Ai^ril and May 



THE POMOLOGIST. 



63 



Grape Gro-wing in Champagne. 



Champaigne is a district of France, where 

 the celebrated wlue of that name is made. 

 It is quite usual to start vineyards iu the fall 

 or early -wiuter, rather tliau in the spring. 

 The youujj plant is cut back to a single eye, 

 sometimes two, and the soil veiy thoroughly 

 stirred. 



The vine may bear a little the third year, 

 but comes on along the fourth and lifth years 

 iuto full bearing. 



The vine is trained low, pruned very close- 

 ly and trained to small stakes. 



The grapes ripen early and the vintage is 

 hastened for sparkling wines, and usually 

 before October. 



There is a close summer pruning and 

 pinehiug of summer growth. 



The piekiiig is done by women, and the 

 decayed or defective berries carefully e.\- 

 eluded. They are also usually assorted and 

 the ripest and best kept by themselves. 



Tlie vineyards are renewed, very often by 

 layers between the original rows, so that 

 after a vinej'ard has age, its regularity of 

 Hues has disapifeared, and it is dotted here, 

 there, and everywhere with the new vines 

 started from the old stalks by layers, until 

 the number of vines planted on an acre of 

 the grouiid will be something enormous, and 

 as high as 1.5,000 to 20,000 in .some instances. 

 Generally the culture in Champaigne in al- 

 most all resjiects resembles that of Burgundy. 



The crop for the best wine is gathered and 

 selected with the utmost aire. 



For the brands of renown only grapes of 

 a certain quality and kind used, and these of 

 species that have had the test and approval 

 of years. Every grape not perfectly ripened 

 is removed — every berry touched even by 

 the frost cutout. 



Great care is observed in handling the 

 fruit after picking to avoid injuring it, and 

 to keep it unexposed from the sun. 



When the grapes are brought to the wine 

 house they are set in the shade and iu a cool 

 place. They are placed on the press with 

 great care and the bunches often carefully 

 arranged. 



The must is not casked immediately, but 

 is left to stand for from six to fifteen hours, 

 and when it begins to ferment is transferred 

 at once to the cask. 



The grapes are passed with the utmost 

 haste through the wine-press to avoid all 

 coloring to the wine which would follow if 

 any fermentation occurred while iu the 

 berry. The barrels or vats into which the 

 new wine is placed are cleaned with the ut- 

 most care, and thoroughly sulphured. Then 

 the wine ferments slowly through the autumn 

 and early days of winter. 



The latter part of December, when fer- 

 mentation has ceast d, the wine is carefully 

 racked out. The wine maker selects a frosty 

 day for this operation and shuns a damp or 

 wet one. 



About a month later it is again racked and 

 fined with isinglass. 



There is a flift'erencc in the subsequent 

 treatment in different cellars. Some only 

 fine it once after the second racking, and 

 then bottle at once; others rack the wine 

 twice, and fine it carefully at each raekiiig. 

 The most particular manufacturers, and with 

 their bi-st wine, give it three rackings and 

 two finings, and the bemfit of this treatment 

 is frequently plainly perceived in its subse- 

 quent management when bottled. 



Gelatine is sometimes u.sed, and tannin as 

 a prevention against diseases of the wine, 

 but not universally. 



The bottling commences at varioiis times. 

 In some cellars, as early as the latter part of 

 January; some in February, though it is 

 considered that there is extra risk in this 

 early bottling, but the major part is bottled 

 m March and April. 



For4he Western Pomologist. 



The Loss of the Queen Bee. 



The following question waa received from A. 



M , of Polk county : " I see that you write 



for the Po-voLOGisT, will you please give some 

 information on the loss of the queen bee .'' I have 

 several colonies which, I fear, are queenleas. " 



Replv. — The queen bee is frequently lost by 

 accident or deformity, and unless remedied in 

 time, causes the loss of the entire colony. If a 

 stock of bees in the spring does not carry large 

 and plump pellets of bee-broad, whilst other col- 

 onies are very industrious, the bee-keeper may 

 reasonably suspect that that colony is queenless. 

 Examine the litter on the bottom-board or in 

 front of the entrance for eggs or a few immature 

 bees, if either are found, it shows that the hive 

 has a fertile queen ; if, however, neither eggs nor 

 imperfect bees are found, and the bees are in a 

 common hive, turn it upside down and look be- 

 tween the combs for brood ; if not seen at first, 

 drive the bees back with smoke and break out a 

 piece of comb from near the center of the hive, 

 and if it contains compact brood in worker-cells, 

 all further search would be useless. 



Si^ns indicating the Loss of the Queen. — 

 When the loss of the queen is ascertained by the 

 workers, their agitation will soon give evidence 

 of the fact The bees rush from one part of the 

 hive to another; out of their hive and back again; 

 ruLning about the entrance in great haste, and 

 up and down on the sides of the hive as if in 

 search of something lost. This commotion is 

 noticeable from one to three days, usually in the 

 morning when other bees are quiet. After be- 

 coming fully satisfied of their loss, they settle 

 down quietly and sometimes begin to work, yet 

 there is a dissatisfied appearance noticeable ; 

 when returning from the field, instead of enter- 

 ing in haste, as usual, they are slow in their 

 movements, lingering on the alighting-board as 

 if in a quandary whether to enter or not; the 

 drones are tolerated while other colonies have 

 killed or excluded them ; the number of bees are 

 reduced by continual losses, and if the proper 

 remedy is not applied by the bee-keeper, the ex- 

 istence of such a colony will soon bo ended by 

 robber-bees or the moths. Whether or not a col- 

 ony is queenless, can be ascertained with certain- 

 ty by theuseof the movable-comb hive ; in it the 

 condition of the colony may be known at any 

 time by actual examination of every comb in the 

 hive. 



Remedies. — If the loss of the queen is detected 

 either in early spring or late in the fall, when 

 drones are not present, and a fertile queen can- 

 not be given them, it would bo useless to provide 

 them with brood to rear a queen, as such a queen 

 could not be fecundated, and would remain bar- 

 ren. To save the bees, unite them with another 

 colony and preserve the comb. If the swarm is 

 in a hive, provided with comb containing brood, 

 (which is the case where the queen gets killed 

 by accident) the loss of the queen will be rem- 

 edied by the workers without any addition from 

 the bee-keeper, provided drones are present ; if 

 no brood can be found, a comb containing brood 

 in worker-comb should be inserted, or if possible. 



with a perfect queen-cell. To obtain a queen- 

 cell, go to any stock that has cast a swarm not 

 over six days previous, and with a sharp knife 

 cut out a piece of comb containing a sealed or 

 capped queen-cell, take it to the queenless 

 swarm, drive the bees back with smoke ; near the 

 middle cut out a piece of comb, in size and shape 

 like the piece containing the queen-cell, insert 

 it instead, and carefully return the hive to its 

 stand. 



The causes of the loss of the queen will be 

 given in a future communication. 



E. Kretchmer, Red Oak Junction^ Iowa. 



How TO Cleanse Modldy Comb. — More or less 

 mouldy comb is found in bee hives in the spring, 

 especially if wintered in a cellar. At least such 

 has been our experience. Henry Croit, of Lake, 

 Ohio, thus writes to the American Bee Journal 

 his method of cleansing mouldy comb : 



" A mouldy comb, if not rotten, may readily 

 be cleansed in the following simpfe manner; 

 First, hnng it up till it is thoroughly dry ; then 

 brush off .as much of the mould as possible with- 

 out cutting or mutilating the cells. When so 

 prepared, put it right into the cluster of a strong 

 stock of bees, in the working season, and in the 

 course of a week or so the bees will usually cleanse 

 and renovate it so completely that, to all appear- 

 ance, its former mouldiness will be gone. If, 

 however, a portion of the comb should contain 

 bee-bread that has become hardened and turned 

 white in the cells, this the bees will sometimes 

 fait to cle.Tnse, or wilt occasionally cut away the 

 entire cells instead In either case of failure, 

 such portions should be cut out and the vacancy 

 filled with worker comb, to prevent the bees from 

 building drone cells instead. 



" By the above method I have had some combs 

 cleansed that had been literally covered overwith 

 mould For the want of a better place I have, 

 for the last fifteen years, usually wintered some 

 of my bees in a damp cellar; hence my experi- 

 ence with mouldy combs." 



Comb Gdides. — The American Bee Journal for 

 March, publishes the following as evidence that 

 the patent on the bevel edge comb guides is 

 worthless, on the ground that the same device was 

 known and described many years ago : 



Extract from "Observations on Bees," by John 

 Hunter, Esq., a paper real before the Royal 

 Society of London, Feb. 2.?, 1792, and published 

 in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. 82, page 

 128 



"As one perpendicular comb of the whole 

 length and height of the hive, in the center, 

 dividing it into two, is the best position for ex- 

 posing their operations, it is necessary to give 

 them a lead or direction to form it so ; therefore 

 it is proper to make a ridge along the top, from 

 end to end, in the center, between the two sides, 

 for they like to begin their work from an emi- 

 nence ; if we wish to have them transverse or 

 oblique it would only be necessary to make trans- 

 verse or oblique ridges in the hive." 



Pocket Money AND Bees - Mrs R C. A.,ofIll., 

 has solved the woman question ioker satisfaction. 

 She finds that since she has had money in her 

 pocket which she can spend as she pleases there 

 has been no clouds bigger than an old fashioned 

 quarter of a dollar in the matrimonial sky. No 

 doubt this state of things would bring sunlight to 

 many a clouded heart. Mrs. A. is a farmer's 

 wife, and makes her pocket money by keeping 

 bees, selling both honey and swarms. She pur- 

 chased one swarm ten years ago, patiently studied 

 the ways of the insects, and learned how to man- 

 age them. Every year, excepting one, she has 

 realized a good profit from them. In the spring 

 of 18(39 she had nine old swarms, from which she 

 sold five new swarms for ten dollars each, and she 

 has now twenty-five good strong colonies. Last 

 year they had 680 pounds of honey, besides the 

 hive honey of twenty-one new swarms, averaging 

 fifty pounds to a hive. Let other farmers' wives 

 go and do likewise. — N. Y. Tribune 



Bef.s in Utah. — A few colonies were taken to 

 Salt Lake City, by early immigrants. They are 

 reported prosperous and worth $40 to $50 per 

 swarm. The well watered fields, the orchards 

 and gardens of that vicinity would, doubtless, 

 afford ample forage for several thousand colonies. 



