198 



June, 1913 



American Vee'Jonrnal 



bees in the early spring. They have 

 swarmed twice each, and are still 

 swarming. I fear I will not get any 

 honey this year. My bees are the com- 

 mon black or brown bees. Should I 

 get better stock ? J. A. King 



Pitts, Ga. 



The common race of bees has a few 

 faults, and one is that they swarm too 

 much. But little honey is produced in 

 such seasons. This is not the worst of 

 it. A lot of weak colonies will be on 

 hand for winter, and winter losses will 

 be large. You should watch them 

 closely from now on, and feed and 

 equalize stores as needed. As for bet- 

 ter stock, I refer you to Mr. William- 

 son's letter in this department. 



Mr. Byer's Makkh.^m .-^piarv. 



tion to lie down under the cedar trees 

 on a hot day and enjoy the scenery in- 

 stead of working. This apiarv is sit- 

 uated in the town of Markham, but the 

 location has no dwelling nearer than 

 2.50 yards, and trees are all around the 

 yard. It is on a table-land about 80 

 feet above the valley and river. Behind 

 this table-land the ground rises about 

 40 feet higher, so that the protection is 

 splendid. About 30 feet to the left of 

 the picture, a tiny stream trickles 

 along, giving water for the bees, in a 

 sheltered situation. The other picture 

 shows the view looking south from the 

 apiary, the two high bridges over the 

 river being plainly in view. 



This apiary always gives me the 

 largest yield of all my bees, and the 

 reason is not clear to me, as the other 

 locations have much more clover 

 around them. One factor that helps 

 the yard, no doutt, is a large quantity 

 of soft maples along the village streets 

 just a short distance north of the yard. 

 Shelter and water of easy access may 

 also help some, especially the latter, 

 as many colonies dwindle in early 



spring because of having to fly long 

 distances for water on windy, chilly 

 days. 



A Beginner's Questions 



Dear Mr. Wilder: — Are honey- 

 boards necessary when bees are run 

 for chunk honey ? When is the best 

 time to transfer bees ? How late in 

 the season can bees be " robbed ?" 

 How can you keep worms from bees ? 



Milledgeville, Ga. A. S. Bl.\xks. 



Honey-boards as queen-excluders 



Looking Solth from the .■\bove Apiarv. 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



Conducted by J. J. Wilder, Cordele. Ga. 



No Swarms 



Mr. Wilder :— What is the matter 

 with our bees ? We have had no 

 swarms this season, and almost none 

 for several seasons, or since we "Cau- 

 casianized " our apiaries. The hives 

 are boiling over with bees, and they 

 have filled all the supers we have. 



Arabi, Ga. I. F. Williamson. 



Like many other bee-keepers, you 

 are losing heavily each season through 

 lack of supers. You should have not 

 less than three supers per colony. 



In many cases the Caucasian bees 

 have proved almost non-swarmers ; 



too much so for the averagebee-keeper 

 who wants to make increase by natural 

 swarming, .\rtihcia! swarming should 

 be resorted to, and good methods for 

 this will be found in most of our bee- 

 publications. 



The Caucasians are not inclined to 

 swarm. This solves a great problem 

 with the extensive bee-keeper, for he 

 does not have to watch swarms in his 

 different yards. It suits us far better 

 to make increase artificially. 



Too Much Swarming 



Mr. Wilder; — I had 7 colonies of 



can be used to some advantage where 

 bees are run for chunk honey exclu- 

 sively. But if some strained or ex- 

 tracted honey is desired, to pack with 

 the comb honey or to use separately, 

 they are not necessary, as the comb 

 that is soiled from rearing young bees 

 may be removed and the honey ex- 

 tracted. 



From .-Vpril 1.5 to May 15 is the best 

 time to transfer in spring, and from 

 .\ug. 1.5 to Sept. 15 in the fall. There 

 will be a good honey-flow at that time 

 from cotton. Bees that are in modern 

 hives can be "robbed" any time. 

 Sealed honey can be found in the su- 

 pers, as they store their honey there. 



The best way to keep the bee-moth 

 from destroying the comb is not to 

 keep too much comb in weak colonies. 

 Hive-bodies can be placed on strong 

 colonies, and some of the frames of 

 comb from the weaker ones set in them. 

 These may be given back as the bees 

 build up and need them. It is best to 



