March, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



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TALKS TO 



By the 



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FOR the espe- 

 e i a 1 benefit 

 of those per- 

 sons wlio for the 

 first time are 

 turning their at- 

 tention to bee- 

 keeping, we in- 

 tend, during the 

 ensuing months, 

 to publish a series of talks on the produc- 

 tion of extracted honey. Each article will 

 state concisely and clearly what, to us, 

 seems the one most reasonable and best 

 plan of manipulation for that particular 

 month, in northern temperate latitudes. It 

 is hoped that these few articles may add 

 thousands of pounds to the world 's sweets, 

 for during the j'resent sugar shortage, many 

 people, knowing nothing about bees and 

 yet having a few extra hours each week, will 

 be glad to do their bit by purchasing at least 

 two or three colonies and launching in the 

 bee business. 



We shall take up the subject of extracted 

 honey rather than comb honej^ because its 

 production requires far less skill and results 

 in more money and a larger crop. The largo 

 combs being more in accordance with nature, 

 than the small section boxes, the bees seem 

 to greatly prefer working in them. Some 

 seasojis are quite unsuitable for comb honey 

 production, since a short, heavy flow is 

 necessary for best results. Moreover, very 

 large colonies and limited super room are re- 

 quired to keep the super warm enough for the 

 wax building necessary in comb-honey produc- 

 tion, most of which building takes place 

 at night. Now, large colonies and lack of 

 room inside the hive are two of the main 

 inducements to swarming. And, if allowed 

 to divide (or swarm), neither of the two 

 resulting colonies would be large enough to 

 produce comb honey. Therefore, in order 

 to prevent swarming the comb-honey pro- 

 ducer is obliged to give his bees the very 

 closest attention possible. It is evident that 

 this requires the care of the specialist and 

 not the beginner. 



To those people who thoroly enjoy nature, 

 who have the habit of close observation and 

 an aptness for applying such knowledge as 

 occasion arises; to those who are careful,, 

 orderly and not afraid of work, or of soiled 

 hands or of an occasional sting, — to such we 

 are ready to guarantee a decided success in 

 the bee business. 



Bees can be made to pay for themselves 

 almost from the start, and for the addi- 

 tional apparatus needed in increasing the 

 apiary, as well as show some profit besides. 

 Of course, without having a fore knowl- 

 edge of weather conditions, for the coming 

 season, we can give no definite figures on the 

 probable crop, but we should expect a colo- 

 ny to average anywhere from $8.00 in a poor 

 season to $20 or more in a good one, at pres- 

 ent honey prices. 



An orchard is a fine place to keep bees, 

 but since they fly for a distance of 2 to 5 



BEGINNERS 



Editor 



1 



^^^^^^^^=^ 



tU 



175 



miles or further, 

 there is hardly a 

 spot in the 

 whole United 

 States where 

 bees cannot get 

 some honey. For 

 a suitable loca- 

 tion, therefore, 

 the small bee- 

 keeper need look no further than his own 

 back yard, or lacking this, he may keep 

 them even on the roof or in the attic. 



Those just starting will find it a great 

 pleasure and help, tho not a necessity, to 

 read one or more of the beginners' books 

 now on the market and also to subscribe for 

 one of the leading bee journals. A large 

 fund of necessary information may also be 

 obtained from a study of the supply cata- 

 logs, which may be obtained for the asking 

 from any of the beekeepers' sujjply houses, 

 several of which are advertised in this jour- 

 nal. We know of a beginner who said he 

 learned more about hives, tools and bee- 

 keepers ' apparatus in general from a supply 

 catalog than he was ever able to learn in 

 any other way. In addition to this prelim- 

 inary learning, it would be a great help to 

 have a few heart-to-heart talks with a real 

 " sure nuff " beekeeper who may live near. 

 To those contemplating this start in bees, 

 we recommend that the needed supplies be 

 ordered immediately, to avoid delays that 

 are bound to occur later in the season. In 

 order to assist the beginner in making a 

 wise choice of supplies, we shall suggest a 

 suitable outfit for the production of extract- 

 ed honey. The real essentials are: One 10- 

 frame hive-body, with wired frames contain- 

 ing sheets of comb foundation; two or three 

 10-frame supers just like the hive body; one 

 floor-board; one inner cover; one ' outer 

 cover; one bee-brush; one bee veil; one bee 

 smoker; one queen excluder, and one hive 

 tool. It will be noticed that this essential 

 outfit just given includes only one complete 

 hive with its two or three supers of frames. 

 For a model outfit we would suggest an extra 

 hive for a possible new swarm, with two ex- 

 tra supers, one two-frame honey ex- 

 tractor, and one uncapping knife. The rea- 

 son we omitted the two latter from the es- 

 sential outfit is because the honey need not 

 be extracted at all, but simply used as chunk 

 hone}-, or if one prefers extracted honey, 

 there is in nearly every locality some large 

 beekeeper who will be glad to do his neigh- 

 bor's extracting for one cent per pound. It 

 it evident that no small beekeeper could do 

 it as cheaply as this with his apparatus. 

 Still there is a pleasure and satisfaction in 

 attending to the whole process one's self. 



Next month, assuming the beginner's sup- 

 plies to have been ordered and already on 

 their way, our talk will contain a description 

 of these same supplies and their uses, as 

 well as a careful look-in to this same hive 

 as it is to appear a little later when the bees 

 have taken possession. 



