1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL" 



I secured about half as much honey 

 from the house apiary that season as 

 I did from the hives outside, but was 

 unwilling to abandon the experiment. 

 The second spring was a repetition 

 of the first. * * * The loss of bees 

 is a small matter compared to the 

 loss of labor in caring for them." 



James Heddon reported two years 

 experience with a house apiary that 

 was a practical success. He answers 

 the objections raised against it lather 

 convincingly and sums up the advant- 

 ages thus: 



"The house apiary possesses some 

 splendid advantages. Out of the sun, 

 out of the rain, out of the wind, out 

 of the reach of thieves, implements 

 and bees close together, and last but 

 not least out of the reach of robber 

 bees. * * * 



"On the whole, I think the house 

 apiary, when rightly made and man- 

 aged, is, in many localities a thing 

 of comfort and profit." 



Mr. Heddon cited the oft repeated 

 objection of loss of queens from enter- 

 ing the wrong hive and admitted hav- 

 ing more queenless colonies in the 

 house apiary than outside. 



As far as cost is concerned there 

 are numerous reports to the effect 

 that a house apiary large enough to 

 serve as a combined work house, 

 honey room and apiary, can be built 

 as cheaply as the usual equipment for 

 an apiary can be had, including the 

 necessary building. 



After referring to all reports which 

 I have been able to find in the old 

 Journals, I am inclined to believe 

 that some of the trouble arose from 

 building the houses too small and too 

 dark. Strittmatter provides plenty of 

 room and an abundance of light. 

 While there were numerous reports of 

 loss of queens, this objection seems 

 not to be an insurmountable obstacle 

 as some report satisfactory results 

 after many years of use. Apparently, 

 however, expert attention is necessary 

 in order to succeed with bees in house 

 apiaries. Heddon advised against the 

 built-in hives, but adjusted his hives 

 to special entrances in the house. It 

 was thus possible to take hives con- 



taining qucencells to the open air and 

 leave them until the queen had been 

 mated, after which they could oe re- 

 turned to the house. Since swarming 

 is much easier to control within the 

 houses, the amount of moving that 

 would be necessary would not be 

 great. This is, of course, impossible 

 with the Strittmatter system of built- 

 in hives. 



Since house apiaries are in general 

 use in many parts of Europe, they 

 surely must bo suited to certain con- 

 ditions. While there are few apiaries 

 there conducted on a large scale fol- 

 lowed by many producers in America, 

 we may still learn many things from 

 beekeepers across the sea. 



Beekeeping in Sweden 



BY JOHN A. JOHNSON. 



" Bitidniue^n," the Swedish bee journal, oihcial 

 organ of the Sivedish Beekeepers' Association. 



IN the annual report given in the 

 January, 1916, number, we find that 

 the association had a membership 

 of 5016; a fine showing indeed for a 

 country of Swedens' location and popu- 



lation. If the National Beekeepers' 

 Association would obtain a proportion- 

 ate membership we would number over 

 100,000 members. Their organization 

 is in a flourishing condition and was 

 formed after the German and Swiss 

 associations, the local or district asso- 

 ciation " Krets," is subordinate to the 

 National. 



They have an official label for the 

 honey of members, and each "Krets" 

 is responsible for the purity, cleanli- 

 ness, and quality of the honey of its 

 members when offered under the asso- 

 ciation's label. They also established 

 the price for which the honey shall be 

 sold. They are vigorously fighting 

 honey adulterations, and try to show 

 the inferiority of glucose concoctions 

 which masquerade before the public as 

 honey. Unfortunately the glucose 

 manufacturers are allowed by law to 

 use the name " Inverted honey " marked 

 on their labels. 



The association also does coopera- 

 tive buying of some supplies, such as 

 containers, cans, and sugar is gotten 

 direct from the refiner for feeding pur- 

 poses, even 'under the present abnor- 

 mal conditions. The beekeepers re- 



ONE OF THE WARTMAN HOUSE APIARIES AT BIENNE. SWITZERLAND 



HOUSE APIARY OF E. C. BARBER. AT FRAMINGHAM. MASS,. WHICH THE 

 OWNER REPORTS AS QUITE SUCCESSFUL 



ceive respectable rebates from the 

 refiners. 



Honey was sold as low as one crown 

 per kilogram (about 11 cents a pound) 

 before the war, but now it is advertised 

 as high as three crowns per kilogram 

 (41 cents a pound). One dealer in 

 Stockholm claims to have imported the 

 finest white California honey from the 

 Santa Clara district before the war for 

 about 13K cents a pound. The Swedish 

 beekeepers resent the importation of 

 foreign honey in competition with 

 their own. Extracted and strained 

 honey are produced almost exclusively. 



There seem to be as many kinds 

 and sizes of hives and ideas about the 

 merits and demerits of the different 

 hives as here. A large number of straw 

 skeps are also kept as well as movable- 

 frame hives with sides and ends of 

 woven straw and a frame. Queen ex- 

 cluders made entirely from wood are 

 advertised by the manufacturers. 



A recipe for a very popular honey 

 drink, more of a beverage than mead, 

 is given. 



Pomeroy, Iowa. 



