The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-01-08
Bee Keeping,
PAPER READ ny MIR II. II. BROWN AT THE
MEETING OF THE STATE BOARD OF
AGRICULTURE AT BLooMsBuRG,
ON WEDNESDAY, DEC.
2, 1885.

MEETING OF THE STATE BOARD OF
AGRICULTURE AT BLooMsBuRG,
ON WEDNESDAY, DEC.
2, 1885.
| Bee keeping is pleasant and profit
able pursuit to those who determine tC
make it a success, by devoting tim,
and labor in becoming fully ac9uaint
ed in all the details of its management
And feel assured that millions OF
dollars worth of honey is lost ,very
year,of which the farmers of this coun-
try might avail themselves TO greal
extent and for their trouble and expense
receive from twenty to one hundred
per cent. profit on the investment. 1t
needs but little capital to begin with
and they can be kept on very small
space of ground, for many are kept
protitably on roofs in large cities
And farmers can keep a few colon.
les and by giving them the proper at.
tention, and at the proper time can Sc
cure from the blossoms and flower
which are to be found in abundance in
rural districts, secreted with honey
ready for the bees visit to gather it
for its own and keepers use.
\ The farmer will not only be the gain
er by the honey gathered but also by
the visits of the bees to the blossoms
of his orchards and fields, as it is nece,-
sary for some insects to carry the pol.
len from the male to the female bios
some to fertilze them, or otherwise
| they would be barren or nearly so II
at the time of the blooming of our
apple or cherry trees we should have
a week of cold stormy weather so that
the bees or other insects cannot work
on the blossoms to assist IN the work
of fertilizing, we will not have full
crop of fruit And again if the bloom
of the buckwheat contains much of a
secretion of honey the bees will work
daily upon it and the result will be the
blossoms will become fully fertilized
and there will be large yield of buck
wheat. The white and ------- clover
have very short blossoms and they
secrete large quantities of honey, and
the bees work on it from morning till
night and by this becoming fertilizt d
are well filed with seed. II is not so
with the red clover, as the blossoms of
the first crop are deep and very mar
row, so much SO that the bees tongue
is too short to reach the honey there
secreted. And as the much abused
humble bees at that season of the year
are very scarce, as it is the only bee
that has tongue long enough to reach
the honey, there are but few blossoms
fertilized and the heads are barrer.
And thus it plainly shows that the
bee was created for the purpose of as
sisting the fertilization of the different
plants, and that the honey was secret
ed to induce the bee to visit the flow.
ers to gather the honey and pollen and
thus we secure through the bee the
delicious honey.
The location does not so much de-
pend on the successful keeping of bees
as the manner in which they are kept.
Many farmers keep their bees in such
way that you conclude they are eth
er too indolent or ignorant to make
them success. The kind of farmers
who can keep bees-at least colonies
enough to furnish honey for their own
families, if not to sell, are the ones who
have the sense to prepare their ground
and plant their crops in the proper sea-
son instead of waiting until the moon
gets III the right sign. To be successful
you should have love for bee keeping
and you should do the right thing and
at the right time aud that requires
knowledge. And you can acquire that
by reading some standard work on
bees and by the use of practical obser-
walton. Where bees are kept on the
principle that it is business and that
1t requires some energy to care for
them they will conclude that for pleas
ure, health and profit it will compen-
safe them well for the time and atten-
tion given to them. Bee keeping seems
especially adapted to women as it re-
quires patience and attention rather
than strength. There are many women
to-day engaged in bee keeping and
they have not only made it pay but
have gained much useful knowledge,
besides enjoying a pleasant out door
exercise by caring for their bees.
Many with limited means can procure
few colonies of bees and with the
proper care can make quite a profit
with small outlay and also have a
supply of pure honey for their table.
Mrs. l.. Harrison one of the most noted
writers of agriculture whose health at
one time was so reduced that her ply
sicians said she could not live, but api-
culture did for her what her physicians
could not do, restored her health and
gave her such vigor that she has been
able to work large apiary for years.
Mrs. l.. b. Baker of Lansing, Mich,
who has bept bees successfully for
quite number of years, says: She
has tried both keeping boarding house
and agriculture and she gives bee keep
ing the preference as more profitable,
healthful, independent and ENJOYABLE.
The fear of that terrible bee sting
which every bee seems to know so
well how to use in self defence and in
protecting its stores, may prevent
many from bee keeping. But by the
use of bellows smoker and a bee veil
you need have but little fear of being
stung,
Wax is one of the products of the
bee and is produced by the bees con.
sumng about twenty pounds of honey
to make one pound of wax The wax
exudes from the under side of the bee 8
abdomen in thin flakes. And then
the bees with their mandables press
and work it in the comb to store their
honey and rear their brood in. Wax
Is used by the bee keeper in foundation
for starters in the brood frames and
surplus section. 1t is made by running
thin sheets of wax through machine
consisting of two rollers, and it forms
he base of the cells and slight side
walls, thus enabling the bee keeper to |
secure straight combs by its use. A |
colony of bees consists of the queen,
workers and at certain times OF the |
yaar lrn,oa