204 



American Tiee Jonrnal | 



June, 191 f). 



even the weakest colony will remove 

 the food in the coolest weather. About 

 the time the strong colonies are likely 

 to prepare to swarm, I place on top a 

 super which is an exact duplicate of 

 the hive-body filled with empty combs, 

 making a 2-story hive and using no 

 queen-excluder. 



The queen and bees now have free 

 access to both the super and the origi- 

 nal hive-bodv in which to rear brood. 

 Just at the time clover bloom appears, 

 I raise both of these bodies up and 

 place another body underneath, which 

 is filled with empty comb or founda- 

 tion. I place the queen and a frame of 

 comb containing a little unsealed 

 brood in this body with an excluder 

 on top, and the other two bodies on 

 top of all, and now we have a colony 

 that in all probability will not swarm 

 during the honey-Flow. If we can suc- 

 ceed in getting strong colonies in time 

 for the honey-flow, and then prevent 

 swarming, the honey crop will be 



Fig. 28.— Hazi.enut Blossoms 



forthcoming provided the flowers yield 

 any, which I am sorry to say is not 

 always the case. I keep close watch 

 and provide more super room as 

 needed, placing the empty ones directly 

 over the one which has the queen, and 

 raising the others above. 



I would never think of getting along 

 without queen-excluders, nor would I 

 attempt to remove honey without bee- 

 escapes. In one week after placing 

 the queen under the excluder, I exam- 

 ine the two bodies raised above and 

 remove all queen-cells. This prevents 

 the presence of drone-laying queens, 

 which prove to be such a nuisance. 



I suppose I will be the first to regis- 

 ter a disapproval of the steam uncap- 



ping knife. I used it one season, and 

 my honey from cappings, which was 

 formerly the very best, using the old 

 knife, proved to be a lot of thin, dark 

 colored unsalable honey, fit only to 

 feed bees. 



Extracting with me is done from the 

 first to the middle of August, placing 

 the combs back on the hives for fall 

 flow, which, in my locality, we some- 

 times get. 



Greenwood, Wis. 



More About Nr. Nendleson's 

 Apiary 



BY B. BLACKBOURN. 



■ WAS very much interested in the 

 account of Mr. Mendleson's apiary 

 in your February number, and 

 should like to ask a few questions. 

 One glance at an apiary like his shows 

 what the owner is. One never yet saw 

 a well-kept apiary run by a bad bee- 

 keeper. A model apiary invariably 

 means a keen beekeeper, and a keen 

 beekeeper means a good one. Mr. 

 Mendleson says that the grounds are 

 kept clean. By this does he mean that 

 the ground is kept clear of vegetation 

 by hoeing, or tliat the vegetation is 

 kept short by cutting with a scythe or 

 mower ? 



The ideal bottom for an apiary is one 

 over which I have given considerable 

 thought. Grass is probably best all 

 around, but the ground needs to be 

 very level so as to facilitate cutting, 

 and cutting in this moist climate needs 

 to be done very frequently or the grass 

 soon gets coarse and long. Then there 

 is the question of keeping it down 

 close to the hives where it cannot be 

 cut with the mower. Over and over 

 again have I seen salt recommended 

 for this purpose, but my experiments 

 along this line have proved it unsatis- 

 factory, as the salt encourages the 

 strong grasses and only kills the weak 

 ones, the result being that one soon 

 has great strong clumps close against 

 the hives that are too thick to cut 

 through with shears, while if they are 

 pulled up great holes are left in the 

 ground. After all this is what one 

 would expect, as salt is used largely as 

 a manure for pastures. 



With regard to the galvanized iron 

 honey tanks. How are they cleaned ? 

 also how ventilated ? Does not the 

 honey affect the iron ? Our authori- 

 ties always warn us not to use galvan- 

 ized goods, as they say it affects the 

 honey, but I notice that they are com- 

 monly used in America, and I have 

 never read of any bad results. I should 

 also like to know how such a large 

 quantity of honey is strained. 



Ramsgate, England. 



|As this letter raises some interest- 

 ing points, we have asked Mr. Mendle- 

 son to reply, for he is one of the most 

 experienced beekeepers of the West. 

 Our correspondent perhaps does not 

 know that California is an exceedingly 

 dry country where rains come only 

 during the winter months. 



In Illinois we have found coal cin- 

 ders the best material to keep down the 



grass around the hives. The cinders 

 make an ideal alighting place for the 

 bees, as they are always dry. 



Like Mr. Mendleson, we have found 

 galvanized iron tanks satisfactory to 

 keep honey for a few months. But for 

 shipping, tin must be used. Mr. Men- 

 dleson replies as follows: — Editor.] 



"The keeping down of weeds and 

 grass in my apiaries has always been 

 a matter of importance to me. It causes 

 labor and expense to be avoided as 

 much as possible. As I have peach 

 trees among my hives for swarms to 

 alight upon, and also intend to have 

 grapevines for a system of trellis 

 shade for the hot summer months — the 

 grapes alone will pay for expense of 

 hoeing and a profit — I must avoid dam- 

 aging the soil by applications of salt 

 or crude oil. So I am compelled to 

 hoe down the weeds in early winter. 

 Two or three times cutting thereafter 

 with a scuffle hoe will do the work in 

 this climate of California, as the sur- 

 face of the soil dries out during the 

 dry part of the season ; then the weeds 

 cannot sprout until the following wet 

 season commences. So you see we 

 have the advantage here over those 

 having periodical rains to contend 

 with. We generally have from five to 

 six or more months of dry season. 



" Concrete bases would be a great sav- 

 ing of time and labor, but that would 

 make a big expense, although I believe 

 it would pay, and I may try the con- 

 crete about a foot or more from the 

 hives. In this warm, dry climate it is 

 quite impoitant to avoid fires, as many 

 have lost fine apiaries from letting the 

 weeds grow, which makes good kind- 

 ling for a mountain fire. The advan- 

 tages of a clean apiary are many ; no 

 obstructions, easy work, etc. I believe 

 our work should be made cheerful, and 

 cheerful surroundings cause pleasure. 

 ' What is worth doing at all, is worth 

 doing well,' and is in every way better 

 in the long run. 



"As to galvanized honey tanks for 

 extracted honey, I have all my tanks 

 cone-top with a manhole at the top and 

 a ventilated lid. I can fill these tanks 

 to the manhole, and it is easy to skim 

 the honey, and after it is drawn off I 

 put in a few pails of water to dissolve 

 the thin coating of honey and wash out 

 for the winter. 



"The honey is not in the least 

 affected by the galvanized iron, good 

 ripe honey never works upon the iron, , 

 and the sun shining on these cone-top 

 tanks causes the honey to get exceed- 

 ingly thick and ropy. It is thin unripe j 

 honey that causes fermentation and 

 eats off the galvanizing, and then the 

 danger of arsenic poisoning. Any 

 honey left in these tanks (after drawing 

 off) would draw moisture during the 

 wet season and cause fermentation and 

 then damage." 



A Swarm Saver 



BV .\. F. BONNKV. 



I DO not expect the small minority 

 of professional beekeepers who 

 read this to be very much inter-J 

 ested in my new idea, but to the thou-j 



