lt)0-' 



THE AMERICAN liEB-KEEPER 



encourage others to engage in bee- taking up bee-keeping in connection 



keeping? with it, for from these amateurs, there 



No, let us not try to discourage those may arise another "Langstroth." 



engaged in other lines of business, from Swift River, Mass., Nov. 15, 1901. 





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THE 



Bee = Keeping World 



By F. Greiner and Adrain Getaz. 



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Siberia. 



Mr. Gericke reports about apiculture 

 in West Siberia as follows: The win- 

 ters are very severe, the temperature 

 often being as low as 58 below 

 zero F., continuing with heavy falls of 

 snow for seven months. The summer 

 is rather tropical, beginning the middle 

 of May. ending in September; spring 

 and autumn are practically absent. All 

 surplus honey is gathered from linden- 

 bloom. The country abounds with 

 basswood trees, of which seventeen dif- 

 ferent varieties may be found, blossom- 

 ing at different times, so that the hon- 

 ey season is stretched out over much 

 more space than in North America. 

 Basswood timber and lumber is used in 

 the manufacture of bee-hives and the 

 construction of block-houses, which 

 serve as winter repositories for the 

 bees. Very little honey is consumed by 

 the bees, although the winters are long 

 and severe. As a general thing the 

 bee-keepers in Siberia are specialists, 

 six hundred colonies in one apiary be- 

 ing no uncommon thing. The hives in 

 use mostly are of American patterns. A 

 sort of Hannemann system is followed. 

 Several swarms, after drones and 

 queens are sifted out by a Hannemann 

 sieve, are united and hived into one sin- 



gle hive; the aim being to have about 

 15 pounds of bees to work in one hive. 

 Before placing such a swarm in the 

 yard it is kept in a cellar for four or 

 five days; if this is neglected swarms 

 are likely to abscond. A colony of such 

 strength will usually store about one 

 hundred pounds of comb honey, which 

 sells readily at seventy kopecks (a ko- 

 peck equals about two-thirds of a 

 cent.) 



Japan. 



Bee-keeping in Japan is described by 

 Prof. Junker, as follows: The native 

 bees of Japan are very docile. It is 

 neither necessary to use smoke or veil: 

 The hives in use are of rather primitive 

 order and consist of small wooden box- 

 es with a movable front piece. These 

 hives are collected in expressly con- 

 structed straw-houses or sheds, other- 

 wise the bee-keepers, which are but 

 few, exhibit no skill in the management 

 of their bees. The front end of the hive 

 is removed and as much of the comb, 

 brood and honey is cut out as seems 

 best to the operator. Usually his judg- 

 ment is erring, and too much is cut out. 

 In consequence about two-thirds of his 

 bees are lost in wiiiter. which is riot 

 even severe. ' ■ ' '' 



