1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



423 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE 

 SOUTHWEST 



By Louis Scholl, New Braunfels, Tex. 



JUST A PLAIN butcher-knife. 



No need to fear, Mr. Editor, page 359. 

 When a downward stroke is used, the comb 

 is leaned over slightly; the cappings fall 

 away. Why! 'tis just as easy. It is just as 

 you would cut off a beefsteak on a block in 

 front of you. You wouldn't think of draw- 

 ing your knife up in doing this. Neither 

 would you want a clumsy, bevel-edged knife 

 to cleave off a nice thin steak. No, a good 

 sharp butcher-knife is the thing for that; the 

 same for me for shaving off those cappings 

 — just a plain sharp knife, of good steel and 

 the proper shape, length, and weight. 



the early bird catches the worm. 



But how are you going to be early with a 

 honey crop to catch the high prices before 

 the other fellows come into the market if 

 you have a short or slow flow, and that es- 

 pecially with your early flow yielding you 

 only from 25 to 35 lbs. of surplus, or for an 

 entire poor year? If this is stored in the 

 much-used deep ten-frame L. extracting- 

 supers it will hardly be in condition to be 

 taken off. Very little of it will be sealed, 

 owing to the combs not being all filled, and 

 one must wait for them to be completed. 

 But not so with shallow supers. We have 

 found a greater difference in this respect 

 this season than ever before. Our spring 

 crop was a slight one, but the bees went to 

 work in the shallow supers. In the deep 

 ones they hesitated. There was too much 

 room for the sparing yield. The result was 

 that those in the shallow supers not only 

 started earlier but finished more, soon need- 

 ing a second super. 



While the deep L. supers contain quite a 

 quantity of honey, very little of it is ready 

 to take off, as it is scattered throughout the 

 combs, with some green honey intermixed, 

 which the bees are still bringing in sparing- 

 ly. It is not profitable to go through these 

 supers and remove only the completed 

 combs, of which there are few, as it con- 

 sumes entirely too much time. 



With the shallow supers we find all the 

 upper ones completed, sealed over, and 

 ready to be taken right off. The honey is 

 riper since the bees oegan earlier, and has 

 been stored more nearly at the same time, 

 and always in the uppermost part of the 

 hive. Is there any doubt about this being a 

 superior grade of surplus honey over that 

 which is stored in deep combs, besides en- 

 abling us to produce more of it, and that 

 earlier, in the shallow supers than in deep 

 ones? 



It may be said that a really true bee-keep- 

 er does not fuss I?) with such work as re- 

 moving surplus honey when there is only 

 such a little to take. But suppose that is all 



you have] made [in a poor season, and you 

 must take it off; or, in a case like ours, you 

 have early orders at a good price. Such op- 

 portunities mean just so much more profit 

 Tor us; and while it may well be called "fuss- 

 ing" if deep combs are taken into consider- 

 ation it does 'not apply with the shallow 

 supers. 



Just stop and figure. We get earlier hon- 

 ey, of better quality, and for a better price, 

 and all that with less work or "fussing," if 

 you please, by using shallow-frame supers. 

 Applied to only a single colony or one apiary, 

 the difference is not so very preceptible. 

 Apply it to hundreds of colonies in more 

 than a dozen apiaries, and — ? It is an easy 

 matter for us, with smoker in hand, to pro- 

 ceed from colony to colony, removing each 

 upper super, without handling a single comb, 

 at the rate of more than a ton an hour for a 

 single person, of this superior early surplus 

 honey, which makes its production more 

 profitable than by what we call "the old 

 way." 



TEXAS bee-keepers' CONVENTION PROGRAM. 



July 27—30, 1909. These are the dates of 

 the next annual meeting of the Texas Bee- 

 keepers' Association, at College Station, at 



A. and M. College. It is during the meeting 

 of the Texas Farmers' Congress, one of the 

 greatest agricultural organizations of the 

 kind, and it is worth anybody's time to at- 

 tend. One cent a mile railroad fare on all 

 roads. This is cheap enough for all. Every- 

 body is invited. Make up your mind to help 

 make this the greatest meeting ever held. 



Our program is found below: 



First day— roll-call. Prayer by W. A. Sampey; Pres- 

 ident's annual address; reception of members. "Past 

 and Present Status of Bee-keepins in Texas," by Louis 

 H. Scholl. "Extracted Honey and Why I Produce It," 

 byT. P. Robinson, J. T. McGuffin; "Supplies for the 

 Apiary; what I Recommend, and Why," by W. H. 

 White, Udo Toepperwein. 



Second day.—" The Co-operative Merits of the 8 and 

 10 Frame Hive," by F. L. Aten, Harley Johnson; "Bee- 

 keeping from a Specialist's Standpoint; Does it Pay to 

 Mix with Other Business?" by W. 0. Victor, C. S. Phil- 

 lips; "Out-apiaries i a discussion as to the rights of the 

 landlord on whose property bees are located)," by I. 



B. Manlove, J. W. Taylor; " Comparative Merits of the 

 Different Races of Bees," by Wald C. Conrads, Hugo 

 Sattler; "Artificial Increase, the Best Methods," by 

 Willie Atchley, Wm. Cravens; "Out-apiaries, their 

 Management and Care," by W. H. Laws, A. T. Mills. 



Third day.— "The Honey Market, and How shall we 

 Improve It?" O.P.Hyde, Udo Toepperwein." "The 

 Best Manner of Rearing Queens for the Honey-pro- 

 ducer," John W. Pharr, F. L. Aten; "The A. and M. 

 College Experiment Apiary," by Ernest E. Scholl. Re- 

 port of Committees. Election of Officers. Adjourn- 

 ment. 



The program has been arranged by Mr. 

 Laws, our committee on program, and it is 

 hoped that each participant will " be there " 

 with a good talk. In aadition to the meeting 

 there will be an exhibit of all kinds of things 

 pertaining to apiculture, and every one of 

 our bee-keepers should bring or send all he 

 can to make this feature a creditable one 

 also. Premiums of all kinds will be offered 

 that will be worth winning. 



As soon as you see this make your arrange- 

 ments to go. July 27 to 30 are the dates. 

 Don't forget them. 



