360 



THE AMERICAJil BEE JOURNAL. 



advantage to pay more or less atten- 

 tion to the subject. 



Ezra High, of Cumru township, said 

 that he had been keeping bees for 

 years, but he does not pretend to un- 

 derstand bee-culture thoroughly. If 

 every farmer kept from 4 to 5 colonies 

 there would not be enough material 

 for them to subsist upon. They 

 would soon exhaust everything and 

 starve. He put these questions to the 

 President, Judge Stitzel, who spent 

 some time on the Pacific coast : 

 " What is the bee-pasture in Califor- 

 nia ? Is it sage bush ?" 



Hon. George 1). Stitzel answered 

 that California is divided up in val- 

 leys and mountains running north 

 and south. On the mountains the 

 wild sage grows luxuriantly, which is 

 the favorite pasture for the bees of 

 central and northern California. In 

 the orange country, in the southern 

 portion of the State, the bees feed 

 upon the orange blossoms along with 

 the sage, and the honey of southern 

 California is superior to that produced 

 in any other section of the State. The 

 bees come Jong distances to get the 

 orange bloom, and there is a decided 

 orange flavor about their honey. He 

 said that he takes no interest in the 

 keeping of bees, as they do not like 

 him. 



Dr. A. Smith said that bee-culture 

 is something that will pay. There is 

 no trouble about providing sufficient 

 food, as bee-keepers make the pasture 

 for the bees, by putting out white 

 clover, buckwheat, etc. Bee culture 

 requires a person who is peculiarly 

 adapted to the business. If the bees 

 are averse to you, it is difficult to suc- 

 ceed with them. There are persons 

 who cannot go near them without 

 being attacked. The speaker kept 

 bees for about 25 years, and could do 

 anything with them. He found it a 

 most interesting avocation,and would 

 not discourage it. The question is : 

 Will it pay ? He had obtained over 

 200 pounds of honey from one colony, 

 but the very next winter he had but 

 one colony left. Now, if the farmers 

 of Berks county have time to devote 

 to the industry, they will find it a 

 profitable business, but it will not pay 

 unless you give it proper attention. 



Keuben W. Scherer, of Oley town- 

 ship, one of the vice-presidents of the 

 society, said that at different meet- 

 ings he had expressed himself in favor 

 of " mixed farming ;" that is, that 

 farmers should have a diversity of 

 interests, and not have their time 

 and attention absorbed by one or two 

 special things. He was, therefore, 

 decidedly of the opinion that half a 

 dozen colonies of bees can be profit- 

 ably kept by any farmer. Tliere is 

 nothing on the speaker's farm that 

 pays better than bees. He keeps just 

 enough bees to provide sufficient 

 honey for his own table. He, there- 

 fore, always has an abundance of the 

 mellific product, and finds it a delight- 

 ful thing to have in the house. He 

 has a 10-year-old son who is an adept 

 in looking after the bees. If there is 

 a colony swarming, the boy can attend 

 to it, or the speaker's wife can. He 

 believes that every farmer can en- 



gage in bee-culture, so far as having 

 the time at his disposal. As to the 

 profit, he knows of men engaged in 

 the business who give it great care, 

 that derive a handsome income there- 

 from. There is a man in his neigh- 

 borhood who has from 50 to 100 colo- 

 nies of bees. He observes improved 

 methods of management, and does 

 well. 



How to manage so as to get the 

 best results out of bee-keeping is 

 what the farmer wants to know. The 

 speaker has had this experience : In 

 the spring of the year thers is no diffi- 

 culty about the bees obtaining pro- 

 vender. The best of all honey in his 

 section is produced from peach and 

 apple blossoms. White clover grows 

 spontaneously in his vicinity, and 

 always furnishes excellent pasture. 

 Then a piece of buckwheat can be 

 sown convenient to the apiary, and 

 this will give the bees sufficient work 

 for the remainder of the summer. As 

 for the different kinds of bees, the 

 Italians are well enough in their place; 

 but as for himself he would prefer the 

 little black bees. As to bees liking 

 some people and not others, much 

 depends upon bow they are ap- 

 proached. They hate whisky and 

 tobacco. There is another feature 

 about bees which ought to induce 

 every farmer to keep them, and that 

 is their working qualities. The speak- 

 er has often taken a lesson from the 

 bees in hot weather, when he has felt 

 tired and exhausted by the heat. He 

 has turned to the bee-hives, and after 

 observing the industry of the busy 

 little insects, it has made him go back 

 to work with renewed energy and in- 

 creased perseverance. 



John M. Moyer, of Robeson town- 

 ship, said he could not see how Mr. 

 Scherer's son, aged only 10 years, 

 could hive a swarm of bees. He then 

 related a funny incident of how he 

 had called together his whole family, 

 and then all his neighbors, using tin 

 kettles and all kinds of utensils where- 

 with to create a din, and yet the bees 

 rose high in the air, and were off, 

 notwithstanding all the efforts to 

 secure them. At his father's house 

 as many as 20 colonies of bees were 

 kept, and at least one-half of them 

 went off every year. 



Hon. S. E. Ancona said that he was 

 pleased with what had been said by 

 President Stitzel in regard to the pro- 

 duction of honey in California. He 

 then related his own experience in 

 keeping bees, and how when he re- 

 sided several years ago in Muhlenburg 

 township, he paid some $25 or $30 for 

 a patent hive, and left his bees to for- 

 age upon his neighbors generally, 

 while he indulged in bright visions of 

 an abundance of honey to gladden his 

 store. Unfortunately he got no honey, 

 and at the end of his experience had 

 no bees. He then presented the hive 

 to the late Alexander Burnett, and in 

 about two years was given a box of 

 honey, which was all that he realized 

 from his investment. The speaker 

 beUeved, however, in encouraging 

 everything of this kind. Diversified 

 interests are essential to success in 

 agriculture in this country. It is im- 

 possible to compete with the West in 



the matter of raising grain. He is 

 satisfied that bee-culture can be con- 

 ducted successfully so as to add very 

 materially to the comfort of one's 

 home. In conclusion he alluded to 

 lesson of industry and thrift, which 

 had been conveyed by Mr. Scherer in 

 his remarks, and which aptly illus- 

 trated the force of the old spelling- 

 book rhyme : 



" How doth the little busy bee 

 Improve each shining hour. 



By gath'ring honey all the day 

 From ev'ry opening flower." 



Mr. Scherer replied to Mr. Moyer in 

 regard to his son hiving bees. He 

 says that the boy does it without the 

 least trouble. A colony may swarm 

 on the topmost limb of an apple tree, 

 and the boy will go to the end of that 

 limb, cut it off with a saw, and bring 

 the swarm triumphantly to the hive. 

 Upon one occasion a strange swarm 

 was at the end of a limb of a locust 

 tree ; the boy cut off the branch, and 

 carried it home on his shoulder fully 

 a quarter of a mile. It proved to be 

 colony of Italian bees, and was got for 

 the mere hiving of it. As to hives, 

 no one would catch him paying $30 

 for a patent hive ! He purchased a 

 colony in a common box, 13 inches 

 square for $4. A surplus box was 

 placed on top of this for the honey, 

 and that constituted the bees' quar- 

 ters, and did exceedingly well. In 

 constructing hives, he takes either 

 long straw, or makes them of any 

 kind of boards, putting cross pieces 

 of wood inside, and never had a col- 

 ony of bees to freeze. He has no be- 

 lief in the various superstitions about 

 bees, the beating of kettles when they 

 are swarming, etc. 



John M. Moyer inquired whether 

 any of his swarms had gone off. 



Mr. Scherer replied that upon one 

 occasion he had delayed too long, and 

 a swarm went off for him. 



Mr. Moyer— Did you try to stop 

 them? 



Mr. Scherer— After they had started 

 there was nothing that could have 

 been done that would have brought 

 them back. 



Mr. Moyer— Did you use any words 

 about it V 



Mr. Scherer— That would have been 

 just as useless as beating on tin pans 

 and kettles. 



Capt. William G. Moore, of Womels- 

 dorf, believed that the majority of 

 farmers would not be successful in 

 bee-culture, especially after what had 

 been said in regard to the experi- 

 ences of some of the gentlemen pres- 

 ent. A friend residing in Heidelberg 

 township invested $50 in bees, and 

 had $5 worth of money out of his 

 investment. 



John Gottshall said that he thought 

 it would pay every farmer to hare 

 about half a dozen colonies. Rigged 

 out with a good bee-veil, and a gum 

 coat, with his hands first washed in 

 strong salt water, he has no trouble ■ 

 in examining his colonies from time to 

 time, and taKing out the combs. 



Reading,©. Pa. 



