The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1853-03-23
AGRICULTURAL.
Interesting facts about Bees,

fort to form some acquaintance with you
aud your readers on the subject oi the cul
ture Of the honey-bee and the laws Of its
| government. and il was then my intention
to, have continued the discussion in Sc.
I'rcs, .ot communications. But the year
l949. IN the southwestern part of Ohio not
only brought with it the plague of our race.
but also the famine to the bee: and so
great was their desolation of that year.
that almost despaired oil again making
any effort for their restoration; but by
process of feeding, and by strict attention.
during the succeeding winter Twas ena-
bled to save about half the stock that had
passad through the previous winter. The
bligi,ting frosls that occurred about the
middle of April, l849, by which the forest
blossoms were all destroyed together with
the dry summer and fal. OF l848. by which
the uhiie ciorer was almost exterminated.
brought upon the bees the most disastrous
consequences. But those that survived
the wreck of 40, from the abundance and
richness OF the ardite ciOrer in 1850 more
than made up to the aEenHre culturist for
the losses aud failure Of the previous sea-
SONS.
| IOil liiSSt VI e"S
honey-6ee has commanded its full portion
Of the attention OF man; but It's passing
strange that although many reliable works
have been written on the subject. no relia-
bile experiments or extended observations
seem TO have been made in regard to the
comparative richness OF the various flow
ers from which the bees extract their sweets.
and that the cultivation Of no particular
plant has been fixed upon or recommend
ed as one that could be generally relied
upon as furnishing uniform and reason
able harvest, All the observations that
have been made upon the subject seem to
be superficial and speculative, aud they
are generally delusive.
word or two OH this subject: the for
est timber of this part of Ohio. differs, per-
haps, from most other localities. I'VE
have the sugar tree, buckeye. poplar, and
linn. that afford support to the bee.-The
blossoms OF these appear in the following
order: the sugar tree, from the lst to the
middle of April, and OF short duration;
the buckeye, from the middle OF April, to
the first Of May; the poplar. and the linn.
rather after thar: before the middle of June.
All vary more or less according to the
seasons. Before the season of the bloom
of the poplar shall have passed, the white
clover, OIL account OF the warmth of its po-
silion and superior richness. attracts the
busy bee." aud the tall poplar, though il
: be the towering monarch of the forest, be-
fore il has disorbed itself of its beauties
and its sweets, is bercft of its enchanting
hum.
In the month OF June. 832. my atten-
iion was first attracted 10 this subject
asc certained that my bees were collecting
honey very rapidly, andne swarms were
coming forth n<greater abundance than
feared would be profitable. desired to
learn the source of their prosperity; and
an examination of the laborng bees as
they returned from their rambles enabled
me TO discover on their thighs small brown
lspecks OF pollin or farina, Gin common
+ parance bee-bread.) and a visit to the
Eclover field removed all speculation; the
bees were there in the full exhibition ol
their native industry.
B On the tenth day Of June 1882. intro
!. duced swarm Of common size into q
hive that was half filled with comb and
! constructed by a swarm of the previous
!, year, which had perished during the win.
!. ter; the comb, however, was sound. A
bout ii o'clock A. NJ Of that day they
were all in the hive. and placed on bench
|. on linen cloth, by which the hive. bees
:. cloth. and all were weighed; this done
q the cloth was removed, and carefully laid
/ away and the bees left to themselves. In
! less than one hour. they gave unmistaka
ble signs that they hnd been introduced
j into a home where other workmen hat
!, expended labor and materials that they
,f could appropriate to their own use. and
i they were determined to make the best use
they could Of their good fortune. They
remained undislurbed during the follow.
u ing day. (that was the eleventh of the
monthly after the close of the day, the
same cloth was again placed under the
hive and the contents weighing as before
Q The bees had been in the hive one day
and a half. the increase weight was 7lbs
;. and in less than eight days the hive be-
!. came heavy aud the bees to great exten
i. ceased labor. have often since made
= the same experiments the last was in
y I850,-ihe results were nearly the same
Such, no doubt. are the advantages result
/, ing to the bee and the owner, from good
| lclsite c7ouer pasture; it far exceeds all
other flowers in productivenesss.
;, The linn puts forth the last forest bloom
of the season. and generally passes off by
the first. or at the farthest, the 10th of July
:; it is next in productiveness to the clover
but in the flavor and beauty of the honey
it surpasses the product of all other flow
ers.
In this part Of Ohio this (July 10th,
;. generally closes the honey making sea.
i son. The buckwheat may in some local
: tiles and in some seasons, yield small
e later supply. 1t is not prete nded, howev
i er, that in other regions of the country
and variety of other forest trees are no
Z of character that may render the bee
: equally. il not more representatives.
!, | in the Ohio Cnltiuator.
@BARRy's HoRTlcULTURIsT, in an
. swer to a correspondent, gives The follow
ing advice on Pruning:
;. We hold that pruning in general, in oul
b | IL; =, offar tho