194 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Mar. 15 



offered a suitable location for bee-keeping, 

 so I finally decided to try that. 



The initial proceeding was to subscribe 

 for Glkanings In order to understand 

 terms used several good books were read. 

 This reading only show ed how much 1 had to 

 learn 1 t en subscribed for the American 

 Bee Journal and the Review. Back tiumbers 

 of Gleamngs and 'he Review introduced me 

 to Miller, Di)olittle, Alexander, Townsend, 

 and all the other lights of varying power 

 which illumine the world of bee-keepers. 



The diversity of methods seeming at first 

 to contradict each other was a suurce of 

 much confusion of mind. I worked at first, 

 as many in every line continue to do, by the 

 rule of thumb. My first order for supplies 

 was: — 



1 ten-frame hive nailed and painted, full sheets. 

 5 " " in flat, full sheets. 



1 Danz. super ready for use, full sheets. 



1 stan<'ard smoker. 



2 honey-boards. 



We had an opportunity of witnessing free 

 demonstrations on a roof in Philadelphia. 

 My twelve-year-old son, destined to be my 

 assistant and successor, and myself were 

 soon on hand to see how bees were handled. 

 On May 15 we ca'ried home a four- frame 

 nucleus with quetn. This is hive No 1. 



Before the supphes arrived I ordered f com 

 a local breeder of golden bees a two frame 

 nucleus and queen. These were to be call- 

 ed for on notice. The season be ng unusu- 

 ally late they were not received un il May 

 25. Hive No. 2. 



Later purchasps of bees were as follows: 

 On the last of Jane a one frame nucleus with 

 extra bees and fine queen bought by the 

 boy when the roof apiary was closed for the 

 season. Hive No. 3. 



A box hive of black bees purchased in July 

 of a neighbor was drummed into a ten-frame 

 hive filled with nine foundation frames and 

 one comb from No. 3. Their queen was lost, 

 but they raised a fine Italian. Hive no. 4. 



June 28 we attended a field meetii g, and 

 there heard that the season was over. We 

 had supposed that there was always honey 

 all summer, and wondered what No. 1 would 

 do now if it grew strong. Perhaps it would 

 swarm with the fine queen. We would pre- 

 vent that, and we did, to our so^^row. 



When it became apparent that we would 

 get no honey from No. 1, our only hope, the 

 gibes of the family determined us to get hon- 

 ey somehow; so I paid $6 00 to another 

 neighbor for an eight-frame hybrid colony. 

 This neighbor had been keeping bees for 

 several years, and assured me tiiat he usual- 

 ly secured as much horiey in the fall as in 

 the spring. Result— all field bees returned 

 to their old home. On examination, neither 

 eggs nor queen was found. After waiting 

 twelve days to see if the stray virgin had 

 mated, we found no queen. Sent the boy 

 to town to buy a fine ItJian queen; intro- 

 duced on the candy plan, only to find it dead 

 a few days later. Growing desperate at this 

 delav, but still hoping for hon«-y, I inserted 

 a cell raised in a baby nucleus from the egg 

 The queen resulting was superseded the fol- 



lowing sprirg. Can you wonder that it gave 

 us no honey and requited feeding for win- 

 ter? Hive No. 5 



The purchase of a queen Sept. 1, when the 

 Ferris plan was so large on m> horiztm, com- 

 pleted the amount spent f -r stock during the 

 > ear, which was $25 50. This, and a bill for 

 supplies, used and unused, of $20.85 was on 

 one side of my ledger and the other side was 

 blank. 



MISTAKES OF THE YEAR. 



1. Putting in all the full sheets of founda- 

 tion before they were needed. 



2. Trying to get most of it drawn out by 



§iving every nucleus a full set at once, 

 ome of it was chewed into holes or propo- 

 lized 



3 Changing to sectional hive too late in 

 the season, and when the colony was not 

 strong. 



4. Trying to raise a queen in a nucleus 

 fr m the e^g 



Colony No 1 could have be^n made to pro- 

 duce exti acted honey if a shallow super had 

 been given over a contracted hrood-nest, as 

 the ten frames were filled with honey when 

 it was broken up, in an effort to cnange to 

 sectional hive. 



By the time winter set in, the bees were 

 in this shape: No. 1 had ceased to be. This 

 had been transferred late into one part of a 

 sectional hive, and was thought to be strong 

 enough in bet s and stores to winter, but 

 was found que* nless and dead 



No. 2 was strong and full of stores. 



Nos. 3 and 4 were in a ten-frame hive with 

 partition between, a la Ferris. 



No. 5 had a poor queen, and had to be fed 

 for win 'er. 



No. 6 was another hive, a la Ferris, made 

 up from combs of No. 1, No. 3. and No. 4, 

 with queen purchased in September in one 

 side, and one raised from cell found in No. 

 1, after her queen had been killed in need- 

 less changes, in the other. 



To be continued. 



REMOVING BEES FROM THE CELLAR. 



A Cold Day Should be Selected In Order 

 to Prevent the Bees Stampeding. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



It will soon be time to remove bees from 

 cellars, and begin preparations for a bumper 

 crop ot clover honey, tor which the prospects 

 never looked brighter than now. All the 

 clovers went into the winter in excellent 

 condition, and the heavy blanket of snow 

 has kept them so. Bee keepers have every 

 reason to be encouraged, and should put 

 forth every elTort to make the season of 1910 

 a record-breaker for honey production. 



A good start is a long leap toward winning 

 the race; therefore our success will, in a 

 great measure, uepend upon giving our bees 

 a good sen I ott' in the spnng. Tins is very 

 important. A mistake made at this point 

 can not easily be rectifie.i, and the resuit is 

 often a lot of weak and unproductive colo- 



