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36th Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., MARCH 26, 1896. 



No. 13. 



Something About Beginning The Season. 



BT G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



As the time is near at hand when our bees, which have 

 been housed in the cellar all winter, must be placed on their 

 summer stands and cared for, I thought perhaps I could not 

 do better at this time than to tell the readers of the American 

 Bee Journal something of how I manage at the beginning of 

 the season when working for comb honey, as I now expect to 

 follow this article with four or five more on the production of 

 comb honey. 



I follow a different plan in setting the bees out of the cellar 

 from what most apiarists do, and after trying all the plans 

 for years which have been given, I like this much better than 

 any other. Beginning with the first day that the bees which 

 are out-doors (I almost alwa3"s leave a few colonies on summer 

 stands during the winter) gather pollen, I commence at about 

 3:30 o'clock, p. ra., (if the mercury stands as high as from 50-' 

 to 60-^ in the shade) to put out a part of them, say from 10 to 

 20 colonies, as the case may be, scattering them about the 

 yard so they will be as far apart as possible and yet be within 

 the limit of what space I wish the yard to occupy. This is 

 done so that I need keep no track of where they formerly 

 stood, and yet not have any mixing of bees, as would be the 

 case were all set out at once or near together. Where all are 

 put together, as most apiarists do this work, there will be 

 more or less of colonies mixing up, unless each colony is put on 

 the same stand they occupied the fall previous. To so put 

 them requires a great deal of extra work, numbering hives, 

 stands, etc., which is quite an inconvenience, along this line, 

 and even then does not prevent some colonies getting far more 

 than their share of bees. 



To put out, I place my spring wheel-barrow and lighted 

 smoker near the door of the bee-cellar, when I carefully open 

 the door and quickly step in and get the first hive nearest the 

 door, placing it on the wheel-barrow, when the door is im- 

 mediately shut again, The bees in the hive now begin to re- 

 alize that their long winter nap is at an end, and if I took no 

 precautions would soon be out of the hive and in the air, los- 

 ing their home and stinging fearfully. To avoid this, I now 

 blow four or five puffs of smoke in at the entrance to keep 

 them quiet, when the entrance is closed by laying a square 

 stick in front of it, when the hive is wheeled and placed on the 

 stand it is to occupy. The stick is now taken from the en- 

 trance and the bees allowed to fly. This they will do as leis- 

 urely as they would had they not been disturbed at all, while had 

 not the smoke been given, they would have all piled out of the 

 hive with a rush. This going out slow is a great advantage to 

 them in marking their location and repelling robbers. The 

 next pleasant day more are put out in the same way, and at 

 about the same time, scattering them about as before, but pay- 

 ing no attention as to how near they come to those put out at 



the same time. I sometimes put out about the same number 

 In the morning of a pleasant day, beginning to carry out as 

 soon as the mercury reaches 45-^, because in this case the bees 

 must get through their thickest flight before those already out 

 become active, or else there is danger from robbing. In fact, 

 those put out in the morning are much more liable to be robbed, 

 especially if a little weak, and for this reason I put out the 

 most of them in the afternoon. By this plan all of the fatigue 

 usually attending this work is overcome, as well as the mixing 

 of the bees, keeping record of where each hive stood the year 

 before, etc. 



As soon as put out, the next is to see that all have plenty 

 of stores, and if in a tight-bottomed hive, clean off the bottom- 

 board. As I use loose bottom-boards, a clean bottom-board is 

 placed on the wheel-barrow to set the hive on as it comes from 

 the cellar, so I do not have to disturb the bees afterward, on 

 this account. 



To find out about the honey or stores, the first cool morn- 

 ing I go to the hive, take off the cover, and carfully raise the 

 quilt or honey-board, and look for sealed honey along the top- 



Miss Mathilda Candler, Cassville, IFis. — Sec page 200. 



bars of the frames. If plenty is seen they are all right till 

 they are to be looked after three weeks later. If little or none 

 is seen, they must be fed, for if we are to reap the best results 

 from our bees they must have plenty of stores at this time to 

 encourage brood-rearing. 



For feed at this time, I prefer combs of sealed honey set 

 in next to the cluster, to anything else. If no such can be had, 

 we must feed sugar syrup, of course ; but the feeding of syrup 

 or extracted honey, thus early in the season, entices many bees 

 out to perish in unfavorable weather. 



