IN THE ORDINARY STRAW SKEPS ONE CANNOT CARRY OUT ONE’S DESIRES COMPLETELY IN MANAGING BEES.
As important and well known as the fact now is of having the colonies strong, one cannot make them so if they are kept in the common, simple straw basket where one does nothing but destroy in a slovenly way, especially farmers. In the fall they take the heaviest and lightest colonies and in a sinful and thoughtless manner kill and smother its inhabitants thus doing themselves a deliberate injury, as if they permitted these useful creatures, these patterns of industry, to live, they would gain far more.
I once saw a beekeeper take a very heavy colony consisting of two colonies which in swarming clustered together, and smother them, because he thought that owing to the large number of bees the colony might not have enough winter stores. Yes! a clown of a fellow actually burned with straw his young swarms, because they came rather late. But I do not intend to occupy my time describing the wrong mode of keeping bees, as through the length and breadth of the land this has been so passionately spoken of and they will learn, only as matters progress, to adopt a better mode of beekeeping.
THE MAGAZINESTOCK[6] ARE CONVENIENT, PARTICULARLY WITH THE WOODEN TOP BOXES WITH A GLASS SIDE.
If one wishes to build up populous colonies, one must commence by controlling swarming: namely, swarming often. To do this, one must provide roomy dwellings and those that can be enlarged gradually; without this the object would fail. If one should give the bees a large dwelling at once they would become discouraged and would not half fill the hive and there would be many other disadvantages.
The dwelling must also be arranged in such a manner that the bees can be handled with ease and without damage to the bees, or ever to have to destroy the latter to enjoy the product of their industry and control their surplus in honey and wax.
All this is required; but now as to the care of the “magazine.”
As the bees conduct their domestic affairs within a limited space and they from time to time according to the demands of time, attentions, etc., are increased or diminished, one generally makes them of straw (at least I have seen no others) and lathes which are very useful, if not too large (as they generally are); nevertheless, these straw “storing cases” have several drawbacks which I have found by observation and manipulation. Thus, some years ago, I conceived the idea of making, as far as possible, those that were more complete and convenient; to that end I made wooden four-cornered hives of boards and put in the same at least one pane of glass which, although only costing but little, is of inestimable value.
I improved on these until I found the most useful and convenient to handle.
The samples that I have I not only had myself for several years, but I also made some for good friends, and others made copies of them and their great value makes me recommend them unhesitatingly. These hives are very little more expensive than straw (if they are made plain and cheap), they last longer, are better and more convenient and can be made anywhere, while men who can make straw hives are often difficult to get.
One should not allow himself to be frightened into thinking they are too expensive, when conducting an extensive bee business; or that, if one begins with them, the profits will soon disappear.
I will just describe their completeness and their general utility and their advantages over the straw hive, more especially for the purpose of giving guidance how to make them of the greatest use in beekeeping.
Rodheim, Germany, July, 1783.
[To be continued.]
IS BEEKEEPING PROFITABLE.
By T. F. Arundell.
My attention being called to the article headed, “Is Beekeeping Profitable” (page 64, March No.), I will answer it to the best of my ability.
The answers to questions 1 and 2 depend simply on the annual yield of honey per colony, and the success attained in wintering. Should a surplus of 100 lbs. or more be obtained from each colony (spring count), together with a moderate increase in bees and with little or no loss in wintering, success would be assured; but, should the average yearly surplus amount to no more than 40 or 50 lbs. coupled with severe losses in wintering, the business could not prove otherwise than a financial failure.
No. 3. In this section one man can properly manipulate at least 150 colonies and their increase, make the extra hives, and extract all the honey from them, excepting possibly, a very few days when honey is stored more rapidly than usual.
As to tools wearing out with use, I will say that I have extracted 40,000 lbs. (20 tons), in the last two summers with a four frame “Novice” geared extractor with no appreciable wear, and my honey knives are as good as when first bought. A well made hive should last a lifetime, so that the depreciation in value of utensils is more imaginary than real.
No. 4. Given a properly arranged hive and appropriate tools a man can extract from 120 to 140 lbs. per hour, say 1200 lbs. per day.
In four successive days last July I extracted and filled into cans 5,200 lbs. of honey, working about eight hours each day extracting and filling cans from the tanks mornings and evenings. Hives in my apiary average about 40 lbs. each extracting.
No. 5. In regard to the number of colonies an apiarist could oversee, it depends more on the talent and genius of the overseer than upon the number of colonies possessed. While one man can direct and control hundreds of employés, another cannot even manage his own labor to lead to the best results.
At some future time I would like to describe, in your Journal, the best and speediest methods of extracting honey in large apiaries as practised in this country.
Santa Paula, Cal.
INSTRUCTIONS TO BEGINNERS.
By the Editor.
There are, properly speaking, two systems of keeping bees: the one adapted to the needs of the expert and specialist who keeps a large number of colonies and devotes his entire time and attention to the pursuit; the other adapted to an apiarist who keeps bees in connection with some other business, either for the pleasure and recreation, or for the purpose of adding another source of income.
The latter class constitute the majority of the beekeeping fraternity and only too often are their needs overlooked by those who write upon the subject of apiculture.
While we are aware that if one is adapted to beekeeping, and enters into it properly in a favorable location and masters it that success will follow; yet, as a rule, we advise keeping bees in connection with some other vocation, as when one becomes thoroughly familiar with all the requirements of beekeeping it is an easy matter to enlarge his apiary. Then, again, a few colonies properly managed will generally give far better results than can be obtained from a large apiary.
Those who are just commencing should remember that the less they handle their bees, and yet accomplish what may be required, the better for their colonies.
If one is naturally nervous, it is best to wear a bee veil at first and when manipulating the colonies work gently and avoid jarring or fretting them.
When looking for the queen, blow a little smoke in at the entrance as this causes the queen to run up on the comb and the bees that may be running about on the bottom board will fill with honey.
One of the first steps for the beginner is to decide, as far as possible, to which class he intends to belong, and what amount of capital he can safely invest.
Where one has a limited capital and wishes to become an expert or a specialist, it is far better to begin on a small scale and gradually increase his number of colonies making them pay their way and also furnish funds for new investments.
If your first lessons have been gleaned from flaming advertisements or reports of enormous yields, or through reading some of the overdrawn works on apiculture (so written with the purpose of making new converts), just take some wholesome, practical food for study and thought, both by securing one or more of the works on practical apiculture mentioned in this journal, and by visiting some practical and successful apiarist. In this way, you will be prepared to look at both sides; and if, after doing this, you enter into beekeeping with a determination to succeed you are certain to make it pay, provided you are adapted to the business, and other things are equal.
There is not the slightest reason why nearly every person who has a fair-sized garden should not keep a few colonies of bees and thus provide the table with nature’s purest and most healthful sweets. Success in any vocation always means hard work, together with push, tact, and energy. Thousands embark each year on the sea of business enterprise and the shoals and quicksands are strewn with stranded wrecks, yet there are those who, by rigid economy and shrewd management, accumulate a competency besides establishing a good remunerative business.
Our advice to those who wish to engage in beekeeping would as a rule be this. If at present you have no location, look about you and find a small place of from one to ten acres according to your means and the situation.
It is better to have the land slope to the south and east if possible and it should be well protected from the cold north and west winds. Perhaps you can rent or lease a place adapted to your needs. The surrounding country should be well supplied with bee pasturage in the shape of orchards, clover, basswood (if possible), wild flowers or many others that we might name but which are described in most of the works on apiculture.
Where one is located in the city or village and means to keep only a few colonies this advice is unnecessary, but with all others it is imperative that they locate in a good honey-producing district.
It is also best to learn if there are many bees kept where you wish to locate; as, while there is no law to prevent your establishing an apiary by the side of your neighbor, yet the latter has rights which it is proper and just to respect. This again will not matter without you intend to build up a large apiary.
One may secure a large yield of honey and yet find a poor market for it; hence it is always best to take into consideration the advantages for establishing a good home market. It will pay far better than shipping to large markets and giving all your profits to commission men.
There are so many items of interest which should serve as an introduction to these papers that we hardly know where to stop and must be necessarily brief and even leave many of them until we write again. In purchasing bees it is best if you want but from one to five colonies to purchase them of some reliable dealer and always select a standard frame, and it will pay you well to look into the merits of the various frames before making your purchase.
While for some reasons we prefer a frame about 10 × 15, yet as the “Langstroth Standard” is now so largely in use and is no objection as regards wintering the bees, we deem it best to adopt it in our own apiaries.
Circumstances must in a great measure control these matters, but whatever style is adopted it should be adhered to, else much trouble and expense will result.
We deem the tenement hive the best for all purposes. True, the first cost is somewhat greater, but in the end it pays.
The hives should be constructed in as simple a manner as possible, and while if one wants but a few he can make them after obtaining his colony of bees and estimating the size of the brood chamber; yet it is much better if he wants five or more hives to purchase them in the flat.
While we prefer for working bees a cross between the Italian and Holylands (from Syria), yet as a rule we would recommend the Italian as the best for the average beekeeper. Experience will teach one which is the best race.
We shall endeavor to give illustrations of different styles of hives in our next paper but have been too busy to attend to it this month.
Our first advice is “Make haste slowly,” but “stick to it” until you have either mastered the business or found that you were better adapted to some other vocation.
NEW OBSERVATIONS ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BEES.
By Francis Huber.
(Continued from p. 95, Vol III.)
Solicitous to learn its origin, and conjecturing that it might be masculine matter, he began to watch the motions of every drone in the hive, on purpose to seize the moment when it should be received by the eggs.
He assures us, that he saw several drones insinuate the posterior part of the body into the cells for that purpose. After frequent repetition of the first he entered on a long series of other experiments.
There was something very specious in this explanation: the experiments on which it was founded seemed correct; and it afforded a satisfactory reason for the prodigious number of males in a hive. At the same time the author had neglected to obviate one strong objection: larvæ appear when there are no drones.
From the month of September until April, hives are generally destitute of males; yet, notwithstanding their absence, the queen then lays fertile eggs.
Thus the prolific matter cannot be required for their impregnation, unless we shall suppose that it is necessary at a certain time of the year, while at every other season it is useless.
To discover the truth amidst these facts, apparently so contradictory, I determined to repeat Mr. Debraw’s experiments, and to observe more precaution than he himself had done. First, I sought for that matter which he supposes the prolific in cells containing eggs. Several were actually found with such an appearance, and during the first day of observation, neither my assistant nor myself doubted the reality of the discovery. But we afterwards found it an illusion arising from the reflection of the light for nothing like a fluid was visible except when the solar rays reached the bottom of the cells. This part is commonly covered by shining fragments of the cocoons of worms successively hatched, and the reflection of the light from these when much illuminated, produces an illusory effect. We proved it by the strictest examination for no vestiges of a fluid were perceptible when the cells were detached and cut asunder.
Though the first observation inspired us with some distrust of Mr. Debraw’s discovery, we repeated his other experiments with the utmost care.
On the 6th of August, 1787, we immersed a hive, and with scrupulous attention examined all the bees while in the bath. We ascertained that there was no male, either large or small, and having examined every comb we found neither male nymph nor worm. When the bees were dry we replaced the whole, along with the queen in their habitation, and transported them into my cabinet. They were allowed full liberty; therefore they flew about and made their usual collections; but it being necessary that no male should enter the hive during the experiment, a glass tube was adapted to the entrance, of such dimensions that two bees only could pass at once; and we watched the tube attentively during the four or five days that the experiment continued. We should have instantly observed, and removed any male appearing, that the result of the experiment might be undisturbed, and I can positively affirm that not one was seen.
However, from the first day which was the 6th of August, the queen deposited fourteen eggs in the workers’ cells; and all these were hatched on the tenth of the same month.
[To be continued.]
EDITORIAL.
Doubtless our friends will not take it amiss if we give but a brief editorial this month. Our new enterprise is receiving such hearty endorsement from every quarter that we must conclude that we have taken the right step after all. We only ask that the reader and our customers bear patiently with us for a while. The season has been so backward that we are in a rush but shall be amply able to meet all demands.
We have not utilized the question and answer department this month as the amount of work that we have been obliged to perform has been simply enormous, but we shall soon have that department in running order again.
We would urge upon our readers the importance of creating a home demand for honey this season in order that we may not have a glutted honey market with which to contend.
Work hard at the State conventions to have county associations formed; these are the educators that will prove the gateway to a home demand.
Prepare to make first-class exhibitions at county fairs next fall: it will pay. It may seem as though this advice was premature, but we have none too much time to prepare for these fairs.
Remember that if we ever have a permanent market for our honey the beekeepers must make it.
We wish our readers to come to us with their experiences, successes and failures and we shall endeavor to give them such instruction as will aid them in their work.
Do not fail to send for a few of our “Companions” and distribute them for us; it will be but little trouble and will aid us wonderfully in building up our subscription list.
We are preparing to give our readers a large number of illustrations and as our list increases we shall be able to add many new and interesting features to our Journal.
We have already sent out 5,000 “Companions” within the last two weeks, and the call is so great that we are printing 5,000 more.
EXPERIMENTAL BEE FARM NOTES.
On account of the many duties devolving upon us in establishing our bee farm we have not as yet been able to carry out any of the experiments that we mean to test for the benefit of our readers.
While for the purpose of experimenting we shall devote some colonies to the production of honey, both comb and extracted, yet this season’s operations will be confined almost exclusively to queen-rearing.
We start with about one hundred colonies of the different races of bees. The season thus far (in this locality) has been unusually backward and trying, giving us but little warm, pleasant weather and but few days when the bees could gather honey freely.
Last winter most of our colonies were wintered in the beehouse and were removed to the summer stands, about the 28th of March, in fine condition and there seemed to be but little difference between their condition and that of those wintered on the summer stands. The first work of the season commenced when the bees were removed from the beehouse. The hives were cleared (as much as possible without removing the combs) of dead bees; the honey boards with which the hives were covered during winter were removed and replaced with mats on the top of which chaff cushions were placed.
We kept our colonies well packed that they might be snug and warm even during the sudden changes in temperature and we make it a rule never to remove such packing until warm weather has “come to stay.”
As soon as the bees could be handled safely the colonies were examined and all combs outside the cluster were removed. This is an excellent practice, as by reducing the capacity of the brood chamber to the size of the cluster we enable the bees to maintain sufficient heat to carry on brood-rearing much more rapidly than when they are surrounded by a cold vacant space.
At the time of setting out the bees, the entrances to the hives were all contracted to about one inch and it is wonderful to see what a help this is to the bees in keeping the hive warm.
In a few days after being removed from the bee-house the bees were busily engaged in carrying in the artificial pollen (wheat flour) which we provided for them placing it near by in the apiary.
Brood-rearing soon commenced and in about four weeks the colonies began to show marked signs of increase.
Soon we found it necessary to add empty combs wherein the queens might deposit eggs. While in the hands of the expert this is a safe and sure method of building up the colonies rapidly, yet it must be conducted with caution else during a warm spell the queens may utilize more combs than the bees can cluster and thus neglect the brood in the outside combs which in such case must perish. Never spread brood faster than it can be covered and well protected by the bees even during the cool nights. During the last few days in April the weather was favorable for honey gathering and a few pounds were stored by each colony from the soft maple bloom.
Our colonies have been so well protected that they were not troubled with spring dwindling and soon they became so strong in numbers as to be in fine condition for queen-rearing.
It is poor policy both for the breeder and for the honey producer to attempt to rear queens with any but the most populous colonies if they want first-class queens.
At this date we have between 300 and 400 queen cells in all stages of construction and quite a large number of queens ready for fertilization.
Our queen-rearing is conducted by the methods given in the Beekeepers’ Handy Book; and, indeed, after having practised all the various methods, we would as soon think of going back to the old box-hive system of keeping bees as to practise the old unsatisfactory and uncertain methods of rearing queen bees.
It is a pleasure to examine the nice evenly built and conveniently spaced rows of cells found in the queen-rearing colonies now under Mr. Alley’s supervision. It is indeed a most interesting sight and one that we would be pleased to share with our beekeeping friends to whom we extend a most cordial invitation to visit us. We shall endeavor to impart to all our visitors all the information possible regarding queen-rearing and the general management of the apiary as conducted at our “bee farm.” At present we have four races of bees from which we are propagating queens, prominent among which are the orange-yellow Italians. We confidently assert that we never saw or possessed a more beautiful or hardy strain of pure Italian bees.
We shall run four separate apiaries situated about three miles apart in order to keep each race strictly pure.
We have set out one hundred “prickly comfrey” plants, purchased of Mr. Arthur Todd of Philadelphia, Pa., and shall refer to them again later in the season. We have also sown one and a half acres of Bokhara clover for the bees and it will pay our readers to utilize every waste spot (at least) with either or both of the above. Increase in pasturage means increase in surplus honey. It is now time to prepare for the coming honey harvest and indeed in many sections of the country the surplus boxes have been placed in the hives, or the honey extractor resorted to. When the colonies that are to be run for section honey become populous and begin to build white comb along the edges of the top bars, and perhaps between the combs, it is well to place one set of sections on the hives but they should have only the amount of surplus room that they can utilize and other sections should be added as they are needed.
A piece of comb foundation one-half the size of the section, cut in the shape of a triangle and attached point downward, will be a wonderful help to the bees and prove a paying investment to the apiarist.
If some colonies seem strong but do not utilize the sections readily, just exchange their empty sections with partially filled sets (bees and all) from other colonies. This is a plan practised more than twenty-five years ago by Mr. Alley and Mr. John J. Gould, formerly of Wenham. Mr. G. was at one time one of the largest beekeepers in this State.
Mr. Pond, however, credits a beekeeper in Maine with being the originator of this most excellent plan for inducing the bees to enter the sections.
There is one disadvantage in connection with this practice that Mr. Pond and others fail to give.
It often happens that when a colony at work in the sections is disturbed, the queens will run up into the latter and in the removal may be lost. To prevent this make as little disturbance in the transferring as possible and smoke down, into the hive, all the bees that cluster on the tops of the frames.
The bees removed with the sections will not quarrel with their new neighbors.
There are many items that would prove interesting to our readers but we have already devoted more space than we intended to this department and must await another opportunity.