GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



A BEGINNER'S EXPERIENCE 



BY B, KEEP 



Like so many others, I began beekeeping 

 ^y chance. My good wife often suggested 

 •how nice it would be to have some bees; but 

 •after reading " Quinby's New Beekeeping " 

 I could not bring myself to the point of 

 assuming the responsibility and risk. After 

 eleven years on the new place, chance put 

 it upon me, and, presto ! shortly I became 

 devoted to bees, and I could not get enough. 

 A small swarm discovered near the close 

 of a drizzly Sunday in May was the germ; 

 and the trifling knowledge gained years be- 

 foi'e from Quinby enabled me to get the 

 bees into a small box, and to place it where 

 the colony was to remain. We often talk 

 of that first experience, remembering with 

 amusement the excitement caused by the 

 discovery, and the subsequent hustling for 

 a box, some kind of veil, and a pair of 

 thick winter gloves; then all hands stand- 

 ing at a respectful distance holding breath 

 xintil " the trick was turned." I would not 

 forget it if I could. So much interest has 

 not been bestowed on any bees since that 

 first swarm. It was a common occurrence 

 to find some member of the family standing 

 or seated near the hive intently watching 

 the bees go and come, and often all were 

 gathered there discussing the mystery of 

 the hive and the possibility of honey from 

 our own bees. I was thoroughly captivat- 

 ed. The responsibility and risk sat far more 

 lightly upon me than I had supposed, and 

 Tio nightmares with bees in any form trou- 

 ?bled my repose. 



I determined to learn all that books and 

 periodicals had to otfer, and to be as far 

 ;as ix»ssible a scientific beekeeper. To that 

 •end I got a copy of the latest ABC and 

 .X Y Z, and devoted all spare time and eve- 

 'nings to the reading and rereading of every 

 >subject. In fact, I made a study of it. 

 'There was a fascination about every thing. 

 'Then I branched out into Langstroth, Mill- 

 ■er, Alexander, Doolittle, Townsend, and 

 ■Cowan, and devoured Gleanings, the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal, and Review, not to men- 

 tion all the pamplilets available. By these 

 means I gained views on beekeeping from 

 ■various points, and began to consider a 

 system for managing my embryo apiary.^ 



But, to return to my story. That first 

 reason stands out as including more experi- 

 ences and a greater variety of ways for the 

 acquiring 'of bees than ordinarily come to 

 the beginner, even after many seasons. My 

 f.rst was a swarm, the swarm. The next 

 •came by purchase (this colony contained a 



$2..50 tested queen, and it has been my very 

 best to the present moment, having given 

 three frames of sealed brood and over 90 

 pounds of extracted this season. The queen 

 was superseded the second sununer). The 

 next was a swarm, caught by my son. The 

 next was a two-frame nucleus from No. 2. 

 The next was chiseled out of a hollow tree 

 in the middle of a hot August day. The 

 next (the sixth and last of that first season) 

 was a cluster of the field bees not captured 

 with the combs and bees from the hollow 

 tree two days before. Owing to inexperi- 

 ence and a strong desire for more bees, 

 these were not united, but both were carried 

 through the \vinter successfully. The queen 

 having been lost by reason of inexperience, 

 each ''swarm" was supplied with a new 

 queen. 



Through all that season's campaign each 

 member of the family became initiated by 

 at least one sting. I myself taking no more 

 than four degrees. 



That autumn I made jackets of old carpet 

 which were slipped over each hive bodj^ and 

 then wrapped with an asphalt roofing 

 felt, which was held closely by string and 

 tacks. That season is recorded as " the 

 worst ever;" but having fed liberally, all 

 came out the following spring in good con- 

 dition. 



The number was increased to ten the 

 second season by divisions and one swarm. 

 That one swarm came out with a virgin 

 queen. Tortunately I was at home, and 

 with the aid of a hose I secured them with- 

 * out trouble. Seven young queens were 

 found running around in the old hive, and 

 many queen-cells in all stages, but no brood 

 and but little stores. One supersedure and 

 a colony queenless in October, together with 

 some experimenting, made up quite a pro- 

 gram. That was also a poor season, so 

 there was yet no surplus, and some feeding 

 was required. The same winter arrange- 

 ment was used, and all came tlu-ough in 

 good condition. 



This spring I began to make the hives 

 over with double walls. They are now all 

 double-walled, six with the old %-inch hive- 

 body having a sjDace of about % inch. 

 Some were packed with mineral avooI and 

 otliers with sawdust, all having %-inch out- 

 er walls. Four are regular double-walled 

 with deep slip covers. All have three to 

 five inches of sawdust on top. I use super 

 covers all the year through. All have two- 

 inch rims between the bottom-board and 

 hive body, and eight-inch winter-entrance 

 boards, which were described and illustrat- 

 ed in the Sept. 1st number of Gleanings. 



Continiied on page 2S 



