100 



GLEANINGS IX BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



OUR PRIMARY DEPARTMENT, 



O • First Principles in Bee-Keeping. 



Designer! especially for the veriest novices, and 

 those \\)ii> know nothing of bees whatever. Uonduct- 

 ,.,l !,-. a fellow Novice of several years experience 

 replete with blunders, as well as with occasional 



sure - SCS.] 



A GREAT many commence bee-keepi 112: but 

 Jjf\. too often end in a miserable failure in a 

 war or 1 wo, and some times in a few months or 

 perhaps weeks even. Now as we can't tell how 

 many of our readers may do this, and we par- 

 rim irly rlesire that you should not fail, we 

 sha I endeavor to make our list of implements 

 for a beginner as brief and simple as possible. 

 We fiave for this the twofold reason that we 

 wish to avoid all confusion, and also that a* 

 few •traps' as possible may be needed and 

 consequent y be lost should you abandon the 

 cat M-prise. 



We rather prefer that you should commence 

 w'^h one hive, but if you can't be satisfied with 

 so small a beginning, just double or treble 

 the following amount. 



Stock in trade absolutely necessary for a 

 star's in bee keeping 

 One swarm of bees 5 to $10.00 estimated $7.50 



Simplicity hive 1.00 



10 frames,!/ lie 60 



Quilt 25 



Transferring clasps, one package 25 



Gleanings in bee culture 75 



$10.35 



We would. say it needs just about a $10.00 

 bill to make a modest trial in the business. 



"But," says some one of our readers, "you 

 are continual y calcinating on our being able 

 to judge for ourselves what we need, when the 

 fact is we know nothing at ail about it. 



'The hive at $1.00 has no bottom, an 1 how 

 do vye know what is best to set it on; a'.so, 

 you have said nothing about paint, yet we 

 think you have somewhere taught that they 

 should never be exposed to tin- weather with- 

 out painting. Still again, you say the Italians 

 are much more docile than the blacks, if so 

 why not give us the Italians at once, and then 

 our increase, without any more or an much la- 

 bor in fact, if we are to credit you 'bee folks,' 

 will be Italians and all the more valuable. 

 We certainly don't want to waste our time 011 

 inferior stock just to save a little additional 

 expense in the beginning. Come now ; tell us 

 just what you would do, should some friend 

 tell you to start him an Apiary, and if you 

 thought one hive sufficient, all right, but it is 

 to be all complete; the amount, to be entrust- 

 1 d entirely to your own skill and judgment. 



"Now remember your besetting sin, of econ- 

 omizing too closely in bee matters, but take all 

 the money you want. If we mistake not you 

 have decided not to give a beginner the Stand- 

 ard hive?" 



"We certainly would not. Their first lesson 

 should be increase of stocks rather, and after 

 some experience in that business they can de- 

 cide for themselves whether they prefer to lift 

 their ten frames into a long hive with capaci- 

 ty for twenty, or simply set on another story." 



"Well, here is your heading on this paper now 

 put down the items and figures." 



OUTFIT FOR A BEGINNER. 



Simplicity hive $1.00 



One extra cover to serve as a bottom-board 50 

 Three good coats of Averill Chemical paint 50 



Quilt 25 



Ten combs, mostly worker, @75c each 7.50 



Italian Queen from Imported mother 3.00 



Four quarts of bees @$1.00 4.00 



Gleanings in bee culture Vol 1 and 2, 1.50 



$18.35 



"And is the above all?" 



"All for the present." 



"Of all the various articles mentioned on 

 your price list would you add none?" 



"None else until the article is really felt to 

 be necessary by the owner." 



"And the above is sufficient to build up a 

 large Apiarv without any additional purchase 

 of bees ?" 



"We think so. If all Queens are reared from 

 the one mentioned there can be nothing pooi'i r 

 than half bloods, this will serve to give a new 

 strain of blood and they are very good to han- 

 dle usually, and are nearly equal to pure Ital- 

 ians as honey gatherers. When this Queen 

 fails another tested one should be used. In 

 an Apiary of 25 stocks or upwards an Import- 

 ed Queen will, we think, be a profitable invest- 

 ment." 



Those who have, or find it more convenient 

 to use' the box hive and common bees, wt 

 would refer to the articles on transferring in 

 former number, see pages 33 and 64, Vol. 1st, 

 and page 41), current volume. 



It will require considerable care and skill 

 to transfer a colony in mid-summer or fall, as 

 well as to transplant the grape vine out of sea- 

 son, yet it can be done if you particularly de 

 sire it. 



If you fail, it will probably be because you 

 are careless and not neat and tidy about your 

 work. The bees will assuredly pass readily 

 into anything in the shape of a hive if it occu- 

 pies the precise position of the old one and 

 contains some of their brood combs. Two 

 principle difficulties beset beginners; First, 

 daubing honey around so that robbers get "a 

 going," secondly, losing the Queens. Some 

 deft housewife can instruct you better how to 

 avoid the former than we can, and in fact 

 handling honey in a'most any shape seems to 

 be decidedly feminine work, but you should 

 before hand' give her a clean nice place, free 

 from rubbish etc., in which lo do the work. 

 Bees are decidedly the neatest and most order- 

 ly class of all animated creation — bless out- 

 stars we meant to except every time and al- 

 ioay#, these same feminines — and if you wish 

 them to thrive you must make their habita- 

 tions (we mean the bees) agreeable to this trait. 

 The Queen cannot get lost unless you leave 

 some crevice or hole for her to crawl into. 

 therefore we repeat our injunction, to bank all 

 around the new hive with clean new saw-dust. 

 pounded down hard, so that a bee may travel 

 oyer it easily. Now if you make it a point not 

 to kill a bee during the whole operation, you 

 certainly will not kill the Queen. 



Very likeh they may in their fright, crawl 

 and cluster in several places about the new 

 hive, instead ofgoinginat the entrance, but 

 this .should occasion no uneasiness lor if the 



