1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1203 



of my apiaries there were about ten per cent of 

 the colonies with two queens in a hive, and Mr. 

 Williams had some difficulty in introducing 

 until finding both queens. 



These off seasons are the ones to supersede 

 old stock when we can have more time to exam- 

 ine each individual colony properly. 



Our seasons are so varied, or have been so for 

 the past number of years, that we can not judge 

 the future by the past. It is necessary to be pre- 

 pared with one's cup right side up; consequently 

 when good seasons approach, good results may 

 be accomplished. It is best to have supplies on 

 hand and made up, and protected from the ver- 

 min and the elements, even if we have to wait 

 for the seasons of flow, providing one's means 

 permit ; otherwise it pays to do with fewer bees. 



Speaking about the varied seasons in Califor- 

 nia, one year I extracted a carload of wild-sun- 

 flower honey, and also a carload from phacelia 

 before the sages came in, but never before or 

 since have I extracted much of either of these 

 grades. The above bloom has since varied as to 

 the time of its appearance. 



I have noticed, with but few exceptions, that 

 bees will not work on or gather from inferior 

 sources when there is an abundance of the supe- 

 rior honey like that from the sages. In 1884 one 

 colony out of 200 gathered exclusively from an 

 abundance of mustard bloom; the 199 gathered 

 from the sages. This was an exceptional extreme. 



With but few exceptions these out-of-season 

 blooms are our short seasons, or seasons of fail- 

 ure. 



If all California bee-keepers would breed up 

 their colonies during these seasons of partial fail- 

 ure they could greatly increase their profits. It is 

 short enough as it is, and all are not able to do so. 



I am now breeding from a queen whose colony 

 has done wonders for such a bad season. It is 

 now three stories high, and nearly full of honey, 

 while many others are needing stores for the 

 winter. An apiary bred up from a colony like 

 this will produce good profitable results, and is 

 of high value. 



All California bee-keepers who have kept all 

 weeds cut clean from their apiaries will save 

 themselves a great deal of loss and trouble there- 

 by. A clean apiary lets in the sun, keeps down 

 dampness, and helps much to prevent spring 

 dwindling. The worst-affected apiary from "tre- 

 mors " I have ever seen was one shaded by 

 weeds, and, consequently, damp. Many a fine 

 apiary has been lost by letting the weeds grow 

 and dry up, awaiting the destructive mountain 

 fires during the dry season. Brush and weeds 

 should be cleared away from the apiaries and 

 buildings for a hundred feet or more. It pays 

 to take time to do this. 



By a clean-kept apiary many bees and an oc- 

 casional queen can be kept from loss from ver- 

 min. Of course, skunks must be killed off also. 

 They do a great deal of damage here as they are 

 plentiful. 



Much more honey can be produced by keep- 

 ing obstructions to the entrances down for a good 

 distance from colonies. To us, time is money: 

 to bees, it is honey. It pays to be orderly. 

 Putting things in their proper places saves time 

 and worry when we need them. Hoes, shovels, 

 etc., after using them, should be put away 



clean and bright. They will work the smoother 

 and better, and it prolongs the life of them. 



Many useful cleats and boards are wasted for 

 want of order. If kept from underfoot, and put 

 in convenient places, it many times saves dollars 

 when needing them. It is the cents that make 

 the dollars. It does not pay to make a practice 

 of piling up useful things promiscuously for fu- 

 ture time to place. That time never comes. 



When working with your bees, set your lids, 

 supers, combs, contrivances, and tools within easy 

 reach. Tools dropped on the ground are some- 

 times lost or ruined. You can do more work, 

 and save valuable time, by saving useless steps. 



It pays to watch your bees and give them 

 proper attention at the right time. Colonies 

 should not always be left to supersede their 

 queens. Conditions are not the same with all 

 colonies. I always have complete success if I am 

 well and have time to attend to each individual 

 colony. Many good colonies could have been 

 saved this season if confined to space according 

 to strength and a limited brood-apartment. It 

 is better to have queens crowded to the limit 

 with winter stores. 



This is the season for those who are fortunate 

 enough to have a fumigating-house. It would 

 pay for itself many times over — that is, if one has 

 a large number of empty combs on hand. Such 

 combs are a boon in the following good seasons. 



There will not be enough of the best honey 

 produced in California this season for home con- 

 sumption. 



Ventura, Cal., June 10. 



SUPERANNUATED QUEENS. 



How They May be Utilized to Good Ad- 

 vantage in Rearing Queens; Why it is 

 Not Best to Kill Queens on Account of 

 Age; Conditions Under Which Tvvo 

 Queens Live Peaceably Together, and 

 When Not. 



BY R. BEUHNE. 



[when Mr. R. Beuhne was here last spring, the plural-queen 

 discussion was then on, or, rather, we had decided to close our 

 columns to it for the time being. Mr. Beuhne has had a very 

 large e,\perience in rearing queens under the supersedure impulse, 

 and using two queens in a hive at a time. Now that the discus- 

 sion is opened tempotaiily we thought best to allow him to present 

 one phase of the question that has not, so far as we remember, 

 been exploited in these columns. It is our opinion that it will 

 help to explain conditions when two queens will live together 

 and when they will not. We commend this article to expert 

 bee-keepers, who will find it of much value. — Ed.] 



Fifteen years ago I made use, for the first time, 

 of the two queen system for raising queens. 

 Finding two laying queens, mother and daugh- 

 ter, in one hive, I removed the young queen to 

 supply a queenless stock. A month later I found 

 another young laying queen in the same hive, as 

 well as the old one. It then occurred to me that, 

 if I possessed a number of such hives, I could 

 make use of them for raising first-class queens, 

 such as are raised under the superseding impulse. 



The first requirement I found was three-year- 

 old queens in strong colonies. By reference to 

 the record-book I located them and- supplied 

 them with a cell, each started by the Doolittle 

 method. In almost every instance the grafted 

 cell was accepted and drawn down into a beauti- 



