GLEANINGS 



IN 



BEE CULTUI\E 



Devoted to Bees and Honey, and Home Interests. 



Tol. X. 



FEB. 1, 1882. 



No. 2. 



A. I. ROOT, Publislied Monthly. 



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NOTES FROM THE RANNER APIARY. 



No. 37. 



PREFARE FOR ANOTDEU SEASON. 



nirgnr'AVE you decided yet upon a plan of opera- 

 f^r^ tions, or management, for the coming sea- 

 son? If you have decided, let me ask if, in 

 making your decision, you took into consideration 

 the honey resources of your locality; their charac- 

 ter, duration, and reliability? did you consider your 

 markets; their distance, character, etc ? did you 

 consider your facilities for sending and receiving 

 mail, express, and freight? yes, and did you consider 

 yourself 7 Did you comprehend your own educa- 

 tion or your ignorance, your abilities, or disibili- 

 ties, your advantages or disadvantages, your ways, 

 habits, methods, peculiarities, etc.? If you have 

 considered all these, have read, re-read, and studied 

 the plans and methods of the most successful api- 

 arists, and have had two or three years of practical 

 experience, there are good reasons for thinking 

 that you have made a wise choice. And now if j'ou 

 have decided, and know whether you are going to 

 raise comb or extracted honey, or rear bees or 

 queens for sale, and know exactly how you are go- 

 ing to conduct some one of these branches of bee- 

 culture, leave not a stone unturned to make your 

 plan a success. Commence making preparations 

 now. Get a paper and pencil, and take a complete 

 inventory of your bee-keeping stock. Count every 

 swarm, every empty hive, comb, and section box; 

 every sheet of foundation, your honey-extractor, 

 knife, Bmoker; In fact, cva-y thing. Then make a 



careful estimate of every thing you will need the 

 coming season. Be sure to get enough of every 

 thing, but don't be extravagant. If you are going 

 to make your own hives, etc., get your lumber, nails, 

 and paint, and go to work at them. The work of 

 making and painting hives in a nice warm shop will 

 be all the more pleasant, if the snow is flying out of 

 dooi's. Do not forget to make a list of the articles 

 that it will be necessary to order from some dealer 

 in apiarian supplies; and, if it is possible to do so, 

 these articles should bo ordered at once, and they 

 should be sent all at one time by freight. Ordering 

 in this manner not only saves all hurry and worry, 

 but also heavy express charges. If mistakes are 

 made there is plenty of time In which to rectify 

 them. If you are going to raise comb honey, and 

 you have children, perhaps they would enji^y putting 

 together the section boxes and putting in the start- 

 ers. As fast as they get the sections put together, 

 let them pile them up in fantastic shapes: houses, 

 cflstles, etc. By taking a little pains, work can 

 often be made to seem like play to children. 



Perhaps some of this advice, about having every 

 thing in readiness, may seem almost too simple to 

 mention ; but I believe that the experience of sup- 

 ply dealers will boar me out in saying, that not more 

 than one-half of the bee-keepers order their sup- 

 plies until they are ready to use them; while many 

 wait until they actually have swarms hanging on 

 the bushes. 



Do you say that you are going to wait and see Mo^ 

 your bees "come through," before you buy any 

 supplies? Well, that is the only reasonable excuse 

 that I can see for your waiting. For this very rea-* 

 son, I once waited until the first of May; then I sent 



