1878, 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE. 



93 



FLORIDA; MOVING BEES IN HOT WEATHER, &C. 



Soon rtftcr we came here, we bought one colony of 

 bees, thinking- to make a "small beg-inning-;" they 

 liad to be moA'ed some distance and were nearly all 

 smothered by the time they landed, but the owner 

 came along- and without our complaining-, said he 

 would bear the loss, as it was too warm, to move 

 beee. We then engag-ed 4 first swarms; they will be 

 ■coming in the latter part of Feb. or beginning- of 

 March, as bees commence swarming here about that 

 time. Bees are very profitable here I think, unless 

 honey comes in very slowly as they work s' me in 

 every month; but I fear the moth will be the great- 

 est trouble. Dragon flies are also very plenty here 

 and our hot sunshine may melt combs down. 



Would like very much to see an article on Venti- 

 lation adapted to "the South." I think Gleanings 

 greatly improved with its drawings, for you know 

 there is nothing like "pictures" to make one under- 

 stand. Clara Slough. 



Daytona, Florida, Jan. 18th, '78. 



The Simplicity hive moved forvrard on its 

 bottom board, will give yon all the ventila- 

 tion yon need, I think. We shi})ped bees 

 last summer, in the very hottest part of the 

 season, in these hives, by tacking v. ire cloth 

 both on the top and bottom, giving them a 

 constant draft thvfAigh the hive. Where v^ire 

 cloth was put only over the top and en- 

 trance of the old style L. hive, the comb 

 melted, and the bees were drowned in liquid 

 honey. Another item in favor of the light 

 plain Simplicity form of L. hives. 



trials of advertisers. 



I think I must tell you the result of mj' adverti- 

 sing. I paid you and Newman lf8.20 and sold two 

 swarms of bees. One of them I sent with my horse 

 and wagon P;9a miles, and after 3 days, received a 

 postal saying that I must prepay the freight or they 

 would not be shipped. So I had to send my boy 

 again through the mvd, for muddy it was. and most 

 fearfully so. Considering this, with all the corres- 

 pondence I have had to answer, you may guess how 

 much I made. Albert Potter. 



Eureka, Wis., Dec. 8th, 1878. 



You have proven pretty conclusively, 

 friend P., that it does not jiay to advertise 

 bees in the fall ; but if you were to offer them 

 in the spring, after safely wintering them, I 

 think you would make many more sales, 

 even if you cluirged much higlier prices. 



In the fall of '76 I put up 40 swarms of bees. At 

 the commencement of the honey season of '77, I was 

 reduced to 16 swarms in not very good condition. I 

 considered myself in the company of "Blasted 

 Hopes" but did hate to give up and be placed there, 

 so 1 said nothing rnd let my subscription expire 

 with the .June No. But fortune has favored my ef- 

 forts and frf:m my 16 swarms, I had. at the close of 

 the honey season, 85 swarms in good condition, with 

 1500 lbs. of extracted, and 100 lbs. comb honey. I 

 found quick sale at frcm 9 to 12c per lb. for the e.x- 

 trncted. L. Webster. 



Winneconne, Wis., Jan. 14th, 1878. 



I have been keeping bees for more than 40 years, 

 and have used every hive of any note that has been 

 manufactured, commencing with the patent hives 

 about 1840. at which time I purchased my first indi- 

 vidual right from a Major Koberts, of Kentucky, 

 which hive cost me $.57..50- a bee palace — carpenter's 

 bill, ^50.00— painter and glazier, *2..50, and right *5.00. 

 1 may safely soy that $2000.(X) is about the amount I 

 have in\ested in patented bee hives. I was then liv- 

 i:ig in Biclnnond, Va., and came to this part of Va. 

 to go into the business largely. I was unfortu- 

 nate in my location and became iather disgusted. 



A. S. Maddox. 



Cleek's Mill, Bath Co., Va., Jan. 22d, '78. 



days. The piece that is capped is a fair sample of all 

 our surplus this year, except that much of it is 

 grained, I think it impossible the bees stole sugar, 

 as we are 2 and 3 miles from any store. Bees worked 

 on peaches consideialily and we had a great deal of 

 honey dew. If you can tell what is wrong please do 

 so. By the way, do bees ever puncture the skin of 

 peaches or grapes? or do they work where other in- 

 sects have commenced? Some peach growers about 

 us set traps and destroy a great many bees because 

 they work on their peaches. From my own observa- 

 tion I fail to catch them breaking the skin, but they 

 hunt round till they find a hole or crack in it. 



In making your candy with flour, do you use fine 

 flour, or wheat meal, or graham? Would it not be 

 good policy to put in a frame of candy about the last 

 of March to stimulate brood rearing, so as to be 

 ready for apple bloom? W. D. Hinds. 



Townsend, Mass., Jan. 22d, 1878. 



It is candied honey, of some kind, without 

 any question. It resembles, when seen in 

 the cells, grape sugar; and it is quite 

 probable that it is a kind of giiqie sug- 

 ar produced by fiiiit, or perhaps by 

 aphides. Several letters received of late, 

 seem to indicate that tliis form of grape 

 sugar, is quite common, during some sea- 

 sons. All honey, it should be remembered, 

 is the greater part of it, grape sugar, and it 

 is this that makes honey candy. The grape 

 sugar of commerce, will often turn solid in 

 24 hours after tlie bees have placed it in the 

 cells, but this does no harm, for they can 

 use it about as readily one way as the other. 



I think bees rarely puncture peaches, but 

 I have no doubt they would, if they learned 

 how ; the Italians are quite equal to the 

 task. If your neighbors get an idea the 

 bees are injuring the peaches I would pay 

 them for the damage done, or remove the 

 bees. Such matters can almost always be 

 arranged pleasantly. 



We have tried different kinds of flour, but 

 prefer the common white flour for candy. 

 The flour candy will start brood rearing at 

 almost any time, and we shall give it a 

 thorough test this spring. 



In Jan. No. of Gleanings, 1878, page 7, you ask 

 concerning expeiience in wintering with aster hon- 

 ey. We have found that it will always candy very 

 soon, and when granulated after extracting makes a 

 beautiful and very palatable honey. The grains 

 are sometimes so fine that it is soft like butter. It 

 makes poor winter food because there is not time, 

 after gathering, for it to ripen well. Where aster 

 abounds, large amounts of it may be gathered by 

 furnishing empty comb or fdn. to receive it and re- 

 placing full combs of summer honey put away du- 

 ring the aster season. Thus, large amounts of aster 

 honey may be gotten and good wintering secured. 

 •James W. Shearer, Liberty Comer, N. J. 



I extracted from 7 young swarms last season, .580 

 lbs. 1 extracted none after Oct. 18th. They gath- 

 ered plenty for winter, after that time. Bees are 

 now bringing pollen. I have, for the last two 

 months, been making hives and transferring from 

 log gums to L. hives. Bees are very rich. I have 

 over ICO more to transfer this winter; our swarming 

 season comes in March and April. 



R. Devenport. 



Richland Spring, Texas, Jan. 20th, '78. 



HONEY THAT CANDIES AS FAST AS GATHERED, AND 

 BEES AND PEACHES. 



I send you a sample of honey which my bees pro- 

 duced lust season. The sugar was grained in the 

 new comb that is partly filled, when I took it out. 

 and it was built in where I left a vacant place 2 or 3 



MARTINS AND BEE MARTINS. 



Protect the martins that come from the South, 

 they will not harm bees or anything else. They 

 come in spring and leave in the fall. I have three 

 martin houses. There is a bee martin that comes in 

 the spring that does not build in boxes like the other 

 martins, and kills thousands of bees if left alone; 

 they sit on fences and trees near where the bees 

 have their crossing and catch them, and then light 

 on the fence again, and will stay around the apiary 

 the whole season. I frighten them away by shoot- 

 ing at them with powder two or three times "a day. 

 John Boerstler, Gilead, Ills. 



