20 



GLEAXIXGS IX BEE CULTURE. 



Ja>-. 



MAKING BEES PAY. 



I boug-ht 1 swarm last May, and now have 6 good 

 swarms all packed in chaff hives with honey enough 

 to winter. I have been watching the reports with 

 regard to your fdn. So far every thing seems to 

 move favorably, hut will it pay. is the question. I 

 am not satisfied yet ; I believe in making the bees pay 

 for what I buy. Friend Butler seems to. but a gi-eat 

 many do not. " My bees have not given me anj/ sur- 

 plusthis season. " I have not expected it. for It has 

 not been a good one with us. J. A. Yocng. 



Parma, Jackson Co., Mich., Dec. 12th, IS. .. 



I perfectly agree with yon my friend, that 

 bees shcnia pay their way : perhaps some of 

 yonr neighbors say ycnr bees do not pay be- 

 canse yen have got "no honey from theni. or 

 received no cf'f/i. "Were yon to sell the six 

 yon have made from the cue. vonconld show 

 a good prolit very readily. Jiave not yoirr 

 bees paid all the same, whether you sell them 

 for what they will bring, or "keep them V 

 "Where hcnej" and bets bring but a small 

 price, it may'not pay everyone to purchase 

 fdn.. but as a rew'swrini will fieonently 

 pay for themselves the first week, if sup- 

 plied with comb. I think it very likely they 

 will pay for the fdn. in two or three days. 

 The expense of fitting a hive, for a new 

 swarm, with fdn. in every frame, is now less 

 than^l.CO: they would "be rcfdy to store 

 honey in them, "in 24 hours, and I have had 

 new "swaims store 2olbs. of honey in a hive 

 full of empty comb the first 2 days after hi- 

 ving : what do you think about itV 



ITALIAN BEES WORKING IN BDXE^. 



Seme h.Hve complained that thtir Italian tees did 

 . not work so readily in tcies as ihe blacks. It is a 

 fact that the Italian tte dees rrt seem to cluster in 

 hoses as readily as ihe black lee, while the Itslisn 

 bee will commence storing surplus frcm cne v eek :o 

 ten days sooner; but they are ir cloned tr trl^d ^bcir 

 ccmbs upward. To avoid this we use the fen., which 

 we have found almost an indispensable rrticle In the 

 mani:gem€nt and success of bee ci^lti^re. We cut 

 our jiec-es as follows : if cur hex ;s 6;r(hf sf'ecp, we 

 cut fdn., two inches for top srd lur it iri a pc.nt 

 within a half inch (f bottom cfbrx, V stared: It 

 takes but little fdn. end the tees will cottiEtrce Fiid, 

 form their clusters within a few hours, and by the 

 time the black tees will commence in their?, with 

 the same treatment the Italians will have their bo^es 

 frcm cne half to two thirds full. Ihese aiefa(ts 

 that cannot, and will not be denied by any pi fdical 

 tee-keeper who has had experience with both kinds. 

 A. F. Moon. Rcme, Ga., Eec. 15th, 1!:7T. 



AGE or BEES. 



I am a new hand at bees and want to learn as much 

 as pcssible about them. I have 6 swaims of blacks, 

 cne of which is oueenless and has teen since July 

 8th '3 months). How is that ? I see scmetody says 

 a lee lives tut 4.5 days in the summer time. I tried 

 to divide, or did divide the swaim July Sth, putting 

 one-half the frames and bees into anotlier hive. Af- 

 ter two weeks. I examined and there was no queen, 

 brood nor eggs in either hive : the queen had taken 

 possession of one of the small boxes and I think had 

 been there a long time. I transferred the ce mts and 

 queen to a frame, put them tack into the hive and 

 they are all right : to the other hive I introduced 

 twr queens and got them killed, and have put in two 

 caids r f brord at different rimes and they wcn"t raise 

 a queen. I think perhaps they have a fertile worker 

 or they accept one as a queen, 



Xow this is my bad luck. I have another swarm 

 that I thought did "big things" before I saw Doolit- 

 tle's leport. I'Ut now. it looks small beside his : this 

 hive gave fcO Its. of box hcney and 3 large swarms. 



I filled 3 I oxes with fdn. and set tbem over 3 boxes 

 that the bees were at work in. and thev left the un- 

 der rnes and filled the fdn. boxes first. " 



B. F. Prait, Dixcn, lU., Oct. Tth. 18T7. 



We say bees live but 3 months on an aver- 

 age, during the working season, but bv this 

 we mean uorkivg bees. Your bees without 



a queen, probably did very little work, and 

 would therefore live, perhaps 5 or (3 months. 

 Again. I suppose they had eggs in the combs 

 atthe time of division : if so. you had bees 

 hatching for 3 weeks afteiw; rcl. rnd these 

 are but little more than 2 months old at the 

 date of yom- writing. The better way to test 

 this matter, is to give an Italian queen to a 

 stock of blacks. If yen examine the hive 3 

 months after the 1; st "black bee is hatched, I 

 think yon will find few. if any. left. i»rovi- 

 ding you make the experiment in some of 

 the spring or summer months. 



It is written, "Cast thy bread upon the waters and 

 it shall return nnto thee after many days." Last April, 

 I received a copy of Gleanings free, frcm you, 

 (April No.), at2d cVw ecclcse ?1,C)0 for a year's sub- 

 sCiipticn, beginnirg Jan. It". I bought rne hive of 

 Italian tees cf Mis. Adnm Grimm, through her ad- 

 venisement in Gi-iLAXiNG.^, got them safe May ICth, 

 1877, r.nd have I hives frcm them. I lost one while 

 awry, and en 2Slh cf July, the oiiginal swarm went 

 to the wooes. 1 g( t to Its. Kx honey and would 

 have hr.cl -5 lbs. mc re, had not sc me showmen carried 

 cne hive out, end pr.iily rcbbed it before I caught 

 them at it and Grc\e them away. They can led off 10 

 to 15 lbs. box hcnev, pcd turned part c f the bees. 

 G. W. V. HiTE, Victor, J a., Eee. 11th, 1877. 



I believe ■•showmen," are proverbially ad- 

 dicted to this kind of business, and Avhile I 

 woi^lcl by no means advise unnecessary harsh 

 trenment. I would suggest that thej" simply 

 minister to the wants of the people." If we 

 paircnize grog-shops, they will increase and 

 multiply : but if they do not sell enough to 

 ! pay txperses, they will very soon engage in 

 soneo.ler business, without feeling hard 

 towaid anybody, ^Whenever we patronize 

 ciicuses, I fear we encourage and help 

 along, very bad men antl Avcmen. I have 

 been to almost all that ever came along, 

 through all my lite, until within the past few 

 years, and I assure you I would much enjoy 

 going now. with the children, did I think it 

 were possible to separate the good from the 

 bad. I believe it is generally agreed that a 

 moral menagerie, would never pay iiavcling 

 expenses. There are towns where circuses 

 never step, because they say ihey never pay 

 their " sail :"" now shall "we help to make our 

 town cne of this class, and 8ave our bee- 

 hives, buggy whips and curry combs, or go 

 to the show and listen to profanity that is ut- 

 tered on pui-pcse to make small "boys fairly 

 tremble in their shoes ':* 



I now have over 50 hives, and over 90 under my 

 management and will have a hard time to be ready 

 frr the "spring campaign" in good order. I am ma- 

 kirg chaft division boards with the thin stuff of straw- 

 bet ry crates for sides, and they are splendid. I think 

 this.Vne of the A. Xo. 1 modern improvements. Do 

 you think I could sell my honey if 1 should send it 

 North in good shape — in sections, in May'r I tell you 

 hcney is a drug here at almost any price. I have 

 seme" in Memphis, white and pretty as can be; it 

 has been there for months. It was left on commis- 

 sion, or they were to pay me -Cc. and sell for what 

 they pleased. I have known them to offer it for the 

 same, and still it is "no go;" this town does not use 

 more than 200 lbs. in a year, even at 12^4 cts. for ex- 

 tracted, and 16?3 for sections. "I just as soon have 

 molasses"— thev sav. G.W.Gates. 



Bartlett. Tenn., Dec. 1st, 1877. 



Your market will improve, if you keep it 

 supplied with nice honey. As soon as ever\"- 

 body learns where it can be found any tirde 

 it is' wanted, it will go off faster than you 

 think. I would advise you to try the larger 

 cities near you. if you have more than you 

 can sell at home for 2cc. 



