310 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 16, 1901. 



strength by drawing- frames of brood from the strongest 

 and exchanging them with weaker colonies, it is not neces- 

 sary to spend a day or two in hard work examining each 

 colony, for the record-board shows the strong, medium and 

 weak colonies, and tells just where they are. 



Still later, the strong colonies may require more room, 

 especially those that had a large amount of stores — the 

 record shows what and just where these are. 



At the beginning of the main flow, or when the supers 

 are put on, another board is taken and a new record begun. 

 This board is marked off in rows to correspond with those 

 in the yard, the same as the first one was. This second 

 record also shows the strength of the colony and where it 

 is. By a system of abbreviations similar to the one I 

 explained in detail, it tells the date when each super is put 

 on and taken oif, so that during the flow I can, with this 

 second record, tell about when any colony has a super ready 

 to be removed, or when an empty one needs to be put on. 

 Of course this can not be told accurately, but near enough 

 so that it saves much work inspecting hives which other- 

 wise would be necessary to determine when supers are needed 

 to be taken off or put on. 



The third board is used to record swarming. It tells the 

 date when each swarm issues or is made, what hives they 

 are from, and what hives they are hived in. It also shows 

 about how much work, if any, has been done in each super 

 before it is given or removed to a swarm. So at the end of 

 the season these records show what colonies have swarmed, 

 and about what each colony has done in the way of surplus 

 work. Of course, this system of a cipher code or abbrevi- 

 ation in keeping a record of a colony, admits of almost 

 endless variation ; for instance, when examining the colo- 

 nies the first time in the spring, if any are found to be 

 queenless, a small x is placed under their number, and soon 

 after they are united with weak colonies that have a queen, 

 for I have decided that with me it does not pay to try to 

 save a colony that loses its queen during the winter, for 

 after the long winter confinement that bees are here sub- 

 ject to, they live but a short time after being put out in the 

 spring, and, before a queen can be secured from the South 

 and new brood reared, they, as a rule, become so weak that 

 they do not amount to anything that season, so far as sur- 

 plus is concerned ; and with a large number of colonies 

 there is almost always a few that have a queen but are so 

 weak that they are unable to build up in time for the white 

 clover flow. A queenless colony united with one of these 

 may enable them to build up into a strong colony for the 

 white flow, so that anywhere from SO to 100 pounds of sur- 

 plus may be obtained, besides artificially swarming or divid- 

 ing them so as to have, if increase is desired, two colonies 

 in good condition for winter; and this of course may applj' 

 to two weak colonies that have queens, for although many 

 have decided that it does not pay to unite weak colonies in 

 the spring, I know that in my locality, under some condi- 

 tions, it can be very profitably done ; but if there is anything 

 about our pursuit that requires skill and experience, it is, 

 in my opinion, uniting weak colonies profitably in the 

 spring. Southern Minnesota. 



A Few Grains of Wheat for Honey-Gleaners. 



BY AI,LEN I.ATHAM. 



IT has been so long since I have sent any of my wisdom 

 to the " Old Reliable " that lought to have a good store 

 accumulated now. So much straw has been sent that I 

 think it is time for a harvest of grain. 



BKES .\ND STRAWBERRIES. 



In this locality bees are frequently seen at work on 

 strawberry-bloom in the season of bloom. They appear to 

 get a little honey, but more frequently are gathering scant 

 loads of pollen. 



HONEV AND POLLEN ON THE SAME TRIP. 



The statement made some months ago that bees do not 

 gather pollen while after honey, must be received by the 

 bee-keepers of Massachusetts with great incredulity. In 

 the season of clover especially do the bees here gather the 

 two simultaneously. In some seasons the sections of 

 clover honey are ruined by the accumulation of pollen in 

 them. We are thankful that this does not happen every 

 year. 



APPLE-BLOSSOM HONEY. 



I am glad to see that this delicious honey has received 

 its credentials. It is the most reliable honey we have for 



quality. With favorable weather a good crop is obtained 

 every year of even date. The trees do not blossom readily 

 on the " off " year with us. The honey is a pale straw 

 color. It is the heaviest honey we get. I have seen it so 

 thick that it was almost gummy. It never candies. It is 

 palatable on the day that it is gathered. This can be said 

 of no other variety with which I am acquainted. I plan to 

 secure a crop every even year by spring feeding. Then 

 on the day that the blossoms are about to open, or perhaps 

 two days earlier, I fill the brood-nest full of S3'rup. This 

 drives the bees into the sections. To make doubly sure 

 that the bees go up, I put a bait-section, also full of syrup, 

 in the super. This feed does not stay in the section, nor is 

 any carried up. As every bee-keeper knows, the brood- 

 combs get the first of the flow. If the combs are filled 

 with a cheaper feed, then the honey is taken directly to the 

 supers. 



This flow from apple-bloom lasts only a few days, usu- 

 ally about 10 ; hence the necessity of getting the bees into 

 the sections at the very beginning. This treatment will 

 yield some thirty pounds of honej' per colony. Some may 

 express fear that the sugar will get into the sections and 

 injure the purity of the honey. This does not happen. 

 The syrup is ripened and placed in the brood-combs. It is 

 ditficult to get enough of the thin syrup into the combs to 

 prevent considerable honey going there too. The syrup is 

 poured into the empty cells of each comb from a coffee-pot. 

 It diminishes greatly in bulk in being cured by the bees. 

 It is not desirable to fill the combs more than once, unless a 

 cold rain comes on. Then a small allowance, as soon as 

 clearing weather arrives, will probably drive the bees again 

 to the sections, which they will have drawn away from 

 during the rain. After the crop has been secured the bee- 

 keeper will find beautiful sections of the most delicately 

 flavored honey in the supers. In the corners of the brood- 

 chamber will be found sealed syrup. It does no harm there as 

 it will keep perfectly. I would advise every bee-keeper to 

 run a few colonies for this honey, if for no other reason 

 than to get a choice honey for home consumption. My 

 apple-blossom honey never goes into the general trade. It 

 is all saved for home, friends, and a limited select trade. I 

 sell it always at 25 cents per pound. I never have any last 

 into the second summer. 



HUMBLE-BEES IN WINTER. 



Possibly the subject has been sufficiently hashed, but I 

 will add my chop. Only the queens live through the winter. 

 Thej- crawl into a pile of leaves and lie inert till April or 

 May. They do not become white, and the writer who found 

 such " about ready to emerge " probably found the imago 

 of the June-bug. 



THE TENT FOR MATING OF QUEENS. 



This is the best yet. Now let us investigate as to how 

 small this tent can be, successfully. If a drone has never 

 been outside the hive why should he mind small quarters ? 

 If a tent six feet in diameter will do, then that is what the 

 small breeder wants. Some of us should hardly care to 

 build a 30-foot one. 



TENT FOR BREEDING, ETC. 



The " grain " that I shall now offer is worth its weight 

 in gold. Having more honej' in brood-combs than I needed, 

 and a great number of unfinished sections. I wished a trans- 

 fer. 1 loaded up a strong colony with supers of these sec- 

 tions. Then came the rub. Bees will not empty combs 

 unless they are outside their hive. If outside the combs 

 attract robbers. The problem was solved in this waj- : 



Mj- tent was made of five screens, each sis feet 

 square. This tent was placed over the hive with the top 

 removed. Then the uncapped combs were placed within the 

 tent as far from the hive as possible. These bees finished 

 many sections. The work went on all through August. There 

 was no honey in the fields, and robbers were fierce. They 

 would buzz by the score outside the screen, but never go up 

 and in. The home bees quickly learned that to go away 

 from home they must rise, and to return they must get 

 above the hive and drop. This device is of wide applica- 

 tion. Every one knows the nuisance of a bee-tent with the 

 bees trying to get out as the hive is left open. With a six- 

 foot fence of mosquito-bar around the hive the advantage 

 of the tent is retained and the worst feature gotten rid of. 



If a weak colony is being robbed, try such a fence 

 about it. You will be highly gratified with the result. 

 Robbers will not get in— they will try to enter through the 

 netting, but not otherwise. 



