1120 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 15 



CONVERSATIONS WITH 

 DOOLITTLE 



PROFITABLE AND UNPROFITABLE WORK IN THE 

 APIARY. 



" Mr, Doolittle, I have been wondering if I 

 have not been doing too much unnecessary work 

 with my bees. " 



"There is no doubt that a great deal of the 

 work done in many apiaries is not very profit- 

 able, Mr. Jones, and would be characterized as 

 'fussing' by many; still, it often happens that 

 the beginner learns much about the bees by this 

 same fussing, hence the time so spent is not alto- 

 gether thrown away." 



" But is it not as important as any thing in 

 making money out of bees to work so that every 

 stroke counts.?" 



" Undoubtedly that is correct. It is easy to 

 put a large amount of work on the bees, by the 

 one having the bee fever, that amounts to little or 

 nothing after the first principles have been pass- 

 ed. After the business is well understood, no 

 doubt a greater satisfaction will come to us by 

 making every stroke count, as you say." 



"I think that is right, and I should like to 

 have you tell me just what are the really necessa- 

 ry things to do with the bees." 



" If you were to ask the farmer bee-keeper this 

 question he would tell you to hive the swarms 

 when you see them and put on the supers. Then 

 the enthusiast who has just read one or more of 

 the bee books and papers would be apt to say, 

 'Stimulate brood-rearing, equalize stores, malce 

 nuclei, raise queens, examine all colonies once a 

 week during the summer, and, as often as it is 

 mild during the winter, extract the honey in ear- 

 ly spring and feed it back so as to get the cold 

 solid slabs of honey from the middle of the brood- 

 nest; extract the honey in the fall, and feed su- 

 gar syrup for wintering, etc., till you are almost 

 dizzy with the rounds you must make with the 

 bees the whole of the year." 



"•But what do you say.-" " 



"The most practical course is by no means 

 midway between these two extremes, as you 

 probably expect me to say, for from my later 

 years' experience I believe it lies much nearer the 

 farmer's method than the enthusiast's. In other 

 words, my motto now is, the largest possible 

 amount of honey with as little well-directed la- 

 bor as is possible to secure said amount of hon- 

 ey." 



"What do you mean by well-directed labor.?" 



"The farmer loses much honey by not doing a 

 feiu things at the right time and in the right 

 place. The practical successful apiarist does just 

 those things, but no more. Or, when he has 

 just the necessary work done at jitst the right time 

 and in just the right place, he does not hinder the 

 bees in their work by upsetting all their house- 

 keeping in pulling their well-arranged plans in- 

 side the hive to pieces, thus causing them to 

 spend much of their precious time during the 

 honey flow at repair work." 



" Would you mind naming the things which 

 you consider as paying work in the apiary.? " 



" Briefly stated, all colonies should be exam- 

 ined rather hurriedly in early spring with as lit- 



tle disturbance as possible, to see that they have 

 stores enough to last them till pollen becomes 

 plentiful, when they should be examined more 

 carefully to see that they have good queens and 

 suSicient stores to carry them through to the 

 whi'e-clover harvest, taking advantage uf this in- 

 spection to do all desirable cleani.ig of hives, 

 pruning of propolis and burr-combs, and clipping 

 of queens. All hives and supers needed for the 

 season should be in readiness beforehand to be 

 used at a moment's notice when they are needed 

 Then some simple and unifo'm plan for swarm- 

 ing should be adopted which will prevent all 

 watching or climbing tall trees for after-swarms, 

 for these have no part in a wt-ll-regulaied apiary. 

 Some good plan of artificial swarming to control 

 increase is better by far for the busy man's use 

 than natuial swarming in any shape. Poor colo- 

 nies should be requeened, the supers put on at the 

 right time, more added as needed, ami just -when 

 they are needed, and the filled supers should be 

 removed promptly. Next, the honey should be 

 graded and packed in accordance with some def- 

 inite system as early as possible, to take advan- 

 tage of the early market, so that any chances for 

 selling it to good advantage may not be lost. 

 The necessary number ot queen-cells should be 

 raised from the best stock so as tn supersede all 

 failing queens at the end of the h^ney harvest, 

 and nearly all drone comb as well as irregular or 

 imperfect combs should be leplaced by siraij^ht 

 worker combs; and the bees should be gotten 

 ready for wintering during September and the 

 first halt of October." 



"I notice you do not name some of the things 

 neigi'bor K. msists are essential." 



" Probably not. One of the tantalizing things 

 about apiculture is that some apparently good 

 authorities think some things are necessary, not 

 to sav vital, and other equally good authorities 

 say they are not." 



" How do you account for this.?" 



" Locality accounts for much of it in my opin- 

 ion, in some portions of the West the clear dry 

 atmosphere makes it possible for the bee-keepers 

 to adopt a different system i>f management from 

 that necessary here at the East." 



" But when two authorities liv ing near each 

 other put forth different opinions, what am I to 

 think?" 



"Both can hardly be right One may be com- 

 petent in his practical work, but lacking as a 

 close observer, or in scientific accuracy, and 

 quick to jump at conclusions. Or, as is some- 

 times the case, he may be one of thusr- ^ ho thinks 

 it more virtue to claim knov. ledge than to admit 

 or say frankly, 'I don't know.' " 



" I take it from what you said that you do not 

 think stimulative feeding in the spring would be 

 profitable labor." 



"I am sure it is not with me, for I have tried it 

 very many times by feeding a < eitain number of 

 colonies and leaving the same numb' r of colonies 

 of equal strength with'iut feeding, but with 

 plenty of honey; and I find that those not led 

 give the best results in honey when an inventory 

 of each lot is taken in tiie fall. I know some 

 claim this is the only way ot having colonies 

 prepared for the harvest. But it does not neces- 

 sarily mean that stimulation must be profitable 

 because it stimulates brood-rearing. There are 



