632 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



oilier forest ti'ees; that is to say, the trees 

 should be shaded by larger ones until they 

 get their growth. 



Another thing we observed was that near- 

 ly every year the outside row of trees would 

 be in bloom while the inner ones showed 

 no blossoms. This would indicate that pei-- 

 haps the sunlight does not get in to the 

 inner trees as it should. But since drain- 

 ing-ditehes have been put in, and the under- 

 brush cut out, basswood honey has been 

 much more in evidence than it was formerly. 



Another glance at the cover picture shows 

 long rows of baby hives under the trees. 

 These are our twin mating nuclei, some 200 

 in all, or 400 separate nuclei. In addition, 

 further down the long rows there are some 

 full-sized Langstroth nuclei in eight-frame 

 hives, two to a hive. This brings the total 

 number up to 450 nuclei for the mating 

 queens at this one yai'd. In the background, 

 not shown, are some 60 colonies for cell- 

 building and honey-production, an artesian 

 well, two small buildings for a workshop 

 and the storage of supplies. 



This whole layout, under the charge of 

 Mr. Mel Pritchard and his son, is devoted 

 entirely to the rearing of queen-bees. When 

 he has a favorable honey year he will pro- 

 duce surplus honey as he did last year and 

 this. In an average year the honey is con- 

 verted into bees, which in turn are devoted 

 to cell-building and the filling of orders for 

 pound packages and nuclei. This yard will 

 turn out this season about 3000 queens, and, 

 besides that, 5000 lbs. of extracted honey in 

 addition to about 2000 lbs. left in the hives 

 for winter. This year the flow was so strong 

 that even the baby hives were jammed with 

 honey — so much so that the queens were 

 " honey-bound," and some combs had to be 

 removed, substituting the empty ones. 



We have used the twin nuclei at these 

 yards for a number of years. At the be- 

 ginning of the season we dip up about a 

 dipperful of bees, say a quarter of a pound, 

 and put it into one of the compartments of 

 a twin hive. Another dipperful is put in 

 the other side, making the twin completely 

 peopled except the queen. After all the 

 hives are filled cells or virgins are given, 

 and at the proper age the young mother-to- 

 be takes her flight. As soon as she begins to 

 lay, she is taken out and another cell or 

 virgin is put in her place. When there is 

 a gi-eat surplus of virgins we sometimes 

 " precage," as already explained in these 

 columns — that is to say, there will be one 

 queen caged while the other is loose waiting 

 to take her flight. As soon as she begins 

 laying, the caged queen is released because 

 she is already introduced. This plan of 

 caging enables us to increase the output 



during the mating lime in one hive, and at 

 the same time makes it possible to take care 

 of the surplus of virgins. At the close of 

 the season, any bees that are left in the 

 nuclei are dumped into one large box and 

 made up into colonies. While these aggre- 

 gations of bees do not make as good a colo- 

 ny as the regular, they are worth saving. 



The covers of the baby hives are painted 

 red, white, and blue, in order that the queens 

 may more readily locate their entrances 

 on returning from their wedding-flights. 

 To assist further, the entrances point in 

 different directions. For example, the first 

 baby hive may have entrances pointing east 

 and west ; the next one north and south, and 

 so on, because the entrances of each hive 

 are in opposite directions. Well, the com- 

 bined effect of red, white, and blue hives in 

 straight rows, the green grass beneath, and 

 the foliage of the basswoods, with every 

 now and then glimpses of the blue sky 

 above, makes a general combination that is 

 inviting. Visitors always remark about it. 

 It can be plainly seen from the street cars as 

 they whizz by. We take visitors to this yard 

 because the bees are very easy to handle, 

 requiring neither smoke nor veil. It is well 

 known that a little bunch of bees is less in- 

 clined to be " obstreperous " than a large- 

 sized nucleus or yet a strong and powerful 

 colony. Mr. Pritchard, however, uses smoke 

 as a matter of convenience to facilitate his 

 work. He never finds it neeessai'y to use a 

 veil. If the entrances are contracted, there 

 wdll be little or no trouble from robbing. 

 But it is an advantage to have the big colo- 

 nies away from the little ones, and you will 

 find them in the extreme background out of 

 sight. 



The question may arise, " Which is the 

 better — the twin baby hives or the full-sized 

 Langstroth?" That depends. For general 

 purposes the large hives are better. They 

 take a little more time, however, to manip- 

 ulate, and from four to five times as many 

 bees. Moreover, these big nuclei are vei'y 

 handj?^ for filling orders for one-pound 

 packages and nuclei for shipment. 



Our ]\Ir. Wardell sees no particular ad- 

 vantage in baby hives. They cost consider- 

 able to start in the spring, because they 

 must be started every season. In early 

 spring 200 nuclei will take 100 to 150 lbs. 

 of bees. These, taken from strong colonies 

 in the spring, so sap their strength that 

 they are not worth much for honey. Two or 

 three pounds of bees taken out of a colony 

 makes it necessary to remove the brood and 

 replace it in other hives that may not be 

 able to take care of it to advantage, for the 

 simple reason that they already have all 

 the brood thev can take care of. 



