lU 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



regard to corn, wheat and potatoes ; the latter 

 were recently oliered iu our town at 10c. per 

 bushel, and wanted a ]:)U}'er. How n-iauy read- 

 ers have we that could raise a bushel of pota- 

 toes as easy as a lb of honey V 



Go to work pleasantly, and rai.se as large 

 and nice a crop of honey as you can; iu the 

 same mauuer, sell it to your friends and 

 neighbors as well as you can. If you cannot 

 get as much as you think you would be will- 

 ing to pay in like circumstances, take less; 

 but make up your mind you are going to be 

 contented and cheerful, no matter what the 

 price is. Very likely there are those who will 

 not care to fuss with bees if honey comes 

 down to 10c. ; but we shall if thej do not, and 

 it will probably make us all the more earnest 

 in our efforts tu simplify the work in the api- 

 ary. Is it not possible that it would do us all 

 good '? 



If you open a honey column put me down for SOOO Ib.s.- 

 extracted honey, at 15 cts. per lb., barrels thrown m ; and 

 2000 lbs. box honey in light section frames, at 25c per lb. 

 .1. H. 'Maetin, Hartford, N". Y., .July 24th, "76. 



»EC;0>(I> SWARMING, FUN., FXEBINO 

 EXTRACTED HONEY, CHAFF, ETC. 



IP' 



JjRIEND KOVICE :— We have had a fearful run of 

 J'{j | honey here ever since white clover commenced, 

 ' about the 10th of June. Basswood gave out on the 

 20th of July, the bottom dropped out of it all on a sudden. 

 During a little over a month we have obtained 3000 lbs. of 

 extracted honey and have boxes enough nearly fdled to 

 give 2000 lbs. box honey, and i)erhaps more, if the fall 

 yield is good. 



I think my yield of l)Ox honey would have been greater 

 could I Iiave prevented the swarming fever among my ex- 

 tra swarms. I have no objections to first swarms, but 

 when second swarms persist in coming off, it is more than 

 I can endure. All remedies, even giving a generous sup- 

 ply of unsealed larv* woidd not prevent some of them 

 leaving witli the young queen in her first flight. 



We have not used tlie foundations this summer but 

 V.ave a problem in our mind whicli ]jrobably you have 

 been thinlving of, i. e., will it pay to feed our extracted 

 honey to swarms supplied with comb foundations ? If I 

 feed the 3000 lbs. of extracted honey, how many lbs. will I 

 have of comb honey therefrom ? That is the next prob- 

 lem we want solved. 



In relation to the chaff theory, I am free to confess that 

 I didn't do it exactly right. The swarm was in a glass 

 hive, capacity, 8 frames ; as far as chaff was concerned it 

 was genuine oat chalf, but I think the quilt was too close, 

 ••is the combs moulded a little. We will try another 

 swarm during the coming winter and will follow direc- 

 tions implicitly. The only objection to such a plan is the 

 'extra boxes and muss of chaff. Just think of it for a 

 hundred swarms ! If you are equal to the task of invent- 

 ing a cheap and temporary chaff quilt you will confer a 

 blessing. If it will aid you I will mention that Asbestos 

 roofing felt would make a good outside to the quilt, as it 

 can be made to she<l rain and would obviate all necessity 

 of boxes, etc. 



J. H. Martin, Hartford, N. Y., July 2fth, '7C. 

 Our neighbor Blakeslee is at present trying 

 the plan of feeding exti'acted houey to get 

 section boxes filled. ''They take the honey 

 greedily," is about as far as he is at present 

 able to report. AVe confess to having very 

 little faith in the idea ; it seems too much like 

 going a great v,-ay around, and if any body 



needs to take short cuts, it is the bee-keep- 

 er. It may be that enough more houey can 

 be obtained with the extractor to pay to feed 

 it back when the yield has ceased, but we 

 doubt it. There would be one tine thing 

 about it ; it would keep up breeding, and the 

 stocks would be pretty sure to have plenty 

 for winter. Give us anything but starvation. 

 We have this minute ordered samples of the 

 Asbestos felting. 



GIVING BEES A '•Fi,\ .?' 



VpN the fall of 1675 I put 4S swarms in my dwelling 

 j^ house cellar, and after leaving them five, and a 

 part of them 5}.i months without having a chance 

 to !ly, took out 46 in fine order, well filled with bees, 

 hives clean ami in good condition in every way, with- 

 out the loss of a single queen (two swarms died of 

 .starvation). Then why give bees ally in winter V I 

 have wintered four years iu the same place, in the 

 same manner, and with the same uniform success. 

 The hives arc placed on shelves in one corner of the 

 cellar, with the entrance at the bottom of the hive, 

 open enough for the bees to know they are not con- 

 fined, and each hive ventilated at tiie top. Strong 

 swarms with much ventilation, weak ones with but 

 little, and all kept dark and (juiet. The thermometei- 

 ranging from 32^ to 4L-, usually from 34- to ;?t;^. 



This has been the poorest season for bees, in this 

 section, that I ever knew ; the caterpillars scourged 

 us till first of June, taking nearly every honey ilowcr, 

 and the clover seems to furnish but enough for them 

 to make a living. Those who take the bee journals 

 and have learned to know what the matter is when 

 bees arc starving in May, or June, and have fed a lit- 

 tle in just the right time, have saved their bees, while 

 others have lost and don't know why. We still hope 

 to have honey enough from the golden rod. which is 

 now just coming into bloom, for bees to stock their 

 hives for winter use. 



J. LAiiE, North Jaj-, Maine, Aug. 5lh, '7tJ- 

 If your bees were so strong that they en- 

 tirely escaped the spring dwindling, perhaps 

 nothing more could be desired, if they would 

 continue to winter as well ; but many who 

 have heretofore wintered in cellars just as you 

 do, have of late years, found things going en- 

 tirely diflereut, and without any apparent rea- 

 son either, so far as thej' could see. 



FOR 



DEFAKTMEXT 

 BOX HITE BEE-KEEPERS. 



spi /TjpR. A. I. ROOT :— I received your Gleanings for 

 Jf/plj July. I desire a continuation for one year, lor 

 — ^^ the enclosed money. I was much interested in 

 the reading matter of that number, as mauy things 

 were discussed which have been subjects of observa- 

 tion with me for 40 years. You will no doubt call me 

 an old fogy ivhen I tell you I entirely agree with your 

 corresponilcnt, James Heddon, in the matter of sim- 

 plicitj' In structure of hives, and bee management, 

 under a thorough knowledge of the economy of the 

 insect, directed by a plain common sense view of all 

 the surroundings. For 30 years I have used an equi- 

 lateral triangle hive, losing but little time as com- 

 ])ared with the iucesSiint attendance and toil of the 

 bee-keeper who adopts all the contrivances whicli a 

 new fledged business generally requires I'rcm its nov- 

 elty and the exaggerations of zealous devotees. Many 

 articles now used arc to see what bees can be made to 



