100 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



[B(B(Bc.[h(B(g[pDmg] odd "SDdcb ©co)qd1i[jd\^o^{1 



Louis Scholl, New Braunfels, Texas 



BEES AND chickens; HOW THEY WORK TO- 

 GETHER. 



I have decided to have something to say 

 on ihis subject because it is he special theme 

 of this issue, and because I have found that 

 the combination of bees and jjoultry can be 

 successfully followed, even by the extensive 

 bee-keeper. In my. case, I was much inter- 

 ested in pure-bred poultry even when a mere 

 boy, and this interest has been the first in- 

 centive for keeping some | oultry for a num- 

 ber of years. \\ hen my bee business w'as 

 enlarged to greater proportions, so that it 

 became a teal b isiness that w'as quite stren- 

 .lous at times, especially during the rush of 

 the season, the old slogan so often repeated, 

 I hat "a business man should have a hobby 

 to ride to take his mind away from his bus- 

 iness cares," became one that received no 

 little attention. Possessing that natural 

 love and interest for pure-bred poultry, and 

 seeing profitable possibilities in it besides 

 the mere recreative value as a "hobby" to 

 ride, besides already possessing a beginning 

 in the dozen or more fowls in the back yard, 

 [joultry-breeding was adopted immediately. 



I have ridden this hobby so successfully 

 that my yards of Barred and White Ply- 

 mouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and 

 White Wyand ittes, are the best in the com- 

 munity, and are admired by many visitors 

 \vho come to see them. The appreciation of 

 this success has culminated in being chosen 

 among the many poultry-raisers here as 

 president of our poultry and j^et-stock asso- 

 ciation. 



The profits so far have not been large, on 

 account of the initial investment necessary 

 in the venture, which was really begun as a 

 hobby rather than a paying dollars-and- 

 cents business, but it has been a remunera- 

 tive one from the very start. 



It may be well to state that my beginning 

 with poultry was just the same as that of 

 my bee-keeping career. I had only a few 

 fowls at drst, just as I began with only a 

 few colonies of bees. From this small start 

 I began the upward climb on the ladder of 

 success, as experience and better knowledge 

 of what to do were acquired. 1 mention this 

 to show the importance of beginning small 

 and then growing into the business. 



As a combination rightly managed, bee- 

 keeping and poultry-raising may be profit- 

 ably followed, even though neither line be 

 restricted to the plane of a hobby. My own 

 experience has left me without a doubt on 

 this question. Rut it will be well to bear in 

 mind that not all persons can manage too 

 many irons in the (ire, and such should not 

 attempt the combination. Some reach 

 their limit very easily with only a few hun- 

 dred colonies of bees and no more, while 

 some who could manage more bees can not 

 look after two lines of business entirely dif- 

 ferent. 

 For those who want a " hobby," the keep- 



ing of pure-bred poultry will fill a good place, 

 and by those who want to combine bee-keep- 

 ing with some other side line this combina- 

 tion will be found profitable if they are able 

 to look after both properly. Those who find 

 it better not to combine wny thing else with 

 bee-keeping should follow the late Mr. 

 Hutchinson's motto, "Keep more bees," or 

 my own, " Keep more better bees better." 



MAKING A BEGINNING WITH BEES. 



The cover design of the .January 1st num- 

 ber of Gleanings was most appropriate for 

 a beginner's number. It answers in picture, 

 better than words can explain, the question 

 so often asked, " How can I best make a be- 

 ginning with bees?" The picture shows it. 

 Order a two or three frame nucleus with a 

 good queen of Italian bees from a reliable 

 bee-keeper or queen-breeder. This will be 

 shipi^ed in a light crate by express so the 

 shipping charges need not be very high. 



In the mean time prepare a ten-frame 

 hive. Have it nicely painted, and all the 

 frames filled with full sheets of comb foun- 

 dation except the two or three that will be 

 replaced by the combs of the nucleus order- 

 ed. This hive should be nicely located in 

 the shade of a tree where the morning sun 

 brightens and warms up the hive in the fore 

 part of the day, but where it is protected 

 fro n the heat later. 



With the hive material, have ready a 

 good smoker and a bee- veil, so necessary in 

 handling the bees. The smoker should be 

 well started, ready to be used at the proper 

 time, even with the gentlest bees; but the 

 veil may be kept about the crown of the hat 

 so that it can be pulled down over the face 

 in a moment, in case of an emergency. 



All in readiness, when the nucleus arrives 

 take it to its new" place of abode. After the 

 veil has been adjusted, bring the smoker in- 

 to play, blowing just a little smoke over the 

 bees as the shipping-crate is pried open and 

 the nucleus placed in the hive. Of course, 

 you must admire the beautiful bees as the 

 combs one by one are carefully handled. 

 The next thought is, How does the queen 

 look? To some it will be a little difficult to 

 find her at once; but a little practice will 

 soon enable the beginner to spy her very 

 quickly. When the combs are all in place, 

 the hive closed up, and the rest of the bees 

 shaken out of the crate in front of the hive, 

 it is a pretty sight indeed to watch them en- 

 ter the new home with a loud hum of glad- 

 ness as they fan the air with their raised 

 wings. 



If llowers are in bloom and nectar is plen- 

 tiful, the bees will soon make progress and 

 will build out the foundation into beautiful 

 straight combs in the rest of the frames. 



All this, and more too, is brought vividly 

 to our minds by gazing at that cover design. 

 A better one could not have been chosen. 



