December, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTITRE 



TllEKlij ii r e 

 numerous in- 

 stances a 1 1 

 over the United 

 States where the 

 combination o f 

 producing honey 

 and raising 

 fruit is conduct- 

 ed on a large 

 scale. I have already told you about C. J. 

 Baldridge, Kendaia,N. Y.,a man who is mak- 

 ing a success of operating extensive bee- 

 yards and fruit-growing ranches together. 

 Experience seems to show that the conflict 

 between the two lines of industry is negli- 

 gible, and that, in order to grow fruit, at least 

 a few bees are necessary if not a vital fac- 

 tor in the business. In most cases the pol- 

 lination of blossoms is the main object. In 

 other cases honey is the primary object, 

 while the growing of fruit is merely second- 

 ary. In still other instances we find cases 

 where the two lines of industry are operated 

 at their utmost, the same labor and brains 

 taking care of the two lines of business. 

 Seventy-Acre Orchard and 300 Colonies. 

 In the last-mentioned class we have a very 

 fine example in the case of Adams & Myers, 

 at Eansomville, N. Y. The firm operates a 

 70-acre orchard, mainly peaches, in the very 

 prime of their productiveness. They also 

 run 300 13-frame colonies; and such colonies 

 as they are! Mr. Adams and Mr. Myers, 

 with the help of one or two men, do all the 

 work; and it is their statement that the 

 lines of industry do not conflict as they 

 operate. The spraying and pruning come 

 mainly at a time when the bees require little 

 or no attention. 

 Big 13-frame Hives for Fruit Growers. 

 If their bees were in 8-frame hives, Adams 

 &: Myers said the bees might require consid- 

 erable spring management; but, fortunately 

 for them, the hives are all 13-frame. The 

 colonies are so populovis and so well pro- 

 vided with stores, mainly natural stores, in 

 the fall, that very little spring management 

 is required, except in the matter of unpack- 

 ing. The big hive is certainly the proper 

 thing for the fruit-grower or any other man 

 who is operating some other line of busi- 

 ness, and who wishes to work on the let- 

 alone plan at certain seasons of the year. 



Figs. 1 and 2 show the kind of hives and 

 colonies these men believe in; and, if the 

 old proverb about the proof of the pudding 

 means anything, they are not far wrong in 

 the selection of a hive adapted to the cir- 

 cumstances of the fruit-grower. 



During winter weather, shut in to a great- 

 er or less extent, Adams & Myers make 

 their own hive equipment, operating a buzz 

 saw with the same engine that operates the 

 extractor. Few men are mechanics enough 

 to make their own stuff. But one member 

 of this firm knows how to make a close fit. 

 It is the senior member, Mr. Myers, shown 

 in Fig. 1. 



One would think that these two men 



WHEN TO USE THE BIG HIVE 



Its Points of Advantage for the Fruit 

 Gro'wer or Others "who Keep Bees but 

 Cannot Give All Their Time to Them 



By E. R. Root 



71.') 



would be so busy 

 in their fruit- 

 growing opera- 

 tions that they 

 would not have 

 any time to give 

 any attention to 

 their bees. I 

 spent two or 

 three days at 

 their place watching them in tljeir work. 

 If I know anything about fruit-growing 

 (and I think I do), and if I know anvthing 

 about beekeei)ing, nothing in their I'ine of 

 business is neglected. Their crops of honey 

 and the carloads of fruit tliat they produce 

 show that these men, in the i)arlance of the 

 street, are "onto their job." 



Big Hives Not Back-Breakers. 

 I said to Mr. Myers, "I do not see how 

 you lift those great 13-frame hives." 



"They are a great deal handier," he re-, 

 plied, "in my opinion, than 8-frame hives 



Figr. 1. — This i.s taken from the apiary of Adams 

 and Myers, near Niagara Falls, N. Y. These men 

 are extensive fruit-growers as well as beekeepers. 

 Mr. Myers is shown just hack of one of his colonifs 

 that are not uncommon. The hives shown are 13- 

 frame Tiangstroth, or an aggregate of 65frames 

 capacity, which, when translated into 8-frame su- 

 pers, would make a colony eight stories high and 

 one frame to spare. 



