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THE BEE-BEEPERS' REVIEW 



maining in the pocket by the same light. 

 Next, I have a small boy, or other person, 

 whose business it is, with a couple of 

 paddles, to kill all bees that enter the 

 barn to rob. This alone is worth a lot. 

 Next, I have one or two smokers going, 

 one, especially, at the entrance door. By 

 this method there is enough smoke in the 

 air, (and it does not take much) to pre- 

 vent the beginning of robbing. There is 

 no let up to this plan during the entire 

 day. At the noon hour I nearly always 

 stay behind while the rest eat their dinner, 

 so the paddles for stray robber bees are 

 always ready for use. 



As to the apiary, I have never yet had 

 to stop extracting on account of robbing. 

 Everything is done, however, by taking 

 advantage of everything we know — as 

 far as circumstances will allovy. We aim 

 at not having (through carelessness, 

 thoughtlessness, forgetfulness, or laziness) 

 to learn the same lessons over and over 

 again, and, of course, again pay for the 

 learning. 



EXTRACTING A SHORT DISTANCE FROM 

 THE APIARY. 



I first began extracting by carrying 

 combs in comb buckets. This was fol- 

 lowed by eight-frame supers; then 12- 

 frame supers; next a wheelbarrow. By 

 a rare streak of good fortune, owing to a 

 mistake, the bees were put some distance 

 from the place to extract, and we took a 

 light spring wagon. That last plan has 

 been good enough for us ever since. We 

 put 6- 8- 10- and even 12-frame Lang- 

 stroth supers on this wagon, the number 

 being according to road, and the strength 

 of the help. We have heavy cloths, made 

 out of large, thick bags, to cover all 

 supers with combs; and let me say, 

 right here, that it is a very bad practice 

 to have standing about the apiary, or in 

 the wagon, uncovered, during robbing- 

 time, supers freshly taken from the hives, 

 even if there is no honey about them. 

 The interior of the hive odor excites and 

 attracts the bees. 



I like for extracting, to have three to 

 work outside, even if they have to help 

 inside at times. If a man or a woman 

 has to work alone in robbing-time, and 

 there is much to do at one time, the 

 operator is badly handicapped. The 

 colony in hand is first smoked at the 

 entrance, just a little, it is then smoked 

 at the top. I shake the bees in front 

 of the hive until I come to the last super 

 to be taken off, when I shake them into 

 the vacant space in that super. Unless 

 the bees are of some special strains, 

 which has a strong disposition to stick 

 to the combs, 1 can, when the cells are 

 capped, shake practically all the bees 

 from the comb. But, if not, then a 

 person stands on the other side of the 

 hive, wielding in each hand a German 

 bee brush. 1 hold the comb for him in 

 such a way that he can, with one 

 sweep, brush both sides of the comb. 

 How can that be, it might have been 

 asked, had I not given the key to the 

 situation in the two brushes. I had a 

 Mr. Fred Mehlenbacher, of Fisherville, 

 Ont., help me for a few days in extract- 

 ing. As he was a man who takes an 

 interest in his work, and thinks, and 

 sometimes has good ideas, he said to me, 

 although he had never used a German 

 bee brush before, "Now, if I only had two 

 brushes, so I could brush both sides at 

 once." In five minutes we had the 

 second brush, and that saves a lot of 

 time, and deprives the bees of chances 

 to rob; and that is now our method. 



I will guarantee that, after a good flow 

 in a properly run apiary, I could take off 

 10,000 pounds of honey in a day, by 

 the above method, and have the honey 

 warm to extract; and not have to lift 

 heavy supers, putting the bee escapes 

 between, and replace the supers with 

 the edges boiling more or less with bees, 

 which are in danger of being crushed. 

 1 extract not one super at a time, but 

 everything clear down to the brood 

 chamber; and that is why I do not want 

 to use the bee escape as I am situated, 

 and as I judge the Hutchinsons are 

 situated. 



