Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1870-08-25
For the Republican.
SCIENTIFIC BEE CULTURE.

By request of many friends of the lit
tie insect called the Honey Bee, we sub
nit n few statements concerning orr'
Italian Bees. . 1s = = go ~&a
About six years ago we bought two
Italian Queen Bees for which we paid
$50, and have been breeding that variety
ever since with varied results of failure
and success, till we think all the 'bad
luck- was for want of a sufficient edu-
cation in the bee business. Previous to
this season we bred Queens and bees ex-
clusively, leaving honey out Of the
question, only what was necessary for
breeding purposes. This year being de-
termined to ascertain how much honey
3 colony of bees could gatherwhen they
had no comb to build, We set aside two
colonies for that purpose, leaving the
balance for breeding purposes as usual ;
but being disappointed in getting our
Honey Extracting Machine in time, the
experiment is not fair test. The Bees
after having filled their two story hives
with honey (being furnished with addi-
tional combs for the upper story, were
necessarily idle in great degree, from
the middle of June till the middle of
July, when we received our machine
and set them TO work again in good
earnest. We at once took from those
two hives respectively 6S and 70pounds.
The one from which we took 6S pounds
on the 18th of July, we again took Il
pounds from the same combs, SOn the
18th of July, showing an increase of
honey at the rate of nearly 5 pounds
per day just at the closing of the honey
gathering season. From those two colo
nies we got 22O pounds of honey and
two large swarms, and We confidently
believe the amount of honey would
have been double, had we received our
ma chine by the first-of June! NFor the
benefit of the -uniHitiated We will just
state that this Honey Extractor, is a ma
chine by which the honey is thrown
from the combs by centrifugal force,
leaving all the pollen. Q'se bread) and
Larvae young bees) in the combs, which
we replace in the hives with the insinu-
alton to fill them again, and the bees do
it as if their lives were contingent upon
the issue of filling them up again in the
shortest possible time. Many have come
to us with the Bee fever, asking our ad-
vice and many other questions prepara-
tory to going into the bee business, and
to all such we say,, that We have no Scr
crets that are. not free, yet without
speaking discourageingly, We know of no
business where little neglect at the
proper time to work, or want of knowl-
edge of the proper thing to be done,
would work such havoc among Screen
backs" as i'm the bee business. On the
plan we follow, the bee keeper, must
make up his mind not to regard any
amount of bee stings, even q dozen an
hour, but fake it patiently. We are
asked how we make all our swarmS just
when we want them? How we raise
queens, etc, etc. Now We could teach
yOn just as soon how to clean and re-
pair watches. II You are in earnest and
mean to learn the bee business, read up
gentlemen-buy books and take tn,
american Bee journal; study diligently
and you will surely succeed. Mr.. A. j
Root, of Medina, after years of patient
attention and experimenting (he is n live
watch-maker), this year took over $4,000
pounds of honey from 46 colonies o
Italian Bees, and hibrids.
- .rit iitff A. B. FREY. :