312 



T-H® mmmmi^Mm mmM j^'wmMMi^. 



all the honey is directly over the clus- 

 ter, so that the heat of the bees keeps 

 the honey in an accessible condition ; 

 while the bees pnt in by other parties, 

 having a like amount of honey (and 

 some to spare), have eaten the honey 

 all out directly over the cluster, while 

 there is plenty of honey at the ends of 

 the frames. Now you see that the bees 

 are not in a natural condition — and 

 why ? The heat that the bees generate 

 is not directly under the honey. The 

 bees are working with all their energy, 

 changing from one side to the other ; 

 a portion of the hive will be damp, and 

 the bees very restless. I think that 

 plenty of honej- directly over the clus- 

 ter is very essential. 

 Hartford, Wis. 



BEES LYING OUT. 



Does Lying Out of Bees in Front 

 of Hives Entail any Loss i 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



BY GEO. F. BOBBINS. 



Mr. J. W. Tefft, on page 569 of the 

 American Bee Journal for 1889, 

 claims this as a point of superiority of 

 his hive: "My bees do not desert 

 their hives even on the hottest days, 

 but keep at work right along, simply 

 because the provision for ventilation 

 and shade secures their entire com- 

 fort." He evidently supposes that 

 when bees cluster out in front of the 

 hive, that they stop work. I presume 

 that view is quite largely prevalent, 

 and that it entails a consequent loss of 

 honey. I more than doubt it. I do 

 not think that "lying out" — as I have 

 been taught to call it — is of itself any 

 disadvantage. 



What drives bees out ? It is not 

 alwaj-s, or only, heat, although cool 

 weather will drive them in. On very 

 hot days, bees will desert the supers of 

 hives that are not well shaded or ven- 

 tilated ; but it does not follow, neces- 

 sarily, that the}- stop work. Warm 

 weather, an over-crowded hive, noth- 

 ing to do, or .something to do in the 

 way of wax-secretion — one or more, 

 or, it may be, more or less of all com- 

 bined — are the occasions of bees lying 

 out. 



It was the old notion that when 

 bees begin to lie out heavily at the 

 beginning of the clover harvest, it is 

 an indication that they are going to 

 swarm ; and it is largely correct. Of 

 course, we know that the conditions 

 that cause one, will cause the other. 

 Those conditions are warm weather, a 

 crowded brood-nest, and a flow of 

 houey. A few warm, close days will 

 drive them out before the honey-flow 

 commences, when but little clustering 

 would be done if there was any nec- 



tar to gather. Likewise, when bees 

 begin to lie out very heavy, later in 

 the season, after swarming is all over, 

 it is a pretty good indication that the 

 harvest is failing. In those cases there 

 is nothing to do — and they do it. But 

 it does not follow that lying out always 

 means idleness, in its exact sense. It 

 is true that they do appear to slack up 

 work for a few days before swarming, 

 but that slacking up is more apparent 

 in results than in actual signs of 

 activity ; and the new swarm develops 

 an energy and achieves results that 

 nearly, or quite, make up for lost time. 



Just before swarming, less honey is 

 stored — afterwards, more — that is all. 

 About as much honey is gathered in 

 the one case as in the other. In the 

 lirst, the honey goes to the secretion 

 and accumulation of wax ; in the sec- 

 ond, the accumulated wax is quickly 

 built into comb, which can be quickly 

 tilled witli lioney. Now it niai/ be that 

 not quite so much honey comes in dur- 

 ing this preparation for swarming ; but 

 any system that permits swarming will 

 have the same effect. 



Now, why this clustering to secrete 

 wax ? Simply this : Wax is fatty 

 matter, aud to accumulate fat to the 

 best advantage, inaction is necessary. 

 To be sure, a certain quantity of wax 

 may be secreted in a natural way dur- 

 ing the process of labor. A horse or 

 an ox will, when well fed, put on their 

 normal quantity of fat, and work all 

 the time. Or a fowl may lay her 

 normal number of eggs while foraging 

 for, and digesting, food. But to get 

 the most fat on a steer, or the most 

 eggs from a hen, they must be kept 

 largely in a state of inaction. So, a 

 bee may secrete a fair proportion of 

 wax while gathering honey, but much 

 more is obtained with a measure of 

 repose. 



Bees hang in siu'plus boxes to make 

 wax, and to obtain the necessarj- tem- 

 perature to work it — I believe more for 

 the former purpose, than the latter ; 

 hence, when bees meditate swarming, 

 they " hang" both in the sections and 

 out in front, and after the new swarm 

 is hived, the bees will hang out in 

 front until the following morning. 

 During this time, the honey with which 

 they had gorged themselves before 

 issuing, is converted into wax. Then 

 as soon as the sun begins to dissipate 

 the dews, the cluster outside begins to 

 grow smaller, and, by 9 or 10 o'clock, 

 it has disappeared. So far, if bees 

 must build their own comb, there is no 

 loss. 



Of course bees lie out more on long, 

 hot afternoons than in the forenoons. 

 This is because the nectar has partially 

 dried up, aud there is not so much to 

 gather. Then, I think, it is when 

 much of the wax which Mr. Hutchin- 



son and others claim to be secreted in 

 a normal way, accumulates. If the 

 honey-flow would continue undimin- 

 ished throughout the day, I think that 

 the difi'erence between the quantity 

 stored in the combs, and in sections 

 where the comb must be built, would 

 be much augmented. I know that the 

 rapidity with which honej' comes in, 

 depends upon the measure in which 

 the season and bloom favor it — not 

 upon how much the bees lie out. 



I do not think that it is the best plan 

 to allow the bee-hives to become so 

 heated by the heat of the sun, and the 

 want of a free circulation of air around 

 them, as to drive the bees out of the 

 supers. Still I doubt if the storing of 

 honey is hindered by it, because it 

 only happens at the time of day when 

 but little honey is coming in. 



Mr. Tefft argues that he can get 

 three or four times as much honey by 

 keeping bees in one strong colony till 

 after the harvest, as he who allows 

 swarming. 1 do not believe it. I have 

 no doubt that the claim is honestly 

 made, but I think that he is simply 

 mistaken. If I am wrong, I am will- 

 ing to be righted. If any have actual 

 testimonies to give to that effect, let us 

 hear tliem, by all means. 



Mechanicsburg, Ills. 



SWEETNESS. 



A Few Observations About Na- 

 ture's Siveet. 



Written for the Prairie Farmer 



BY MRS. L. HARRISON. 



The Giver of all good has provided 

 us with a pure sweet, which can be 

 had not for the asking, but for the 

 taking. Nature's chemist makes no 

 mistakes, puts in no unhealthy ingre- 

 dients of sulphuric acid or lime ; her 

 kettles neither boil over nor burn. Her 

 utensils are all fresh and clean, for 

 they have never been used in manu- 

 facturing before, and her laboratory is 

 located in fresh air and sunshine, aud 

 the distillation takes place in the corol- 

 las of flowers. The gatherers are the 

 bees, that sit on the bloom, extracting 

 liquid sweets which the}- deposit in 

 their sacks to carry home to their 

 hives, where it is canned. The workers 

 are clean and tidy, distinguished for 

 their business qualifications and des- 

 patch. 



Every farmer's family should have a 

 liberal supply of honey, and the surest 

 way to get it is Ijy owning bees. Then 

 every flower blooming in the hedges, 

 fence-corners, brush-pile, or roadside, 

 becomes a source of revenue. 



The following, copied from the 

 British Bee Journal of a recent date. 



