iu 



gleani:ngs in bee culture. 



Dec, 



placing the hive prepared with brood, queen, etc., 

 on stand No. 2, occupied. By this plan I make one 

 new swarm from two old ones, thereby doing away 

 with the swarming fever, yet having all in good 

 working condition, when the honey-harvest arrives. 



By all these plans, the object to be secured is to 

 get rid of the swarming fever, and yet have all 

 swarms strong enough to do good work in the sec- 

 tions. But, says one, do you always succeed? No, 

 not always; for once in awhile a swarm will issue 

 from a hive that ought to be contented to labor 

 with a will, in sections. In such a case I adopt one 

 of the two following methods. 1. When a swarm is- 

 sues during the honey-harvest, I catch and cage the 

 queen (this is easily done when the queen's wings 

 are clipped), placing the cage in one of the sections, 

 leaving her there for 5 days, when the hive is open- 

 ed and all the honey extracted from the brood- 

 frames, cutting off all queen-cells while so doing. 

 Now let the queen out, and you will see a swarm 

 work as if they meant " business." 



2. The mew swarm is hived in a hive containing 

 but 4 frames of empty comb or fdn., setting it on 

 the stand of the old colony, and putting the sections 

 from the old colony on the swarm, having the sec- 

 tions surround the 4 frames given. This compels 

 the bees to do most of their work in the sections; 

 and as they have nearly or quite all the working 

 force, as much section honey is obtained as would 

 have been had they not swarmed. 



The old colony will get in good shape for winter, 

 while 3 or 4 frames of sealed honey from some stock 

 worked for extracted honey will make the new 

 swarm all right for winter. 



The above are the plans I use; and all I will say in 

 favor of them is, that they please me. and enable 

 me to secure a tolerably fair crop of honey year aft- 

 er year. 



HIVING BEES ON SUNDAY. 



In regard to hiving bees on the Sabbath, I have 

 little to say. I believe God can be as acceptably 

 served, many times, by sitting under the shade of 

 some tree, listening to the hum of the bees, and 

 communing with our own hearts, asking our heaven- 

 ly Father that he will so guide us by the Holy Spirit, 

 that our daily lives may alioays be to his honor and 

 glory, and for the conversion ot those about us, as 

 by going to church, and returning from the same, 

 ready to find fault with a brother who differs with 

 us as to how the Sabbath is to be kept. I believe in 

 attending church ; but I also believe that we may 

 become so strenuous about the letter of the law re- 

 garding the Sabbath that we may forget the better 

 and more spiritual part of it, which is, that each 

 Sabbath shall be spent so that, at the end of it, we 

 can say we are one Sabbath-day nearer God's king- 

 dom. G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Borodino, N. Y., Nov. 7, 1883. 



► ••• 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE ISLAND OF CIBA. 



A BIG MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, 



eUR readers who take the Bee-keepers'' 

 Magazine are doubtless aware that our 

 veteran bee-keeper and editor, A. J. 

 King, has gone to assist in starting an apia- 

 ry in the island of Cuba. The minute I saw 

 the notice that he had gone, and the letter 

 from him personally, I felt like saying I 

 should like to go too. Well, friends, I can 



not go, but I am lucky enough to be able to 

 give you a good letter from Mr. A. W. Os- 

 burn, the proprietor of the 100 colonies the 

 friends have taken to Cuba. 



Editor Gleanings:— On the 19th of last month we 

 sat foot upon King Alfonzo's domain, and took our 

 first look at Cuba. We had left the grand old steam- 

 ship Niagara, that had brought us in safety from 

 New York, and with our 100 colonies of bees, wiih 

 all the modern " flxins," we took the cars for this 

 place, 18 miles north-east of Havana. Our bees 

 stood the voyage well, every colony being alive 

 when they arrived at San Miguel. But owing to the 

 hot sun, and the delays that seemed impossible to 

 avoid, in 3 days after our arrival 8 colonies had 

 gone to that good place wht-re all good Italians go, 

 leaving us 92 to astonish the natives with, and to be- 

 gin bee-keeping in this tropical climate, where the 

 sun pours down its genial rays, and the flowers 

 bloom 13 months in the year. 



Of the honey-ttow of Cuba I can not speak with 

 that surety that long experience would give; but 

 from what I have seen, 1 think very favorably of it. 

 Of course, o\ir bees were comparatively weak when 

 they landed here, having been purposely shipped 

 light in bees to avoid smothering while on the voy- 

 age; but notwithstanding their weak condition, 

 they are gathering more honey than I ever saw col- 

 onies with no more bees than they have do. There 

 are two great things that contribute to this happy 

 result. First, there is plenty of honey to gather; 

 second, owing to the warm weather, no extra 

 number of bees are required to stay at home to keep 

 the brood warm, and the nights are delightfully 

 warm. The queen has every chance to spread her 

 brood, with no fear that it will be chilled. As I said 

 before, the nights are warm, the mornings aie 

 warm, and the days and evenings are warm. As an 

 evidence, let me say that, in the morning as soon as 

 there is any light, I hear the hum of ten thousand 

 little wings, wending their way for the early drop 

 of nectar while it sparkles with the morning dew. 

 They work with great energy until about 10 o'clock 

 when there is a perceptible slacking off, till 3 in the 

 afternoon, when business is again resumed; and 

 until it is dark they cease nor tire not; but each 

 one trying to outdo the other, loads himself with 

 pollen and honey to the utmost capacity. 



Of the honey, I have a good report to make. It 

 has a rich and native sweetness that, to my taste, is 

 superior to white clover or basswood of the North. 

 The native Cubans tell us that next month, Dec, 

 they consider rather the best month in the year for 

 surplus. I am going to see how it compares with 

 the North, or with the best years in California. Of 

 the different kinds of flowers from which the bees 

 gather the honey from here, I shall have to wait till 

 some future article before I can give your readers 

 the names of them. 



Of the face of the country (what I have seen of it), 

 it is delightful; the land is rolling, with springs and 

 little brooks in proximity to one another. The 

 water is as good as I ever tasted in any country. 

 One great feature of beauty is the palm-trees. 

 They skirt the banks of every streamlet; their 

 trunks are smooth and slick; their dark-green 

 foliage, towering far above any of the trees of the 

 forest, makes them the one grand feature of loveli- 

 ness in this tropical picture of nature. I speak of 

 the palm, because It is the one Ideal thing that fills 

 my eyes full to overflowing. Th«re are other trees 



