322 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 24, 1900. 



truth proclaimed in the hiffher, animal realm. Closely in- 

 bred cattle are more ready to contract disease, like con- 

 sumption, than those not consanguineous. The laws in 

 some States against intermarriag-e of near relatives is not 

 the creature of a nervous imagination. Ask Nature, and 

 she will say, " Don't." 



Close investigation, carried on by myself and many 

 others, has shown that this necessity of cross-pollination 

 is very general. With most of our valuable plants we can 

 not hope for full fruitage unless there is opprtunity for this 

 cross-pollination. In many cases the cross-pollination 

 must be provided for or there will be no crop at all. I have 

 a case in point : A sister living on the Sacramento River 

 has a large and very productive orchard of pears, apricots, 

 cherries and prunes. I visited her in 1891, and she askt me 

 regarding the reason that her orchard was producing less 

 than formerly. The trees bloomed heavily, but the fruit did 

 not set. I askt if there were not more bees formerly than at 

 that time. She bethought herself and answered yes. I said 

 when good, vigorous trees blossom heavily and do not fruit 

 well, always suspect lack of pollination. She at once en- 

 gaged an apiarist to move his bees to the place, and at once 

 received markt benefits. She has kept the apiary there 

 ever since. She feels that she can afford to pay for the 

 presence of the bees, and she is right. 



I visited her the other day, and upon examination it 

 was found that trees in near proximity to trees of other 

 varieties were setting far more freely than those farther 

 off, and the decrease was very markt. This was a very 

 graphic object lesson. I have no doubt but the annual loss 

 from the absence of bees and the planting of varieties in 

 solid blocks, is tremendous. We have our orchards in great 

 proportion, often hundreds of acres in one place. Indige- 

 nous or native insects can not do the large work of pollina- 

 tion, and we must bring the bees to the rescue. No doubt 

 " Good cultivation "' may well be the motto of the orchardist, 

 but close along side should be the second one, " Mixt varie- 

 ties and the honey-bee." 



We have had two fine rains within a week, the best of 

 the season. They are late for the honey product, but will 

 do immense good, and may help the bee-keeper. The alfalfa 

 fields are increasing very rapidly, and will in the future be- 

 come more important even than in the past, as a source of 

 excellent honey. Los Angeles Co., Calif., May 11. 



NO. 8.— COMB HONEY PRODUCTION. 



Method of Taking" off Supers— When and How. 



BY R. C. AIKIN. 



THERE seems to be much difference of opinion as to 

 how to get supers off and free of bees. This is like 

 many other things in the business, just what and how 

 to do depends upon circumstances. 



In the midst of the flow, when bees are busy in the 

 fields, they will often allow honey to stand exposed all day 

 and not rob. At such time the removal of supers of sec- 

 tions is a very easy matter, about as easy as anything we 

 find to do in the apiary. I begin at one end or corner of 

 the apiary and work regularly over it, lifting the cover and 

 looking at each to see if anything needs to be done to 

 supers. I have a pile of empty supers ready carried into the 

 apiarj', and wherever one is needed I give it as directed in 

 the preceding article, and where I find a super ready to take 

 off I remove it in this way : 



If I know before opening the super that it is ready to 

 take off, if it be on top I begin to pry up the cover and slioot 

 smoke under it as quickly as there is a crack big enough. I 

 start the cover gently, not necessarily slowly, but so the 

 bees are not angered, pumping the smoke hard enough to 

 spread it all over the section tops (I use a board cover), 

 frightening the bees, but not making them angry. I do 

 not smoke in the entrance at all, not using smoke about the 

 entrance except when they are touchy, when I give enough 

 over the alighting-board to frighten back the guards. 



Having started the .smoke over the sections in this way, 

 the bees start running down, and without delay I keep the 

 smoke right up after them, and do not let them have time 

 to stop running. Do not smoke clear down thru the super 

 at once, but keep the smoke right after them so they will 

 keep on the run. It is hard to describe so you can do it the 

 first time, but after reading this description you can very 

 soon get the knack if you try carefully. As soon as the 

 bulk of the bees have past below, very quickly remove the 



super, and turn it up endwise on the left arm till it is perpen- 

 dicular, or a little more, so it will rest back against the arm, 

 and, with a proper sweeping-instrument, at once sweep the 

 bees off the bottom, and then stand the super on end on a 

 hive or the ground. 



The best broom I have ever found is a wisp of grass 

 about as long and big as my arm. and wrapt with stout 

 cord in two or five places. Make it out of slough-grass, or 

 some long-bladed kind, and not too stemmy or stiff. Keep 

 the brush in the yard, tighten the cords occasionallj', and 

 when it gets dry and brash dip it in water. Such will sweep 

 almost the entire bottom of a super at one lick. 



Notice that these operations must be done promptlj'. 

 From the time you start the cover till the super is off and 

 the bees brusht from the bottom, and the super is standing 

 on end out of your hands, is much quicker than you can 

 read this description, the only stop necessary is just a few 

 seconds, or a minute to allow the bees time to run down. 

 If j'ou get to dallying, and let the bees turn back to recover 

 the combs, you will find it harder to drive them down the 

 second time. For this reason it is important to determine 

 quickly whether the super is ready to come off, and proceed 

 at once to get it off. 



If it is necessary for me to look to see if it is read}', I 

 very frequently look at the bottom of it first, by prying it 

 up at one end, the other still resting on the hive, and as the 

 bees retreat upward I see very quickly if the sections are 

 finisht at the bottoms, particularly the outer corners, and, 

 if ready, at once let it down in place again, and send the 

 bees down from the top before they have recovered from 

 their first fright. 



In this way I go thru the yard taking off supers and 

 standing them on end, usually on top of the hive from 

 which taken ; putting on empties where needed ; shifting a 

 bottom super to the top, or vice versa ; and, whatever is 

 needed in the arrangement of supers, doing the whole job 

 regularly. Thus the yard is put in shape to wait several 

 days or a week for another similar overhauling. 



After I get thru with the removing, putting on and 

 arranging supers, I carrj' in those scattered about the yard. 

 If the honey-house is right by I do not take much pains to 

 get any bees out that still remain, but take the supers to 

 the honey-room and stand them on end again before a win- 

 dow screened, but with an escape of some kind. The re- 

 maining bees will very soon pass out at the window, and 

 the supers can be piled regularly later. 



If many bees are yet in the supers when I get ready to 

 carry them in, and I want them all out, I smoke thru the 

 super, holding the smoker in the left hand usually, the 

 brush in my right, and as fast as they come out I sweep 

 them off. If this process be gone thru with when there is 

 honey being gathered, it is a very quick and successful 

 method. It will not do to leave supers about the j-ard 

 when bees would rob. Neither should the work be done in 

 the early morning unless there be unsealed honey in plentj' 

 for the bees to load their sacs, better wait a little till enough 

 bees come from the field so they are already loaded. 



But the time when the great danger comes is when no 

 nectar is being gathered, and more so if the honey is nearly 

 all sealed, for then the bees will bite open the cappings to 

 get their sacs full, and so mar the sections. At such times 

 it is possible to send the bees down on the run before they 

 can think of cutting open sealed cells, and care must be ex- 

 ercised to drive them nearly all out before stopping. Also, 

 when a super is off the hive go at once with it to the honey- 

 room to keep it from robbers. A careful taking off of 

 honey in this way will prove most expeditious, and will get 

 it off in good shape and free from any serious puncturing of 

 cappings by the bees. 



If the honey-house is distant, a small room or tent by 

 the apiary will be very convenient to keep supers in over 

 night. Take off in the middle of the day, and very few bees 

 will be left in over night ; if any should remain they hunt 

 home early in the morning. I practice this almost exclu- 

 sively, and can take off a ton of honey in a very few hours 

 at most, when not doing other work with this. My escapes 

 are on the windows. I have some in the shop, but never 

 use them. This plan leaves the escape out of sight when 

 used in a board to place under the super. 



It may look to many as if it was a lot of work to do so 

 much watching and manipulating of supers — it does take 

 some time, but it is time well spent. Have every hive equipt 

 with a honey-board above the brood-combs, so there are no 

 burr-combs built to the section-bottoms ; a bee-space and 

 board-cover over the sections, then it is a very simple mat- 

 ter to handle supers. They should come off clean, and no 



