570 



TH® mmLmmicmm mmm ja^KNai,. 



and there is an abundance of it this 

 season. So you may as well score one 

 for Southeastern Iowa now, for she 

 will " get there," if the frost stays 

 away a reasunable time. 

 Hedrick, Iowa. 



SYSTEMATIC WORK. 



Comb and Extracted Honey in 

 the Same Apiary. 



Written for the American Rural Borne 



BY G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



Is it well to produce both comb and 

 extracted honey in one apiary, or shall 

 we divide the number of colonies kejit, 

 into two yards, working the one for 

 comb honey, and the other for ex- 

 tracted ? 



This is a question which often enters 

 the minds of those keeping bees, some 

 thinking that both comb and extracted 

 honey production should not be mixed 

 together in one apiary. I see little if 

 any reason why two yards are neces- 

 sary for a mixed production of honey, 

 therefore I will say a few words why 

 I should produce both in one apiarj. 



Twenty yeary ago, when I began to 

 keep bees, I had much trouble to get 

 certain colonies to work in boxes, and 

 often after a colonj' had nearly com- 

 pleted a given number of boxes, they 

 would swarm, leaving the bees in the 

 hive so weak as to numbers that the 

 boxes would remain unfinshed at the 

 end of the season. 



I tried cutting out the queen-cells 

 and returning the swarm, but this did 

 little good, for in a few days they would 

 come out again, and thus keep up their 

 swarming till the honey season was 

 over, doing little or nothing in the 

 boxes, as bees having the swarming 

 fever will do little else save prepar- 

 ing to swarm. 



As I had no extractor at that time, 

 the only way that I could do away 

 with this state of affairs was to clip off 

 all of the queen-cells while the swarm 

 was out, cage the queen between two 

 combs and return the swarm, leaving 

 the queen thus caged for eight or ten 

 days. At the expiration of this time 

 the colony was looked over and all of 

 the queen-cells again cut off, when the 

 queen was given her liberty. 



As nearly one-half of the brood had 

 hatched during this time, tliere was 

 plenty of empty cells in which she 

 could deposit eggs and as the bee had 

 no larvre to nurse, the disposition to 

 swarm was broken up, as a rule, and I 

 would get the boxes completed ; but it 

 will be noticed that during these eight 

 or ten days, I got little or no honey, as 

 queenless bees and those having the 

 swarming fever, are practically good 



for nothing as comb builders, and a 

 colony treated as above was about as 

 good as qnecnless. 



The result was that I lost ten days 

 of the best of the honey harvest, during 

 which time a colony not having the 

 swarming fever would store from 

 forty to sixty pounds of honey. This 

 was a serious loss, but not as great as 

 to have the swarm in a separate hive, 

 in which case I would get nothing but 

 the swarm. 



After awhile I purchased a honey 

 extractor, when I found I had this 

 swarming mania, of colonies which 

 should be in better business, practi- 

 callj' under my control. When a 

 swarm issued as above, I would extract 

 all the honey from the brood-combs 

 while they were out, and clip off the 

 queeti-cells, when they would go to 

 work with a will on being returned, 

 losing all desire to swarm. 



Here I had a plan that accomplished 

 the desired result without the loss of 

 ten days in my best harvest, besides I 

 obtained extracted honey enough to 

 pay me for my time, while in tlie other 

 case I received nothing. 



Now and tlien, a colony would not 

 be cured in this way (although nine 

 out of ten would), in which case I 

 would cage the the queen as first given, 

 and wait three or four days instead of 

 nine or ten, when I would extract the 

 honey as above, letting the queen 

 loose, and in this way I never failed in 

 keeping a colooy which had once com- 

 menced in the boxes at work on the 

 same. 



In case a colony refuses to go into 

 the boxes, all I have to do is to take off' 

 the surplus arrangement and substitute 

 an upper story in the shape of a hive 

 full of empty combs. By raising a 

 frame or two of brood from below into 

 this upper story I was tlius master of 

 the situation, and colonies determined 

 not to work in boxes were made to 

 produce an equivalent yield of honey 

 by the use of the extractor equal to 

 those which entered the boxes the most 

 readily. 



The aim of every person keeping 

 bees should be, to make all colonies 

 protluce an equal value of something 

 readily turned into cash, or of a cash 

 value, and I do not know how this can 

 be successfully done except as we work 

 our apiary for both coniband extracted 

 honey. 



Again, we often have a larger num- 

 ber of bees than one man can success- 

 fully \vork for comb honey (which 

 means swarms, taking oft" sections when 

 filled and snow white, by going over 

 the yard once a week, etc.), while by 

 the using of a part of tliat number for 

 extracted hone}', the whole can, be 

 handled bj' one man, thus saving the 

 wages of an assistant, which would be- 



come a necessity if all worked for comb 

 honey, or the same number of bees 

 were divided into two jards. 



By setting apart, in the spring, a 

 certain number of colonies for extract- 

 ed honej^, and a certain number for 

 comb honey, one man can care for all 

 by tiering up those worked for extract- 

 ed honey before his time is fully occupi- 

 ed with those to be worked for comb 

 honey, after wluch little attention need 

 be paid to them, except to add anotlier 

 story, should they become crowded for 

 room. 



After the filled sections are all taken 

 oft' at the close of the season, then 

 these colonies ran be attended to by 

 exti-acting what honey they have to 

 spare, and fixing them for winter. 

 Thus the apiarist can use all of his 

 time to the best possible advantage, 

 and save to liimself and his family that 

 which he would pay out to an assistant 

 in case he had the same bees in two 

 separate yards. 



From the above (which are the very 

 plans adopted and used at the present 

 time by the writer), I conclude that all 

 will agree that it is the most profitable 

 for the apiarist to work for both comb 

 and extracted honey in the same api- 

 ary, rather than to have two separate 

 apiai'ies, one to be devoted to the pro- 

 duction of either kind e.xelusivelj'. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



ConTention IVotices. 



t^* The Northwestern Bee-Keepers' Society win 

 hold its annual coiiventirm at theCoiumercial Hotel, 

 corner of Lalte ami Ds-arborn Sts.. in t iiit-afio. (Us., 

 ou Fridny and Satiirdiiy, Oct. 1 1th uud 12th, 

 at ft a.m. Arranycinent-* have been inaiie wtili the 

 Hotel for back room. one bed. two persons, #1.T.'» per 

 day, each ; front room, $i2.oo per day for eacli per- 

 son. This date occurs during the Exposition, wnen 

 excursion rates on tlie railroads will be one fare 

 for the round-trip, tT'iod from Oct. lu to 14, inclusive.- 

 There has been a fair crop of honey in the West, 

 and an old-time crowd may be expected at tais revi- 

 val of the Northwestern from its " hibernation." 



W. Z. HDTCHINSON, Sec. 



C^ The fifth semi-annual meetine of the Susque- 

 hanna Bee-Keepers' Association will be held at New 

 Milford, Pa., on Satvirday, Sept. 14. I«H9, at 10 a.m. 

 There will be essays on different subject^•,and also a 

 question-box. Briny your wives alons. and please 

 invite your neighbors who are interested in bee- 

 keeping, to come with you. If you have anything? 

 new, or that would be of interest in any way. of ira- 

 plementB or fl.xtures, bring them, so that all may see 

 them. H. M. SKELEY, Sec. 



J^~ The International Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will meet in the court-house, at Brantford. Ont., 

 Canada, on December 4, 5, and 6, IHSli. All bee- 

 keepers are invited to attend, and State and District 

 bee-keepers' societies are requested to appoint del- 

 egates to the convention, toll particulars of the 

 meeting will be given in due time. Anyone desirous 

 of becoming amember. and receiving the last Annu- 

 al Report bound, mav do so by forwarding «i.(H) to 

 the Secretary.— K. F. Holtermann, Sec. Romney, 

 Ont.. Canada. 



NcTT Postors for the American Bee 

 JouiiNAi,, printed in two colors, have just 

 been prtuted, and will be sent free to all 

 Who can use them. They are very hand- 

 some, and will "set off" an exhibit at 

 Fairs. It will tell Bee-Keepers how to 

 subscribe, for "Subscriptions Received 

 Here " is quite prominent at the bottom. 



We will also send sample copies of the 

 Bee Journal, for use at Fairs, if notified 

 a week or ten days in advance where to 

 send them. 



