1883 



GLEAKINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



455 



as if there were going- to be a regular waking-up 

 among the bee-keepers here, and that, too, before 

 the present season is over. 



I think this a very good locality for bees. I bought 

 a new swarm the other day from a neighbor, and the 

 way they are bringing in the honey is enough to 

 make any bee-man feel well. The fields here are 

 just covered with white-clover; there is also a good 

 deal of alsike clover raised here for hay and pasture; 

 there are also a great many honey-bearing plants 

 growing wild here, such as motherwort, wild mus- 

 tard, catnip, smartweed, Spanish needle, etc. This 

 is also a great basswood country. If your supply 

 for section boxes should run out in the eastern part 

 of the State, just let us know, and we will supply 

 you with all you may want. G. W. Haukison. 



Wharton, Wyandot Co., O., July 9, 1883. 



HONEY IN OLD APIARIES. 



SOME WORDS OF WISDOM FROM FRIEND MORRIS. 



" He that ob?erveth the weather shall not sow, and 

 he that regardcth the clouds shall not reap." 



NEVER fully realized what Solomon meant by 

 that "wiser" until to-day. This spring I re- 

 garded the clouds, and 1 observed the winds, 

 and I saw that it did rain, and was very cold and 

 backward ; so I did not sow, nor feed my bees, and 

 therefore they did not increase and wax strong in 

 numbers, and, lo! when white clover came in great 

 abundance, and toe perfume did fill the air, yea, 

 even into our houses, my harvesters were few, there- 

 fore my crops not great. Whereas if I had observed 

 that white cluver was not winter-killed, and was 

 promising a big yield, I would have taken Solomon's 

 advice, and would have .sown, otherwise fed, crowd- 

 ed my bees to their uttermost; then when the har- 

 vest came I could have raked it in. I calculate I 

 have lost just one ton of white-clover honey by not 

 feeding up in spring. 



All springs are not alike, however. Last spring, 

 one year ago, I fed, and was ready; and, lo! white 

 clover was " ausgespielt," and 3 or 4 colonies died 

 from too much "muchness" of bees, and too much 

 emptiness of honey, before I knew what was up. 

 Now the point is, we must govern ourselves in 

 spring management by the prospects; and I think 

 we can tell pretty well what white clover is going to 

 do, whether it is winter-killed or not. 



DO BEES FLY 90 MILES AN HOUR? WHY NOT? 



There are some of the migratory birds that fly at 

 the rate of 75 miles per hour for 48 hours. That won- 

 derful bird called the albatross is said to fly at the 

 rate of 100 miles per hour. I saw an article not long 

 ago to this effect: A sportsman in England laid a 

 wager that he could pick six hounds from his pack 

 that could run past a railroad train at full speed. 

 Accordingly a tlat was hitched behind an engine, and 

 the train started out, the sportsman standing on the 

 open car in full sigh't of his dogs, with gun in hand, 

 the dogs following on the track. The throttle was 

 pulled out at once, and the engine "pawed the dirt," 

 so to speak, and when speed was attained of one 

 mile a minute, he pointed his gun ahead, and fired it 

 into' a wood. Instantly the dogs sprang from the 

 track, past the car, into the wood, and out of sight, 

 like a flash. So goes the story. 



Now as to trains running 60 miles an hour, they 

 certainly do, and faster. The train that carried the 

 lamented Garfield from Washington to Elberon at- 



tained the enormous speed of 70 miles per hour. I 

 am well acquainted with a retired passenger engin- 

 eer of 15 years' run on the Illinois Central R. R., and 

 he said to me, on inquiry, that he had often run 

 specials at from 50 to 65 miles an hour. There are 

 several instances on record where, during the late 

 war, trains were run just as fast as Are and water 

 could make them go. So far, I think friend Doolit- 

 tle is "kerect." 



Now, on the other hand, philosophy says that tor- 

 nadoes travel from 40 to 90 miles per hour, and that 

 wind blowing 40 to 50 miles destroys barns, houses, 

 haj'Stacks, etc.; while a wind blowing 70 to 80 miles 

 destroys everything in its path. Now again, one can 

 not stand within 3 or 4 feet of a train of cars going 

 by at 60 miles per hour without being blown down, 

 and perhaps sucked into the vortex. There is a vast 

 difference between a bee going 80 miles per hour, 

 and a tornado or cyclone with their greater force. 

 The progressive motion of a cyclone is from 18 to 40 

 miles, while the rotary motion is 40 to 120. If a wind 

 blowing even 60 miles per hour, low down, should 

 strike friend Doolittle, I am afraid he would never 

 write us any more articles. 



Rantoul, 111. H.M.Morris. 



It seems to me, friend M., you do not bring 

 out the true meaning at the head of your ar- 

 ticle, as I see it. The way I understand the 

 text is, that one who stands with his hands in 

 his pockets, looking at the clouds when he 

 ought to be pitching his hay on the wagon, 

 would not be apt to turn out a very suc- 

 cessful farmer, and I guess it is so with bee- 

 keeping.— I think I should advise feeding 

 every spring, and then if the bees got their 

 hives so full of young bees that provisions 

 ran out, I would just feed them white sugar, 

 and sell them off by the pound. — I think I 

 shall have to give up about the speed of 

 bees, railroad trains, ducks, and 1 do not 

 know but hounds also ; although I feel very 

 much inclined to object a little to that 

 " yarn " of yours about the hounds beating 

 a railroad train. 



NE^V HONEY BY THE TON. 



HOW FRIEND ECKMAN MANAGES AWAY DOWN IN 

 TB'.XAS. 



^y^EES are doing finely. I started in the spring 

 J™ with 130 swarms in good condition. I kept 



down swarming as much as possible, but had 



to hive 40 swarms; commenced extracting June 4; 

 have taken out, up to date, 9500 lbs. extracted, and 

 1200 1-lb. sections. I am still extracting, and have 

 three months to run yet. I did all the work myself, 

 except my better half, who winds up the buckets 

 and draws the honey in small vessels for me. 



Neighbor Johnson and I took a flying visit last 

 week out to Luting, 160 miles west, to see friend 

 Tadlock. We found him a very pleasant gentleman, 

 and well up to the times in bee-keeping; but his 

 bees are in poor condition, on account of extreme 

 drought, he having to feed until a short time ago. 

 Bees in Northern and Western Texas are all in the 

 same condition as his. I have already sold 4000 lbs, 

 of my crop, and am getting orders nearly every day. 



1 put up my honey in nice neat packages, and put 

 attractive labels on them. My packages run from 



2 to 60 lbs., extracted. Could I have had more help, 

 I could have gotten more; but am very well satisfied. 



J. W. ECKMAN. 



Richmond, Ft. Bend Co., Tex., July 16, 1883. 



