1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



255 



CAPT. HETHEBIKGTON. 



AS A BEE-KEEPER— CONTINUED. 



|SS|APT. HETHERINGTON is a skilled mechanic, 

 wf and makes all of his supplies, including' ex- 

 |1)J tractors, box-making- machines, etc., even to 

 '■' the three dozen wheelbarrows he uses in his 

 different bee-yards. The material is prepar- 

 ed, ready to put together, in his mill, five miles 

 from home. He prefers, when he has to oversee a 

 dozen or more men, and keep their machinery in or- 

 der, to put that distance between himself and those 

 who would call him from his work. His honey-boxes, 

 clamps, cases, etc., are models of perfection and 

 neatness. His packing-cases are of the whitest 

 basswood, papered inside, so that there may be no 

 leak, and the boxes rest on cross-cleats, so that the 

 drip may be kept from them. At the Centennial 

 his exhibit of 3500 lbs. in single-comb sections, to- 

 gether with a variety of ornamental packages of 

 honey and wax, was admired by all. The exhibit 

 was built up to represent the turreted fi-ont of an 

 old castle, so arranged as to allow the light to pass 

 through in the freest manner; the whole surmount- 

 ed by the flag under which he fought for three long- 

 years. The highest prize was awarded him— a med- 

 al and diploma. Two years before this (1874) he had 

 made a large shipment of comb honey to England, 

 which Mr. Quinby said was the first sent abroad in 

 quantity. At this early date he recognized that the 

 relief for an overstocked market here must be 

 sought abroad. It is to be regretted that our whole- 

 sale dealers have not persistently followed up this 

 exportation, as there are but few difficulties to 

 overcome, aside from the national prejudice of the 

 average Briton that foreign products are not quite 

 as good as home productions. Our climate is dry- 

 er, and we have a better proportion of sunshine than 

 England, conditions which should give our honey a 

 superior body and flavor. While Mr. Cowan, editor 

 of the British Bee Journal, did not admit this, other 

 distinguished visitors have done so, and it is confi- 

 dently expected that, in the not distant future, the 

 early expectations of Capt. Hetherington will be 

 realized, and that Great Britain will demand some 

 of the products of our apiaries. 



Messrs. Cowan and Young, on their recent visit 

 to this country, recognized Capt. Hetherington as 

 the most extensive bee-keeper in the country; and 

 on his return, Mr. Cowan stated, in an address to 

 the British Bee-keepers' Association, of which he is 

 the recognized head, that at Cherry Valley, N. Y., 

 he "met the most extensive bee-keeper in the 

 world." This October his colonies number about 

 3000, located in twenty-two apiaries. The manage- 

 ment of these large numbers must necessarily be 

 in a systematic, wholesale way, to which we may 

 fairly apply the word extensive rather than inten- 

 sive. His results per hive should not be expected 

 to equal those who keep a smaller number, cared 

 for with the closest possible attention, although it 

 can be said they do not fail far short. In a good 

 many of the details of business, however, the word, 

 "intensive" might very appropriately be applied, 

 for in the mechanical perfection of his supplies of 

 all kinds, and in the neatness and order displayed 

 in every branch of his business, even to the mi- 

 nutest detail, he far surpasses the average keeper 

 of a dozen hives. So well does he look after the 

 details of his business that it would be difficult to 

 inquire for any implement or article used, or rem- 



nant left within a year, but that he could tell you 

 where to find it. 



As soon as possible after giving his bees a flight 

 in the spring, he moves them away to his out-yards, 

 which are situated from two to twelve miles from 

 home. After this they are visited as often as may 

 be necessary, at intervals varying from two days 

 to two weeks. Usually, however, during the hon- 

 ey-gathering season, at some time between Monday 

 morning and Saturday night, they are all seen. He 

 hires a plot of ground on which to set them, and 

 takes all the care of the bees. No one looks after 

 issuing swarms, because he has no such swarms 

 worth looking after. For some time after adopting 

 the new Quinby hive he labored with Mr. Quinby 

 to prevent swarming by giving shade, young 

 queens, and plenty of room in surplus and brood 

 apartments of the hive; and in 1868 he succeeded in 

 preventing all increase from the 150 colonies then 

 under experiment. What worked well in one sea- 

 son, however, did not succeed in all, and it was not 

 until he practiced removing the queen that he was 

 entirely successful in controlling swarming. 



For some years he has used the T clamp and one- 

 pound sections, glassed or unglassed, as the mar- 

 ket demands. In the fall he moves his bees all back 

 home, when they are weighed, their stores equal- 

 ized, and they are prepared for winter. The prin- 

 cipal forage at Cherry Valley is clover, basswood, 

 and buckwheat, which last, being largely stored in 

 the brood-apartment of the hive, usually insures 

 sufficient stores for winter. 



In connection with his last attempts at outdoor 

 wintering, the captain experimented quite largely 

 with plaster of Paris as a material for bee-hives, it 

 being an excellent non-conductor of heat, and a 

 good absorbent of moisture. But he soon discover- 

 ed that, in common with the absorbents he had be- 

 fore used, in proportion as it became saturated 

 with moisture it lost its non-conducting properties. 

 He therefore, after the most thorough trial, aban- 

 doned, with almost all kind of hives and all kinds of 

 packing, outdoor wintering, as unsuited to his se- 

 vere climate, where a five-months' confinement to 

 the hive is sometimes experienced. In this high 

 mountainous region, successful wintering has been 

 the most difficult point in practical bee-keeping, and 

 perhaps always will be, as the honey-bee is indig- 

 enous to warmer climates, and, when removed to 

 long winters, it does not bear confinement well un- 

 less every condition is perfect. 



The captain finds it best in the fall to persistently 

 weed out all swarms not up to a high standard of 

 excellence. Some years as many as one-third are 

 thrown out as unfit for the cellar. He takes per- 

 sonal supervision of this preparation for winter, 

 and not long since he informed me that either he 

 or his brother had examined every swarm as to 

 quantity of bees and amount of honey. The writ- 

 er, after spending some time in looking through 

 his bee-yard, concluded this was the best lot of bees 

 he ever saw. There were no second - quality 

 swarms, and an old queen was the rare exception, 

 for Hetherington has a decided preference for the 

 first-year's work of a queen. 



The captain is not at all satisfied with his winter- 

 ing, notwithstanding his success of late has been 

 much better than that of the average bee-keeper. 

 In the spring of 1881 he took a carload of hn weak- 

 er swarms as far south as Philadelphia, in order 

 that they might avoid the chilling winds of the 



