420 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



July S 1900 



for them, so just before they beg'in to swarm, and after the 

 leaves have begun to be on the trees, I make four or five 

 holes in the ground about two rods or so along in front of 

 my apiary, and some two rods apart. Then I select as 

 many low, bushy trees with leaves on as I have holes dug. 

 The whole secret comes in selecting and setting these 

 "dummies," as I call them. First get them about three 

 inches thru at the butt, and with as many branches as pos- 

 sible, and set each of them lea^ning towards the north, in 

 such a manner that the bees will have a branch under 

 which to cluster and hang- down, and be in the shade. Now 

 make these so enticing that a swarm can not withstand the 

 temptation. Do not have the dummies over six feet high. 

 Try to make each one a little more tempting than the last, 

 and go as far as to have some one particular spot where 

 you wish them to settle, so that it will be the handiest to sit 

 and hive them. 



This may seem all moonshine, but if you will follow the 

 above directions you will find how soon you and your 

 bees will begin to have the same liking. 



After you have madet hese cozy little alighting-nooks, 

 keep them up by adding green branches as the old ones 

 wither, and it will be like fresh straw to an old hen's-nest. 

 Leave the old bush, but add green boughs to where you ex- 

 pect to see the swarm settle. Practice makes perfect. I 

 have done this way for many years, and I have had only 

 one swarm to abscond in 20 years. I always endeavor to be 

 around in swarming-time, and sometimes pitch a few hand- 

 fuls of black coal cinders in towards the dummy I wish 

 them to settle on, and they seem soon to catch my wishes, 

 and down they go. So far this plan has been a perfect suc- 

 cess with me. 



I always have hives all ready with starters or old comb 

 in the shade for all new swarms. All these hives have 

 loose bottoms, and I have a mortar-board which I set on the 

 ground under where the bees have settled, then put the hive 

 on that with the cover off, lay a few green twig's on top of 

 the cloth on the hive to keep the wind from blowing it off, 

 and take a tin pan, and with a stick, slice a good part of the 

 bees off into it, turn the cover or cloth back and empty .the 

 bees into the hive on top of the frames, place the cloth back, 

 and lay the twigs on top, then slice off more bees, and pour 

 them at the front of the hive. It may be well to urge them 

 a little with a twig- or a feather, but do what j'ou do gently, 

 and you will soon have them all in the hive. I first get 

 them about all into the new hive, then I pick them up and 

 put them on the stand where I wish them to remain. I 

 always put a few green twigs on top of the new hive, and 

 let them project out in front a little a day or so, until they 

 are accustomed to the new location. 



This is about all there is to be said in this direction. 

 Perhaps these few explanations may be of some interest to 

 some amateur bee-keeper, who may be situated similar to 

 myself — inside the limits of a cit)' of 4,000 inhabitants. 



Yankton Co., S. Dak. 



Advantag-es of Producing' Extracted Honey. 



Written fur XortJiea-siem Ohio and Northwestern Penimylvaidu Convention^ 

 BY B. W. PBCK. 



I WILL first tell how I manage my bees when working 

 for extracted honey. First, I try to have all colonies 

 strong by the first of June, or at the beginning of white 

 clover bloom I see that all colonies have plenty of stores, 

 leaving them packt until late in the spring, and by taking 

 hatching brood from the strong and giving to the weak, 

 crowding the weak colonies on as few combs as they can 

 cover, etc. 



\Vhen they are built up strong, and the weather is good, 

 I unpack them. I prefer to have a little honey coming in 

 when unpacking bees, as they are then better natured ; also, 

 there will be less fighting when they enter the vrrong hive, 

 which they will do more or less when unpackt, by changing 

 the appearance of their home. 



I now watch them closely, and as soon as the hive is 

 full of bees and brood, and some honey coming in from 

 white clover, I place a queen-excluder over the frames of 

 the lower story (I use the Simplicity hive, holding 10 Lang- 

 stroth frames), over which I place the super holding 10 full- 

 depth frames of comb. After the lapse of a few days, if 

 the season is good, some of the best colonies will need 

 another set of combs. 



The honey should be left on the hives until it is well 

 ripened before extracting it. When it is extracted the 

 combs are returned to the bees, ready for the fall crop. 



I will here give one year's report to show the advantage 

 of producing extracted honey in a good season : 



I began the season of 1886 with 56 colonies. My recol- 

 lection is that I got about 1,000 pounds of comb honey. My 

 whole crop was 7,000 pounds for the season. Fifteen colo- 

 nies were run for comb honey, and averaged 66-3 pounds 

 per colony ; at 12 cents per pound it would be S8.00 per col- 

 ony. Forty-one colonies were run for extracted honey, and 

 averaged 143 2 /ll pounds (at 8 cents per pound this would 

 be worth $11.45 per colony). 



Of course, the unfinisht sections were extracted, which 

 would change these figures a little, but it will be seen that 

 more than double the amount of extracted honey per colony 

 was produced, or about S3. 00 per colony in favor of the 

 colonies run for extracted honey. But in moderate seasons 

 the difference will not be so great. 



When read}' to extract, I try to have everything in readi- 

 ness. I use a 4-frame Cowan extractor, which is placed on a 

 bench about two feet high. I use an uncapping-can for the 

 cappings. I have two ways of keeping hot water on hand 

 for dipping the honey-knife in when uncapping, which is a 

 great help. One way is to have a lighted gasoline stove 

 near the extractor, with water on ; and the other way is to 

 have a lighted lamp in a box, with a hole in the top of th€ 

 box, over which set a basin of water. 



I have ready plenty of honey-pails with covers, most of 

 which hold 25 pounds. When all is ready I proceed to the 

 bee-yard with a wheelbarrow and empty super, and one 

 super with empty combs, hive-cover or board, one or two 

 turkey feathers, smoker, bee-veil, some cotton rags, 

 matches, etc. When removing honey I first blow a little 

 smoke in at the hive-entrance, then removing the covering 

 from over the frames I pour a deluge of smoke down be- 

 tween the frames, until many of the bees are driven below. 

 Then with a chisel I pry the super loose from the lower 

 story, and lift it off on the hive-cover, and in its place I put 

 the super of empty combs. I then loosen the frames of 

 honey in the super, lift them one at a time, and give a 

 quick jerk in front of the hive, which dislodges most of the 

 bees ; and bees remaining on the combs are brusht off with 

 the turkey-feather. 



I then place the combs of honey in the empty super on 

 the wheelbarrow. When these combs are empty they are 

 taken to the next hive to be extracted, and so on thru the 

 yard, unless it induces fighting and robbing, when they are 

 put on just before dark. 



My better half usually assists me when extracting, un- 

 capping while I turn the extractor crank, weigh the honey 

 as extracted, etc. 



In summing up, then, here are what I consider some of 

 the advantages of producing extracted honey : 



1st. The apiarist can manage more colonies. 



2d. There will be less swarming. 



3d. We will get more honey. 



4th. Combs once built can be used indefinitely. 



5th. Bees will work better in large combs than in small 

 combs or sections. 



6th. Much time is saved the bees in comb-building. 



7th. It takes less skill to produce extracted honey than 

 comb honey. 



8th. Colonies that will do little or nothing in the sec- 

 tions many times will produce a fair crop of extracted honey. 



9th. Extracted honey can be shipt with less damage 

 than comb honey. 



10th. It can be kept over from year to year with less 

 damage than comb honey. 



11. Last but not least, I find extracted honey sells bet- 

 ter, being cheaper than comb honey. 



In conclusion I will say that I have endeavored to point 

 out some of the advantages of producing extracted honey. 

 Now don't think from what I have said that I would advise 

 all bee-keepers to produce extracted honey, for I would pro- 

 duce what my market demands, and which pays best. It 

 will probably pay most bee-keepers to produce both comb 

 and extracted honey. I always produce some comb honey. 



Ashtabula Co., Ohio. 



Honey and Some Honey-Plants Considered. 



BY DR. G. G. GKOFF. 



POPULAR ideas are that all flowers alike produce honey, 

 and that bees pass from blossom to blossom indiscrimi- 

 nately collecting the sweet fluid. This, however, is in- 

 correct. By no means all flowers yield honey, and most of 

 them j'ield it verj- scantily. Indeed, those plants visited by 

 honey-bees which yield any considerable amount above that 



