May. 1913. 



157 



valley came reports several weeks ago 

 that the bees were so busy in a honey- 

 flow that they had no time to think 

 about swarming. 



Does this compare with our north- 

 ern cousins' conditions ? We remem- 

 ber that several cold waves traveled 

 from the northwest to the southeast, 

 and we did not suffer to any great ex- 

 tent, or at least not as we usually do 

 when the cold waves come from North 

 to South direct. 



All the bee-keepers agree that we 

 have fine prospects. This, together 

 with enquiries for early honey, is en- 

 couraging. 



Bees and Chickens for School Children 



The writer has been advocating the 

 combination of bee-keeping and poul- 

 try raising for the school children, in 

 his lectures at various high schools. 

 There is a great deal in this combina- 

 tion, for children. It gives them an 

 excellent opportunity to occupy them- 

 selves, and keep out of mischief. It 

 provides an opportunity to make pin 

 money for the time spent, and it is a 

 combination thatshouldbe encouraged 

 by the parents. 



Another item that is valuable for the 

 school child, is deciding early in life 

 what trade or line of work he or she 

 wishes to follow. Selecting one's life 

 work early affords the opportunity to 

 make use of many things pertaining to 

 that following. This helps to make 

 the selected work more easy and suc- 

 cessful. It saves wasting much time 

 during the school years on work of 

 little value in their chosen field later. 



If a child shows a leaning toward 

 one line of work and continues to show 

 this interest as it grows up, the parent 

 should lend assistance in getting that 

 boy or girl started with his or her 

 special line of work. A child, with a 

 few colonies of bees and some thor- 

 oughbred fowls, can make a successful 

 combination out of the two that will be 

 a pleasure and a profit. 



American Hee Journal 



Of course, the above would not apply 

 in sections where the original flora is 

 changed into vast wheat or other grain 

 fields, as in north Te.xas. But if such 

 territory is turned into irrigated alfalfa 

 districts, as it is often, the honey yield 

 may be improved materially. 



However, the most ideal territory for 

 bee-keeping is where still exists nectar- 

 yielding flora in great abundance. The 

 great number of varieties make up a 

 succession of blossoming periods so 

 that there is an almost continued nec- 

 tar yield and a consequent steady 

 honey-flow from the beginning of the 

 year to the end. But even the wildest 

 of these localities do not offer us ideal 

 conditions. There are many wooded 

 territories that are not adapted to bee- 

 keeping for profit ; we also find prairie 

 lands not suited to this pursuit. 



We have h) apiaries on one of the 

 largest rivers of Texas, the Brazos, 

 where putting the land into culti\ation 

 proves of value to bee-keepers. The 

 "bottoms" in the river valleys are 

 heavily timbered, but the nectar is of 

 inferior quality. However, these trees 

 and shrubs yield pollen, and thus help 

 the bees considerably. When the land 

 is put into cultivation there are still 

 enough trees left along the fences, in 



Cultivation vs. Bee-Keeping 



The question has been asked whether 

 forage for our bees is decreasing where 

 cultivation is increasing ; and whether 

 a " backwoods " region is the best 

 place, excepting irrigated regions. 



This depends upon the localities in- 

 volved. At one time the writer feared 

 of being put out of business because 

 the land owners were clearing off their 

 land and putting it into cultivation. 

 These lands were covered with mes- 

 quite trees and other honey-plants. 

 With these sources destroyed the for- 

 age might all be taken away. But cot- 

 ton is the main cultivated crop in Texas, 

 and, especially in the black lands, cot- 

 ton yielded excellent honey-flows. 

 These became more regular, season 

 after season, than the original yield of 

 nectar, abundant as well as of excellent 

 quality. So it does not matter whether 

 the mesquite prairies upon which we 

 depend for our honey sources are put 

 into cultivation, as long as they are 

 made into cotton farms for the greater 

 portion of the crops. Although corn 

 does not yield nectar, it is also of im- 

 portance to the bee-keeper since it 

 yields an abundance of pollen. 



pastures, along the river banks, and 

 about residences. 



The main source is cotton, and there 

 are thousands of acres of it in the 

 large plantations. We have found the 

 yield very regular during the 10 years 

 that we have operated our apiaries in 

 that section, although some years have 

 been more favorable than others, owing 

 to the difference in rainfall. 



Outside of the cotton belt there are 

 many localities where the cultivation 

 of the land would mean an end to bee- 

 keeping. Even where much cotton is 

 planted in the sandy land districts, it 

 does not yield nectar as readily, and 

 that which is yielded is darker in color 

 and not so good in quality. 



In most of the southwest Texas ter- 

 ritory, that scope of country that has 

 been known as " the bee-keepers' para- 

 dise" for many years, cultivation of the 

 wild lands would mean a decrease in 

 honey yields. Then there is much ter- 

 ritory that is being put under irriga- 

 tion for truck crops, and these are not 

 what the bee-keeper wants. Unless 

 alfalfa is also planted in irrigated re- 

 gions, even the coming of irrigation 

 would not make it a better bee-keeping 

 territory than it was before being un- 

 der the plow. 



Conducted by J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy, Ontario. 



Double-Walled Hiyes vs. Tenements 



I have had several letters recently 

 from different parts of Canada, and the 

 more northern States, asking what 

 style of hive or case I prefer for out- 

 side wintering. I shall go into con- 

 siderable detail in answering the ques- 

 tions, as it is a very important subject 

 to decide upon by any one who con- 

 templates wintering large numbers of 

 colonies outdoors every year. 



There are two plans in vogue here 

 in Ontario — single-packed hives, or 

 single hives packed in removable cases, 

 and the tenement plan of two or more 

 hives in one case, removing them in 

 May and repacking in October or No- 

 vember. Of late years many Ontario 

 bee-keepers are packing -1 in a case, 

 and they have the bees facing all points 

 of the compass. One case has the 

 bees face 2 colonies north and 2 south, 

 while the next case in the row will 

 have 2 face east and 2 west. This latter 

 plan is very popular, and from the mat- 

 ter of economy is the best plan yet 

 brought before the public. 



In my own apiaries I have tried va- 

 rious winter-cases, and while admitting 

 that I am in the minority, I prefer the 

 single hive to a tenement case. I like 

 the hive permanently packed better 

 than one in which it is necessary to 

 unpack every spring and pack again 

 for winter. 



The chief argument advanced in 

 favor of the tenement packing-ca'es is 

 that they are cheaper than the single 

 case, and warmer also, because the 

 hives share the heat of each other. It 



is claimed that the bees in a case con- 

 taining 4 hives will always cluster in 

 the center of the quadrangle. 



That they are cheaper than single 

 cases cannot be disputed, but as to the 

 benefits in wintering as compared with 

 a single colony in a case, I am not so 

 sure. While it seems reasonable that 

 there must be somt- difference, this dif- 

 ference is so little as not to be 

 apparent in apiaries where the two 

 plans are tried side by side. Colo- 

 nies wintered alone in a packed hive 

 always come out as well as those 

 packed two or more in a tenement case. 

 While the tenement hives are cheaper 

 to construct, they are not nearly so 

 handy to work with. Packing the bees 

 in them in the spring and lifting them 

 them out in the fall is a back-breaking 

 job. The packed hive is objected to 

 because it is bulky to handle, but, on 

 the other hand, the big tenement cases 

 have to be stored in the summer, and 

 in moving an apiary they are worse 

 than the packed hives. When bees are 

 moved in the spring, it is absolutely 

 necessary to unpack them before doing 

 so. A few days ago we got about 3 

 inches of snow, and in one day I moved 

 over 100 colonies in single-packed 

 hives about half a mile. It was easy 

 getting these hives on a sleigh, but 

 with large cases it would have been an 

 impossibility. 



While, as already intimated, I have va- 

 rious styles in my different yards, in the 

 future ail cases made for winter will be 

 single ones, and the hives will be 

 permanently packed so that no lifting 

 oil/ in the spring, or lifting ;'« in the 



