194 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



March 29. 1900. 



Some Questions Answered— Ripening- Honey, Etc. 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



QUESTION. — What is the best plan of ripening honey 

 where we can not afford to wait until it ripens in the 

 hive ? If an extra building or anything of the kind is 

 required, I wish to prepare for it this winter, or in early 

 spring. 



Answer. — If you must ripen honey out of the hive, I 

 know of no better way of doing it than to place it in tin 

 cans holding from 200 to 300 pounds each, allowing these 

 cans to remain in a temperature which can be maintained 

 at from 90 to 100 degrees of heat for a month to six weeks, 

 leaving the top of the can open, and tying cloth over it to 

 keep out the dust and insects. If you have the means, and 

 are in a hurry to have the honey ripened, it can be done by 

 slowly running the honey over a zigzag evaporator, which 

 is kept at the proper temperature by heated water, steam, or 



Sectional View of Bingham Bee-Cellar— See previous page. 



lamps, so that it will be ripened fast, and yet not scorch or 

 change the flavor of the honey. But let me advise you to 

 let the bees take care of this ripening part. 



I am not sure that there could be any locality or cir- 

 cumstances where '"we cannot afford to wait " for the bees 

 to ripen the honey in the hives. We used to think we could 

 not afford the combs to use in tiering-up hives that were 

 necessary to wait till the end of the honey season, but I 

 think this was a mistake. Not affording the combs, the 

 bees had to remain partially idle while the honey was being 

 sealed, which was a loss in time, so the honey was ex- 

 tracted every three or four days, when it was thin and unfit 

 for use; but in these days of comb foundation, much the 

 better way is to tier up the hives, adding foundation as 

 needed, letting the bees seal the honey as far as possible, 

 when it is to be brought into a warm room, if so cool in the 

 fall to be necessary, and, when thoroly warmed, it will be 

 little more work to extract it than it would be were it taken 

 from the hive when two-thirds sealed, as was considered 

 the proper thing years ago. Honey obtained by this tier- 

 ing-up plan is superior to that secured in any other way, 

 increasing the demand for extracted honey in the markets, 

 instead of decreasing the same as did the honey of IS to 20 

 years ago. 



INCREASING THE NUMBER OF COLONIES. 



Question. — I wish to increase my bees to SO colonies 

 next season. I have 17 colonies now to do it from. I 

 should like to know the best way to do it and still get some 

 surplus honey. 



Answer. — A large increase of bees, and "some surplus 

 honey " at the same time, is something which is not very 

 likely to occur, especially with a novice at the business. 

 Still, there are ways in which it is sometimes accomplisht. 

 One of these ways would be to let the bees swarm naturally, 

 hiving the first and second swarms, returning all those 

 which come out after the second. Put sections on the first 

 swarms, hiving them in contracted brood-chambers ; and if 

 the swarms came early enough in the season, put sections 

 on all of the old colonies as soon as the young queens com- 

 mence to lay. 



A still better way would be to keep the colonies from 

 swarming as much as possible, hiving the few swarms 

 which did come in contracted brood-chambers as above, and 

 six days after .the swarm issued divide the old colony into 

 nuclei, with a queen-cell for each. Occasionally, as needed, 

 to keep those not having swarmed from taking the swarm- 

 ing-fever, take frames of brood from them and give to the 

 nuclei, thus building them up into strong colonies. Re- 

 place the frames of brood taken with frames filled with 

 comb foundation, thus preventing the building of drone- 



comb. If successful as you should be, seven of the colonies 

 swarming would give all of the increase needed to make the 

 50, thus leaving 10 to roll up all the surplus honey they 

 possibly could, were the same 10 workt for no increase, pro- 

 vided you do not draw brood from them more than to keep 

 down the swarming-impulse. 



WHICH WAY SHOULD HIVES FACE ? 



Question. — Which way should hives front, all things 

 considered, in order to obtain the most profit from the 

 bees ? East, west, north or south, where they are wintered 

 on the summer stands ? and which way when they are win- 

 tered in the cellar ? 



Answer. — Some seem to think that it makes no differ- 

 ence which way the hives face when they are on the sum- 

 mer stands, but I think otherwise, especially in the winter. 

 I have had hives facing almost all points of the compass, 

 and those doing the poorest faced the north, while those 

 facing south to southeast invariably did the best. I have 

 lost colonies in winter facing the north, when those facing 

 south and southeast would have good cleansing flights, and 

 be in good shape for another long cold spell, the others not 

 flying at all on account of the sun not shining on the en- 

 trance, hence they died with diarrhea, as it is called, by not 

 having a chance to void their excrement. 



Again, in summer bees in hives facing the sun will 

 generally work longer each day than will those whose en- 

 trances the sun never shines upon. 



Once more, the prevailing winds are from the southwest 

 to north in this locality, and where hives face the west or 

 north, more stores are consumed in keeping up the heat of 

 the cluster wh^re the prevailing winds blow directly in at 

 the entrance, carrying off the heat generated by the bees. 



Then, again, in all windy days the bees can reach the 

 entrance readily when the hives have their backs toward the 

 wind, while if faced toward the wind they are blown from 

 their doorway, time and time again, before they can strike 

 just right to partly fly and run in. This last part was 

 what caused me to say that I would never face any hive, 

 even during summer, in any other direction than south by 

 east. 



But to the other part of the question. If I am to un- 

 derstand by the latter part of the question that the inquirer 

 thinks that it makes a difference which way the hives face 

 while in the cellar, I can only think he is making a mistake, 

 for I can not see how it can make any possible difference in 

 a cellar of even temperature and total darkness. If there is 

 a window in the cellar which admits light, it is better to 

 darken the window ; yet at my out-apiary cellar the people 

 don't want the cellar dark, so I face the hives toward the 

 wall and away from the light, when they winter very nearly 

 as well as they do here in my perfectly dark cellar. Yet, if 

 I am right, it is conceded by all that a perfectly dark cellar 

 tends more toward a successful wintering of bees than does 

 alight one. Onondaga Co., N. Y. 



Experiences of a City Honey-Salesman. 



BY S. A. NIVER. 



"XI THAT strange game one sees when he has no gun." 

 yy That wise saw is forcibly brought to my mind as I 

 meet the many strange notions people will persist 

 in advancing as good argument when I am showing honey 

 with the hope of selling a big (or little) order. Your aver- 

 age dealer hardly " knows a honey-bee from a mudwasp," 

 but is well posted on just how artificial comb honey is pro- 

 duced, and what large quantities are sold of " the stuff " 

 every year ! 



Only last evening I overheard a clerk telling a lady 

 customer that you could easily tell when comb honey was 

 genuine — " by noticing the number of layers in the comb." 

 (I just held my breath to catch the rest of it.) " But whether 

 it is one or two layers that show it to be genuine honey, I 

 have forgotten." Simply another case of, " Good indigo 

 will either sink or swim, and I don't know which." 



The good old way of sitting down to a long visit to in- 

 form your customer thoroly is costly, and many times im- 

 possible on account of the rush of business ; besides, these 

 city grocers only like to sell just what is called for, seldom 

 calling a customer's attention to something new and espe- 

 cially desirable. 



Another woefully ignorant and intensely annoying in- 

 dividual is that near-by bee-keeper, who doesn't take the 

 bee-j)apers, but just loads in his honey, and goes towards 

 the city selling his honey four or five cents per pound 



