November, 1921 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 29 



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I Bees and Beekeeping j 



I Edited by Amos Burhans | 



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WHEN I first began keeping bees I went out 

 into the yard one evening and opened a 

 hive by prying the lid off. The reception I had 

 was a warm one. I'll never forget It. Though 

 I had on gloves and veil, the bees made an at- 

 tack on all fronts, actually hanging between me 

 and the hive a curtain of stings, a great many of 

 which reached through. 



So I learned from actual experience that 1 

 had gone at it too rough-shod and entirely un- 

 scientific. First, I had opened the hive at 

 the wrong time of day. Between the hours of 

 10 and 4 on a real bright, sunny day is best. 

 Second, I found on looking the matter up by 

 consulting the books of the beemasters and sev- 

 eral beekeepers that I should have used some 

 smoke. 



Then after I found out about the smoke 1 

 learned there were few ways only in which it 

 can be successfully used. You can use too much 

 of It and you can use it the wrong way. After 

 a few years of experience I have adopted an 

 almost standard way of doing the trick. I call 

 It a trick, because so many tell me that. It must 

 be a trick when I easily open their hives which, 

 they say, contain hostile bees. 



A GREAT beekeeper by the name of Doolittle 

 taught me the idea of tliumping a little on 

 the top of the hive before smoking. He said 

 this helped to get the bees roaring, and when 

 you could hear them roaring it was a sure sign 

 they were filling themselves with honey. Imme- 

 diately after you thump on the top of the hive, 

 put the muzzle of the smoker down at the en- 

 trance and gently but firmly drive the entrance 

 guard bees Inside. Do not give them too much 

 smoke. Three or four puffs of a smoker that 

 is going good will be plenty. Lots of times I 

 do not give them more than two. Rotted wood 

 or excelsior make a white smoke. It is best. 

 Don't use greasy rags. 



In a few seconds they will be busy inside 

 getting ready to be disturbed. That is, they 

 will fill up on honey. This makes them much 

 more peaceable than to trj- handling them with- 

 out warning. 



Then raise the cover carefully and slowly put 

 the hive tool, if necessary, under the edges, prying 

 up. A little practice will show you how to do 

 this with the right hand and at the same time 

 hold the smoker with the left. As the cover 

 comes up, gently blow a little smoke across the 

 tops of the frames, but do it quickly. Do not 

 give the bees time to get into the air and at you. 

 As they run down between the frames to get 

 away from the smoke you can soon tell when 

 to stop smoking. I make it a rule not to blow 

 the smoke down between the frames unless it 

 is to clear the bees out of a super. I almost 

 never send the smoke in between the frames 

 of the brood chamber. 



"OEES are quick to learn, I think. Some of 

 the hives that I handle oftenest are easier 

 to open and work with than those that get less 

 handling. Also there is a difference in the w.ay 

 bees act. Some colonies are gentler than others, 

 because they may be bred from a queen that 

 breeds in them a gentler instinct. Also, there 

 is a difference in the way bees act on account of 

 weather. On a cold, wet day when the hive is 

 full of field bees you will find it harder to han- 

 dle them than when it Is bright and warm and 

 the field bees are at work. Also, remember that 

 as a rule a pure-bred three-band Italian queen 

 of a good strain of working, gentle bees will 

 produce gentler bees than a black common queen, 

 whether she be wild or In a bee yard. 



But go at the opening of the hive gently. 

 Don't be in a hurry. Remove the frame near- 

 est the side you are working on to make room 

 to handle the others. If there Is a scarcity of 

 nectar In the fields there will be robbers about 



to get Into the open hive, so have a burlap cloth 

 handy to cover over the open hive as you remove 

 the frames for examination. Be quiet, but do the 

 job as quick as possible. In spring and fall work 

 fast to keep from chilling the brood. As the bees 

 come up from between the frames just give them 

 a bit of smoke and down they will go about their 

 business. 



TT is a simple trick to grow excellent rhubarb 

 for the table in winter time, provided the 

 preliminary steps are taken in the fall, says Prof. 

 T. R. Hepler of New Hampshire college. Old 

 clumps of rhubarb should be dug up late in 

 the year with as much dirt as possible, and then 

 left outdoors until they freeze solid. They should 

 then be taken at Intervals and set out In the 

 cellar, being covered with two inches of soil and 

 watered. The temperature should run from SO 

 to 65 degrees, and this may be maintained, if 

 It Is a cool cellar, by a lamp In a small section 

 blanketed off. After forcing the roots are worth- 

 less, but young roots, one year from seed, are 

 excellent for the purpose. The rhubarb will be 

 found a little milder and more tender than that 

 grown outdoors. 



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