1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



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Conversations with 

 Doolittle 



At Iiorodino 



A FEW HINTS ABOUT BEGINNING IN BEE- 

 KEEPING. 



I want to begin keeping bees next spring, and 

 wish to prepare somewhat this coming winter. 

 Can you help me a little? 



This subject of beginning in bee-keeping 

 is one of vast importance, at least to the be- 

 ginner. As I look back to my own begin- 

 ning with bees and think of the many dif- 

 ficulties with which I had 1o contend, owing 

 to having no one to instruct me, I am will- 

 ing to do what little I can to help you. 



The first aim of the beginner in apicul- 

 ture should be to post himself as fully as 

 possible by a careful study of some one or 

 more of our best works on the subject. And 

 right here you have the advantage over 

 those of us who began fifty years ago, as 

 there are many good books on apiculture 

 now, and several bee-papers, while there 

 were only one or two of eitht- r, then. One 

 might keep bees, and for a time make the 

 business comparatively successful, without 

 this preparatory study; but, like all other 

 occupations, a thorough knowledge of first 

 principles is of the utmost importance, and 

 it will insure success when otherwise failure 

 would be more apt to be the result of the 

 work. 



But don't think These books will help very 

 much by a casual reading. They should be 

 carefully studied till they become a part of 

 your very nature, so that, when you com- 

 met'ce with the bees next summer, you can 

 put into ])ractical use what you have learn- 

 ed. This study should, of course, be done 

 this winter. 



The next step will naturally be the choos- 

 ing of the frame which you will use. And 

 here you will meet with a diversity of opin- 

 ions, and it will behoove you to go slow. 

 As a pointer I will say that the Langstroth 

 frame has been used so long, and has stood 

 so well on its merits with our most jiractic- 

 al apiarists, that the average beginner will 

 not be liable to make a mistake in choosing 

 that. 



If you should start with five colonies in 

 Langstroth hives I would advise getting 

 ten other hives. You might not use all of 

 them the first summer, but it is well to 

 have all you want, should the season prove 

 above the average. As few as five colonies 

 would be my advice, then you can depend 

 on your old business mostly for your in- 

 come until you are sure with the bees. 



The next thing will be a location. This 

 should be in plain sight of the house, and 

 easy of access, so if you allow natural 

 swarming you can see when the bees come 

 out, or so that any disturbance may be no- 

 ticed at once and remedied. The hives 

 should face south to southeast, if possible; 

 and if the ground can slope that way so 



much the better. Then if you can have a 

 piece of woodland or a snug hedge on the 

 west and north sides of the apiary, better 

 still. If these can not be, a tight fence 

 should be built. Bees, when in good con- 

 dition, are rarely destroyed by cold, but 

 they do suffer much from the disturbance 

 caused by high winds and severe gales, so 

 any thing done to relieve them in this di- 

 rection is profitable. 



I would not set the hives on benches. 

 Make a low stand for each hive out of 2 x 4 

 stuff. Set the hives on such foundation, 

 and attach an alighting-board to each hive, 

 allowing the same to touch the ground at 

 its outer edge. This will save you many 

 bees from getting lost in early spring, when 

 the sun shines intermittently, on cool days, 

 for bees can crawl into a hive if they have a 

 chance, when ihey are too much chilled to 

 fly. The space in front of each hive for 

 about four feet should be kept free from 

 grass or weeds, so that the bees may not be 

 entangled on their return with heavy loads 

 of pollen or honey. 



My apiaries are arranged on the hexago- 

 nal plan, the hives standing ten feet apart in 

 the rows, and the rows ten feet apart. 

 Where space can be obtained I prefer this 

 distance to any other. One (an get along 

 with six feet instead of ten, but ten gives 

 elbow room. 



On the question of increase is where a 

 great many stumble. They are too ambi- 

 tious, and want to increase their number of 

 colonies too fast, and simultaneously secure 

 a good yield of surplus honey. The begin- 

 ner naturally desires rapid increase, and at 

 the same time he also looks for some of 

 those remarkable yields of honey that he 

 reads about. The first he generally secures, 

 and the second he generally does ni>t; and 

 so he is apt to decide that his location is 

 not a good one for honey. Allow me to 

 press home on your mind that rapid in- 

 crease and a large surplus can not be secured 

 at the same time except in phenomenal 

 cases. Remember that every move toward 

 increase, whether made naturally or by di- 

 viding the colonies, is in direfct opposition 

 to the storing of large yields of honey. 



There are three things which are almost 

 es.sential for you to know. 1. You v ant a 

 knowledge of the neciar-producing flora of 

 your locality; in other words, you should 

 know every flower that gro^vs within flight- 

 range, and also its time and duration of 

 nectar secretion. This knowledge will be 

 the key to the situation, and the means by 

 which you can work your bees lo advan- 

 tage. 2. At the time of the blooming of the 

 main nectar-producing flora that yields a 

 surplus above what is consumed by the 

 brood and bees, have the hive full to over- 

 flowing with workers right in their prime. 

 3. Kee]) the whole working force together, 

 if pr>ssib1e, while this surplus flow lasts. 

 Of course the nectar must be secreted by the 

 flowers, else a crop can not be secured. Ev- 

 ery locality has its off year occasionally in 

 this respect. 



