GLEANINGS TN BEE CULTURE 



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Louis Scholl, New Braunfels. Texas 



A GOOD HIVE-NUMBBB WANTED. 



Hive-numbers are good things, especially 

 il' more than one person looks after the 

 bees. It often happens that something has 

 to be done to a certain colony on the next 

 trip to the apiary; and while the person 

 there before knows the location of that par- 

 rtcular hive, it is not an easy matter to tell 

 to a certainty to others just which one it is 

 unless they also are well acquainted with 

 the location of all the hives. But how easy 

 it is to say " No. 34," or any other, for that 

 matter! and how easy it is to find that 

 number on a hive, although we may nev- 

 er have been there before! 



But here is a question : What are such 

 numbers really worth ? and what ought a 

 good, durable, substantial hive number that 

 can be put in place in a jiffy, changed from 

 one hive to another in the same length of 

 time, and one that will last a lifetime, cost? 

 At the present time there is no suitable 

 hive number on the market, that we know 

 of; and if there were one, how much could 

 the bee-keeper afford to pay for it? We 

 have been thinking about numbering all 

 our hives with a good hive-number; and as 

 there are a thousand or more hives to num- 

 ber, the question above naturally crops out. 

 Will some of those who know, therefore, tell 

 us all about it? It will be highly appreci- 

 ated at this time. 



THE TEXAS OUTLOOK. 



Not for many years have the prospects for 

 a good crop been brighter than this spring. 

 Although the winter was the longest and 

 the most unfavorable for perhaps twenty 

 years, according to many authorities who 

 have kept bees and have watched the weath- 

 er from year to year, the outlook is better 

 than was really expected by many of us. 

 There has been an abundance of rain since 

 last fall, in most localities. As a conse- 

 quence all kinds of vegetation are in great 

 profusion and of luxuriant growth. This 

 is indicative of a great mass of bloom yield- 

 ing honey much more abundantly than 

 even under average conditions. .Judging 

 from this, then, other conditions being fa- 

 vorable, the honey crop will turn out to be 

 one of the best we have had for several years. 



The bees, as a rule, are in good condition 

 in spite of the long- drawn-out winter. While 

 the unfavorable weather conditions were, 

 perhaps, not felt so much in Southwestern 

 Texas, reports from our correspondents are 

 to the effect that the bees suffered consider- 

 ably in the northern localities of the State. 

 There were very few days favorable enough 

 so that bees could work on the bloom that 

 did make an early appearance; and many 

 of the otherwise early flowers were delayed 

 materially on account of the continued cool 

 wet weather. In some apiaries this was so 

 marked that the bees, which were rearing 



brood at a rapid rate, and consuming their • 

 stores, had to be fed to prevent starvation. 

 This was a critical condition in beekeeping, 

 since the shortness of the stores at this time 

 has a detrimental effect upon the progress 

 of the colonies, in that much brood is sub- I 

 jected to starvation, and destruction by the ! 

 bees themselves. I3ees short of stores will 

 devour not only large numbers of eggs but 

 young larvae at this stage of discourage- 

 ment before the beekeeper may discover the 

 actual serious condition prevailing. It is, 

 therefore, of the utmost importance to watch 

 all colonies closely and to supply necessary 

 stores before such harm is done instead of 

 waiting until the bees are found actually in 

 a starving condition. To wait so long will 

 require a longer time to become populous 

 for the honey-flows, if, indeed, the colonies 

 regain enough strength to gather surplus 

 honey. The beekeeper who knew how to 

 take care of such conditions properly and 

 promptly is being repaid abundantly for 

 his ti Tieiy precautions. 



Thus we find that the bees are in good or 

 bad condition in various localities accord- 

 ing to the ability of their owners to take 

 proper care of them. The shiftless beekeep- 

 ers with their "gums" are, as a rule, the 

 heaviest losers. It is they who assert posi- 

 tively that the "worms" have killed their 

 bees, when in reality they starved out be- 

 fore the wax-moth larvae got into the beeless 

 combs. The beekeeper here who prepares 

 his colonies in the fall with more honey 

 than they may need for winter will find lit- 

 tle opportunity to worry about the bees 

 wintering safely. If it is borne in mind 

 that the bees really need more honey to 

 spring them than to winter them, enough 

 honey will be left to last well into spring. 

 The honey not actually needed will not be 

 lost, but, on the contrary, will result in 

 rousing colonies of bees for the honey flows. 

 This means a larger return in surplus hon- 

 ey — that which makes beekeeping a profit- 

 able business. The past winter has aided 

 in teaching this lesson more thoroughly, 

 and it is hoped that it will be heeded in the 

 future. 



Nine Virgin Queens Captured from a Colony Caught 

 in the Act of Swarming 



One sunny morning I was attracted by the piping 

 of a queen in one of my hives. I went to investi- 

 gate: and just as soon as I came up it began to 

 swarm. It was a colony that had come from a 

 swarm In the spring. 1 was surprised to find three 

 young queens with it. I then went through the 

 hive and found the original queen and four more 

 queens hatched, and two more tore the caps off and 

 ran out, so that made nine queens out. I caged 

 them all and put the swarm back, and the colony 

 stopped working. So I let one queen go, and the 

 colony set it again. The colony is now in fine con- 

 dition. It produced 96 lbs. of honey of good quality 

 last season. You may be sure I made good use of 

 the queens. They are the best I have. Two are 

 ahead of any others in the whole yard. 



ALI.EN A. STKATFOKD. 



Kainga Tui, Orinoco. New Zealand. 



