The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-03-16
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.

SUCCESSFUL KEEPING IN A NUT
sHELL.-The following paper was read
before the American ee-Keepers' Con-
vention, by Elisha Gallup:
The great secret in successful bee
keeping consists in knowing how to keep
all stocks strong, so that at the COM
mencement of the honey harvest they
may have brood in all stages, nursing
bees, and enough outside laborers. To
illustrate this, A and B both have the
same resources in their respective locali-
ties, or we will say that both reside in
the same locality, and their honey har-
vest commences on the first of June.
During the last half of July, and first
half of August, there is no forage for
bees. June and the first half Of July
are good, and the last half of August
and the month of September are good.
A commences in spring to stimulate,
equalize, ETC., and replaces all old queens,
or queens that do not come up to the
standard of fertility, with young prolific
queens and allows but little increase,
that is providing surplus honey is the
object. Here l will remark that with
young prolific queens, and abundance of
room, there is but very little danger of
increase. On the first day of June, when
the harvest commences, he has every
stock completely filled with comb brood
in all stages, nursing bees in abundance,
less than sixteen days old, and honey
gatherers over this age, and they are in
the very best possible condition to COM
mence storing honey Immediately. Then
during the scarce time, in the latter part
of July and first of August, he stimu-
lates and keeps up the fertility of the
queens until the harvest again commen-
ces in the middle of August. His bees
are then ready to commence storing sur
plus again as soon as the harvest COM
mences. The consequence will be that
A receives profit in surplus honey and
pronounces the season "a good one. In
fact meets every one with a smiling
countenance, and is well satisfied that
bee.keeping pays.
On the other hand, B commences with
the same number of stocks, in the spring
He let's them manage themselves, and on
the first day of June they are not in
condition to store surplus, or at least
but very few of them, and those few he
allows to swarm themselves to death, or
what amounts to about the same thing.
When the honey harvest comes in, his
stocks commence breeding very rapidly,
and by the time they get in condition to
store honey, the harvest is done, or near
ly SO, for it takes twenty-one days to
hatch out workers, and about sixteen
days more, before they commence labor
ing outside. Now the scarce time comes
on again, and B has got no surplus hon.
ey, but perhaps has number of extra
swarms. The queens stop breeding, es-
pecially if the forage is entirely dried
up, or cut off. Now when the honey
harvest commences in the middle of Au-
gust, his stocks, instead of being in con-
ditioD to commence storing, have to go
to raising brood again to replenish their
workers, for the brood hatched in June
and July is very soon used up with old
age, as the lifetime of worker bee Is
only from six to eight weeks during the
working season. Now you can readily
see that BIS stocks are expending all
their force and energy to replenish their
numbers again, and by the time they are
ready to commence storing, the harvest
is past, and when he comes to sum up
the .season's operations, he finds he has
received no surplus honey, and his sur
plus stocks, or a large proportion OF
them, have either to be fed or doubled
up, in order to winter them, and the
consequence is, his face is somewhat
elongated, and his conclusion is that the
season has been poor one for bees. He
has certainly had bad luck, and he is
ready to attribute it to anything but his
own neglect or carelessness. For exam
pie, the season has been poor one for
bees, or his climate is not adapted to
bee-keeping, ETC., etc. A, with his man
agement, in the same locality, mind you,
has had "good luck" as it is called. His
stocks are all in excellent condition for
wintering, no doubling up or feeding in
winter, etc., for he has fed at the proper
season, for hold it to be fixed. fact
that the summer and spring is the prop
er time to feed. Keep your bees in the
right condition to store honey, and when
the harvest comes they will store it.
There may be seasons and localities
where bees have to be fed in winter.
But have never seen such when they
were properly taken care of in the sum-
mer. The whole secret of successful
bee-keeping is contained in the above
nutshell, and should be the very first
knowledge sought by the beginner in
agriculture.
DWARF TREEs.-The following de-
scription of the manner in which the
Chinese make dwarf trees is an intima-
ton of their painstaking in horticulture
"We have known from childhood how
the Chinese cramp their women's feet,
and SO manage to make them keepers
at home;' but how they contrive to
grow miniature pines and oaks in
tiower-pots for half century has always
been much of a secret. 1t is the product
chiefly of skillful, long continued root
pruning. They begin at the beginning.
Taking young plant (say Seeding or
cutting of a CEDAR when only two or
three inches high, they cut off its tap
root as soon as it has other rootlets
enough to live upon. and replant in a
shallow pot or pan. The end of the tap
root is generally made to rest upon the
bottom of the pan, or on flat stone
within it. AlluvIal clay is then put
into the pot, much of it in bits the size
of beans, and just enough in kind and
quantity to furnish q scanty nourish-
ment to the plant. Water enough is
given to keep it in growth, but not
enough is given to excite vigorous
habit. So likewise in the application OF
light and heat. Then, too, the top and
roots haipu within aaav raaoh of the