78 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



alive out of, perhaps, 50 colonies, and 

 finding about 35 alive, and some very 

 w^eak, at that, I think it of no use to 

 order many supplies, as so many bees 

 are dead; and, perhaps, more will die; 

 so I decide to order no supplies until I 

 see what I need. 



The bees are left on their stands 

 until warm weather comes, but then, I 

 am too busy putting in my farm crops 

 to look after my bees. I can't touch 

 them until my seeding- is done, at least 

 — then I get a little spare time. I find 

 only about 25 colonies alive. The rest 

 had dwindled down on account of old 

 queens and other reasons. Well, after 

 such a heavy loss, I don't feel able to 

 buy any supplies until I am sure how 

 the season is coming on, so I leave the 

 bees for awhile until I get my plant- 

 ing done, fences built and repaired, 

 and a hundred other things that come 

 under the head of general farming. By 

 that time I can see that the bees are 

 doing well, and I order my supplies. 



PROCRASTINATION IN ORDERING 

 SUPPLIES. 



But those supplies do not reach me 

 when I want them — by the first of June. 

 The bees don't seem to care, however; 

 they begin to swarm, of course. I 

 hive them in the hives in which the 

 bees died the previous winter, until I 

 have these hives all full, besides other 

 hives I made between times. By this 

 time I have, perhaps, 60 or 70 swarms 

 from my 25, Then, come my supplies; 

 and my help and myself are busy put- 

 ting up sections when the bees ought 

 to have been at work in them long be- 

 fore. But we can't work at our sec- 

 tions and supplies all the time, as hay- 

 ing time is here, a more important 

 work that ca}i't be put off, s,o we go at 

 the hajung, thinking we can work in 

 the shop rainy days and wet morn- 

 ings. 



After we get nicely started at hay- 

 ing, those "blamed bees" have another 

 swarming fever. The first swarms I 



hived become too populous, and swarm 

 out. Now I have no more hives, so I 

 double up some, and cut out queen cells 

 till I wish I had never seen bees nor 

 haying, though I do my best to take 

 care of both hot irons. 



MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES — 



TAKE CARE OF BEES WHEN IT 



RAINS. 



We make hay when the sun shines, 

 and work with the bees when it rains, 

 but sometimes this keeps on till harvest 

 begins, and that can't be put off, so 

 here we have another iron, still hotter. 



Finally, the swarming season is 

 over, for which thank goodness! 



What surplus honey I have can stay 

 on the hives until I have time to take it 

 off, perhaps in September; when I find 

 mostly dark or fall honey, badly 

 travel-stained, but I store it away un- 

 til "some spare time" to get it ready 

 for market. 



BEES GO INTO THE CELLAR IN POOR 

 CONDITION BECAUSE OF NEGLECT 

 WHILE DOING THE 

 FALL-WORK. 



The bees I leave to take care of them- 

 selves the rest of the fall, although I 

 know some colonies have old queens, 

 some only a few bees, and others not 

 enough stores, but I cannot bother 

 with them at this time of the year when 

 I have all kinds of farm work that 

 imist be done. 



I keep at my fall work till it is time 

 to put the bees in the cellar, when, of 

 course, I have to put them in just as 

 they are, some with old queens, and 

 some with too many old bees, but it is 

 too late in the season to remedy these 

 evils. 



After the bees are in the cellar, I 

 have nothing more to do with them till 

 the next spring; at least, I think so, 

 but I have learned that much of my 

 bee- work ought to be done in the winter 

 time, 



