202 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Two Thousand Pounds of Honey in 1916. 



MRE. J. A. DE LAMATER, MINNEAPOLIS. 

 READ BEFORE 1916 ANNUAL MEETING MINN. BEE-KEEPERS' SOCIETY. 



First I shall have to go back to the season of 1915, as the 

 work you do with bees each season helps or hinders them the 

 next year. 



In the spring of 1915 I had nine colonies that produced 700 

 pounds of honey. After the honey flow was over, I increased 

 to twenty-four colonies, using nearly all my drawn combs, buying 

 some queens from the Minnesota University, Division of Bee 

 Culture, and raising some during the honey flow. By feeding 

 sugar syrup for winter stores, all weighed sixty pounds or over. 

 I took twenty-four colonies from the cellar April 4, 1916, but 

 found that four colonies that I had not re-queened were weak 

 and so combined them, leaving twenty colonies to commence the 

 season of 1916. I used Minnesota bottoms and flax board on top 

 of hive, wrapped all with heavy paper, and then put on a telescope 

 cover. The bees were then protected from the cool mornings 

 and nights of spring and fall. When taking bees from cellar, I 

 mark any that seem light and give them a comb or two of honey 

 that I have saved for that purpose. When weather is warm I 

 equalize my colonies and clip my queen's wings on one side. 



About May 11, 1916, I found my bees needing more room, as 

 they had from seven to nine combs of brood. Then I took a 

 super of drawn combs and put below the brood nest, putting a 

 comb of brood with the queen and one frame of honey in the cen- 

 ter, then the rest of the brood in the second story, wrapping both 

 with wrapping paper. In about two weeks I changed the supers 

 around, putting the brood below and the empty combs and honey 

 on top, cutting out any queen cells. I carry them along in this 

 way as far into the clover flow as possible, giving the queen both 

 the hive body and super to lay in. About June 11 the bees were 

 making preparations to swarm, with white clover yielding. Take 

 a super of empty combs if possible, or frames of foundation, and 

 put the queen with one frame of green brood and one frame of 

 honey in the center of this super, putting it next to the bottom 

 board and queen excluder on top, then another super on top with 

 empty frames, with one frame of honey in the center, as this is' 

 where the honey is to be stored. Bore a three-eighths-inch hole 

 in the center of this super so the drones can get out, then put the 

 rest of the brood on top, making three supers above the queen 

 excluder (if there is brood for two more supers) . The nurse 



