340 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



May 31 1900 



that he has some sympathy for the helper, for he has done 

 the same trick himself — and pray what bee-keeper has not? 



By the exercise of charity and patience, which virtues 

 every bee-keeper should have a good amount of, we can get 

 along with the erring one, and finall)' make a very good 

 bee-keeper of him. Next to the sin of drunkenness in a 

 helper is the one who gives us eye service onlj- — we do not 

 need that kind. We are not so particular as to expect a 

 man to take the interest that he would in his own property, 

 but there is an interest just as valuable to us, and that is 

 when the helper desires to get as much out of the apiary as 

 any one else ever did, and leave it in good condition. When 

 such a man is found — and we are happy to say there are 

 many of them — stick to him, hire him every year if you can, 

 pay him well, take an interest in his welfare, and when he 

 sets up in business for himself don't forget him. 



The ever-faithful horse is a helper not to be overlookt, 

 and for the movement of bees and honey the characteristics 

 must be docilitj' and patience. A horse that shies is always 

 a source of anxiety, and is liable to run the wagon into the 

 ditch, and a consequent tip-over, and a balky horse is an 

 abomination not to be endured. Two horses are better than 

 one, and the business should be large enough to enable us 

 to employ them. We like to be upon good terms with our 

 horses as well as with our other helpers ; we like to feed 

 them well, and groom them, and when upon the road use 

 judgment in loading and driving them. Some drivers can 

 get a great deal more out of a team and not injure them 

 than others can who abuse their horses. 



A horse will seldom learn to take bee-stings with 

 equanimity — the dear animals are used to being bitten with 

 flies all day and mosquitoes all night, but when a bee punc- 

 tures them with its business-end a deadly, vindictive enemy 

 is recognized, and the horse becomes frenzied with fright. 

 Our first care is to have gentle bees, and to manipulate 

 them so as to let this trait develop to the utmost. In the 

 early spring or autumn we can drive the team near the api- 

 ary with safety, but in the height of the honey season it is 

 well to keep proper distance, or to come near only in the 

 night. Where much hauling is done large blankets should 

 be provided, and when upon the road it is handy to have 

 the whiffletrees so constructed that they can be detacht at 

 a moment's notice; these precautions, if heeded, will in 

 many instances save our four-footed helpers. 



Recently there has entered into the life of our home 

 circle a very quiet helper. When " Kate " is harnest and 

 Joe is invited to get into the wagon to go to an out-apiary, 

 he says, " No, pa, with my helper I will get there and have 

 half of the work done before you get there;" and he gen- 

 erally does. What wounderful applications of mechanical 

 principles we witness in these latter days — not only can the 

 young man fly, as it were over the roads, but the old man 

 can renew his age and race over the earth faster than he 

 ever could in his youthful days. We can sit down to ma- 

 chines, and on machines do a great amount of work, and 

 now we can sit down to walk and to run. Thanks to the 

 bicycle, it is a pronounced helper in the apiary. 



Hiving' and Managing- Swarms Advantageously. 



BY C. DAVENPORT. 



I HAVE before in these columns mentioned the fact that 

 I largely practice hiving two swarms in one hive. These 

 swarms may be either natural or artificial, or one may 

 be a natural issue and the other artificial — it depends upon 

 circumstances, but it is all practically the same thing, and 

 the thought may have occurred to some who have not been 

 engaged in our pursuit long, whether it pays to hive two 

 swarms together, and if more surplus can be secured in this 

 way than if each swarm is allowed a separate hive. It un- 

 doubtedly pays with me, and I will endeavor to explain 

 why. This will necessitate briefly describing my locality 

 in respect to the time, character and duration of its honey- 

 flows or yields, for upon these things or conditions — or, in 

 other words, the locality largely determines the question of 

 whether it pays to hive two swarms in one hive, but in this 

 case the word " locality " must be considered in a broad 

 sense or view, for the conditions in some of the middle or 

 even southern States might be similar enough in some re- 

 spects to what we have here, to make the practice pay, 

 while in other latitudes, even as far north as this, they 

 might not. 



As a usual thing the early spring flows here are suffi- 

 cient to support brood-rearing, but after fruit-bloom, until 

 white clover commenced to blossom, there used to be a short 



spell during which it might be necessary to feed in order to 

 have brood-rearing kept up as rapidly as it should at this 

 time, but of late dandelion bloom has bridged the gap be- 

 tween fruit and clover bloom. This has nothing to do with 

 the matter being discust, but I mention it because it is, to 

 me at least, very curious how rapidly this dandelion bloom 

 has increast. There has always been some here, but noth- 

 ing compared to what there is at present, and formerly it 

 was about gone soon after fruit-bloom. Of late it has kept 

 in blossom more or less all the fore part of the season, in 

 fact it is becoming too much of a good thing, for I have 

 had bees working on it at the same time white clover was 

 yielding, and when it is mixt with clover honey it nearly 

 ruins the latter, for it is dark, rank-tasting honey, fit only 

 for brood-rearing, or to sell for manufacturing purposes. 



The properties of the two plants are such as greatly to 

 favor both being workt when they are in bloom at the same 

 time, for white clover, as a rule, does not yield as well dur- 

 ing the fore part of the day as it does the latter, and dande- 

 lion bloom yields and is at its best in the morning. Later 

 the blossoms completely close up so that on low pasture 

 lands here that may be literally yellow with its bloom in the 

 forenoon, there may not be a single blossom to be seen in 

 the afternoon. 



Three years ago I extracted about 2,000 pounds of 

 nearly pure dandelion honey before white clover com- 

 menced to yield. White clover usually commences to yield 

 slowly about the first of June, basswood the first of July, 

 and lasts about 10 days. This gives us a white honey-flow 

 of about 40 days duration, tho the time this flow commences, 

 as well as its length, may vary considerable, owing to the 

 season or the failure of one or the other of its sources ; but 

 I can say in favor of my locality that in my time clover and 

 basswood have never both failed the same season. At least 

 80 percent of what swarms I have are made or issue during 

 the first three weeks of June. 



I can imagine some are now saying, " You are away 

 ofi^, old man ; you should have your swarming all done and 

 out of the way before your main flow commences." This 

 can not profitably be done here. The time previous to this, 

 that is, the length of time between settled warm weather 

 and the forepart of June, has not been sufficient so the colo- 

 nies on an average will become populous enough to swarm 

 sooner naturally, and so far as I understand it at present 

 artificial swarming should not be performed until it is a 

 necessity, in order to prevent natural swarming. Many of 

 the strongest colonies might naturally swarm about the 

 first of June, but my practice along towards the last of May 

 is to take the combs of brood and young bees from the 

 strongest colonies and exchange them with weaker colonies 

 for empty combs, or those which contain no brood, and I 

 consider that this paj'S, for it prevents a large percent of 

 the swarming that would otherwise take place, or have to 

 be done. 



Now it will be noted that what swarms I have, taking 

 an average, will have about 30 days or less in which to 

 gather white honey. As it takes the eggs about 35 days to 

 develop into field-bees, it will be seen that these swarms 

 have not time to develop brood into field-bees to work on 

 this white honey-flow, so the less brood they rear the more 

 surplus white honej-, for what brood they do rear is reared 

 on this white honey ; and another thing is, that with less 

 brood to tend there is a larger force free for field-work. 



Now, if two swarms are hived together in a hive the 

 brood-nest of which is only as large as would be allowed if 

 they were hived separately, only half the amount of brood 

 can be reared that could be if they were each given a hive ; 

 and from long practical experience in the matter I know 

 that taking one year with another I can here with swarms 

 secure nearly, if not quite, as much again white honey by 

 hiving two together ; and I work for white honey regard- 

 less of increase ; and also of amber and dark honey. 

 Whether the practice would pay if one desired these things 

 to be considered is another question. 



When hiving two swarms in one hive, if small hives 

 are used, two stories should be allowed for a brood-nest un- 

 til they get well started to work ; then the lower one can be 

 removed and more surplus given in its place ; for often two 

 large swarms will not stay and commence work willingly 

 in one small hive, no matter how many supers filled with 

 sections are placed on top. They can be forced to staj', of 

 course, but this forcing is often a difficult matter, and they 

 may sulk away much valuable time before commencing 

 work. 



Another important thing which will appi)' to swarms 

 hived either singly or together, is to keep the empty hives 

 in a cool, airy place until needed. A swarm hived in a hive 



