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.