October. 191 1. 



301 



American Bee JournaTI 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



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



Apiary Work for October 



This is usually the winding up 

 month for our apiary work, and it is 

 of more importance than the begin- 

 ning month of next season, for in 

 this month we will make the great- 

 est pull for next season's honey 

 crop. 



It is still good time and the last 

 opportunity to introduce better stock 

 in our apiaries, and this important 

 month should not be overlooked, for 

 next spring we would have a supply 

 of drones from this better stock, and 

 our queens next spring would most 

 surely be better mated. 



All colonies that have "lagged" 

 during the summer and fall honey- 

 flow, should, by all means, be headed 

 with better queens, for most surely 

 all bees in such colonies are old, and 

 will die out through the winter, and 

 next spring be found weaklings; 

 while if young queens are given to 

 such colonies, they will take a great 

 spell laying at first, and highly popu- 

 late their colonies with young bees, 

 which assure good wintering and the 

 best possible condition next spring. 

 So much for stock. 



What about the other general fall 

 work? All comb-honey supers should 

 be removed, the honey disposed of, 

 and the supers cleaned up and stacked 

 away until next spring. Some colo- 

 nies in a comb-honey apiary may 

 have stored most of their honey in 

 the supers, and if put away for win- 

 ter in such condition will most surely 

 be lost by next spring, or dwindled 

 down to weaklings, and will give us 

 no small amount of trouble in build- 

 ing it up. This can be overcome by 

 equalizing the stores among the colo- 

 nies, for some of the colonies will 

 have more honey than they need, 

 and it can be given to the needy 

 ones. 



In apiaries where extracted honey 

 is produced, all the surplus should 

 be removed and disposed of, and the 

 empty comb put back on the hives 

 until settled cold weather, when they 

 should be placed under the brood- 

 chamber, leaving the bees to winter 

 in the top of the hives, for they don't 

 like to cluster for winter with so 

 much air-space above them, and it is 

 detrimental to good wintering. Then, 

 next spring, wdicn they have spread 

 brood considerably, and the queens 

 are ready for additional room, the 

 supers containing the empty comb 

 can be placed on top, and the brood- 

 chamber on the bottom. This makes 

 conditions ideal for great brood-rear- 

 ing and the storing of honey. 



But it might be well to mention 

 right here that a close examination 

 should be made of the stores in the 

 tirood-chambcr, as the surplus honey 

 ;s removed, and if any colony should 



be short of stores, place a frame or 

 so of honey there for winter and 

 spring supply. It is hard to tell just 

 how much stores to leave them, for 

 some colonies will consume more 

 stores during the winter and spring 

 than others. Then, too, in some lo- 

 cations where the honey-flow comes 

 the latter part of February or first 

 of March, but little stores will be 

 necessary. 



We have some bees in such locali- 

 ties, and we hardly miss the stores 

 they consume. In such locations as 

 above, just the rim of honey around 

 the brood-nest will be sufficient; but 

 in places where the honey-flow comes 

 later, the bees should be given, or 

 left, from 2 to 2^^ full-depth frames 

 of honey. I mean by this that all 

 the stores should equal this amount. 

 Then in the spring the stores can 

 be equalized again, as some colonies 

 will consume more than others. This 

 can be done as we make our usual 

 rounds examining the brood-nests. 

 All the strips or blocks we use to 

 raise the brood-chamber from the 

 bottom-board for ventilation, should 

 be removed, and let the hives rest on 

 the shallow side of the bottom- 

 boards, which is about ^-inch deep. 

 This will give the bees about the 

 proper amount of ventilation during 

 the winter and early spring. 



The brood-frames should be cleaned 

 off where they have too much burr 

 and brace-comb attached to them, 

 so they can be more easily manipu- 

 lated the coming spring. 



In apiaries where the bees have run 

 short of stores on account of there 

 being no fall honey-flow, should be 

 fed with a syrup made of equal parts 

 of granulated sugar and water. The 

 sugar will melt better if the water 

 is warm. It can be given them in 

 any regular bee-feeder until they 

 have the proper amount stored in the 

 coml). Corn-syrup won't do for this 

 purpose, for it will ferment in the 

 comb and disease the bees next 

 spring or latter part of winter, and 

 cause dwindling. 



A Vacation Among Bee-Keepers 



At this date (Sept. nth), I am 

 about ready to take my usual annual 

 vacation, and will spend the time vis- 

 iting in various parts of Dixie; and 

 I hope to go down as far as Fort 

 Myers, in Florida. It is a great 

 pleasure to me to visit bee-keepers 

 in various sections, when opportun- 

 ity affords, and equally as pleasant to 

 have them visit me. 



It seems to be so pleasant for bee- 

 keepers to meet each other and talk 

 over their business together; and I 

 often wonder why more of it is not 

 done; but I am glad to note that 

 the social feature of our business is 



getting more general. I hope the 

 time is not far distant when the bee- 

 keepers of Dixie will come together 

 and have some well-attended conven- 

 tions. I don't know of anything that 

 would help our industry more. 



I don't think anything is lost by 

 taking a vacation, if it is properly 

 planned and carried out. In fact, I 

 find a great source of information 

 and inspiration in laying business 

 aside for a few days after the "rush," 

 when it does not require attention 

 so much, and taking a trip off to the 

 seashore or the tnountains, and visit- 

 ing all the bee-keepers possible. 



I think every one who sticks to 

 his "bush'' properly is due himself 

 a few days recreation, for on return 

 he will be so much refreshed and in- 

 spired. 



Caucasian Bees — Two Reports 



Caucasian bees can't be beat. 



R. V. Gantt & Son. 

 S.\MARH. S. C. 



My colonies of Caucasian bees are all 

 the time boiling over with bees, but I 

 don't get much honey from them. What 

 could be the matter? G. C. Selmon. 



Monroe, Ga. 



I don't know why your Caucasian 

 bees don't store honey, unless you 

 are in a poor location, and they can't 

 tind much nectar to gather, for, as a 

 rule-, strong colonies will store honey 

 when there is any in the field, unless 

 they get to loafing, and the Caucasian 

 Ijees will not do this, for they will 

 gather and store propolis at times 

 when there is no nectar in the field 

 for them to gather. I have never 

 yet seen a colony of them the least 

 inclined to loaf, or even hang out on 

 the front of the hives, unless they 

 needed ventilation. 



Will It Pay to Requeen? 



I have an apiary of 23 colonies I 

 picked up about the country, and they 

 are mostly black or the common bees, but 

 I have them in frame hives. Would it 

 pay me to buy queens from some one 

 who advertises them, and requeen every 

 colony ? Would this guarantee the bees 

 to be enough better to pay me for the 

 trouble and expense? 



A Beginner. 



I am quite sure that it would pay 

 you to purchase from some breeder 

 23 queens and requeen your whole 

 apiary; and I think almost any queen- 

 breeder will guarantee his bees to 

 excel! the common race of bees far 

 enough to pay for the time and capi- 

 tal expended. I once asked a vet- 

 eran quccn-brccder what was the 

 guarantee of his bees, and he said, 

 "In short, more bees and more honey 

 from colonies headed by my queens." 



I believe if you will write to some 

 queen-brccder relative to this mat- 

 ter, he will give you the above guar- 

 antee, and if his bees don't come up 

 to the guarantee, be will refund your 

 money, and, besides, pay you for the 

 datnage done in the transaction. 



Years ago, when I first saw queen- 

 bees advertised, I said that it must 

 be a humbug, and I believe this is 

 the experience of most beginners in 



