1894. 



THE . I Ml-: HI i '. I N BEE- KEEPER. 



139 



ran-, or others similar, and I need not 

 add another word to this rather long 

 story. — B, Taylor, in Gleanings. 



(Minn.) 



POINTS "N in iNEY. 



One should be right in the midsl 

 of tin- honey season, and during July 

 and A.ugust more honey should 1)0 

 made and gathered than during any 

 other season. The season has been a 

 good oni', and more honey will be 

 harvested during 1894 than ever be- 

 fore in this country, for the simple 

 reason that more are engaged in the 

 business, and plants and flowers are 

 more generally cultivated for bees. 

 Quite a number of apiai ists are raising 

 plants which are not intended solely 

 for bees, hut which supply them with 

 quantitiesof food. For instance, buck- 

 wheat fields give a late fall supply of 

 honey and yield a fair profit also from 

 the garden. In this way apiarists are 

 learning to combine their special work 

 with a little profitable farming, and 

 farmers are adding to their live stock 

 honey bees to take advantage of their 

 clover and buckwheat fields and fruit 

 blossoms. 



In gathering honey in August there 

 is considerable trouble from robber 

 bees. Many of the hives are dripping 

 over with gathered honey and the 

 bees are inclined to rest upon their 

 labors until ths cells are partly empt- 

 ied. They are consequently more 

 fractious than at another time when 

 very busy. In strong colonies a watch 

 is kept out for robber bees, and the 

 first one that appears near the entrance 

 is pounced upon and killed. There 

 is really little danger in a strong col- 

 ony, but a small, weak colony may 



sometimes be driven out of their right- 

 ful possession-, especially when the 

 hive is opened to take away the honey. 

 The robbers then surrbund the hive 

 and enter it as soon as the work is fin- 

 ished, and it is impossible to distin- 

 guish the robbers from the rightful 

 owners. The queenless colonies are 

 more apt to be robbed than those with 

 a queen, for in the latter case they 

 will fight valiantly for their home. 



The honey should be removed on a 

 very quiet, warm day about noon when 

 the bees are all busy in the fields 

 gathering honey. Have everything 

 in readiness before beginning the 

 work, so that it can be done as quickly 

 as possible. The least disturbance that 

 can be given to the bees the better it 

 will be for them. After securing the 

 honey from one hive take it immed- 

 iately into a dark room to sort it before 

 starting another. If the windows are 

 opened the few bees that still adhere 

 to the comb will soon fly out. When 

 the surplus honey is removed examine 

 the colony immediately to see if they 

 have a laying queen. It is also well 

 to mark the amount of surplus honey 

 that each hive yields, so that you can 

 tell what queens are good ones, and if 

 necessary what ones to supersede. A 

 poor queen cannot be tolerated at this 

 time of the year, and she should be 

 disposed of at once. The very small, 

 weak colonies that do not seem to be 

 able to take care of themselves should 

 be joined. It is quite essential to have 

 the bees in good order the latter part 

 of this month, for pretty soonthe bees 

 will hatch that are to be kept through 

 the winter. These want to be in good 

 health and get a fine stait. — Anne C. 

 Webster in Am. Cultivator. 



