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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Beekeeping Among the Rockies 



Wesley Foster, Boulder, Col. 



WESTERN EXTRACTED AND COMB HONEY. 



The comb-honey producer has to be a 

 better beekeeper tlian the extracted-honey 

 man. If you want to take it easy, don't 

 produce comb honey. But if you would 

 prefer to worry over marketing more than 

 over the preparation of supplies, why pro- 

 duce extracted honey? The western ex- 

 tracted-honey producers are up against the 

 marketing problem far more than the west- 

 ern comb-honey men. When we can get 

 11 to 12 cts. per section for comb honey, 

 and only 6 to 7 cts. per pound for extracted 

 honey, more money is t^ be made in comb 

 honey. I may be disputed on this, but I 

 believe I am right in the majority of cases. 



REMODELING HIVES. 



The average western beekeeper has more 

 empty hives than he wishes; and the ques- 

 tion of filling them is an important one; 

 but first it is well to go over them carefully 

 and renail the corners so that the tin rab- 

 bets will be in solid. True up the top and 

 bottom with a plane if necessai-y, so that 

 they will not allow an entrance for bees 

 any place but at the proper entrance. There 

 is one gratifying thing about the best .hives 

 now sold — they are made deep enough so 

 that you can plane off a little on the bottom 

 to square up in case the hive is off a little. 

 Hives now made for western trade are made 

 deeper over the frames and below them to 

 allow for shrinkage in this climate. In fix- 

 ing up the bottom-boards do not forget to 

 paint them on both sides. Put a 2 x 2 cleat 

 at each end for a hive-stand if you do not 

 use them. They strengthen the bottom won- 

 derfully. My uncle, Oliver Foster, dipped 

 all liis bottoms, hive-covers, and bodies in 

 boiling linseed oil. Then two coats of paint 

 were applied. If you want to see liives that 

 hold their shape, and last in this western 

 country, you ought to see some of them. 



In remodeling eases don't fool with any 

 thing but a metal-roofed cover. The wood 

 covers are absolutely " no • good " for the 

 western comb-honey man. With the ex- 

 tracted-honey man it is different. But I 

 have yet to see the first all-wood cover that 

 would not leak, and leak badly, in less than 

 ten years' use beneath our western sun. 



COST OF SOME BEEKEEPING OPERATIONS. 



No. 1 sections cost about $4.50 per thou- 

 sand. Extra-thin foundation costs 55 cts. 

 a pound. Scraping and cleaning supers 

 and separators costs five cents each. A 



handy boy or girl can make good wages 

 folding and "startering" sections at $1.50 a 

 thousand. The expense for supplies as run 

 by the average western beekeeper is about 

 as follows. The expense is based on sup- 

 plies for one hundred colonies. Three su- 

 pers to the hive will be needed. 



7200 sections at $4.50, $32.40; 50 lbs. 

 extra-thin foundation, at 55 cts., $27.50; 

 scraping and cleaning 500 supers, at 5 cts., 

 $15.00; folding and startering 7200 sections, 

 at $1.50, $10.80. Total, $85J0. 



By using No. 2 sections the cost may be 

 reduced to $27.00 for sections; and if a 

 one-inch top starter is used instead of a 

 three-inch the expense for foundation will 

 be cut from $27.50 to $10.00. This, how- 

 ever, is doubtful economy. If one scrapes 

 and cleans the supers and separatoi's him- 

 self, not counting the labor, this item will 

 be eliminated from the estimate, as will the 

 expense of folding and startering the sec- 

 tions. But the busy beeman can not afford 

 to do this work himself unless during the 

 winter months, and even then a man's time 

 should not be taken up with this class of 

 work. By this doubtful economy in sec- 

 tions and foundations, and doing all the 

 work oneself, the exi^ense for preparing 

 the supers for one hundred colonies will be 

 $37.00 instead of $85.70. 



For the normal increase, at least 25 extra 

 hives will be needed, costing $1.60 each, or 

 $40; and for these hives 30 lbs. of medium 

 brood foundation will be necessary. At 45 

 cts. a pound this will be $13.50, making an 

 additional expense of $53.50 for the in- 

 crease. 



A man will be able to nail up about ten 

 hives a day. It will require four days to 

 nail up and paint 25 hives. At $2.50 a 

 day we have $10 for this item. 



The cost of new equipment which goes 

 into permanent fixtures should not be charg- 

 ed in the season's cost unless it is subtract- 

 ed from the value of the increase that is 

 made. Ten dollai-s should be allowed for 

 miscellaneous supplies. Here, then, we have 

 an expense of about $100 if labor is not 

 counted, and $160 if labor is counted, for 

 preparing 100 colonies for the honey-fiow. 



Of course, no feed for bees is included or 

 rent for location or rent of shop, or feed 

 for horse or care of auto. With the strict- 

 est economy the expense for supplies for 

 comb honey can not be brought under $1.00 

 per colony, and it can easily be made to run 

 up to $2.00. 



