IDE^OXEiD EXCLTJSIVEL-Y- TO BEES ^.ISTJD EtOjSTE^'. 



Vol. II. 



MAY 1, 1874. 



No. V 



HOW TO CONDCCT AN APIARY. 



No. 5. 

 'TffN these papers we shall only consider such 

 jL> a course of management as will probably 

 give the largest crop of honey ; for rearing 

 Queens for the market will have to be consid- 

 ered rather as a separate department, and will 

 necessitate a somewhat different mode of man- 

 agement. 



In our Northern localities, we believe there 

 is seldom enough honey gathered to render 

 extracting necessary in May, and the large 

 amount of brood under way, requires au 

 amount of food that is many times overlooked. 



We would make it the most important busi- 

 ness of the month to see that every colony has 

 at all times au abundant supply of food. We 

 have sometimes on examination, found what 

 we supposed a great plenty, but in a week 

 more, have found brood in all, or nearly all the 

 combs, and not a cell of honey to be found any 

 where. Of course brood-rearing had to wait 

 until some could be gathered from the fruit 

 blossoms, and at evening we would And a tol- 

 erable supply scattered among the brood, but 

 the next morning we would find them once 

 more entirely destitute. Should bad weather 

 occur at such a time, a careless Apiarist 

 might never guess what it was that so sudden- 

 ly checked what had been one of his best 

 colonies ; in fact we have known • bees under 

 such circumstances, starved outright, in the 

 month of June. 



Perhaps next in importance, is inserting a 

 clean empty worker-comb in the middle of the 

 brood nest, as often as the colony will bear it. 

 To determine this, requires some judgment, 

 and much mischief may accrue from going too 

 fast; a feeble colony that have just begun to 

 get up a tolerable cluster of brood; would find 

 their "house-keeping arrangements" upset to 

 such an extent by this proceeding, that it 

 might almost spoil their value for the season. 

 You had best make a few careful experiments ; 

 if at the eud of a week you find the new comb 

 nicely filled with larvae, and none of their 

 older brood left too much exposed, if the col- 

 ony is strong, they may have another comb 

 and so on. One great point to be secured, is 

 to have combs of -brood all nearly of an age, 

 that the Queen, nurses, etc., may proceed With 

 their separate duties as we would hoe a field 

 of corn, instead of searching all over the combs, 

 to see what cells need attention. 



This is the great month in the Northern 

 States for transferring, as all agree we believe 

 that the most favorable time is during the 



bloom of the fruit trees. With all deference 

 to good authorities, we would advise to omit 

 the drumming out process. It seems to us 

 that it only needlessly bothers the bees, and 

 yourself also. In our opinion, by far'the eas 

 iest, and safest plan, (see Vol. 1, for May,) is to 

 give the colony one, two, three, or more good 

 combs of brood from other hives, and then 

 distribute the transferred combs in place of 

 these, that the work of patching up may be 

 distributed among several, and our transferred 

 friends will have nothing to do but to recon- 

 cile themselves to a new hive having a few 

 new combs perhaps, among their own. 



As we have often before said, before you 

 commence transferring fix your new hive 

 nicely in the place the old one occupied, and 

 be sure you pack it all around with saw-dust, 

 in such a way that the Queen and bees cannot 

 make a mistake and crawl under the hive 

 iustead of into it. We feel sure that any of 

 our readers, can work without any danger 

 whatever, without veil or gloves, if they only 

 use plenty of smoke to start with. After the 

 bees are subdued, get out a sheet of comb as 

 neatly as you can, and shake, or brush off 

 every bee at the entrance of the new hive. If 

 they don't go in at once, never mind, they will 

 as soon as there is enough of them, and if a 

 comb of brood awaits them, they will soon be 

 all right. If you have no other movable comb 

 hives, you will have to get a piece of comb 

 containing brood, transferred as soon as you 

 can. When you have taken all the combs out 

 of. the old hive, you will find many of the bee-, 

 and perhaps the Queen, clustered on it, or in a 

 corner; shake them before the entrance ; clear 

 up every thing and you are done. If robbers 

 begin to trouble at any stage of the proceed- 

 ings, cover up every thing except the comb 

 you are cutting, with cloths ; if you are much 

 of a novice perhaps you had better do this any 

 way. The greatest danger from stings will be 

 from robbers. 



We consider transferring, well done, only 

 when the bees keep right on with their work, 

 bringing pollen, etc. 



The whole operation should not occupy, to" 

 exceed one hour. We presume many of our. 

 friends will have colonies this month that will 

 need more room than a single story will afford', 

 and the following is just at hand. 



If an Extractor is used would it be better to usi 

 ■ ti\ es single or double ? 

 At water. O. \y>ril "th, 1874. J AS. M attoon. 



With tin- presenl heavy testimony in favoi 

 of exter ling the mbs horizontally, and the 

 greater convenience in handling the combs for 



