

 Large plantations in swamp places are a protection 

 against intermittent fever. It is recommended in 

 medical works, as a preventive of malarial fever. 

 The seed can be raised as cheaply as corn, having 

 yielded at the rate of one hundred bushels per acre. 

 The sunflower possesses anti-malarial properties of 

 much value. Directions tor planting: Plow and 

 harrow as for other grain; mark out with marker, 

 drop by hand, put in plenty of seed so you can have 

 a good stand, for grubs cut it down sometimes. 

 Plants should not stand closer than four feet each 

 way. Plow and keep free from weeds, and you will 

 have seed enough to fatten your poultry, and pro- 

 duce an abundance of eggs for market. The time to 

 plant is from the tenth of May to the first of July. 

 i raise a large patch of the Mammoth Russian sun- 

 flower every year for my chickens, ana they never 

 have the chicken cholera. 



We have raised the Mammoth llussian 

 pretty largely, and are inclined to think all 

 that is said about it in the above paper may 

 be true ; but with us, the bees worked on it 

 very sparingly. We have an abundance of 

 nice seed, which we can furnish at 20 cts. per 

 lb. By mail, 38 cts. per lb. 



VENTILATING THE HIVES FOR COMB 

 HONEY. 



FRIEND SAMPLE'S EXPERIMENT. 



^Oj^)EE culture in this part of Iowa, it seems to me, 

 Jra) is badly slighted, so many farmers take so 



little interest in their bees. They nearly all 



stick to the old-fashioned log gum, or box hive, with 

 sticks across, and each comb built in as tight as 

 though they were nailed, and a big cap on top that 

 will hold 30 or 40 lbs. (young bees thrown in). Good 

 honey brings good prices here. Fair comb, 20 cts. ; 

 extracted, 18. 



I want, if I can make it plain enough to give to 

 all to whom it may be of value, my method of ob- 

 taining comb honey, and more particularly the way 

 in which I ventilate my hives in the hot sultry 

 weather in summer, so that no bees cluster outside. 

 I use the Simplicity ten-frame hive for the brood. 

 I use a honey-rack, both sides glassed, holding 28 

 one-pound sections. Now, the way I ventilate is 

 this: Having put the bees into brood-chamber, I put 

 on top of the frames, at each end of the hive, just 

 over the metal rabbets, a slat }4,xJix\G in., placing 

 the slat which goes on the end that the entrance is 

 cut into, up close against the end of hive; the other 

 slat or slats, furthest from the entrance. I place 



