1874 
GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 
[For Gleanings.] 
BEPOBX OF OCR APIARY FOR 1874. 
BY G. M. UOOI.l'ITI.i:. 
ssaisaE hail a very cold and backward spring. 
iflf Snow was three Inches deep the first ol' May 
JJ and upon examining our hives the 4lh of Slav 
(which was the first day we could do so) we found 
them with no brood and but few eggs. We gave them 
the best of care in our power and by lire time apple 
blossoms opened we had them in quite a prosperous 
condition, although yet few in numbers. Apple blos- 
soms furnished an abundant supply for brood-rearing, 
and some of our strongest stocks made a gain of from 
12 to Pi lbs. We always have a season of scarcity be- 
tween apple and wiiite clover, and by the time white 
clover opened, which was about the 18th of June, our 
honey in the hives was nearly exhausted. As white 
clover was nearly all killed by freezing weather last 
spring, bees did not gqt any more than they consumed 
until sumach and whitewood opened, which was July 
1st . and lasted hut four days as it came oa wet then 
and continued so until the 18th of July, at which time 
oar hives would not average 2 lbs. of honey in the 
hive; a week of rainy weather at that time would 
have starved the whole, without the aid of the bee- 
keeper. Basswood opened I lie llltli hut bees could do 
nothing on it. until the tilth on account of high wind 
and rain. Then came 7 days of fair weather, then 
three of rain and then two more of fair at which time 
basswood was gone, making 9 days of basswood. 
Teasel yielded very sparingly but from buckwheat we 
got MOO lbs. of surplus which was the most we ever 
obtained from that source. 
Thirty seven out of our 50 stocks we worked exclu- 
sively for box honey and the remainder we devoted to 
improvement of stock and increase. We have at 
present 100 stocks in fair condition for winter and 
have sold ;n li t lbs. box honey or a fraction of a pound 
less than 100 lbs. to each old stock worked for box 
honey. We sold our white honey, (2774 lbs.i at 2844 els. 
per lfi. here, and the dark at 2Ug. Extracted is worth 
but 12 cts. with us, hut as we have none the price will 
not affect us any. 
We should he pleased to hear a report from those 
large hives and prolific Queens down in Kentucky, 
kept by Mr. Adair. 
How many of the readers of (li. makings have been 
troubled with their bees persisting in building drone 
comb? We never saw such a year. Some of our new 
swarms built ten full frames of drone comb before we 
could get eight worker built. We first commenced to 
cut ii oat bat they would build it right back drone, so 
wo adopted a new plan; we let them have it and kept 
shoving it out putting empty frames in the center and 
by tile time they had 4 or 5 drone combs nearly built 
they would think it was time to build some worker. 
Wo think a great deal of nice White drone comb for 
boxes, and in order to get it so, we opened eaeli new 
stock every four days and what combs hud larva 1 in 
we took out, and left the others in until next time 
round. When they would not build worker any long- 
er we lilled out the hive with worker combs from our 
nuclei. Mrs. 'flipper and others toil us to make our 
new swarms by taking full frames out of several old 
stocks and putting empty frames in their places 
thereby making a full stock at once. We have found 
ourselves often wondering at such advice as we never 
hare been able to gel one square inch of worker comb 
built under such circumstances. 
Borodino, N. Y. Oct. 12th, 1874. 
In rending the first half of the above we had 
almost concluded our friend was going to be 
a candidate for “Blasted Hopes,” but “shades 
of Iluber!” we certainly know nothing of bee- 
keeping if it, be possible to get 2774 lbs. of box 
honey from 117 stocks in but little more than 
"'lit' days yield of honey. Again the 11! remain- 
ing were increased tool); this is not so very 
difficult if the season were fair, but friend D., 
you certainly had a good yield from some 
source for more than the time specified, or else 
you possess some secret method of getting 
honey not yet given us through the Journals, 
'ye’ll have to pay you York State fellows a 
'|sit and learn something if we are so far be- 
hind. Seventy five lbs. each during the bflss- 
wootl yield would be over 8 lbs. per day, for 
"'lays ,bo.e honey. Saving all the nice white 
drone comb for box honey is certainly a very 
important item. 
<>Ut OW8 APIARY, 
' lave to-day, Oct 9th, commenced go- 
J'Jj ing through the hives for the last time, 
inspecting bees and stores, cutting winter 
passages through such combs as have none, 
etc. Wo find that our quilts arc always kepi, 
above the frames far enough to allow a bee to 
pass, by little projections of propolis, comb 
etc., so we shall not think it necessary to lay a 
stick across under the quilt. We find some 
sealed brood in the hives but no eggs. They 
are bringing some pollen now; this will prob- 
ably be kept until spring. 
We are enjoying ourself hugely just now in 
making a Glass House., (we’ll have to stop 
“throwing stones” will we not?) it is simply a 
wooden structure 8x13, set in the ground 2 1 ., 
feet, and the dirt thus removed is thrown on 
the north roof (which is of boards) and banked 
up at tlie east, and west ends. The south roof 
and south side are to be ail of glass. We pro- 
pose to make this an experimental “hospital” 
for bees that get uneasy in winter, or for very 
weak ones in spring. 
Oct. 15JA— We have had two severe frosts, 
anti as usual we find a few dead bees bro’t out 
of most of the hives afterward. We presume 
these bees have been caught away from the 
cluster, and in drawing together as the cold 
increases they found themselves separated by 
an entire comb, and being too much chilled to 
go around or over the top, they are frozen. In 
front of one entrance to our Standard hive we 
found the Queen dead among a small handful 
thus brought out. 
Alas, our 70 colonies, arc already , only 69. 
Oct. 16 th — Another frost, and another Queen 
found in front of the hive. Our subterranean 
Green House is nearly finished. Although the 
day hits been only tolerably warm, the ther- 
mometer showed the temperature of the ait- 
inside to lie 115 degrees, about two o’clock, 
and we have not had the glass washed yet 
either. We have been of the opinion that bees 
would thrive even during our hottest summer 
months providing honey was yielding plenti- 
fully but whether they will rejoice" at the 
temperature mentioned is more than wc can 
say just* now, but wc assuredly will test the 
matter. 
Oct. VMh — To-day being warm and pleasant 
we have looked up the cause of the loss of the 
two Queens. Our Standard hive contained 
two colonies; it came about in this way: P. G. 
some time in June petitioned her choice of a 
nice lot of Queen cells just built, and combs 
of brood sufficient to start a colony in the 
“Standard." Much was the bantering and jo- 
king in regard to her ability to choose a cell 
that would produce the finest Queen, and when 
it really resulted in a crooked one, while all the 
rest wore fine and shapely, of course the crook- 
ed Queen was a standing jest. She became 
fertile and in due time laid eggs, but she made 
so slow progress that a division board was 
inserted, an auger Hole made in the back end 
and a new Queen reared. This last proved 
very prolific and so rapidly did she fill the 
combs that her colony in a short time eclipsed 
{Continued on page 125.3 
