216 



T'HK jiMBKic^jci* mmm jq-urhms^. 



The second reason — and the one 

 that is at the " root of the matter" — 

 regarding tlie greatest possible success 

 in our pursuit, lies in the fact that, 

 with the large hive, we must always 

 rear a host of bees which must of 

 necessity be only consumers. It must 

 be alwa}'s borne in mind, that each 

 individual bee represents consumption 

 of so much hone}', a part of which is 

 fed to it in the larval state, and the 

 other part is consumed by the bee it- 

 self, after it reaches maturity. 



Now, with the large hive, owing to 

 the poor economy of heat, the bees do 

 not begin breeding rapidly, nor can 

 they be made to do so, until we are 

 nearing the honey harvest, when they 

 begin brood-rearing to an extent 

 greater than it is possible for them to 

 do in the small hive, owing to the 

 walls contracting the egg-laying 

 powers of the queen with the small 

 one. This great extent of brood in the 

 large hive, at this time, requires a 

 large amount of honey to feed it, and 

 as the days go by, the amount of 

 brood is rapidly increased, until it oft- 

 times takes nearly all the honey the 

 workers reared previously can gather 

 from the fields during the first half of 

 the harvest to supply the wants of this 

 host of bees in the larval form. In 

 turn, these bees hatch at near the close 

 of the harvest, so they do only a very 

 little work in that harvest, after which 

 they of necessity become consumers, 

 and so eat largely of the honej- gath- 

 ered during the harvest, to the loss of 

 the bee-keeper and all concerned. In 

 this way we are producing honey in 

 the most expensive manner, rather 

 than as cheapl}' as possible. 



After studying on this matter some 

 years ago, I came to the conclusion 

 that a small hive would give me much 

 better results, from the fact that with 

 it I could get the greatest force of 

 bees on the stage of action as gather- 

 ers, just when the harvest was ripe for 

 gathering, and rear as few at all other 

 times as was consistent with accom- 

 plishing this object. After years of 

 experience, I am satisfied with the re- 

 sults, as compared with a like number 

 of years with large hives. 



The hive which I use, contains about 

 1,000 square inches of comb, and as 

 this will give, on an average, about 

 800 for brood, exclusive of the comb 

 occupied with pollen, and the little 

 honey they always will have in the 

 brood-nest, I have about 1,600 square 

 inches of comb surface that will be 

 kept solid with brood so long as I leave 

 all the combs in the hive. Allowing 

 28 bees to hatch from each square inch 

 of comb surface, I have 44,800 liees 

 hatching every 21 days. As the queen 

 is capable of placing two and one- 

 seventh generations of bees on the 



stage of action to where one dies off, 

 this gives me 9(5,000 bees as the num- 

 ber I can have for the harvest, from 

 each hive, providing that I am able to 

 get the combs full of brood 45 days 

 previous to this harvest. 



When the harvest arrives, or a little 

 before, I begin to contract the capacity 

 of tlie hive down to about 800 square 

 inches of comb surface, so that at all 

 times except at the right time, I am 

 rearing no more bees than are actually 

 needed to carry on that work which is 

 necessary to produce this large force 

 just previous to the harvest. Right 

 here lies the secret, in my opinion, of 

 successful honey-production ; and I 

 find by mingling with many bee- 

 keepers, as I have lately done, that it 

 is a "something" not considered at all 

 by the average bee-keeper. Only as 

 we fully understand this, and other im- 

 portant items vvhieh relate to our pur- 

 suit, can we expect to reap the best 

 results from our bees. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



KILLING BEES. 



Destroying: Bees, when Sivarni- 

 ins Cannot be Prevcnletl. 



Written for the American Dee Journal 



BY W. J. DAVIS, 1st. 



It may appear strange to some that 

 the science of bee-keeping should re- 

 quire an article with the above head- 

 ing, yet such is the fact. I take it for 

 granted that the number who keep 

 bees, just for the fun of the thing, is 

 small. The result in dollars and cents 

 must determine the question of keep- 

 ing bees, as well as any other kind of 

 domestic animals. I have all the vol- 

 umes of the American Bee Journal 

 from No. 1, Vol. I., to the present 

 time, and I do not remember of seeing 

 an article with the above heading. 



The ingenuity of the bee-keeping 

 fraternity has been taxed to its utmost, 

 to devise means of preventing swarm- 

 ing, but the effort thus far I consider 

 a failure when working for co?Mi honey. 

 That the giving of surplus room above 

 the brood-nest does in some, and pos- 

 sibly in many, instances prevent the 

 swarming fever, I do not deny ; but 

 all bee-keepers of experience know 

 that it is not to be depended upon to 

 prevent increase. Swarming may be 

 kept at the minimum by the use of 

 large hives, and the free use of the 

 extractor, but that jjlan gives us no 

 comb honey ; and where extracted 

 honey will not sell, there is poor encour- 

 agement for its production. It matters 

 but little about its merits, if it cannot 

 be turned into " legal tender," or the 

 necessaries of life. 



It is quite as much in harmony with 

 the nature of the bee to swarm, as to 

 collect honey and pollen. I have had 

 some severe "tussles" with certain 

 colonies, in saying, "You shall not 

 swarm," when they said they would. I 

 could cut out queen-cells, and put the 

 swarm back, but with me it has gen- 

 erally been at the expense of whatever 

 labor it took, and the accumulation of 

 no honey while the swarming fever 

 was on. This I s.aj' only in reference 

 to first swarms. I must produce comb 

 honey, for that is the demand of the 

 market that I suppl}'. Hence, as there 

 is no way of preventing swarming, 

 how are we to keep our colonies witli- 

 in bounds in large apiaries ? 



We have reached that point where 

 bees will not sell in the spring, for as 

 much as the hives and contents (minus 

 the bees) are worth in the fall. 

 Clearly, then, it is the better plan to 

 reduce in the fall to the number desired. 

 In so doing, the judicious bee-master 

 will weed out the least desirable colo- 

 nies. First, all that show any impurity 

 of breeding — I want no " black blood" 

 among my Italians. Second, such as 

 do not give a satisfactorj' honey-rec- 

 ord, as compared with other colonies 

 in the same yard and season. Third, 

 such colonies as would not bo desirable 

 on account of the age of the 

 queen ; and there may be other con- 

 siderations that would cause the elec- 

 tion of some colonies, and rejection of 

 others. 



If any should have conscientious 

 scruples about the killing of bees, 

 more than of chickens, lambs, pigs, 

 calves, etc., I would suggest that they 

 had better keep out of the " bee-busi- 

 ness," unless they are either fortunate, 

 or unfortunate, enough to lose about 

 half in wintering. 



HOW TO KILL BEES. 



I first shake and brush the bees 

 from tlieir combs, and remove the 

 combs and honey to safe quarters, and 

 allow the bees to cluster in the empty 

 hive. This I do in the afternoon, or 

 towards evening. If the hive has a 

 stationary bottom-board (as most of 

 mine have), I remove the honey-board 

 and allow them to cluster in the cao. 



Early the next morning they are dis- 

 posed of. I take a box 14 to 16 inches 

 square, with one side hinged for a 

 door, to be opened for the i-eception 

 of a hot lid from the stove, to be placed 

 on a flat stone on the bottom of the 

 box, to prevent burning. The top of 

 the box should be a little larger than 

 the largest hive or cap to be placed 

 thereon, and a hole 6 or 8 inches 

 square, covered with wire-cloth, for 

 the admission of the fumes of burning 

 sulphur. The hot stove-lid is placed 

 bottom up (to avoid unpleasant smell 



