A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to the Interests of Honey Producers. 

 $L00 A YEAR. 

 w. z. HDTCHiNSON. Editor and Proprietof, 



VOL. XVII. FLINT, MICHIGAN, JAN. 10, 1904. NO. 1 



ONEY IN THE API- 

 ARY. SPRING 

 MANAGE MENT 

 AND STARTING 

 OUT APIARIES. 

 BY E. D. TOWN- 

 SEND. 



I have one apiary 

 that I saw only three 

 times last summer, j'et I secured near- 

 ly all of the honey that the location 

 supplied. While I would prefer to 

 visit a yard once a week, either for 

 extracted or comb honey production, 

 the articles I shall write will be in- 

 tended for those who have several 

 apiaries, and wish to learn practical, 

 profitable methods that will enable 

 them to manage their bees with only a 

 few visits each year. We will begin 

 with 



SPRING MANAGEMENT. 



My advice will be somewhat of a 

 negative nature — what noi to do. 

 With me, spring management is all 

 done in the fall. My extracting col- 

 onies are either in chaff hives, or else 

 packed in chaff^acking- cases. I see 



that each colony has 25 or 30 pounds 

 of good honey. When spring comes 

 they are in the best possible condi- 

 tion for breeding up, and there is 

 simply nothing more to do until in 

 June, when they are unpacked and 

 upper stories put on. 



TREATMENT OF WEAK COLONIES. 



Weak colonies are treated exactly 

 the same as strong ones. Years ago, 

 when I had a single apiary, I thought 

 it necessary to unite the weak colon- 

 ies, or put each on one or two combs, 

 with a division board upon one side, 

 but experience has proved that it is 

 all useless work — they come through 

 exactly as well when left to them- 

 selves. The reason is hard to explain, 

 but it is true, nevertheless. My spring 

 management does away entirely with 

 all stimulative feeding, spreading of 

 the brood, or any disturbance of the 

 brood or bees during April and May. 

 Just leave the quilts sealed down, 

 with a covering of four inches of nice, 

 warm chaff, and the bees will do the 

 rest. I imagine some one saying that 

 with his system of spreading the 

 brood he can increase his yield from 

 10 to 15 per cent. This shows that his 

 location is not properly stocked. Add 



