Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1860-03-22
FARMERS WIRR,

Good crops of beans FARMERS WRR.
Warren, March 9th, 1860.
Bees-Luck
EDITOR FREEMAN In calling the atten-
ton of your readers again to the merits of
the Honey Bee, as a source of pleasure. of
profit and kno ~edge-I propose to write
few things concerning that much used term,
Luck. That word has been 50 long applied
to everything pertaining to the Bee, that
many persons hardly dare purchase a colony
of Bees without consulting his good fortune,
or resorting to some potent charm to capti-
vate the part al dame. We find many at the
present day who will not sell ii swarm for
fear Of losing their luck. Others say that it
will not do to pay mon y for Bees, but you
must exchange for ,tock, or that you must
take them on shares, &c. No wonder that
Bee keeping has so often proved failure
when coupled with so much superstition and
ignorance.
The Honey Bee is native of a warm eli
mate, and when exposed to our northern lat
itudes. care and protection is needed to pre-
serve them from destruction. We protest
against the use of the word luck so common
ly applied to our vocation and we repudiate
the word and cast it out of the Apiarien vo-
cabulary. Success awaits the careful and en-
terprising in every other branch of burness.
Success TO the men who grapple with fortule,
know and understand their calling.
How to winter our Bees in Vermont in the
best manner, is question perhaps none can
answer yet we can show how ninety and
nine out of the hundred may be safely win.
tered in our cold climate. But still careful
experiments may determine better way
Spring is approaching q ith its warm sunny
days, ard our Bees ong to frisk in the air
before it is warm enough to prevent them be-
ing chilled. Many get upon The snow and
perish, many are blown down by the winds,
and titus our hives that have wintered are be-
coming weak when they should be strong
Care should be taken that the hives are s6ad.
ed till the sun is warm, so that they may not
be tenn ted to fly too soon. Hives should be
closed after a light snow followed by pleas
ant day, till the snow hardens SO that the
Bees may rise f. m it.
All swarms should be thoroughly examined
at this season, bottom boards cleaned, weak
stocks protected from robbers, and those that
need feeding should have honey given them,
as they will rCqui as much irom the first Of
March till honey harvest, as they have during
the winter The careless Bee-keeper who
lets his colonies peri h for the want of lew
pounds Of honey now, may be compared to
the man who has wintered his cattle till The
present time, and then lets them perish for
the want OF few tons Of hay. Each swarm
should be fed separately in its own hive, and
in no other way. If tod by setting out honey
before them all, the strong stocks would get
the Lions share and then rob their neigh
bors. Feeding and robbing require strict at
tention, and to write the best mode of do.
ing one and preventing the other, would re-
quire morespace than feel at liberty to oc-
upy.
In regard to the profit of Bee keeping
many different items may be gathered. Last
year was fair year. My stocks we're light
In the spring, but yielded me ten dollars the
swarm; cost of labors and hives, three dol.
lars per swarm, leaving profit of seven dol
lars colony. Twenty-Five dollars worth of
box hon y has been so d from single hives in
one season, in this town. That we have an
excellent Bee country, experience and OBJ
servation prov S. | am glad to SC, that the
U. s. have been importing the Italian Bee
to improve our stock, and that throughout
the country there is an increasing interest in
Aplaran pursuits In some future commu-
nlcation | will endeavor to show what kind
OF hives should be used. j. f. SANBoRN.