The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1904-08-30
THE ITALIAN BEE AND SWEET CLOVER.
MIR womble Submits a Rejoinder to MIR. Meacham's
Article.
Editors Progressive Farmer

Allow me to thank Brother Meacham for the
information he kindly extends to &c. H."of Wayne
County, in your issue of August 9th, regarding
his inquiry, why He Got No Honey"
1 am not in the business simply to make what
money I can out of it, but it is my aim and wish
to instruct and aid others in a way that they, too,
may be successful kee-keepers. Therefore there
were two reasons why / did not answer &c. H."
and a number of others in full regarding the
management of bees in box hives. First, for the
want of time, and second, because l do not think
it wise to encourage the farmer (the backbone
and prosperity of our State) to keep bees in a
way that will benefit him but little, while by prac-
ticing modern methods he will be rewarded far
beyond his expectations, and prove a help and as
sistance to~others who are anxious to keep their
bees in a way that will benefit them most.
Brother Meacham seems to be a little "off' in
regard to the swarming propensities of the italian
bees. My experience has been just the reverse.
Our best known and most expert bee-keepers &C
cuse our native been of excessive s~warming but not
the Italian. Although Brother Meacham claims
to have had thirty-five years experience with bees,
it seems that, Notwithstanding this fact, he has
not "learned it ALL" | have boxes that have not
swarmed in three years, and they are the straight
three-banded Italians. If Brother Meacham
would practice re-queening every two years, as our
best bee-keepers advise, he would not only have
rousing colonies that would roll the honey in"
but be troubled very little with first swarms, much
less after ones. Out of fifty boxes at my home
yard / have had only eight swarms this year, and
in forty-eight hours from the time they issued
they were back IN the boxes from whence they
came and at work in the supers where they left
off. To obtain large crops of surplus honey,
5000 L. ILL - .Ioal o-l - oooo-
plish this object, the best authorities on bee-cul-
ture recommend re-queening every two years, as
old queens are more given to this practice than
young ones. Experience is a good thing, but
unless it is accompanied with knowledge, it
amounts to nothing.
There are four strains of the Italian bees-the
three-banded, fve-banded, eather-colored and
golden. / have all four strains on nv home yard
at present and find they differ but little in dis
position and working qualities. I also have the
Cyprians, Carniolans, Albinos and a colony of ma
tive blacks. I have studied them thoroughly, and
am quite familiar with their various qualities
both bad and good.
Brother Meacham says: "No one should under
take Bookkeeping with the expectation of making
anything out of it unless he intends to post him
self in agriculture and give bees the required
attention"
This, in part, strikes me as being a rather alb
surd statement Now, while / do not claim to be
an agriculturist, / am nevertheless making a liv-
ing from my bees, which is not the case with some
bee-keepers who claim to be agriculturists. l
will admit that a knowledge of agriculture does
not in any way interfere with keeping bees sue
c~essfully, while on the other HAND a knowledge of
agriculture is not always essential to successful
De6-k6eDlng. i know a numher Of booloooono
that not only make a living out of the business,