SOUTHERN BEE CULTURE ^ 



should be cleaned up, or the propolis removed from them by scraping them 

 with a knife or scraper; then stack them up nicely in the shop. 



APIARY WORK FOR DECEMBER. 



This month is a good time to look up and do the repair work in the 

 apiary. If the hive-stands will not last another season they should be 

 replaced by new ones ; or if the old ones need overhauling it should be done. 

 If the bottoms, tops, or any parts of the hives need overhauling or to be sup- 

 plied with new parts, the work should be done now, so that it can be painted 

 next month. All hives should be raked around and cleared of rubbish, so 

 that if fire were to get out it would not destroy the apiary ; and it is a good 

 time to plant vines or trees to shad,e the apiary. 



Now, dear reader, I have touched here and there on seasonable apiary 

 work, or, in other words, outlined it; but a deeper and clearer insight to 

 it can be obtained by familiarizing yourself with what is said under other 

 heads, such as "Hive Manipulation," "Bee Culture," "Queen Rearing," 

 "Wintering Bees," etc. 



APIARY SYSTEM. 



Bee-keeping is a business or a profession, and should have a business 

 consideration, and some system adopted, even if it is pursued only on a 

 small scale. Every bee-keeper, large or small, should have a record-book 

 for his apiary; and whatever has been expended on the bees should be 

 placed against them, and the return from them should be placed to their 

 credit, so that, at the end of each season, we can see the results of the 

 apiary. Many pounds and panfuls of honey have been removed from our 

 hives, and not placed to the credit of our bees, and many chunks of the 

 desired and wholesome sweet have been ?aten about the apiaries, and the 

 industrious bees have received no credit for it. 



Every colony . in the apiary should be numbered, and a record kept 

 of each one— the number of swarms it has cast, and the amount of surplus 

 honey that has been removed from each season ; and if it has not furnished 

 any surplus honey, give it a bhnk and cultivate it more and better next 

 season, that it may make a good record. Also, in the record of each hive 

 should be kept the age of the queen and her progeny, etc., so that we 

 may not carry her over one season too long, and thereby lose a surplus 

 of honey from the colony that season. Give every colony a good queen 

 and every queen a good chance, and the apiary record will be an interest- 

 ing one. Apiary work is many times done too late, and sometimes done 

 too soon; so it is very necessary that it be done at the right time, or loss 

 will be the result. We should take a look through every colony every 

 two weeks at least during the bees' busy season, for often a colony in a 



