Fig. 3. — One of tlie oiityards. Though situated right in the woods, 

 the bees are never molested. 



make any money. I realized this, but hoped 

 to get to a point where I would not have to 

 put it all into the business each year. 



I economized by making my supplies in 

 a nearby factory, lumber being very reason- 

 able in price. But I surely would not ad- 

 vise any one who expects ever to have a 

 large number of colonies to make his sup- 

 plies by hand, for to handle large numbers 

 successfully the hives and fixtures must be 

 made right and of uniform size. 



Bees that 1 purchased I always transferred 

 into my own hives, excepting a lot of 104 

 purchased in hives of different make but 

 uniform. These were reduced to about 

 thirty, and the other bodies used as supers. 



When I purchased bees, supplies, queens, 

 or other necessary equipage, 1 almost in- 

 variably paid cash for them, borrowing the 

 money at the bank if I did not have it. I 

 think this method the most satisfactory to 

 all concerned. In this way I have built up 

 my business quicker, and have been able to 

 accomplish much more and to do it much 

 easier. One thing right here ere I forget : 

 Don't let your business increase faster than 

 your knowledge. Keep posted. Read all 

 the bee-journals, and supply yourself with 

 the best books on the subject. 



The past season I managed three apiaries, 

 doing nearly all the work except during the 

 extracting and packing, when 1 hired one 

 man. 1 have worked out a system of han- 

 dling the bees, and find it only a pleasant 

 pastime to handle four or five hundred colo- 

 nies, and so am planning to increase to 700 

 the next season if all goes well. I might 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



mention a few thingg 

 that I believe are 

 essential to the han- 

 dling of large num- 

 bers with perfect 

 ease: 



1. A level ground, 

 or at least a smooth 

 one, with hives sys- 

 tematically arranged 

 for easy access with 

 wheelbarrow. 



2. A honey-house 

 perfectly tight with 

 escapes in windows, 

 so that all honey may 

 be brought in at one 

 time, warmed up, and 

 extracted. What a 

 pleasure to w o r k 

 stripped right down, 

 with hardly a bee in 

 the house, all because 

 the supers are rid of 

 bees by the use of 



the Porter bee-escape, the bee-escape work- 

 ing well because the brood is all hatched 

 and a wood-wire queen-excluder placed on 

 at the right time ! I find it only a short job 

 to put on the excluders or escapes; for after 

 distributing them I have actually put on 

 three a minute where there was only one 

 super. 



The reason I can separate the supers so 

 easily is because the supers are uniform and 

 of proper bee-space between. This is due 

 in part to the fact that I clean the top of 

 the frames and take out all burrs just before 

 the first honey comes in. It is not a long 

 job; and, oh the time it saves later! I also 

 clean all extracting frames and supers the 

 same way, using a carpenter's scraper sim- 

 ilar to a putty-knife, but wider. The blade 

 is very thin and of steel, and can be pur- 

 chased for about 60 cents. The scrapings 

 of the supers and hive-bodies will just about 

 pay for labor; so you see it costs nothing, 

 and it is done when you have nothing much 

 to do except to watch the bees build up. 



I use the Miller feeder to feed the bees 

 after the crop is taken off. This is very 

 easily done. After reducing the entrance I 

 mix up sugar and water — two parts of su- 

 gar and one of water if for late feeding; 

 and after weighing the hives (I guess the 

 weight) I pour in the syrup at evening and 

 the feeding is done. I take off the feeders 

 with escapes after the feed has been taken 

 down and they are ready for winter. I use 

 a steam-heated honey-knife, and the latest 

 Root four-frame hand extractor; but I ex- 

 pect to install a i^ower extractor some day. 



