The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1853-03-11
AGRICULTURAL.
Interesting facts about Bees.

Interesting facts about Becs.
About four years since, made an effort
to form some acquaintance with you and your
readers on the subject of the culture of the
honey-bee and the laws of its government, e.
it was then my intention to have continued
the discussion in a series of communications.
But the year lS45, in the southwestern part
of Ohio not only brought with it the plague
Of our race, but also the famine to the bee; g.
SO great was their desolation of that year,
that | almost despaired of again making any
effort for their estoration; but by process;
of feeding, and by strict attention, during the |
succeeding winter Twas enabled to save about
: half the stock that had passed through the |
previous winter. The blghting irosts that
occurred about the middle Of April, lS49, by |
hch the forest blossoms were all destroyed, |
.ogether with the dry summer and fall OF
lS4S, by which the white clouer was almost
extermnuted, brought upon the bees the most
disastrous consequences.-Bu those that
survived the wreck of '49, from the abundance
and richness of the tchite clouer in 1850 more
than made up to the attentive cuturst for the
losses and failure Of the previous seasons.
From the earliest period of history, the
hoaey.bee has commanded its full portion Of
the attention of man; BUTTS passing strange
that although many reliable works have been
written on the subject no reliable experiments
or extended observations seem to have been
made in regard to the comparative richness
OF the various flowers from which the bees
extract their sweets, end that the cultivation
of no particular plant has been fixed upon or
recommended as one that could be generally
relied upon as furnishing a uniform and rea-
sonable harvest. All the observations that
have been made upon the subject seem to be
superficial and speculative, and they are gen.
erally delusive.
A word or two on this subject the forest
timber of this part Of Ohio, differs, perhaps
from most other localities We have the
sugar tree, buckeye, poplar, and linn, tina,
afford support to the ee.-The blossoms o
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
the linn, rather after than before the middle
Of June. All vary more or less according t.
the seasons. Before the season Of the bloom
of the poplar shall have passed, the white
position and superior richness, attracts the
"busy bee," and the tall poplar, though it be
the towering monarch of the forest, before il
has dsrobed itself of its beauties g. its sweets,
10 berelt Of its enchanting hum.
In the month Of June, 1882, my attention
wns first attracted to this subject. asccr-
tanned that my bees were collecting honey
very rapidly, and new swarms were coming
forth in greater abundance than | feared
would be profitable. desired to learn the
source of their prosperity; and an examina-
ton Of the !aboring bees as they returned
from their rambles enabled me to discover on
their thighs small brown specks of pollin or
.arna, Cn common parlance bee.bread,) and
visit to the clover field removed all spec
ulation: the bees were there in the full ex-
hibition o their native industry.
On the tenth day of June, 1892, into
duced a swarm of common size into n hive
that was half filled with comb and construct
ed by swarm Of the previous year, which had
perished during the winter; the comb, howev-
er, was sound. About IL O'Clock A. nj. OF
that day they were all in the hive, and placed
on n bench on linen cloth, by whicbthe hive,
bees, cloth, and all were weighed; this done,
the cloth was removed, aud carefully laid away
and the bees left to themselves. In less than
one hour, they gave unmistukable signs that
they had been introduced into home where
other workmen had expended labor and mate
rials that they could appropriate to their own
use, and they were determined to make the
best use they could of their good fortune
They remained undisturbed during the follow
ing day, Chat 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. The bees had been in
the hive one day & half, the increase weight
was l7lbs!--and in less than eight days tho
hive became heavy and the bees to II great cx-
tent ceased labor. ! have often since made the
same experimcnts.-,he last was in lS5O--the
results were nearly the same. Such, no doubt
are the advantages resulting to the bee and
the owner, from good uhiie cioper pasture; it far
exceeds all other flowers in productveness
The linn puts forth the last forest bloom of
the season, and generally passes Off by the
first, or at the farlhest, the 10th of July; it is
next in productivencss to the clover, but in the
flavor and beauty OF the honey it surpasscs
the product Of all other flowers.
this part of Ohio this Duly lOth) gener-
ally closes the honey making season. The
buckwheat may in some localities and in some
seasons, yield small later supply. Il is not
pretended, however, that in other regiouns OIL
the country, and variety of other forest trees
are not Of a character that may render the bee
equally, II not more prosperous,-HUBsR, in
the Ohio Cullipator.