372 



November, 1914. 



American Hee Journal 



t would be so serious as to make it 

 mpossible to keep them in the place I 

 have mentioned ? 

 Ontario. (Miss) H. P. Carew. 



There is no likelihood that the odor 

 from the varnish factory would affect 

 the bees unpleasantly. On the con- 

 trary bees seem to like it from the fact 

 that they are attracted to a varnished 

 surface. The only unpleasant possi- 

 bility is that if varnished surfaces were 

 too common a few bees might light 

 upon them and have their feet entangled. 

 But varnished surfaces are not ex- 

 posed at varnish factories, and it is not 

 likely that there would be any chance 

 for the bees to get into the varnish 

 itself. 



♦-•-♦ 



Report 



I secured 72 pounds of extracted 

 honey this season from 15 colonies, 

 spring count, and 19 fall count. Last 

 year I took off supers with 40 to 48 

 pounds, and had over 100 pounds from 

 3 colonies, besides leaving the supers 

 half full and some nearly full for win- 

 ter stores. This year we had a severe 

 frost on June 6 that killed the alfalfa 

 buds, so that flow was lost, and we have 

 had no rain since Tune 26. The first 

 swarm came out April 30 much to my 

 surprise. After it was hived it disap- 

 peared. I had only two patent hives 

 on hand in the swarming season, and 

 had to put two swarms in box hives 

 again; but I transferred all of them 

 and they are now in 8-frame dovetailed 

 hives. I had goodluck intransferring, 

 only one got away. I may have to 

 unite one or two colonies, as one lost 

 their queen and the other I could not 

 locate the queen. It probably may be 

 queenless, too. I would like to buy at 

 least one queen, as there are no more 

 drones, and the queens have ceased to 

 lay on account of the poor season. If 

 there were drones 1 could lear some 

 queens, but if the bees were to rear 

 one now she would be a virgin until 

 spring. 



I want to say something in regard to 

 the American Bee Journal. I received 

 my September issue yesterday. I just 

 enjoy seeing it appear. I only wish I 

 could be in the ring, attend the meet- 

 ings, and shake hands with the lady 

 beekeepers. I wonder if there is one 

 among them from my old country 

 home in Mittelfranken, Bavaria. My 

 grandfather kept bees in straw skeps. 

 All I can remember that he did was to 

 put syrup on flat plates and put grass 

 on top so the bees could not drown. 



As to the color of clothing, I seldom 

 wear black stockings, for if I do the 

 bees will surely make a pincushion of 

 me. (Mrs.) Marc;arethe Green. 



Idaho. 



April 30 seems pretty early for your 

 first swarm. At Marengo we are about 

 150 miles farther south than you, yet 

 we think it pretty early business to 

 have a swarm come out as early as the 

 last of May. Yet, of course, climate is 

 not entirely dependent upon latitude. 



You do not think you could get vir- 

 gins mated as late as the first week in 

 September for lack of drones. Yet in 

 an apiary the size of yours it would be 

 strange if all the drones should be 

 killed off so early as that. Even if a 



thorough search on your part should 

 fail to discover any, it is still possible 

 that a few might be present. While 



some say they can keep virgins over 

 winter and have them mated in spring, 

 it is not well to depend upon it. 



Mr. Pleasants' Two- Story E.xtracting House 



Caufornia ^ Bee-I^eping 



Conducted by .1. E. Pleasants. Orange. Calif. 



An Extracting House 



I enclose a few snapshots of apiaries 

 showing where we keep some of ours. 

 The extractinghouse is a new building 

 modeled aft r the one I built on the 

 Mojeska ranch when I owned it. This 

 new building does not show as well as 

 the old one would have done, but 

 unfortunately I did not get a picture 

 before the old building was taken 

 down. The apiary had to be moved. 

 The house is two-story. The extract- 

 ing room is above, and screened all 

 around. Thescreen door swings in or 

 out, and opens automatically when the 

 honey cart strikes the center board as 

 you enter with a load. 



It is a cool, light room in which to 

 do the uncapping and extracting, and 

 is as nearly bee-proof as possible. 

 There is a track from the door of this 

 room to the edge of the apiary. The 

 ground floor room contains the large 

 tank into which the honey runs from 

 the extractor above, and affords stor- 

 age room for the cans and cases The 

 building is 10 by 12 feet, built of cheap 

 lumber and good screening for the ex- 

 tracting room. The sun-extractor is 

 just outside from the uncapping table, 

 which is covered with zinc. One can 

 use the sun-extractor or not as is de- 

 sired. They have some advantages, 

 and also some disadvantages. The 

 large honey tank in the lower room is 

 set into the south wall, getting the sun. 



This house costs about $100. It is 

 comfortable and convenient. The 

 workmen have not yet taken away the 

 scaffolding, which mars the picture 

 somewhat. 



The Season 



The season is over. Very little honey 

 has been sold, and that has been of the 

 darker grades, except a little of the 

 white which is always retailed direct to 

 the consumer. 



A word now might be in order in 

 regard to fall work in the apiary, to 

 put things in shape for the winter. 

 This time of the year with the bees is a 

 period of rest rather than activity. The 

 less, therefore, they are disturbed, the 

 better. In the mountain regions there 

 will be little forage until January. The 

 bt es will diminish to some e.xtent, on 

 account of the distance traveled in 

 search of stores, occasional high winds, 

 cool weather, etc. The queen regulates 

 her labors also in proportion to the 

 supplies brought in. l'"very facility 

 should be now afforded the bees in 

 rearing brood, in order to keep up the 

 strength of theco'ony. The hives should 

 be looked after to see that there are no 

 cracks or crevices to admit cold air. 

 The entrance should be contracted, 

 and everything done to confine the 

 warmth of the hive to the brood-cham- 

 ber. Supers, when empty, should be 

 removed. Any colonies which become 



