December, 1915. 



411 



American ^ee Journal 



that H is about as great depth as may 

 be used and have the starter stand up 

 well. 



But suppose the difficulty of putting 

 in the smaller starter could be over- 

 come, is there any objection to it other- 

 wise ? There is. The bees seem in- 

 clined to the notion that there should 

 be a passage between the bottom bar 

 and the foundation, and if the bottom- 

 starter is too narrow, and business is a 

 little slack, they proceed to tear down 

 a deeper starter. With a top-starter 

 3'4 inches deep and a js bottom-starter, 

 and a section 4 inches deep in the clear, 

 there should be between the two start- 



ers a space of 'A inch. In actual prac- 

 tice the space is likely to be a little 

 more than that, because the hot plate 

 melts away just a little of the edge of 

 the foundation. When a section is 

 given to the bees, they seem to make it 

 their first business to fasten together 

 the edges of the two starters, thus 

 securing the lower starter against the 

 danger of toppling over. 



All this is with the understanding 

 that thin super foundation is used. 

 With extra-thin the result might be 

 different, and for those who prefer ex- 

 tra-thin it might be best to use, at least 

 for the lower starters, thin foundation. 



Caufornia ^ Bee-I^eping 



Conducted by J. E. Pleasants, Oranee. Calif. 



No Wintering Problem in California 



In California of course there is no 

 wintering problem, as it is understood 

 in the East. That is, there needs to be 

 no preparation for guarding against 

 extreme cold. But our winter is a 

 period of comparative rest for the bees, 

 though they may and do fly on all sun- 

 shiny days, unless hindered by a hard 

 wind. We do not expect them to 

 gather stores at this season From 

 Nov. 1 to Feb. 1 there is very little 

 brood-rearing, and consequently there 

 is less honey consumed than at any 

 other period. 



It is time now to lift your hives and 

 see that none are too light to have 

 sufficient food supplies, for, while the 

 less the bees are disturbed now the 

 the better, still they must not be neg- 

 lected. If some are short of stores, I 

 prefer to take a few frames of honey 

 from a colony that is heavy and can 

 well spare it to beginning to feed now. 

 That is, where the apiary is known to 

 be perfectly healthy. Of course, feed if 

 need be, and any of the well-established 

 methods of feeding will answer, though 

 they will have their deficiencies. 



Bee-feeding is not as yet a fine art, 

 but there are many fairly good meth- 

 ods. When lifting your hives to test 

 their weight, be sure and mark them on 

 the front in some simple manner and 

 keep a record so as to make your work 

 systematic. If one becomes too weak, 

 take off the super of emptv combs, 

 which is here usually left over the 

 brood-chamber, for they are better in 

 closer quarters to conserve tlieir 

 warmth. Put your super over the 

 super of a strong colony to save your 

 combs. This leaving of the supers on 

 is usually done here to preserve the 

 empty combs, also in case of a late 

 honey flow after extracting; the bees 

 may need them. By a careful and sim- 

 ple system of marking, one is enabled to 

 see at a glance the condition of the 

 hive when last examined. .-Ml hives 

 should be set a few inches above the 

 ground to keep them away from the 

 dampness in winter and spring. 



A wooden frame for setting the hive 

 on will answer, but where one has a 

 permanent location it pays better by 

 far to make a cement foundation for 



each hive. In the sage belt we are 

 always in the hills ; and where practical, 

 the ideal setting for the apiary is a 

 gentle slope with a southern exposure. 

 With the extracting house in the fore- 

 ground, this gives convenience in 

 handling the honey, and the southern 

 exposure gives early sun for the bees. 

 Where the empty combs are left on, a 

 good strong colonywill keep them free 

 from moths. The main thing is to 

 guard against the presence of too much 

 moisture in winter, as this causes mold 

 in the outside combs of the brood- 

 chamber. Should this occur, such 

 combs should be removed and good 

 combs put in their place. The moldy 

 combs should be put in some dry place, 

 as they can be saved usually for next 

 season. Combs containing much pol- 

 len are most liable to mold. 



Before hard winds occur in the fall, 

 hives should be weighted with stones 

 on covers to prevent their being blown 

 off. This, however, is one of the most 

 characteristic sights in a California 

 apiary. Sometimes an inspector will 

 find a 30 or 40 pound rock on a hive. 

 This is a little more weight than neces- 

 sary. But rocks are always handy and 

 cost nothing; they keep things in 

 shape in the outapiary which some- 

 times is not visited for weeks. 



Attention should be given the hives, 

 to see that they are in proper condition 

 for winter, as a leaky or badly warped 

 cover may cause a lot of trouble. It 

 pays also to keep the hives well painted, 

 in profit as well as in neatness of ap- 



Bee-Keeping 



pearance. 



One of the menaces of the mountain 

 apiary is the little spotted skunk which 

 is so numerous here. They do not 

 need any "Eat Honey" stickers on 

 their mail, as they already have the 

 habit developed. They go to the front 

 of a beehive and scratch, and some say 

 tap on the hive with their tail to arouse 

 the bees, catching and eating them, as 

 they come out to see what is the matter. 

 They frequent the hives near dusk in 

 the evening and, unless something is 

 done to diminish their numbers, do 

 considerable damage, often weakening 

 a colony so that it is easily robbed out. 

 Perhaps the easiest and surest way of 

 reaching them is to put a poisoned 

 egg near the entrance of the hive in 

 some small tin so that it cannot be 

 overturned. The skunk is said to eat 

 the bee for the honey contained in her 

 honey-sac. 



These suggestions and precautions 

 are made especially for the beginner, 

 and those of small experience, as of 

 course all these details are but an old 

 story to the experienced bee-man. But 

 it cannot be too strongly impressed 

 upon the beginner that the necessity 

 of taking his bees through the winter 

 in good condition means having them 

 in proper shape to strengthen up for 

 the honey flow in the spring, and that 

 eternal vigilance is the price of success. 



[The skunk is fond of all kinds of 

 insects, and eats large quantities of 

 grasshoppers, beetles, etc. It also 

 eats honey readily if within reach.— Ed.] 



Our Exhibit 



The Orange County Beekeepers' 

 Club made a nice little exhibit at the 

 Orange County Fair in October. Mr. 

 George J. Brown, one of our youngest 

 but most energetic members, was 

 placed in charge, and the exhibit he 

 made with the assistance of Messrs. 

 Rails, Holbrook and Joplin, was a 

 credit to any fair. He displayed an 8- 

 frame Root reversible extractor run by 

 an engine, and the practical manipula- 

 tion of uncappingand extracting honey 

 was shown to the public. 



Mr. Rails, one of the'queen breeders, 

 had on exhibition a number of queens 

 and nuclei which were of much inter- 

 est, as were Mr. Brown's glass hives. 

 The photograph shows the exhibit with 

 Mr. Rails and the writer in the stand, 

 Mr Brown wielding the camera. In- 

 cidentally, Mr. Brown sold a carload 

 of honey while running the exhibit. 



In Dixie-^ 



Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga 



Near 4000 Colony Mark 



The past season we came near reach- 

 ing the 4000 colony mark. Notwith- 

 standing we never made that mark our 

 aim, but just planned for a rnoderate 

 increase at most apiaries, while at a 



few we made heavy increase, as it was 

 needed in order to bring the apiaries 

 up to a profitable number. 



We have never found it best to stop 

 all increase, for we can actually make 

 more honey at a 10 percent increase, 

 and at the same time more easily keep 



