[For the American Bee Journal.]
Bee-Culture in Cities.
MR. EDITOR:--According to promise I will try to answer the queries so
often put in the JOURNAL:--“Are bees profitable?” and “Can bees be kept
in cities?”
I have kept bees for the last three years on the roof of a two-story
house in the city of Cincinnati, having kept bees before, when living on
a farm. We did then about as well with them, as our neighbors did who
also kept bees; but we were without the aid of the BEE JOURNAL, and kept
our bees in common box hives--hence our doings could hardly be called
bee-keeping.
Three years ago we took to the city the last hive which the moths had
left us, built a platform on the roof of the house, and placed the hive
thereon. It threw off a swarm in June following, and gave us some honey.
In the fall I introduced an Italian queen in each colony. Two years ago
I subscribed for the AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, and transferred my bees into
Langstroth hives. A year ago last spring I entered on the campaign with
five colonies of bees--the two Italians in Langstroth hives, and three
in Townley hives, having bought the latter. They produced during the
season nearly five hundred pounds of honey, all in small frames weighing
from one pound to one and a half pounds each; and the fall found me in
possession of fifteen strong stands of bees, most of them Italians. On
the fourth of June, 1869, I hived two second swarms, clustered together,
from two of the Townley hives. After giving them an Italian queen and a
full set of empty combs, they produced for me 138 lbs. of honey, the
same season.
Last spring I had a first-rate honey slinger made by a brother
bee-keeper in this city, and commenced the season with twenty
colonies--fourteen of which were Italians or hybrid. As the bees
commenced storing honey very early, my expectations were quite
flattering, though I did not obtain as much honey as I anticipated.
Several mistakes which I happened to make, account for this, in part;
but my honey-harvest is respectable still. Here is a statement of it:
384 lbs. of honey in frames.
1,350 ” machine strained honey.
23 ” beeswax.
As beeswax sells at the same price here that honey does, we may count it
with the rest, and thus we have 1,757 lbs. as the product of twenty
hives of bees in the city of Cincinnati. This certainly speaks well for
our Italian bees, and for bee-keeping in a large city. My black bees
have done well, but I think my Italians have given me nearly twice as
much honey. Every one of my twenty colonies is now strong.
I was induced last month to make four more swarms, by taking from each
hive about two frames with brood, honey, and adhering bees, and giving
an Italian queen to each swarm. I have thus twenty-four Italian stands
of bees, in a No. 1 condition.
Last year I wintered my bees on their summer stands, by leaving the
honey board in its proper place and covering it with about half a dozen
coffee bags or pieces of old carpet. I placed a smooth bag next to the
board, to cover well the openings. This plan did very well. I did not
lose a single colony, and intend to winter them the same way this year.
In the earlier part of the winter I lost a great many bees, for the
reason that I had neglected to cut winter passages through the combs.
This having been done afterward, on the first mild day we had, my bees
then got along first-rate. Before this was done, I sometimes found
hundreds of bees dead in the cells on the outside of combs which
separated them from the cluster--showing clearly the necessity of winter
passages. Most of those parts of combs had already a putrid smell, and I
thought it best to cut them out.
I have seen it stated several times that bees get irritated by tobacco
smoke, and are more apt to sting for several days afterwards. This may
be true of the black bees. They will bother me sometimes, in spite of my
cigar. But I think those assertions are only made by non-smokers. All I
want is a cigar, and I will open every one of my hives, take out every
frame, and replace it every day for a week successively, without finding
my bees any more angry at the end than they were at the beginning.
I learned how to open a hive from Mr. Gallup, through one of the numbers
of our BEE JOURNAL. I hardly blow any smoke at the bees, but over them;
and I keep my cigar in the mouth, while Mr. Gallup keeps his pan with
sawdust by his side, until the proper time arrives for the application
of a little smoke. I think there are no more peaceable hives than mine
in the country.
Now, Mr. Editor, I do not want to exhaust your patience, and wish you to
make use of this, or of such portions only, as you may think proper.