The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-04-01
PROFITABLE BEE-KEEPING.

AAsUs
How to Make S55Oa Year by the Cultiva-
ton of Bees-The Practical Experience
of an English Agriculturtst-The En-
tire Process In a Nutshell.
In small pamphlet of some forty-fve
pages, Mr.. j. w. Pagden, of England,
very generously gives the public the bene-
fit of his experience in the cultivation OF
bees, and shows how by following his di-
rections they may make $3.50 years
very neat little addition to the income OF
the farmer, or the working gardener. Mr..
Pagden commenced keeping bees some
four years ago on an outlay of 50. He has
now hundred stocks all strong and Wig
orOus-the best evidence in the world as
to the success and excellence of his sys-
| tenn.
HIVES.
Mr.. Pagden starts out by setting his
| face entirely against ranging hives against
a southern wall. He has tried every point
of the compass and finds east, or point
north or south of this to be the best. A
straw hive will last twice as long in this
position as in the others. 1t is not neces-
! sary to range hives under wall or hedge
they should simply be placed two or three
feet apart, with the back of the hives to the
garden wall. Bee houses are worse than
useless, and every hive should rest upon
| its own stand apart from others. Mr.. Pag-
den, after many trials, has found the straw
one to be the best for all practical pUr-
poses. 1t must be made with a flat top,
and a hole in the center, three inches In
diameter. When the bees show symptoms
of swarming. place on the crown an adapt
! inc board, with Sits cut in the ceRter cor
responding with the hole in the stock hive.
The Sits through the adapting board must
| be exactly three-siXteenths of an inch in
width. DrOnes will never pass through an
! aperture this size, and the queen will rare
! lV, if ever, do so. For stands he recon
mends an empty American cheese-bOX.
| First place your bricks flat upon the
ground, and place the box securely upside
| down upon the bricks, leaning from back
| to front. Cover your hive well over with
a sack or artificial manure bag, so that the
drip may be carried to the ground. With
a milk pan for roof, your hive is secure
SwARMS.
! A swarm is said to contain from 12,OOC
| to 10000 bees. When the bees require
more room. the queen, with great num-
| Der of her subjects, leaves the hive. When
| the bees have been quietly settled do not
| disturb them too soon. 1t is good plan
to syringe or sprinkle them with cold
water; this cools them, and makes them
more ready to crawl into their new habi-
tation. You may half drown outsiders
with water. When you have ascertained
| that the queen is quietly settled in her new
abode do not allow the new swarm to re-
main in the same position until evening
| Having removed the old hive, place the
new swarm on the old stand. Full grown
bees and stragglers will then find theil
way back. One fully populated hive will
| produce more honey than three or tOul
weakly ones. When the new swarm has
been working fifteen days or so, open the
hole at the top, place on your adapting
| board, and put on a super hive, box OF
glass, and the bees will store for you tit
teen or twenty pounds of honey comb a.
well as plentiful provision for them
selves. After the great depOpulation th'
bees generally give up all desire for more
swarming, and destroy all embryo queens
The queen will have left thousands of egg
in the old hive to be hatched out, and q
they will be rather short of bees to be sen
on fOraging excursions, assistance mus
be given them i'll the way of sugar sirup
The inhabitants will then multiply in
| wonderful manner. Place a cup on thu
top of the hive and leave them to work.
Having secured swarm at a small out
lay, the following summer you will hay'
one swarm Independent of the old stock
and will have taken sufficient honey t
cover expenses, and also to purchse an
other swarm. Should you continue thi
system for six years, without losses, yol
would have 729 hives. In one garden o
a quarter of an acre Mr.. Pagden finds tina
forty hives can work without incOnven
ierce but if you are disposed to make
business of bees gardens may be hired TO
any number. He thinks that bees roam
further for honey than is generally sup
posed; tney have the power OF flying at
speed of 100 miles an hour.
When your stock has reached a certain
size, you may commence the humane sys
tenn of taking honey without swarming o
destroying your bees.
SIDE HIvING.
The cottage hive can be easily adapted
to this plan; you have but to make pas
SAGE on the fioOr-bOard with small fran
, "a fiat trough, four inches square and
quarter of an inch In height. When tn
bees show symptoms of swarming. cut
, notch in the stock hive next to the floor
! board, and fit in the frame, leaving on
, end projecting. Allow the bees TO hav
free passage for few days; then cut
, corresponding notch to ft the frame in al
empty hive to place at the side close up Z
: the old stock the bees will then begin tC
= fill the collateral straw hive as readily a
one of a more extensive nature. In re
moving the side hive when filled smal
! cup or bell glass may be placed on the to-
of the old hive.
NADIR OR UNDER HIYTNG.
, Mr.. Pagden on one occasion observet
, that the bees had clustered over the block
and apparently disappeared. On raising
the hive he noticed a small hole in tn
center of the tlOOr-bOard, through whicl
bees were passing. In an Old chimney
: DOT he found forty pounds of pure, whit
: honey. He then adopted the idea by cut
= ting three Sits in the bottom of CHEESE
box three-sixteenths Of an inch wide an
three or four in length. He put on tn
: lid and turned the box upside down o.
four bricks. He also invented nadi
{ hive of wood and straw which answer
/ the purpose quite as well. The tempera
ture of the warehouse below is kept at ;
: much lower temperature than the TO
hive, and the queen will not condescen
to visit the lower regions. OF all plan
for taking honey without destroying th
bees this may be considered the best.
2 FEEDING BEES.