Grizzly Flats, Cal.
A Few Words to Beginners.
BY T. K. MASSIE.
As The American Bee-Keeper is published in the interest of beginners, allow me to say to them that the first thing to be learned is the fact that no set rules can be given to suit everyone under all the varying conditions of climate, location, etc., and that everyone must use intelligence and make rules to suit his own individual case—must make a vigorous use of his own “think shop.” He must thoroughly acquaint himself with the flora of his location; he must know when the honey flow is likely to commence and end, and must manipulate his bees to suit that time. Friend Doolittle’s advice to manipulate our bees at the proper time cannot be too strongly impressed upon the minds of beginners. In my locality we have two honey flows each year. The early flow last season ended on the 24th day of July, the fall flow commenced on the 16th of September. There was a dearth from July 24th to September 16, of 53 days. A hive full of bees during these 53 days are not only of no use to me but a positive disadvantage. They are only consumers and not honey gatherers because there is no honey to be gathered. Reason would dictate to me that I must use every means in my power to build up my colonies as strong as possible from early in the spring to within 35 days of the end of the honey flow, or about the 19th of June, that about this time, certainly not later than June 25th, I must restrict my queen to as few frames as possible, so as to have but few bees during the 53 days of dearth. (I base my calculation upon the fact that 21 days are required for the egg to hatch and then the bee must be 14 days old before it becomes a forager.) Now I wish to say emphatically that every one whose location is similar to mine must practice restriction or his honey crop will be a failure every time. Again by the 16th of September. I want my hives as full of bees as possible ready for the fall flow. Then going back 35 days from September 16th takes me to August 12th, the day on which the eggs must be laid for the bees to have hatched out, ready for the beginning of the fall flow. But as the queens could not under any circumstances fill the hives full of eggs on the 12th day of August, (or any other one day for that matter,) reason would again tell me that I must remove the restrictions from my queens two or three weeks before, or, say July 24th to August 1st, and then stimulate brood rearing. If the beginner fails to follow this plan he will certainly get no surplus fall crop. We must also make sure that each colony contains a good prolific queen.
Brother Demaree’s “Practical hints in Bee Culture” on page 179, American Bee-Keeper, is timely and should be read and studied until perfectly familiar with every “hint” he has given. When he speaks of the bees “crowding the queen” being simply an effort on the part of nature to assist the bees by curtailing brood rearing during the honey flow he is certainly correct, yet, by restricting our queens as I have suggested above we accomplish the same end, provided the restriction is performed at the right time. When he speaks of giving his colonies, after swarming, a queen cell instead of a laying queen, as some “innocent bee men” had written him, he gives a “hint” that should be well and long remembered. By this plan he also assists the bees in curtailing brood rearing, when such brood would hatch out bees that would be consumers instead of honey gatherers.
His article on “Concentration of Forces” in Bee-Keepers Guide for December, 1891, page 356, is worth the price of that paper for several years. “Concentration of forces” is his remedy against poor honey seasons. His plan of “concentrating forces” can be easily carried out in connection with the suggestions I have given. He says “not a swarm should be allowed to issue.” He accomplishes this by one single manipulation, which is simple and easy, and performed “just at the commencement of the honey season, and before any swarms issue.” All the colonies strong enough to cast swarms are treated on the following:
PLAN.
“All the combs containing brood are removed from the brood chamber, except one that contains but a small amount of unsealed brood and eggs. This is left in the brood chamber with the queen on it. If she is not found on it she must be hunted up and put upon this comb. The brood chamber is now filled out with empty combs and a queen excluder is placed on its top. The combs containing brood are adjusted in a super or hive body, and if they do not fill it, it is filled out with empty combs. It now goes on top of the brood chamber with the queen excluder between. We now have all the brood above the excluder, except what is in the comb with the queen on it below the excluder. You now have nothing to do but to “turn up” to suit the season. Treating all colonies in this way the season will have to be more than usually extended if there is a single swarm. Colonies treated in this way are the strongest colonies I ever handled, and I never seen a season so barren of nectar that they fail to fill the combs above the excluder by the time all the brood they contain are hatched out, and if the season is a good one they will surprise the natives and make you uneasy about the safety of your honey floor, like mine did me the past season, though the season was but an average one.”
Next month I will give my experiments with two colonies the past season managed on a plan similar to to Brother Demaree’s, as given above. Remember, beginner, that if you don’t manage your bees intelligently you had better never go into the business for you will have no “luck” and the business will be a failure with you; and you might as well try to raise corn without seed as to try to raise honey without a scientific work on bee culture and one or more of the many excellent bee journals.
Concord Church, W. Va.