The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1877-05-17

A correspondent gives, in the London
Aqricultural Gazette, an interesting &C.
count of bee culture in India. He writes:
"Some of the villages make the keep
ing of bees their chief business; and al
though their method would perhaps hard
w answer either with Englishmen or En-
glish bees, it is at any rate curious, and it
Is certainly very successful and exceeding
.sThc houses are built of framework OF
wool, which it would not be easy to de-
scribe without sketch, but which leaves
everywhere in the walls, both in their
whole length and height, open spaces of
about two feet high and from ten to twelve
feet long, which are subsequently filled
up with stones and clay, after which the
whole is plastered inside and out with
preparation of gypsum, which is found in
abundance in the hills. The roofs are
fiat, Of beaten clay, and the caves project
about three feet beyond the walls. As
the whole weight of the roof rests entirely
on the wooden framework, the stones and
clay, with which any one of the spaces I
have mentioned is filled, can at any time
be removed and replaced without at all
interfering with the stability. In each of
these spaces, particularly in the walls
facing the south, is placed one or more
round earthenware watcrpOts, the height
of which ought to be equa. exactly to tine
thickness Of the wall; these are built
into the wall lying ON their sides,
with the round bottom outside,
and its extreme convexity flush with
the outside of the wall whilst the mouth
of the vessel, which is six or eight inches
in diameter, is flush with the wall in the
inside of a room; in some houses there
are as many as forty Of these waterpots
(called ghurrahs in 1ndia) thus imbedded.
All that is now wanted is to make small
hole on the outside convex bottom of each
waterproof for the bees to enter-stick on q
small patch of clay below it for them to
alight On-put in q swarm and close the
mouth of the pot with an eartherware lid
made to fit. When honey is to be re-
moved, all that is required is for the ope.
rator to enter the house, close the door,
tap on the lid of the ghurrah to drive out
the bees, or, If that is not sufficient, open
the lid a little and blow in two or three
puffs of smoke from lighted rag, then
open the lid fully and remove a. much Of
the honey as may be deemed expedient,
after which the mouth of the pot Is re.
closed, and the bees soon return and 60 to
WOIA 0k01uS CuOUSA Va GAAV SAOAASy "a
seems t. be left to support the stock
through the winter. and could not ascer-
tain that artificial feeding Is ever resorted
to. As the houses are occupied by the
family as we'll as the cattle of the owners,
and in winter pretty constant fires are
kept up. the bees, no doubt, benefit by the
heat.
BESIDE these hives, which are never
killed of, each house generally has . Iarg
number of others, the result OF swarming,
which are managed in q different way.
For these q hive is prepared thus: A
piece of the trunk Of pine or cedar tree,
Of about eighteen inches in diameter, 10
cut to q length of two and . half feet
this is split down the middle, and escn
half followed out In the center, 90 that
when reioined there ID . considerable
space inside. A hole Is made In one OF
the halves for the bees to enter; and
swarm being secured, it Is lodged In the
hollow log, the two parts OF which, nav-
ing been securely tied together, are then
hung up close under the projecting caves
of the house and well out Of the reach OF
bears, which are numerous In the district,
and are very partial to honey. To get
the honey from these swarms, believe 1t
IL usual to destroy the bees; but l have
heard, although / do not know exactly
how it is done, that, instead OF destroying
all the bees, the queen only Is sometimcs
killed, and the workers added to one OF
the stocks in the house wall, which msy
have become weak"