Jan. 1. 1912 



cality, or in selecting some other locality 

 where you may profit by the knowledge you 

 may gain? 



Why you should not keep bees may now 

 be considered in order to ascertain whether 

 the objections can match or overbalance my 

 affirmative reasons. First, no doubt you will 

 admit that a fear of stings is your greatest 

 objection; and, secondly, perhaps you imag- 

 ine that some large trees surrounding your 

 ]iremises might be selected by the bees as 

 alighting-places, thus causing you too much 

 trouble in hiving swarms. Let me assure 

 you that both of these objections can be al- 

 most entirely overcome. 



By the use of a little smoke, the crossest 

 and most irritable colony may be made gen- 

 tle. A whiff of smoke blown into the hive 

 frightens the inmates, and they at once pro- 

 ceed to fill themselves with honey. If there 

 is no unsealed honey readily attainable, 

 sprinkle them liberally with sweetened wa- 

 ter, which they will take instead, and, like 

 a man after dinner, they are invariably bet- 

 ter-natured when filled than when empty. 

 And then when obliged to open a hive, a 

 pair of gloves and a bee-veil over the face 

 will prevent your being made a target by 

 some mischievous scout. Another curious 

 fact is that, after you have been stung a few 

 times, your system becomes inoculated to 

 the poison, and you rarely observe any un- 

 pleasant effects, such as the closed eye that 

 the tenderfoot may be likely to suffer. 



In many localities there are not bees 

 enough to fructify properly the blossoms of 

 fruits and vegetables. Most bee-keepers 

 now prefer to get their increase by artificial 

 divisions rather than by natural swarming, 

 as thus it may be done at one's option and 

 convenience, and most of the risk of ab- 

 sconding swarms may be eliminated. It is 

 only necessary to keep the wings of the 

 queens clipped so they can not fly, and you 

 will have the whole colony under perfect 

 control. Should they attempt to swarm, 

 you may make them literally hive them- 

 sehes instead of alighting in some fall tree. 



To accomplish this, as soon as they are in 

 the air remove to a short distance the hive 

 from which they is'^ued. and phice an empty 

 one in its stead. You will find the old queen 

 on the ground in front, vainly endeavoring 

 to accompany them. Secure her in a cage 

 and wait till the swarming bees have missed 

 her. They will probably begin alighting in 

 a cluster; but finding that not all is well 

 with them tliey will soon proceed to return 

 whence they came, and will thus be made 

 to enter the new hive. Now liberate the 

 queen at the entrance; see that she goes in 

 with them; and as soon as all are in, move 

 them to any de>ired situation, and place the 

 old hive on its original stand. 



When bees prepare to swarm they make 

 provision for themselves for the journey by 

 filling their bodies with honey; and when in 

 ihat condition, as above stated, they may 

 usually be handled with impunity. In 

 early spring, when examining our colonies 

 we clip the right wing of each queen if she 



is not already clipped. The next year we 

 clip the left wing, and the third year both 

 wings. This marks their age up to three 

 years, which is as long as or' longer than it 

 is usually profitable to keep them, and it 

 prevents the possibility of swarms abscond- 

 ing to the woods. 



WHERE BEES MAY BE PROFITABLY KEPT. 



There are few locations where bees may 

 not be kept either in country, village, or 

 city, as they will go three or four miles if 

 necessary for food. In the writer's locality 

 they start in early spring on the maples, the 

 soft and hard varieties following in succes- 

 sion, and lasting two or three weeks. Then 

 follow dandelion, fruit-blossoms, red and 

 black raspberries, locust, -white clover, bass- 

 wood, sumach, milkweed, catnip, Canada 

 thistle, goldenrod, buckwheat, wild aster, 

 and a score of wild flowers whose names are 

 not familiar, thus covering the season. Dur- 

 ing the height of flow from each of these 

 sources the secretion of nectar is very abun- 

 dant but of short duration. To secure it, 

 the flower must be visited many times in a 

 day, and an immense number of bees are re- 

 quired to keep it from evaporating and going 

 to waste. 



Yet while it is true that in only a few lo- 

 calities are there bees enough to secure and 

 save more than a fraction of what nature so 

 bountifully supplies while these flows are 

 on, there are often long intervals between 

 when there is little or none to be had, so I 

 believe it would pay most bee-keepers to 

 consider whether nature may not be aided 

 by planting something which will fill up 

 these interstices and keep the bees more 

 constantly employed, and, at the same time, 

 produce a crop w^hich will pay its cost be- 

 sides the honej'. 



For this purpose I would recommend buck- 

 wheat, raspberries, alsike clover, mustard, 

 and rape, for this section. Melilotus, or 

 sweet clover, where it has started, reseeds 

 itself and spreads naturally, and is, without 

 doubt, one of the very best honey-producing 

 plants known. 



The chief valueKjf sweet clover as a honey- 

 plant comes from its habit of long duration 

 of bloom, so it is sure to bridge over the gaps 

 left in the succession between many other 

 plants named. It is a great soil-imjirover, 

 and it has been found ttiat it prepares the 

 way for alfalfa by inoculating the soil with 

 the bacteria necessary for its growth. On 

 this account the demjind for its seed is in- 

 creasing, which will no doubt make it a pay- 

 ing crop without considering its value as a 

 honey-producer. 



HOW TO PROVIDE PLENTY OF ROOM AND 

 PREVENT NATURAL SWARMING. 



The most important secret in bee-keeping 

 is to see that strong colonies are well sup- 

 plied with empty combs, so that the bees 

 may store quickly while the abundant flow- 

 lasts. This is accomjilished by the follow- 

 ing ])rocess: 



As early in spring as we can get the queen 

 to fill the'hive with brood we remove all the 

 combs but one, on which the queen must be 



