May 1, 1912 



©®[]dw©[P^s}1]d(D[]o© wuHlh [fficD^DaGilD® 



At Borodino, New York 



rROFITABLB AND UNPROFITABLE WOKK. 



"Mr. Doolittle, I have been thinking that 

 it is very easy to spend more time and work 

 with bees than strict economy requires. 

 What do you think about it?" 



" Undoubtedly there is quite a little work 

 done in many apiaries that is not strictly 

 necessary, along the line of fussing with 

 bees. At its present high price, labor is the 

 most expensive factor in honey production, 

 and all possible short cuts should be taken 

 advantage of. Sometimes it is well to ask 

 ourselves the (question, ' Will this work pay?' 

 or, ' Could not the time be used to better ad- 

 vantage in doing something else ? ' " 



"What are the really necessary things to 

 do at first?" 



"The first work in the spring, where bees 

 are wintered in the cellar, is to remove them 

 to their summer stands; and in doing this, 

 if the bottom-boards are turned, or a clean 

 one given to No. 1, and -No. I's old board 

 cleaned for No. "2, then cleaning the one 

 taken from this, and so on, a saving will be 

 made above a general cleaning later on, and 

 the bees are put in better condition at the 

 outset. Then, as soon as a day will permit, 

 go over all colonies, seeing that they have 

 sufficient stores to last till the nectar-pro- 

 ducing flowers bloom, and also that each 

 colony has a good queen." 



"Is that all you do before the flowers 

 bloom ? ' ' 



"That is all that is really necessary, ex- 

 cept where any are found short of stores, 

 q\ieenless, or with very poor queens. The 

 wants of these must be supplied immediate- 

 ly, or as soon thereafter as is possible. After 

 tnis, unless you have your hives and surplus 

 arrangements all in readiness before, this 

 work should be done while waiting for the 

 honey-flow." 



"But the beekeepers about me wait till 

 their colonies become strong, or till they 

 know just how many bupers are necessary, 

 on the ground that it is poor economy to 

 purchase a lot of stuff and run the risk of 

 losing many colonies or having them weak- 

 ened by spring dwindling." 



"That is the poorest kind of economy; 

 for hundreds if not thousands are caught by 

 a good honey-flow without being prepared, 

 and the loss of this good How, or any part of 

 it, would more than overbalance the interest 

 on such an investment. There is nothing 

 like being in readiness at all limes and in 

 all seasons in the bee business. As soon as 

 the first nectar is coming in from the fields 

 all colonies must be looked alter again, the 

 wings uf all queens clipped, the stores and 

 brood looked after, and a memorandum of 

 each colony made, so that the apiarist can 

 govern his work on each during the summer 

 accordingly. 'I'his memorandum of each 

 will tell where the first supers are to go on, 

 where the first work is needed in regard to 

 the prevention of swarming, or where the 



first swarms may be expected to issue, if 

 natural swarming is allowed. It will also 

 tell where poor queens are to be replaced 

 with good ones, which colonies are to be 

 replaced with good ones, which colonies are 

 to be bred from, both as to ([ueens and drones, 

 and where drones are to be restricted by do- 

 ing away with all drone comb as far as pos- 

 sible, etc." 



"But do you keep this memorandum for 

 the whole season?" 



"No; but we hardly make out a full one 

 thereafter. As hinted at, the supers are put 

 on at just the right time, considering the 

 strength of the colonies and the blossoming 

 of the flowers which give the surplus honey. 

 More supers are added at just the right time; 

 finished supers are removed promptly, the 

 honey graded and packed according to 

 the demands of our market, so as to have it 

 ready for the early price, thus taking ad- 

 vantage of these things in a way to bring us 

 the most for our product. As fall draws on, 

 the bees must be put in good condition for 

 winter, not waiting till the last moment as 

 so many do. 



"Your question, then, could be answered 

 very briefly by saying, ' Do things at just 

 the right time and in the right place, leav- 

 ing no stone unturned whose turning will 

 result in profit.' The old way was, merely 

 to hive swarms, put on and take off supers 

 — nothing more — as the bees work for noth- 

 ing and board themselves. The other ex- 

 treme is, to look each colony over every week, 

 equalize stores, raise queens, take each secr 

 tion off as soon as sealed, feed for winter, 

 etc. The practical course does not reach 

 half way between these two extremes. The 

 farmer loses much honey by not doing a 

 few things at the right season. The practi- 

 cal, economical, professional apiarist does 

 just those things, but no more, and at just 

 the time for the best results." 



Extracting Uncapped Honey Not Practiced Gene- 

 rally in New Zealand 



Having noticed some time ago a letter from Mr. 

 Isaac Hopkins, advocating the extracting of honey 

 before It has ripened in the hive. I wish to state 

 that Mr. Hopkins stands alone in that matter so 

 far as the beekeepers of New Zealand are con- 

 cerned. We had an exhibition here some years 

 ago. Mr. Hopkins, then acting for the govern- 

 ment, was running an apiary in connection with 

 the exhibition. At that time he was practicing his 

 plan of premature extracting: but the sample of 

 the honey in Agricultural Hall soured and started 

 to ferment: yet in spite of such adverse experi- 

 ence he still advocates the plan. He quotes Mr. 

 Alexander as supporting him: but it must be re- 

 membered that the conditions upon which Mr. Al- 

 exander based his theory were altogether different 

 from what we have here, as buckwheat is not 

 grown here to any extent. If at all. I am glad to 

 see that all the criticism of Mr. Hopkins' Ideas 

 have been adverse; for although, under some cir- 

 cumstances, it may work without disaster, yet In 

 most cases it can never be a success. 



A. Ireland, 



President Canterbury Beekeepers' Association. 



Chrlstchurch. N. '/.. .Ian. 20. 



