Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-12-22
TIE HONEY CROP.

In no department of husbandry has such
a great advance been made in the last decade
as In the increased production of honey.
The amount of honey reported to the Census
Bureau for 1850 was %, S54, 74s pounds. In
| 1853 the Commissioner Of Agriculture, bas-
ing his calculation on statements received
from reliable persons in each county, puts
down the number Of hives at not fewer than
1900, 900, and the average yield Of honey at
22.6 pounds per hive, which would give for
the year 1858 yield of 100000 pounds,
an increase in ten years of one hundred per
cent.
The method now adopted Of extracting
the honey from the comb by centrifugal
force has probably doubled the yield during
the past three years, as bee-keepers are sat
! isfied that it requires five pounds Of honey
| to make one of comb. In an interesting
paper read before the Agricultural Congress
at Selma, Ala, few days ago, it was clear
| ly shown that the production of honey is al
most Ilimitable. In the New York Tribune
of recent date we observe report Of Ma
tional Bee-keepers' Convention, from which
| we extract the following interesting items:
In the evening Mr.. Quinby read paper
| showing the great profits Of Bookkeeping.
Not quite quarter million pounds of North
ern honey are sold in New York city each
| year, but the improved methods will make
| it possible to raise 20, GO0, 900 pounds year
! in New York State. The Rev, Fl. 4. King
| offered pleasing remarks upon the rapid ad-
1 vances in bee culture, A prize bee poem
was read by the Rev. Mr.. Clark, of Ontario.
| Mrs. Anna Slavery, of Des Moines, Iowa, a
| lady of wealth, related her experience with
bees, though last spring she hardly knew
bee from a yellowjacket. The past
summer she sold 200 pounds of honey
| from her own bees, and now she has 81
good sYarms wintering in her cellar, She
| undertook this business as an example to
other women, both rich and poor, and she
l expressed her enjoyment In it most heartily.
Mrs. Slavery appeared and spoke very pleas
antly, and richly merited the hearty APP
plauSe and vote of thanks given her. The
Rev. Mr.. Clark read paper advocating the
bee business as one which ministers might
profitably engage In, and giving names of
many prominent beekeepers who are minis
tiers. Mrs. Topper, of Iowa, answered theques-
tionsplsced In thedrawer. Among the large
number of facts which she stated few are
given: Italians far suEp4ss the black
bees; they will work on red
clover. There is no difference be-
tween queen which was forced In eight
days from the Larvae and one which had
been Matched in natural time from the
egg. She has now queen five years old,
which was raised In hive nine days after
the mother-queen was taken away. Short
lived and worthless queens might be raised
naturally or artificially. She knew workers
had somtimes moved an egg into queen
cell, though thought the queen at times
would lay In such cell. The position Of
the queen-cell Is Of no consequence. A eel
lar for wintering bees should be dry snd
perfectly dark, the temperature being kept
as near the freezing point as possible.
ga paper of much importance was read
by Gen. Adair, of KY, upon the subject of
Artificial Comb" He has made expert
ments which show that the bees will build
comb in frame that has sheet Of wire
cloth (siZes to 16) stretched through the
centre of the frame for the foundation of
the two tiers of cells, if the wire-cloth is
dlpped several times into melted wax. II
must be all coated over with more wax
than the bees can require to build out the
cells with. Such frame viii not break
down, and will be perfectly level. Not
more than one of these foundations-combs
should be put in hive at time, and then
only when the bees are in force to build out
the cells at once, or they will work off the
WAX, and after thGt they will not
build out the cells after the meshes are
opened. The queen will never lay eggs in
these wire base combs; so the apiarian can,
without division-board restrict the breeding
to any part OF the hive. The importance OF
this to those who pse the mel-extractor is
seen at once. In fact, one Of these combs
is perfect division-board, ss far as the
o1een is concerned. The wire-cloth should
lie timed, so it will not rust. The General
has succeeded in getting the bees to use old
beeswax and reconstruct it into comb. The
wax may be either bleacbed or tinted when
SO desired. The beeswax to be worked Is
to be mixed with white, granulated sugar,
one pound wax to three or four Of sugar,
the sugar to be incorporated into the wax
when Il IS nearly cool afSer melang-So