1894 



GLBANiNGlS IN BEE CULTURE. 



•:i'.'A 



ing-board of each hivo, permitting the return of 

 the queen in case of swarming. Once in a 

 while she enters another hive, but what is tlie 

 odds? The bees are there to rear another in- 

 stead of decamping to the woods, and the next 

 season you clip in that hive a young and vigor- 

 ous queen. 



By clipping queens, using shallow cases filled 

 with empty combs and self-spacing frames, I 

 can care for4(K) colonies, and do it easier than I 

 could handle half that number storing in sec- 

 tions, as bees never swarm much if supplied at 

 the proper time with empty combs. 



The extracting is done at the close of the sea- 

 son, and there should be empty combs on hand 

 to hold all the honey each colony can gather 

 in a good season— see page 883, 1893. Another 

 thing, in case of fall bloom, bees are often slow 

 about building new comb in cool nights. Here 

 the empty comb comes in play again. I have 

 often had colonies take the "swarming fever." 

 and swarm out from under the sections, when 

 other colonies worked steadily on in the extract- 

 ing-cases. 



Perhaps some one will say, " Mr. N., you don't 

 know how to manage a comb-honey apiary." I 

 most candidly admit that this may be true; but 

 I will also say that I should prefer to raise the 

 comb honey exclusively if I could make it pay 

 as well as extracted. 



Monroe, la. 



[Some later estimates seemed to show that 

 ■only a little more extracted than comb could 

 be produced, and some have gone so far as to 

 say that no more can be produced. We suspect 

 that the truth lies between friend Nash and 

 those who take the other extreme. Under 

 average conditions, from the very nature of 

 things, more extracted than comb must neces- 

 sarily be produced. For the latter, the bees 

 must work in smaller compartments — a condi- 

 tion not exactly to their liking — and must also 

 <lraw out the comb; I.e., make storage room as 

 well as to store it. In the case of the former, 

 combs are, or should alway be, in readiness, 

 and all the bees have to do is to store it, and 

 that, too, in roomy combs. 



This is a practical question, and will bear 

 fuither discussion.— Ed.] 



ENTRANCES TO AN APIARY. 



DIAGNOSIXti COLONIKS FJiOM OUTSIDE INDICA- 

 TIONS; SO.MK GOOD SUGGESTIONS. 



BU C. W. Dayton. 



Placing hives near together saves travel, and 

 land where space is limited; but when every 

 thing is considered, it is advisable to space them 

 about seven feet apart, and face the entrances 

 in one direction, which is, toward the honey- 

 house or work-shop, that all the entrances may 

 be seen at the same time. 



Thus arranged it forms what may be termed 

 a face or countenance for the apiary, and is of 

 equal importance to having the scholars in a 

 schoolroom facing the master. If a queen is 

 lost, the store of food is gone, or a colony is pre- 

 paring to swarm, there is usually an indication 

 of it in the maneuvers of the bees at the en- 

 trance. Much can be learned as to the state 

 of the colonies by walking along and glancing 

 at the rows of entrances in the evening. If 

 some colonies roar louder than others it will be 

 found that it is because they either are stronger 

 in bees or are gathering more honey; and it is 

 not always necessary to take the combs out of 

 the hives, but, it may usually be determined by 

 the dropping of loaded bees at the entrance, or 

 the appearance of bits of new wax on the 

 combs, on simply removing the covers. 



When it is dark, and all the bees have retired 

 within the hives, and a colony is heard to mut- 

 ter in a restless fashion, it should be made a 

 subject for examination the next day. 



Again, in the early morning it may be noticed 

 that some colonies are exceptionally lively at 

 the entrances, and have brought out dirt, pieces 

 of comb, and dead bees. This may indicate 

 that the brood-space or space for new honey is 

 being enlarged, ytrength of colonies, or the 

 evaporation of honey, is also denoted by the 

 amount of moisture which condenses on the 

 alighting-board — the breath of the colony, so to 

 call it. 



A few bees at the entrance, in a disturbed 

 mood, when all the rest are still, may be caused 

 by the loss of their queen, which may be car- 

 ried out and dropped near by, and be easily dis- 

 covered in the morning; and, later in the day, 

 when the bees come to lly, a little bunch of 

 "mourners" will collect around the dead queen, 

 and more bees than usual stand idly about the 

 front of the hive. 



As the apiarist reviews the colonies some 

 morning, he might be heard to remark in sur- 

 prise. " Well, those bees in this hive are- rust- 

 lers," noting an entrance where the bees are 

 passing out and returning much more lively 

 than at others. Examination of the combs 

 shows that they are getting honey or pollen, 

 continuing right on, even in the rain — utiliz- 

 ing every minute of sunshine, while many oth- 

 er colonies are doing nothing, and are slow to 

 put on business airs when the sun shines and 

 honey has become quite plentiful in the llowers. 



In the season of 1891, while mowing before 

 the hives early in the morning, one hive was 

 noticed where the bees seemed to be always 

 out. CouLinulng to rise earlier and earlier, 

 these bees were found dropping down upon the 

 alighting-bDard wiih heavy loads, while it was 

 yet quite dark — so dark that the incoming 

 workers could not be seen until they had alight- 

 ed at the entrance. They held out thus indus- 

 trious all through the fall; and where no other 

 colony laid up above two or three pounds of fall 



