1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



617 



General Correspondence 



THE CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR SECUR- 

 ING HEATHER HONEY IN 

 GREAT BRITAIN. 



BY D. M. M'DONALD. 



At the first glance it might appear that 

 the treatment of heather honey might be 

 inappropriate for the pages of Gleanings, 

 as I believe it is not found in America. 

 When, however, it is viewed simply as a 

 late autumn source of nectar, a " fall " flow, 

 in fact, the appositeness becomes patent. 

 For working any late flow, crowded colonies, 

 doing quick and expeditious work, are of 

 the greatest importance. It is not always 

 within the reach of the bee-keeper to be sure 

 that all his stocks shall be strong, and ready 

 for good work in supers for early fruit bloom, 

 or even for clover in unfavorable seasons; 

 but when working for a late flow such as 

 the heather he has the matter to a great ex- 

 tent in his own hands. These colonies be- 

 ing obtained just when the early days of 

 August show the hillsides one radiant dis- 

 play of purple bloom, consisting as they do 

 mainly of young energetic bees, eager for 

 work and ready to improve each shining 

 hour, can be relied on to do the very best of 

 work, both as to amount and finish. If the 

 queens are young and prolific, occupying 

 almost every spare cell in a restricted brood- 

 nest, the sections, if warmly wrapped up, 

 will be rapidly filled and sealed. In such 

 circumstances they will all be found heavy, 

 well finished, and generally able to be grad- 

 ed first class. It must be fully understood 

 that these powerful colonies are a sine qua 

 non'ii full success is to be counted on in 

 working this late flow. 



SECURING STRONG COLONIES. 



We can do this in at least one or the other 

 of three ways: 1. By doubling early in the 

 season and allowing the queen and bees the 

 range of the twenty frames in the two tiers, 

 we can count on an enormous number of 

 bees peopling that hive in early August. 

 But some three weeks before the opening of 

 the heather flow the queen is confined to the 

 ten lowest frames selected as those contain- 

 ing the least brood. The other ten are left 

 on above until all the bees have hatched 

 out in about three weeks after the former 

 change, when they are carried away en bloc 

 and their places taken up with additional 

 section-racks. Three of these are often nec- 

 essary; and if some of them are filled with 

 partly finished sections from an earlier flow, 

 very rapid work is done — so much so that 

 results would astonish bee-keepers accus- 

 tomed to medium colonies. Care must be 

 taken that the second body box is not with- 

 drawn at too early a date, as then a conges- 

 tion would arise, causing swarming even at 

 this late period. Such colonies with good 

 weather and a rich heather bloom may be 



relied on to roll in the honey at a rapid rate; 

 and the brood-frames being occupied it must 

 go upstairs where the apiarist desires it. 



2. We find, of course, that a powerful col- 

 ony, in spite of all the care and attention 

 which can be given it, will at times persist 

 in swarming, accept the swarm, and, while 

 it is out, shift its body box on to a new site 

 adjoining, and place a new set of frames on 

 the old stand. Return the swarm, which, 

 with the flying bees, will make a strong 

 stock; but don't rely even on this powerful 

 body of bees. In about eight days carry 

 the old body box, all this time lying along- 

 side the new colony, when the whole of its 

 flying bees will be added to the already 

 large army of workers. If this operation is 

 carried out just before the heather flow we 

 are certain to have a force of bees fit for the 

 best work in surplus chambers. As our 

 swarmed queen has by this time almost ev- 

 ery inch of comb in the breeding area occu- 

 l)ied by eggs and brood, all surplus must 

 l^erforce go into the supers. In this way we 

 secure the very finest work in section-build- 

 ing; for a swarm, as is well known, works 

 with an energy all its own, while its combs 

 are generally cleaner and finer in finish. 



3. We may, in the early days of August, 

 manipulate bur hives in such a way that a 

 certain number will have every frame a mass 

 of just hatching bees by the middle of the 

 month, all prepared to work at high pres- 

 sure. This strengthening of all hives work- 

 ed for heather honey at home, or transport- 

 ed to the moors, should be carried out to the 

 extent that not only will the lower body 

 combs be a solid mass of brood, but the 

 hives should also be boiling over with bees. 

 Every nook and corner of the brood area 

 and also the surplus chambers should be 

 densely crowded with workers. This gives 

 an ideal force which yields a regular succes- 

 sion of young bees to replace others when 

 they are worn out, as all the combs carried 

 to the heather hills are simply hatcheries, 

 being packed with sealed brood in all stages 

 of development toward the perfect worker. 

 Such colonies will toil most assiduously, and 

 carry on their indefatigable labors early and 

 late with a fixed determination to fill every 

 vacant cell. Some short-sighted opportu- 

 nists would feed syrup before going to the 

 moors, with the idea that they may thus 

 force the bees to store aloft. The theory 

 sounds plausible; but on analysis it proves 

 thoroughly unsound, because they thus 

 block the queen. If theory demands that 

 the cells of brood-frames be full, then let 

 them contain only eggs, larvse, and just 

 hatching bees, which will soon emerge to 

 take the place of those worn out by the 

 strenuous life lived by bees at the heather, 

 working on exjjosed moors. 



AIDING THE BEES. 



The apiarist should aid his bees at all 

 times in every way he can; but particularly 

 during a late flow every little kindness tells 

 by adding to the bees' comfort and bring- 

 ing a rich reward. He must watch the flow 

 and arrange the interior of the hive to se- 



