THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



and wheel throu,u;li the central part of the 

 State. The lari,rest alfalfa districts are 

 between I'rosno and Hakersfield. Two 

 weeks' time could he profitably spent in 

 Southern California; for you can see, by 

 referring to the map, that the great State 

 of Ohio covers only about half of this end 

 of California. 



When a location is selected it is of the 

 utmost importance that the occupant of 

 it make up his mind to like his new 

 home, and laud it to the skies upon any 

 and all occasions. That is always the 

 first duty of true Californians. 



SPKlXr. M.WAGEMENT OF BEES. 



Tlie Importance of Securiim Large Colonies 

 for the Harvest. 



One of the greatest secrets of successful 

 honey production is that of having a great 

 force of field-workers during the honey 

 harvest. .\fter the harvest has passed 

 and gone, the workers are useless con- 

 sumers. No stone should be left un- 

 turned in securing the desired bees at the 

 proper time. Spring management will 

 soon be the order of the day, and has 

 much to do with the securing of these 

 workers, hence 1 take pleasure in copy- 

 ing, from the Wisconsin Agriculturist, 

 some excellent hints on this subject from 

 that old veteran, Harry Lathrop, of 

 Browntown, Wisconsin. 



.\ proper understanding of bee culture 

 and the honey sources of our locality will 

 convince any one that the most impor- 

 tant object in view, from the time one 

 honey harvest closes until another begins, 

 is the securing of .strong colonies at the 

 proper time. Those last four words 

 mean a great deal to the l)ee-keeper. \ 

 colony of bees that gets into shape for 

 work only at or near the close of the 

 main honey flow becomes a consumer 

 instead of a producer. The ideal condi- 

 tion is to have the colonies vigorous and 

 populous at the beginning of the honey 

 season and get them well started to work 

 in the surplus department before the 

 swarming fever strikes them. Often 

 then, by giving more room at just the 

 right time, the colonies may be kept so 

 busily at work storing hone}' that they 

 will forget all about swarming. This will 



save work for the bee-keeper whose ob- 

 ject is honey, and who does not wish in- 

 crease. Rut how to get the colonies in- 

 to the proper condition in time is the 

 ini])ortant thing. If a colony of bees 

 comes out of winter quarters in prime 

 condition and well supplied with honey 

 they may build up to the required stan- 

 dard without any aid from the apiarist, 

 but many colonies will lack in some es- 

 sential point that nuist be corrected or 

 supplied. 



Karly examination of bees to the extent 

 of opening the brood nest should not be 

 done on cold, raw days. Select the warm- 

 part of a bright sunshiny day; find out 

 the actual condition as near as possible 

 of each hive, and make a record of it, 

 showing their reciuirements. Careful at- 

 tention to these special needs during the 

 weeks that intervene between the time 

 of placing the bees out and the beginning 

 of the honey harvest is the work that 

 pays the bee-keeper Some colonies will 

 need one thing and some another. Some 

 will need more feed, which may be .sup- 

 plied by in.serting a comb of honey from 

 the brood chamber of some colony that 

 can spare it. One of the first things to be 

 done is to make all colonies as warm and 

 tight on top as possible. One of my 

 methods, where wooden honey- boards 

 are in use, is to place two or three thick- 

 nesses of newspaper over the honey-board 

 and pre.ss the cr ver down over all. This 

 prevents the escape of warm air. Later, 

 when brood rearing has been in progress 

 some time and some colonies are strong, 

 occasionally a frame of brood nearly 

 ready to hatch may be taken from a 

 strong one that can spare it and given to a 

 weakc-one, thus tending to equalize the 

 colonies. Brood spreading may be prac- 

 ticed, but requires great care, and should 

 not be done unless the weather is warm 

 and favorable. Ifa comb on the outside 

 of the cluster, containing only a few eggs, 

 is placed directly in the center and the 

 well filled one from the center put in 

 its place, the operation will increase the 

 egg laving of tlie (|ueen and help to bring 

 about the condition we are working for, 

 viz., all combs filled with brood and eggs 

 at the beginning of the honey harvest. 

 Another thing should be looked after; if 

 the colony has too much honey, or if early 

 honey comes in so rapidly as to cause the 

 combs to be filled before the queen occu- 

 pies them with eggs, this honey must be 

 removed or the colony will be weakened 

 through the restriction of brood rearing. 

 This honey can often be used to supply 

 colonies that are short and need more 

 honey than they have. 



