514 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



one complete failure. Owing to the dry season of 1881 no honey 

 was produced in this section and most colonies had to be fed. In 

 all other years a reasonable surplus has been obtained. 



Not many people seem to make a success of the business. Owing 

 to a lack of attention or the idea that luck or some other fallacy 

 has something to do with it, they fail. The real reason is lack of 

 attention at the proper time, followed, of course, by disaster, and the 

 blame is laid on the bees or the one who advised them to invest. 

 The business can be carried on by young or old, and especially ladies, 

 and only requires, first of all, a love for the work (the most inter- 

 esting of all branches of farming). A knowledge of the bee, its 

 habits, its methods, its diseases, its management and its language 

 is necessary. 



First, its habits. A colony of bees consists of a queen and from 

 forty to eighty thousand workers, and as few drones as possible. 

 The queen and workers are hatched from the same eggs, the differ- 

 ence being produced by different food and position while hatching. 

 The drone or male bee is hatched in larger cells and all drone-comb 

 should be removed from the brood chamber. The swarming habit 

 should be controlled, and there are many methods too numerous 

 to mention, in this report. If natural swarming is allowed, the 

 bees should not be disturbed till settled and then given a frame 

 of brood or some old combs to clean up. This will keep them busy 

 and they will forget to abscond. 



The bees gather from the fields propolis or pitch to stop up cracks 

 or fasten frames and pollen to feed its young, in which operation 

 they fertilize your fruits and flowers and help to increase your crops; 

 and last and best of all, nectar or honey, one of the two primary 

 foods recommended by the Scripture as making man wise. Wax is 

 a by-product and is the most expensive, for the bees consume large 

 amount of honey in its production, and the wise bee keeper will 

 save all his comb possible and use it from year to year, and that is 

 why extracted honey can be produced so much cheaper than comb 

 honey and is much easier handled and is just as good to eat, and 

 when candied can be brought back to a liquid form by exposure to 

 a warm temperature for about forty-eight hours; but should not be 

 exposed to direct heat as it is easily spoiled by direct contact with 

 heat or exposure, either comb or extracted, to moisture. It should 

 always be kept in a warm, dry room where it will keep indefinitely. 

 The methods of the life of the bee never change and are easily under- 

 stood if carefuly studied, and probably no domestic animal or in- 

 sect yields more readily to intelligent management than the honey 

 bee. 



Its diseases are one of the most common causes of failure, from 

 the fact that the bee is subject to at least four specific diseases, one 



