_Wenham, Mass._, Oct. 3, 1870.
* * * * *
Virgil recommends the hollowed trunk of the cork tree as a hive, than
which no material would be more admirable, if it could only be easily
and cheaply procured.
[For the American Bee Journal.]
Bees at Binghamton, N. Y.
MR. EDITOR:--Having gained so much instruction and pleasure from the
perusal of your valuable paper, I think it no more than right to send
you a report of the season’s operations here. But there are so many of
your contributors so much more successful, that my account will appear
tame in comparison; yet when compared with what has been done by my box
and Kidder hive neighbors, it seems to be quite a success.
The season has been favorable in this locality, though rather dry for
many crops, yet honey was more or less abundantly yielded all through
the season. The weather has been such that the bees could gather honey
almost every day, from the first of May until the present time.
We placed ten (10) swarms in the cellar in the fall of 1869, all of
which wintered in good condition and came out strong in the spring. Four
of them were Italians, and six blacks, seven in movable frames and three
in box hives. Those in the box hives were transferred in April; the
black queen killed about the first of June, and young, fertile Italian
queens of my own raising substituted for them. One hive was broken up
into nuclei in May, and also the first swarm. We have run from six to
ten nuclei all through the season, to obtain, if possible, a pure queen
for every hive; but we have not succeeded in getting all full marked
workers in more than half of the stocks, as our box hive neighbors kept
us flooded with common drones.
We have taken this season, as surplus, eleven hundred (1100) pounds of
honey--eight hundred (800) pounds being comb or box honey, and three
hundred (300) pounds extracted; and have increased our stock to fifteen
(15) full swarms. Besides the surplus, we have forty Langstroth frames
filled with comb and honey, averaging two pounds each. This is not
counted as surplus, but reserved for next season’s operations.
After transferring last spring, and cutting out drone combs, our hives
lacked from one to two frames each, from a full complement. Having
constructed a _slinger_ this season, we are enabled to lay by a goodly
store of combs for future use.
Our best stock gave us twenty-four six pound boxes, weighing one hundred
and forty-four (144) pounds, and twenty-five (25) pounds of extracted
honey; besides ten frames of brood and honey, taken from the body of the
hive at different times in the season and replaced with empty frames. It
is now in good condition.
This is the first season that we have practiced non-swarming on the true
principle of making box honey, and had we had the knowledge and
experience that we now have, we are confident we could have attained
still more favorable results. We are no friend to increase, and would
never increase more than is absolutely necessary. Nor can we understand
how some men are so well satisfied with a large increase and a small
amount of surplus. Yet we have not seen any feasible plan put forth
whereby a large amount of surplus can be made without a slight increase.
After having tried both kinds to our entire satisfaction, we think we
can get as much profit, and far more pleasure, from one Italian swarm in
a Langstroth hive, than we can from twenty-five (25) swarms of black
bees in box hives.