DEVOTED TO BEE« A.TSD UO^S^EY, AJVD HO>IE ITS^TERESsTfe*. 



A. I. ROOT, ~) 



Ptiblislter and Proprietor, 

 IVIcdina, O. 



Publisbed Monthly. (TER:ns: ^l.OOPer Annum in Ad- 



)-] vance; 3 Copies/or 82.50; o/or S3.7o; 

 EstaTjllslied in ISTS. (.lO or more,GOc. each. Single Number lOc. 



Vol. IV. 



DECEMBER 1, 1876. 



No. 12 



BEE-KEEPING IX TENNESSEE. 



^T has been some time since I "bored" you with aeom- 

 *[[ munication, and I would not do so now, but for the 

 ■ — ' fact that I, like most other bee-keepers, Uke to tell 

 what 1 have been donig for the past season, and have an 

 especial preference for making the communication to an 

 appreciative and sympathizing auditor. 



Know then, that I began the season with seven stands 

 of bees; only two of them able to cover eight frames 

 when fruit trees blossomed. I borrowed bees and combs 

 from all the others, so that I had three at work on comb 

 honey, in boxes and small surplus frames and one for ex- 

 tracted honey. I took honey from the four only, the 

 other three being put to work at ccmb making. 1 did 

 not care for iucrease of stock in numbers of colonies, my 

 obj' ct this season being to get a little honey, and to go 

 into winter quarters with ncne but strong stocks. I have 

 two L. hives for box honey, both of which swarmed two 

 or three times. I gave the old combs and unfinished 

 boxes to the swarms, and did very well in honey, but it 

 did not prevent their swarming again. I made several 

 nuclei, but was very unfortunate about losing young 

 queens in first flight. I had only two young queens fer- 

 tilized safely and at work this fall, and one of them I lost 

 in an effort to combine her colony with one of my old 

 stocks, which had lost their queen in swarming, so I 

 have my orgiiial number, seven, and all are in tolerably 

 fair condition, save one, which is quite weak in numbers, 

 but they all have plenty of stores. 



The hive that I run for extracted honey, was a two 

 story Simplicity, and they did not swarm. I am so much 

 pleased with them, or that style of work that I shall run 

 all for extracted next season, but one Langstroth. 



I took about 250 lbs. of honey altogether ; about equal 

 quantities of comb and extracted. Some 65 lbs. extd. 

 from two storj- SimpUcity and as much more from the 

 lirood nests of the other three, besides a little from the 

 three that were comb making. The above is far from 

 being a large jield, but I am very well satisfied with it. 



My opportunities for giving my bees attention at proper 

 times are poor. I am engaged in book-keeping, and have 

 to leave home quite early, do not return until dark 

 and ha\e no means of knowing what my beis are doing 

 all day. They might be robbing or swarmuig, or what 

 not, and I could be of no service to them. The children 

 are all at school until the afternoon, and then have to get 

 their lessons, and this condition of affairs caused me the 

 loss of three good swarms that I know of this last season. 

 My extracting has to be done at night too ; and to do it, I 

 must take out the combs and keep them out all day, so as 

 to have them ready at night. This last spring I had not 

 combs enough to put in for them to work on all day, 

 while the filled ones were out, but next season I will be 



better prepared. Drone comb is splendid for the extractor. 

 I I am surprised that some of your correspondents object 

 I to the metal confers. I want no other kind of frame, 

 than yours with metal corners. They are light and stron-r, 

 ' and I never have any fe irs about shaking bees off, no 

 j matter how heavy with honey the frame may be. And 

 i then they ar* so easy to get out of t'ae hive. Tou nee«l 

 notliing to pry them loose, but even after they have been 

 I in the brood nest a whole season, you can just take hold 

 I of them with thumb and finger and lift them out. 

 I When I first began bee-keeping I had peach trees in 

 I my garden, but they did not do well, (the soil is Xon 

 [ heavj-) and this spring I procured some grape vines, and 

 I arranged some trelhsses, a la Novice, and am cutting out 

 j the peach trees. I swai-med several vines (s« e Glean- 

 ings, Vol. II, Xo. 10. Page 113.) very successfully, and 

 i that too with \ines just set out. I transplanted one \uv; 

 ■ and made one swarm from it, and the swarm produced 

 j grapes first season, and the old stock or root grew two 

 ! canes. Fi-om several vines, I made fi-om four to five 

 swarms each. It is a splendid idea for getting a \inc- 

 j yard quickly and economically. The posts of my trellisses 

 I are dressed cedar, (red cedar) 3x3 inches, about four feet 

 j out of the ground, with cross pieces of same timber, 1x3 

 ! in. by 3 feet with trellis wire from top to bottom as you 

 I diJect. All are painted white The hives are on south 

 \ side of each trellis set diagonally, eiitnince facing south- 

 j east. Each hive has sawdust aromid and in front. 1 have 

 ! arranged for sixteen trellises, wiiich is dl my garden will 

 I accommodate. I have not used smoke for the last two 

 I years, in handling my bees, and feel now that when it is 

 j necessary, they had better be let alone except for special 

 I purposes. My bees are Italians. 



My children have fiowers all about the garden, and all 



I go fearlessly in among the hives, and are rarely disturbed 



! by the bees. One of my little girls a'xiut 13 \ears of age. 



when they swarm, gets a veil, catches the queen and 



cages her, puts her before a prepared hive, covers the 



old hive with a sheet, and when the bees come back 



liberates the queen, and never gets stung. I keep queens 



I clipped. 



I I have not been troubled this seascn with moth. I 



; sometimes find a dead worm in front of the hive, which 



I the bses have killed and brought out. but do not see 



where they have been on the combs. When I had black 



, bees, the moths were very troublesome, but with Italians. 



j and especially strong stocks, or even stocks weak in num- 



[ bers, but with only as much comb as they can cover, I 



have no fear of the moth. 1 use division boards all the 



time. Twoof mv hives I run on the hng idea plan, aii'i 



coiitine the queen in front with divisinn board in brood 



nest, and keep surplus frames in rear. I like the lonirhivt. 



Mine are but two feet Ions, and I liave not given them a 



thorough trial yet but think I shall like thein. I do noi 



think the surplus frames can be troubled by queen hyinsr 



in them, as the two story hives are- The "queen ia two 



story Simplicity vexed me considerably in that way ; but 



I attribute some of it to my not extracting often enough. 



I see you are still improving your section boxes or frames. 



\\lien you get them jicrfecl, I shall want some of them. 



With love to "Blue eyes" and wishes for the prosperity 



of all, I am respectfully, J. H. Ceiddle. 



Nashville. Tcnn. Nov. Gih. 1870. 



