The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1895-07-31
@aatrsuts gutelIigeuees.
A lesson In Bee CGture.

A lesson In Bee Cature.
To the Editor of the NeaoS and Cou-
rier: Having noticed that your enter.
prising paper has for some time tried
to illicit an article from some one Of
your many readers upon the subject
Of bee culture in this State, [ have
been quietly waiting for some one who
has been more extensively engaged in
this business to enlighten your read.
ers upon this subject, and | am glad
to see that DR.. Peete has sent you a
sample of his honey, and has promis-
ed to tell us something Of the ''little
busy bee" and his culture. I have
about forty-fve colonies, and could
have had many more, but l did not
care to increase my stocks, as [ do not
raise honey for market, and only sell
it to the lahorers on my farm. My
table is always supplied with the
purest and most delicious honey that
costs me almost nothing. Afew years
ago I had but one colony in an old
fashioned board hive. l bought the
right from an agent to make and use
patent frame hive called the Golden
Bee Hive Into this kind Of hive
I had my colony transferred, soon
acquired the art of controlling the
bees, and in very short time | could
put under control any colony Of bees,
and found them as harmless as so
many house flies. This is done by
smoker made Of few cotton rags fold
ed together. Light the smoker, 60
quietly up to the hive, blow in little
smoke and then rap on the hive once
or twice: the bees become alarmed,
rush to the combs and fill themselves
on honey. They are then perfectly
harmless and can be handled or driv-
en- out of the hive by blowing little
smoke and continuing to rap on the
hive with perfect safety.
During April and May the honey is
inexhaustihle. We have many flow
ering trees in our swamps, prominent
among which is the sour wood tree,
which affords rich harvest for the
bees but the great source from which
honey is gathered is the honey dew,"
quantities of which are evaporated by
the sun or washed away by the rains,
and never gathered by the bees. The
secret in bee culture is TO keep strong
colonies, as one strong colony is worth
more than two weak ones. Two colo
nies can be easily combined by de-
stroying one of the equeens and putting
both colonies in one hive, They are
then much less liable to be attacked
by bee moths, and their capacity for
gathering and storing honey is thereby
increased
Every colony is composed of three
kinds of bees-the drones, the queen
and the workers. The drones are the
mule bees, larger than the workers
and stingless. The queen is large
wasp-shaped bee, larger than any Of
the other bees, and is the mother Of
the hive, and is easily distinguished
by the most casual observer. Last,
but not least, comes the workers,
equipped with their wax pockets and
honey sacks; they toll as only the
little busy bee" delights to do, The
average life of worker is only about
seventy days, and he has ht time to
loaf. The queen lives several years
and has laying capacity Of several
hundred eggs daily. The drones only
help to propagate their species, and
do not work, and are killed by the
workers when they have served theft
purpose and are Of no further use to
the colony. Bee culture is pleasant
and profitable on the farm and requires
comparatively little trouble or labor
outside Of constructing the hive. The
greatest trouble have ever had is to
find a market for the honey. l ship
ped several hundred pounds in the
comb once to Georgetown of beautiful
delicious honey and could not sell at
any price and had itreturned. l have
never found it necessary to use a
"honey Singer" to throw the honey
out Of the comb as fast as it is gath
cred by the bees.
Where it is raised for market every
apiary should be supplied with suita-
Bile frame hives, and all the modern
appliances necessary to hand the bees
and honey in the most skillful and
profitable manner. My bees make
upon an average about twenty-five
pounds of surplus comb honey to the
colony, which, if sold at ten cents per
pound, would bring in yearly in
come Of two dollars and fifty cents
from each colony. With the proner
management the profit might be dou-
bled or perhaps trebled. | have the
brown, or German bee. The Italian
bee is larger and less inclined to sting
and can gather more honey and there
fore is more profitable. Every farm
er should keep at least few colonies
of bees. The honey is not only a pala-
table dish, but it is often needed for
medical purposes. 1t is an easy mat
ter for every man in South Carolina
who owns farm to raise all the honey
he wants for the use of his family.
The country will never be overstocked
with bees, as only small percentage
of honey that our forests afford is
gathered by the bees.
W. E. NEsM1ru, SR.
Dock, williamsburg County, July
II, 1895.