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.