February, 1908. 



American Hee Journal 



so far as to say that strong colonies 

 are not needed for best results, but, 

 rather, medium colonics that are in the 

 right condition. They do not tell us 

 what constitutes this highly desirable 

 right condition, nor why it is that an 

 extra-strong colony should not be in 

 such a condition as well as a medium 

 one. 



It is to be hoped that some of the 

 wise ones will further enlighten us upon 

 this subject or else cease to harp about 

 colonies becoming too strong. One 

 would think this habit was contagious, 

 by the way it is being handed around 

 among the papers of late. 



Now, while I can see that a medium 

 colony in a perfectly normal condition 

 might far outstrip an e.xtra-strong one 

 that was thrown out of that condition 

 at the beginning of the honey-flow, yet 

 I think no one will attempt to prove 

 that an extra-strong colony in a per- 

 fectly normal condition will not store 

 more surplus honey than a medium one 

 in like condition. I will go farther, and 

 say that the former will often store 

 more than twice as much as the latter, 

 and especially in comb honey produc- 

 tion. And why not, since it is bees that 

 gather honey? 



It is a wonder that some writers 

 don't put this theory into practice, by 

 breaking their colonies up irbto nuclei 

 in order to have more colonies to gather 

 more honey! This theory was exploded 

 more than 30 years ago, and is a dead 

 issue. 



Judging by what has been written 

 upon this subject, one would think it 

 a difficult matter to keep an extra-strong 

 colony in a perfectly normal condition 

 for any considerable length of time 

 prior to the honey harvest. And no 

 doubt this is the reason why so many 

 fail with such colonies. While it re- 

 quires but little skill to manage a me- 

 dium colony prior to the honey-flow, it 

 often needs an expert to handle an ex- 

 tra-strong colony and keep it in just as 

 good condition for storing surplus hon- 

 ey as the other. However, writh that 

 kind of a man at the helm, such a col- 

 ony will distance the average one by a 

 full length. 



The strange thing about this matter is 

 that no one has ever attempted to explain 

 plain why it is that e.xtra-strong colo- 

 nies come out behind the smaller ones 

 in the race for honey. Are we to un- 

 derstand by this that there is really no 

 cause for such a seemingly unnatural 

 result, and attribute it to luck? 



I have always found such results to 

 be the exception and not the rule; and 

 when such a thing happens, there is al- 

 ways a good cause for it; and that 

 cause is usually a played-out queen. 

 The trouble could undoubtedly have 

 been avoided by requeening the previous 

 season. 



The question arises, how are we go- 

 ing to keep these extra-strong colonies 

 from swarming before the honey-flow 

 comes, and thus spoil everything? Since 

 such a thing would be fatal to comb 

 honey production we must give the 

 queen unlimited room, and put on a set 

 of extracting combs to keep the honey 

 out of the brood-chamber ; and when the 

 harvest comes with a rush, this mighty 

 army of workers will roll up an amount 

 of surplus far beyond our expectation. 



and we will cease to fear a strong col- 

 ony of bees. 



My bee-keeping friend, your success 

 in comb-honey production will begin 

 right where you leave off fooling with 

 weak colonies of bees. 



In conclusion, keep more bees in each 

 hive, and keep them in a normal condi- 

 tion by requeening each year, and suc- 

 cess is sure. 



Birmingham, Ohio. 



Beginning in Bee- Keeping 



UV G. M. DOOLITTLE, 



A correspondent writes that he thinks 

 of entering into bee-keeping as he has a 

 high "bee-fever" on, through reading the 

 American Bee Journal which a friend 

 let him have during 1907. He says he 

 does not know exactly whether he is 

 informed enough through his reading 

 to make a success of the undertaking, 

 and asks me to give an article on "be- 

 ginning in bee-keeping," as he is now 

 a regular subscriber, and believes that 

 such an article will help others as well 

 as himself. 



Remembering the articles from the 

 pens of Elisha Gallup an-d others for 

 beginners, away back in the seventies 

 and eighties, in the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, which did me so much good when 

 I was a beginner, I will try to give a 

 few thoughts on this matter, hoping they 

 may be of some benefit to others as well 

 as to my correspondent, as he suggests. 



A bee-paper is a good thing to take, 

 for any and all who keep bees or are 

 interested in them in any way, but with 

 the paper should go a book on bee- 

 keeping, which should be thoroughly 

 studied so that the first principles of 

 apiculture will be familiar — so familiar 

 that the one reading will know whether 

 what he or she reads in the bee-papers 

 is practical or not ; for an enthusiast on 

 bees often writes things for publication 

 before he has tested the matter he pro- 

 claims sufficiently to know that it is 

 practical. If the beginner is not in- 

 formed on these first principles in bee- 

 keeping, he is quite apt to "bank" on 

 anything which reads so "catchy" as 

 most bee-theories do, and thus he is 

 led off on a "wild goose chase," which 

 generally results in our beginner be- 

 coming disgusted, and proclaiming that 

 bee-keeping does not pay; also result- 

 ing in the losing of all he has invested 

 in the undertaking. 



For this reason I always advise the 

 careful and studious reading of one, at 

 least, of the many good text-books we 

 have on bees; before any bees are pur- 

 chased, or any great sum of money is 

 put into the business. In fact, I would 

 say, don't pay out more than $40 or $50 

 to get a start, including bees, hives, 

 books, papers, and everything. If you 

 do not buy more than 3 or 4 colonies, 

 $50 should cover all the expenses neces- 

 sary for a start for anybody that has 

 little else to start with save a "bee- 

 fever," and if that is the situation, 

 4 colonies is certainly all the bees that 

 should be bought, while 2 colonies 

 would be sufficient, that being the 

 number I started with in the spring of 

 1869, and from which grew my apiary 

 of 300 colonies of the middle eighties. 



Then, contrary to what I heard once 

 advocated at a National Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention, I would advise the begin- 

 ner to make his own hives, etc., all 

 except the sections, and these I would 

 buy in the flat. Of course, you will 

 want a sample hive to work from, un- 

 less the hives in which you buy your 

 bees are to your liking. If so, all you 

 have to do is to make others like them. 

 And w'hy do I advise the making of 

 your hives at first? That you may real- 

 ly know what a hive costs, and become 

 convinced that the smooth and "catch/' 

 appearance of any hive or fixture does 

 not 'count" toward practical apiculture. 



My first hives were made of rough 

 hemlock lumber, just as it came from 

 the sawmill, and, strange to say, many 

 of these hives were in good, practical 

 shape, long after some of those "fancy" 

 hives which I was led to buy through 

 the "smooth tongues" of supply dealers, 

 had passed out of existence. 



Then, this making of your own sup- 

 plies at the start will "rivet" you with a 

 practical love for your business, that 

 will count toward success in all the 

 years to come. 



Do not become "crazy" over the puffs 

 of wares by those having said wares for 

 sale, and pay out your hard-earned dol- 

 lars (earned in some other business), 

 more than just to get a start. Make 

 your bees and yourself self-sustaining, 

 and after the first start do not pay out 

 anything more than what the bees bring 

 you in, always remembering that if you 

 cannot make 4 colonies pay, you cannot 

 400 or 4000. By starting with a few, 

 these few will increase as fast as your 

 knowledge will, and by the time you 

 have the 4000 you will be able to han- 

 dle the same properly to a complete 

 success, while had you started with 400 

 or 4000 failure would have almost sure- 

 ly been the word written at the end of 

 your undertaking. 



Then, should it so happen that you 

 found yourself unfitted for bee-keeping 

 with a small start, you would have the 

 consolat'on of knowing that you hac 

 lost but from $40 to $50, instead of $400 

 to $500, or perhaps as many thousands, 

 as some do. 



Also remember, if you wish to suc- 

 ceed, you must look after your bees. If 

 any person expects to realize a large 

 income from his bees, and scarcely ever 

 look after their condition — simply hive 

 them and put on the sections — he will 

 find himself greatly mistaken. Not that 

 the whole time must be spent in over- 

 hauling the frames, or "fussing" with 

 the bees but enough time must be spent 

 to know that they are in a good, thrifty 

 condition at all times. 



Then you want a knowledge of your 

 location. Spend quite a little of your 

 time the first 2 or 3 years out in the 

 fields and woods, following 5'our bees 

 to the flowers, or finding your bees on 

 the flowers, and knowing what they are 

 doing there, whether gathering pollen 

 or honey, or perhaps propolis, till you 

 are familiar with all the plants and 

 trees which give your bees anything of 

 value, and especially those from which 

 a surplus of nectar is obtained ; also 

 the average time of their coming into 

 bloom. Having found out these things, 

 then make all the minor bloom con- 



