cm 
CLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
79 
DEPOSITORY OF 
H LASTED II O P3E;M S : 
KrleHcrs From those who have made Bee 
(Culture a Failure. 
,rs;j PE A KING ol bees etc.— I got my Extractor alter 
nHj swarming time last year. Had suffered bv too 
^ inach swarming, nevertheless pitched In with it, 
and look about 4i.O lbs. honey, leaving however, eight 
•out of twenty hives for cap honey, and readied noth- 
ion from them. 1 was taken violently sick the last of 
August, and was unable to do anything more, until 
tobacco, corn, and seeding wheat were on hand de- 
manding my whole attention, contenting myself In 
looking at my bees working Industriously on buck- 
wheat, taking for granted that they were 'doing well. 
In Dec. 1 examined my hives and found but little 
honey, no pollen, and bees greatly reduced In number. 
*6(1 them IVeely with a mixture of rye Jlour sugar and. 
■honey, (some weak hives had been fed before with 
tea-kettle feeders Young hies were soon found in 
•comb, hut alas! the lee spell in Jan. swept oil' a num- 
ber of hives, and the next cold snap, some more. 
Human like. Novice had to bear the blame, (extract- 
ing) but when I examined the hives unextracled, 
bmnd that in proportion (most of these my best) they 
had lost more in number, so Novice and Extractor 
bad to be cleared of the charge. 
Conclusion— want of bee bread and inattention on 
my part in time, reduced the numbers of the bees so 
that they could not keep up a sufficient heat In ice 
spell. Food, though scarce in the combs, was in 
abundance on top of the frames, immediately over 
(lie cluster and was used IVeely by the bees until the 
ire spell closed (heir labors, Dees died iu solid clus- 
ter ou the com Its just under the feed, lltves wintered 
on summer stands. Several weak stands have united 
tad wdh same feed are now safe. 
THE DOLLARS VIEW. 
Interest and labor on 12 stands $10. each, ext’il $15.00 
400 lbs. honey at 12N cts. 50.00 
Gain by Extractor $15.00 
Interest anil labor lost oil 8 hives for box honey 10.00 
(dear gain by Extractor $45.00 
Or if all had been extracted, and yielding at the 
same rnt<x then, 600 lbs. at 12% cts ...$82.50 
Interest, labor etc..... 22.50 
Gaia by using Extractor with 20 colonies bees, one 
ltcd Hill, Va. j. n. TownlKV. 
that? ’Twas no fault of your’s that your bees 
didn’t die, it only “just happened so," and may- 
be you’ll “ketch it” next time. We should feel 
more inclined to console ourselves in this man- 
ner however, were it not that others had lost 
bees in friends B’s neighborhood, all around 
about him, during both the past winters. Let 
us see if lie can do it again next winter. 
Friend M. is right too, tor we have seen many 
instances of bees wintering nicely where no 
care was taken at all. and circumstances seem 
ed decidedly unfavorable. 
iRIEND NOVICE: — I have just been perusing the 
Gleanings, and there is something very remarkable 
In all this; you and I have had exactly the same expe- 
rience In spring management. 
Our bees have dwindled down precisely in the same 
manner. Some of our most populous hives, when set 
out, are now nonest. We had two Italian Queens, one 
got lost, the other. In a very strong stock In enrlv 
spring, escaped destruction by the “skin of her teeth.'’ 
I will uot venture to put her hi a strong colon v, so she 
lays about a dozen eggs in each cell. I lirst thought 
something was wrong with her, but tlud that all she 
desires is “elbow room.” Out of 08 colonies— same 
number as yours— we have now twenty nine; three 
are yet Quecnlcss, and one has a young Queen just 
laying. 
In regard to our neighbors, they were just like yours. 
Ihose that call eggs "nits” and swarms ‘young liees” 
seem to have lost none; nud open their eyes wide 
when I tell them of my loss. I presume they go off 
thinking, “well, them don’t know much about bees, 
I II bet a chaw terbaccer.” 1 uruess the reason our 
bees die, is, that they are civilized and rellned and 
consequently can’t stand such treatment from the 
Weather King. Yours in sympathy, 
Uerlin, Wls- June 8th 187k ’ J. D.’Kruschkk. 
P. S.— I think In a few days I can get some to work 
in boxes it the weather keeps favorable. 
We too, are satisfied now, that the fault was 
no fault of our Queens; for all they seem to 
need, is bets. Even now (June 19th) they per- 
sist in going over their ground the second or 
third time i. e. putting two or more eggs in a cell. 
®,i(©)'p jO'irtvS’ 3E;n.c o u i n^. 
^jfljRIEND NOVICE —In relation to bee matters 
n “J am in the same IxxU with yourself. I set out 2 
^ swarms in March. 22 of them were strong am 
wealthy. I now have six swarms, and two ol thes 
W and one has an old Queen not very prolific 
1 had two Italian swarms, both dwindled down to 
mere sliudow, and only one Queen was saved. .She i 
■on duty now. 
To say that I was blue would eonvey but a ftiint Idea 
i was however soon cheered up by learning from 
neighboring bee-keeper who had 10ft swarms in con 
mon box hivos, that he had lost 25 and’they were sti 
• ■■•.w-i, vim v nt iivui .inn mi;) were sui 
V. i§r l * at accounts l\il 1 half of the 100 had “peg 
out,” My own and this gentleman's loo, wer 
ii ( it /> /,« 1 1 <kt- 
ked Jta , a, 
Wintered in the cellar. 
1 have come to this conclusion ; that bco-keep 
ng is one ol the most uncertain pursuits a person cal 
1 .. .fUS® .. ,s nothing to winter a swarm of bees 
uiii from March until llowers come, there’s the rub 
i specially when we have snow until the 3rd ol Slav 
an I not set out with the determination to succeed 
.“wow «1> Hie pursuit In disgust. Hut 1 wll 
"Jit a little longer and see if the good time won’ 
vomc sometime. 
It Is tlie old established custom in tills uclghborhoot 
1 nil, < 0U ,l V Kl l >1 ” h for shade. 1 have done a wonder 
v ,4 roollsh thing to some minds- have planted tin 
nJ™ 6 , Ilu 1 whole length of our farm, 118 rods, t< 
^ e shall never give up until we see bee: 
iiY.n’ * '"Ttar from our “Linden Avenue.” 
wa ? Is Mr. Polio entitled to a great deal o. 
11.. , ‘U'' wintering, or I should say, springing lii: 
e*i> < ..?i° n * e8 ’ , know of bee-keepers with little or to 
■ 1 ulence who have lost none tills past spring. 
hi. n «® rc 80 ma,, y varying circumstances mav no 
i. *>»<> his “W aterloo •*’ J. 11. M.u’.tin 
H articl'd, N. Y. Juno 8th, 1874. 
There, friend Bolin, what do you thin); ol 
ffl.lt Queen I reoclved from you last fall is all 
||i light so far, hut too early to say much about her 
=? purity. 
t lie 8th of June last, I bought three stocks of bees 
‘"-box hives, transferred In about ten days ami re- 
ceived from them during the season 870 llis. of nice 
honey, and doubled mv colonies. They are alive and 
strong at the present time. I think that is not so had 
Considering the somewhat poor season of 1873. 
Port Sanilac, April 27th, 1874. Win. SFKDDINO. 
DEAR NOVICE:— My bees are getting me into 
trouble, they are making too much honey; they are 
tilling every comb in their hives so there is hardly anv 
room for brood. I have been taking frames out, but 
they (ill tlie now combs as fast as they build them. 
Retreat, Ind. June 8th, 1874. John Baxter. 
FRIEND NOVICE:— We are now in the bight of 
honey harvest, the Holds are snowy white w 1th clover 
and the bees are almost breaking their little necks 
carrying In honey. I have a good time with my knife 
you sent me, and my extractor. 1 have four ol my 
Blacks Italianized, got two more to Italianize to-mor- 
row. 1 extracted from two colonies of Italians yester- 
day Sjf gallons of honey. Made three new swarms, 
pure Italians. I mil using a 30 inch hive, frames ION x 
10 deep ; don’t want anything better for the worktug 
season, and they «re just right to winter two colonies 
in by using a division board. I think 1 will reach six 
hundred lbs. honey this season. I have sold some ex- 
tracted honey at 30c. per lb., how will that do for fruit 
blossom honey? N. W. Kershaw, Hope, Ohio, 
P.S.— Will honey extracted before the bees com- 
mence capping it over, sour if it is kept la a cool dry 
place? 
It is liable to, if extracted when very thin, 
oud it. becomes very unpleasant even it’ kept 
where it docs not sour. Be very careful not 
