Apr. 15. 1912 



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Beekeeping in North-Central Texas 



We find that that magic word "locality" has a 

 wide and varied Inlluence on bees and beekeeping 

 In general. Texas is a large domain. If one will but 

 stop to consider, with a great variety of climatic 

 conditions. Here in the north-central part of the 

 State we rarely have any honey-flow of much con- 

 sequence until the cotton begins to bloom the lat- 

 ter part of June, thus giving ample time to bee- 

 keepers to get every thing in readiness for that 

 longed-for period. 



Our first pollen comes from what is locally known 

 as swamp elm, which is now blooming, February 

 18. Then follows a variety of fruit bloom with wild 

 plum, redbud, oak, alder, ash, and many other 

 trees and vines, all furnishing more or less pollen, 

 and some a small amount of nectar which serves 

 to keep bees busy till the main flow begins; though 

 seldom of late years, on account of the increased 

 numlier of colonies in this locality, will this suffice 

 to furnish enough for the necessary biood-rearing 

 consequent on swarming. Feeding generally has 

 to be resorted to for the best results. 



However, our bees have wintered well this year, 

 and are coming out with abundance of stores, al- 

 though each colony seems a little short of bees, 

 which probably accounts for the large amount ol 

 sealed stores on hand at present. 



COTTON-SEKD MEAL, A SUBSTITUTE FOR POLLEN. 



We farmers feed a great amount of cotton-seed 

 meal to our stock. This is a bi-product of the cot- 

 ton-seed oil-mills — a golden-yellow flour or meal 

 resembling the natural pollen of many plants, and 

 is rich in nitrogenous elements. During the last 

 lew warm days my bees have been literally swarm- 

 ing around the shed where this meal is kept, and 

 are carrying away great loads to their hives. There 

 Is the usual abundance of old pollen in hives near 

 the brood-nest, as was ascertained by an examina- 

 tion before they located this new find. I had nev- 

 er noticed this t)efore, nor hvi\e I ever read of bees 

 utillzinE such as a substitute for natural pollen: 

 but I should think it a much better substitute than 

 rye or wheat flour, as it is a much richer food — a 

 chemical analysis showing the following: Protein, 

 48 per cent: fat, 7: crude fiber, 6: nitrogen, free ex- 

 tract. 24. while its fertilizing value is about as fol- 

 lows : Nitrogen. 7.5 per cent ; phosphoric acid, 2.8 : 

 potash. 1.8. I see no reason why it should not be- 

 come a comparatively cheap and valuable substi- 

 tute for natural pollen in regions where there is a 

 natural deficiency of this valuable adjunct to suc- 

 cessful beekeeping. 



Our honey In this section will. I think, compare 

 favorably in color and quality with that of any oth- 

 er place, as we seldom have any amber honey, all 

 being light, of good body, and of mild flavor. (Jur 

 section honey won against all competition at the 

 State fair at Dallas last season. 



Another word as to locality. Last season I pur- 

 chased, seven miles away, some bees In Danzenba- 

 ker hives with section supers. These, with scant 

 attention, produced on one-inch starters over 100 

 lbs. of No. 1 white honey per colony, while my bees 

 in the home yard, all of the same race of bees, with 

 better attention, and run for bulk comb and ex- 

 tracted honey, averaged only about 25 lbs. Local 

 showers at an opportune time Is the only way I can 

 account for this great dlfrerence, as the country Is 

 level and the honey flora Is practically the same. 

 Such experiences render beekeeping all the more 

 fascinating, each succeeding season oflferlng Its 

 new problems and ultimately rendering its valu- 

 able lessons. 



Trenton, Texas, Feb. 18. O. Saunders. 



261 



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Transferring from Box Hives Having Sloping Bot- 

 tom-boards 

 I have a problem in transferring that I should 

 like to submit. I have nine colonies in box hives 

 that 1 wi.sh to transfer in the spring into movable- 

 frame hives: and Instead of resting on loose hori- 

 zontal bottom-boards at right angles to the hive 

 bodies they have their bottom-boards nailed hard 

 and fast at an angle of thirty or forty degrees above 

 a horizontal plane, so that the bees. In going in and 

 out, ascend and descend an Inclined plane. The 

 object of the maker of these hives in putting on 

 this kind of bottom-board was to facilitate the re- 



moval of wax-worms, dead bees, debris, etc.. from 

 the hives. The bottom-board on each of these hives 

 extends three or four inches below the entrance to 

 serve as an alighting-board. Two legs are nailed 

 on the sides of each hive at the rear, ,so that the 

 hive, when on a level surface, is supported in an 

 upright position by these two legs and the lower 

 end of the bottom-board. 'I'he tops or covers of 

 these hives are rough boards nailed to the tops of 

 the hive bodies, with small holes In them to allow 

 tlie bees to go up Into the upper story, or honey- 

 box. 



Now, the directions usually giveia for transfer- 

 ring require the old hive to be inverted and a 

 swarming-box of the same size to be placed on top 

 of it to receive the bees: but it is evident that these 

 directions are not practical in the ca.se of sloping- 

 bottom hives such as I have described above. How 

 would you proceed ? 1 propose to drive the bees 

 from the box hive into the frame hive through a 

 closed passage or runway connecting the two hives 

 — this passage to be a foot or two long, six or eight 

 inches wide, and an Inch or two deep — the bottom 

 and sides to be of wood and the top of screen wire. 

 The end which connects with the old hive should 

 cover and Inclose Its entrance entirely, and be bee- 

 tight — the other end to be Inserted Into the en- 

 trance of the new hive, which should be raised by 

 cleats an Inch or two above Its bottom-board In 

 order to receive this passageway. 



To use this contrivance I would place the new 

 hive on a table or bench fifteen or twenty feet from 

 the stand of the old hive: then remove the old 

 hive. Invert It and set It down close to the table 

 on which the new hive Is placed. After connecting 

 the two hives by means of the runway or passage 

 described above I would proceed to drive the bees 

 out of the old hive. As soon as the queen and 

 enough of the bees, say two-thirds, have gone into 

 the new hive It should be removed to tlie stand 

 formerly occupied by the old hive. I would set the 

 latter close to and Immediately behind the old 

 hive, and connect the two by means ol a passage- 

 way or gangway similar to the one used in trans- 

 ferring as already described. I would put a ((ueen- 

 excluder in this gangway in order to prevent the 

 queen from going Into the old hive. I should have 

 stated that this gangway Is to have a water-tight 

 metal or wooden cover Instead of screen wire, as In 

 the case of the one used in transferring. Hy this 

 arrangement the bees in the old hive can neither 

 go out of nor into their hive without passing 

 through the new hive: and the bees in both hives 

 can pass freely from one hive to the other. 



At the end of eighteen or twenty days I would 

 place a bee-escape in the passageway between the 

 two hives to prevent the bees from returning to the 

 old hive: and If they are not all out of the old hive 

 In 21 days I would smoke or drum them out, re- 

 move the old hive, and spilt it up into kindling — 

 after having saved the combs, of course. Will this 

 plan work or not ? 



Halls, Tenn., Jan. 9. J. C. Sawykk. 



[We believe you would find it much quicker to 

 pry the cover from the box hive, put a box above 

 it, and drum the bees up into It. It Is not essential 

 that the box hive be Inverted, the only reason for 

 doing it being that it is usually easier to do it than 

 to remove the cover.— Ed.] 



Dead Bees in Front of Outdoor-wintered Colonies ; 

 the Mistake of Screening Bees in the Hive 



Last fall I purchased two colonies of bees in what 

 seemed to me to be old home-made hives which 

 evidently had been used for a long time. The bees 

 .seem to be very lively, however: and after keeping 

 them outdoors during the strenuous winter we 

 have had I notice that every bright day about two 

 dozen or more bees come out of the hives and 

 freeze. I accordingly moved them Into the stable, 

 where the temperature is considerably warmer, 

 placing the hives .so they faced south, and put 

 some wire fly-screen over the entrances to the 

 hives. During the last week the bees have evi- 

 dently been "cleaning house." and i)uslu-d out 

 through the .screen several teaspoonfuls dail.v of a 

 substance resembling brown sand, and they have 

 literally jammed each other up against the screen 

 in their efforts to get out. so that about 25 or 50 

 seem to die each day. Thinking they might be 



