American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1878-04-13
A FLOATING BEE-PALACE.
The Mississippi as n Basis for the Migra-
tory System of Bee-feeding and Honey
rpaIri

At the foot of Burdett Street, Carroll
ton, Mr.. G. O. Perrine, of Chicago, has
fitted up two barges as floating apiary
Each barge has a capacity and convent
ences for a thousand hives of bees. These
will be towed up to Kennerville next
week-they will start up the river with
about thousand colonies on the two
boats.
Mr.. Perrine has been in Louisiana IS
months studying up the bee business
and preparing for the grand onward
movement for which he will be ready in
a few days. His plan is to start with
his bee palaces and his 1000 colonies
from Southern Louisiana when the hon
ev flowers are in full bloom, to remain
but a day or two at landing, and
move up each time to another landing
and a fresh field. He thinks the bees
of from one to two thousand colonies
will take the cream from the country
around the landing from one to two
miles distant in one or two days. In this
manner he expects to move up the Mis-
sissippi to st. Paul, distance of nearly
1000 miles, where he will arrive about
the last of July.
Returning, he will halt about two
months somewhere above st. Louis, and
will reach Louisiana with his palaces
and bees in OCTOBER. 1t will be his OBJ
ject to take the autumnal flowers at
each point in their prime precisely as
1n IL
vance up the river. He expects his early
swarms on his boats to increase his col
onies to 1900 in April and May. -
The colonies of bees are in hives with
movable comb, on the most approved
plan of modern hives. These stand in
four walls, five hives one above the 9TH
err, nearly the whole length of the boat,
about $50 hives in each line The walls
of colonies on the right side and left
side have openings for the bees to come
out on the water front; space of two
feet between the hives and the guards
answers for gallery for the bee man
to walk on in front of the hives. In the
middle of the boat there are two other
walls of colonies, $50 hives in each, fac
ing an inner court six feet in width
The bees from these colonies reach the
open air through the skylight opening
in the roof above the court. Between
the first and second rows of hives from
the outside there is an aisle three feet in
width, for the convenience of the bee
man in handling the hives and the
honey. The distance from the barge
deck to the roof over the colonies is Is
feet. The space below decks is 10 feet
in width and about feet high, and is to
be used for neutrality-suspicious., MAX
ing and repairing hives, handling and
honey and putting it in mar
ketable shape. The dining-room and
cooking will be on the steamer that
lows the bee fleet.
To run the steamer and manage the
barges and bees from 10 to 20 hands
will be needed. The cost of the whole
barges, bees, steamer and
the complete outfit, will not be much
short of $4,000.
Mr.. Perrine has been engaged in the
honey business in Chicago II or 13 years,
and has lately made it special study.
He has dealt largely in California honey.
He expects to find the best market for
his honey in Europe.
Honey in the comb usually sells at
about 20 cents a pound wholesale.
honey sells at wholesale at or
cents a pound, or from so cents to 81
a gallon A gallon of strained honey
weighs about II pounds. The demand
for honey is increasing in the United
States, but Europe furnishes the best
market for this article.
The plan of moving bees to get the
benefit of different ranges and fresh
flowers has been tried in Il small way in
some parts of Europe. They are moved
both in carts and in boats. Bees that
go out of their hives in the morning in
search of food or honey, from floating
apiaries, have no trouble in finding their
hive, as they know their home by COM
parative location, and their particular
hive by form and color.
The average yield of honey per colony
in the North is 25 pounds, sometimes
much larger. In Louisiana II gallons
to the hive, or IA pounds, are not an
unusual yield, and, sometimes, as else
where, several hundred pounds
Mr.. Perrine expects to obtain from
his colonies from 100 to 200 pounds, and
to sell his honey at an average of ten
cents; the 1900 hives he expects to
average Sl5 to the hive. Willows make
an excellent bee range. They are in
blossom 10 weeks in Louisiana, and
but from one to two weeks in the North.
Mr.. Perrine has colonies of bees in
that have made from two to
seven pounds q day to each hive already
this spring.
Mr. Perlange, of Louisiana, has sent
100 barrels of strained honey to market
in single year.
Honey is now used in preparing to-
bacco for market, and by brewers in
making ale, and for medicinal, culinary
and other purposes.
The Mississippi River is the only great
river on the globe running south 1000
miles through region with such honey
resources as the country between New
Orleans and st. Paul.
AN artist of this city has only to seat
himself with his feet elevated To the
window sill, to create an impression on
passeru-by that his Office has been pro-