May, 1914. 



157 



vest has already been heavy in the ex- 

 treme southern portion through the 

 great orange belt of Florida, and in the 

 ti ti belt along the line of Georgia and 

 Florida, many colonies reaching the 

 100-pound mark before the first How 

 was half over. Conditions are still 

 tine up to April 7, and the flow is 

 heavy. The weather conditions have 

 been ideal, and bees were ready for the 



How. 



. .*--•-* 



Granulated Honey in Combs 



Mr. W. A. Robinson, of CarroUton, 

 Ga., writes that he has "sugared" 

 honey in the outside frames of his 

 brood-chambers, and wants to know 

 whether to cut it out and put starters 

 in the frames and let the bees build 

 comb in them again, or leave these 

 combs as they are. 



I have had considerable honey gran- 

 ulate in the combs of weak colonies 

 during the winter, but on my first 

 round in the spring I would use such 

 solid combs in equalizing stores ; that 

 is, I would give these to stronger colo- 

 nies that might need stores. Soon 

 afterwards I would see some dry grains 

 of sugar about the entrance or on the 

 bottom-board, but soon this disappears 

 as also does the granulated honey. 

 They consume it. 



If this honey is left with the weaker 

 colonies, -it is almost sure to cause 

 dwindling, and in many cases the loss 

 of colonies. When such combs once 

 get cold in the winter they resist heat, 

 and are almost like frames of ice in 

 weak colonies. They cause a damp 

 cold atmosphere which is sure to cause 

 dwindling. So it is best to remove 

 them as soon as possible and give 

 them to stronger colonies. 



American Vae Journal 



and all increase are mine, the renter 

 performing all the Iabor,setting up need- 

 ed supplies for increase or otherwise. 

 In case the bees are run for extracted 

 honey, nothing is paid the renter for in- 

 crease; he furnishes containers for his 

 half of the honey, and ships out my half 

 as I send him orders. 



If the bees are run for comb honey 



Bees OR Shares 



A correspondent writes that he is 

 going to rent his bees to another party 

 on shares, and that he (the owner) is 

 furnishing everything except labor. He 

 wants to know what would be the right 

 division of the crop. 



Usually under such conditions the 

 renter is expected to nail up the neces- 

 sary supplies, and to keep the number 

 of colonies intact by increase. For any 

 further increase he is allowed .jO cents 

 to $1.00 per colony. The owner of the 

 bees gets from one-half to two-thirds 

 of the honey. 



I have let many bees on shares and 

 try to govern myself by the following 

 standards, and give the following 

 terms : 



First, know your party well before 

 you entrust him with the care of vour 

 bees, and be satisfied that he is an apt 

 apiarist. 



Secondly, he should be a man who 

 has chosen beekeeping as his life voca- 

 tion. He will give the business his en- 

 tire attention. 



Thirdly, I assure myself that he in- 

 tends to stay with me over a period of 

 years, and that my methods of manage- 

 ment are well received by him. 



Fourthly, he must, of course, be hon- 

 est, and must be a man that will con- 

 fide in me. Without these essentials I 

 would not consider an application. A 

 stranger could not rent bees from me. 



Terms: — Half of the wax and honev 



in sections the renter furnishes half of 

 the section foundation, and half the 

 sections and shipping cases. I pay him 

 50 cents per colony for all increase 

 made after he has provided for any 

 losses, or decrease in number of colo- 

 nies. 



I have found tliis arrangement to 

 work satisfactorily. 



Another View of the Thvli.en Apiary. 



Conducted by J. L. Byer. Mt. Joy. Ontario. 



Cool Late Spring in Ontario 



We are having a late cold spring in 

 this part of Ontario. .Vtthis date (April 

 14) bees have not had a flight since 

 March, an unusual condition, and we 

 ire glad for that good flight on St. 

 Patrick's day. But it might be worse 

 for in addition to the bees appearing 

 to be in good condition all vegetation 

 has been held back. This is better than 

 warm weather early in the spring, 

 which brings out the buds, etc., an i is 

 followed byhea.y freezing, as friends 

 report in more southern latitudes. 



Steady Cold Best for Bees 



No country has a nionopoly of all 

 the good features or of the bad ones. 

 In one southern locality where I had 

 fond dreams of spending part of my 

 time, I was told that in four or five 

 consecutive yeirs all fruit buds had 

 been frozen. Our steady cold weather, 

 in early spring, keeps the bees in the 



hives, and they do not go out to get 

 lost. Brood-rearing is not unduly 

 rushed to be chilled later. As a res It, 

 we haven't as much " spring dwind- 

 ling " here as in localities farther 

 south. 



Il there is not something in these 

 clams, then ic/iy do we hear people 

 hundreds of miles south of us com- 

 plaining about the cold a lecting their 

 bees, when we so much farther north 

 with consequently colder weather do 

 not particularly dread the wintering of 



our bees. 



*» • » 



Strong in Bees— Plenty of Stores 



I have just returned from the Lever- 

 ing yard some hundred miles north of 

 where I live, and altho'h the ther- 

 mometer went to over 40 degrees be- 

 low more than once, the bees do not 

 appear to have suffered. Colonies that 

 had good queens and lots of good 

 stores last fall seem to be ready for the 

 w irm weather whenever it comes. Cold 



