236 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



The very strongest colony had no stores 

 at all in the middle of March, so 1 gave 

 it about a pint of syrup. I had to leave 

 town for several weeks, so it, and many 

 others, had to get along as best they 

 could, but it went booming ahead all 

 the same, turning all nectar from dande- 

 lions into brood as fast as it came in. 

 On the other hand, some colonies that 

 were weak in bees, but having an 

 abundance of stores, strengthened very 

 slowly. The conclusion is, therefore, 

 that plenty of bees in spring is the most 

 important factor for the building up of a 

 colony for the honey flow. 



As I studied over the data, the idea 

 was developed in my mind that, perhaps, 

 the most important factor to be con- 

 sidered in a strain of bees is that of 

 physical vigor, in a word longevity, suffi- 

 cient stamina to keep them alive during 



the period of repose in winter and until 

 they have brought their successors on 

 the stage in April and May. Just as I 

 had arrived at this conclusion, had de- 

 cided from what queen I was to raise 

 new stock, from what hives I was to 

 permit drones to fly. there appeared in 

 Gleanings a very interesting article by 

 Mr. Simmins, of England, insisting 

 strongly that the most important factor 

 about bees is longevity, and that if we 

 secure this in our strain we will get a 

 big honey production as a natural con- 

 sequence. 



This summer, therefore, I am going to 

 raise my new queens from the colony 

 that showed the fewest dead on the 

 bottom board, and permit drones to fly 

 from the hives that approached the 

 nearest to the best. 



Victoria, B. C, May 27, 1910. 



Sorting, Grading, Packing and Preparing 

 Honey for the Market. 



MATHILDE CANDLER. 



n 



FTER t h e 

 comb honey 

 supers are taken 

 from the hives 

 at the close of 

 the main honey 

 flow, there 

 comes a let-up 

 in bee work 

 which is very 

 much appreciat- 

 ed after having 

 worked every day for a good many 

 weeks, Sundays included, often from 

 daylight to dark when the work required 

 it. Now I take a vacation for a week or 

 two and do "such labors of love" and 

 other work as have been neglected dur- 

 ing the honey season. 



But the comb honey producer can not 

 be idle long, for now comes the task of 



getting all those sections ready for 

 market. As the weather is very warm, 

 I devote this time to nailing and getting 

 shipping cases ready, looking over and 

 fixing up carriers, fumigating honey, and 

 doing such other work, preparatory to 

 the grading and cleaning of sections as is 

 needed. 



Cleaning and sorting sections is not 

 hard work, but no part of my bee work 

 do I dislike so much or find so tedious. 

 It comes at a time when the weather is 

 delightful, and one would rather be out 

 doors than in; and when the bee-glue is 

 soft and sticky and sticks to fingers and 

 scrapers and everything it touches, the 

 work does not progress very fast. Later 

 on, the days are cooler, but I want to 

 get the honey to market as early as 1 

 can; and, besides, there is other work 

 yet to be done, and so I begin. 



