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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Dec. 18, 1902. 



to time to prevent robbing- weak or queenless colonies, 

 especially those weak or dead from foul brood. In spring 

 the out-yards need watching for colonies which may need 

 feeding, and later all need stimulative feeding that they 

 may be in full strength for the honey-flow. Before plants 

 or trees bloom wheat-flour may be fed to be used in place of 

 pollen, and the honey in the hive may be unsealed, and, 

 where necessary, combs of honey given them. 



A very important problem which presents itself is the 

 control of swarming. Many methods are used by different 

 bee-keepers. Some make a practice of clipping the queen's 

 wings, and allow natural swarming. Others dequeen the 

 hives entirely. Whatever method is employed, two things 

 may be profitably considered : 1st, That shaded colonies 

 having plenty of storage-room are less apt to swarm than 

 those under opposite conditions. 2d. That a stock of bees 

 may be carefully bred which is not predisposed to swarm. 



At the home of the bee-keeper there should be a com- 

 modious workshop, well lighted and heated for winter work. 

 Here all hives and supers should be prepared and sections 

 filled with foundation. As fast as these are ready they 

 should be moved to the buildings at the out-yards. Thus, 

 everything is made ready for the rush of the season. As 

 fast as the honey is finished it should be taken off the hives 

 and stored in a warm, dry room. There the sections should 

 be cleaned, the honey carefully graded and crated. The 

 earlier this is done the better prepared the bee-keeper is to 

 meet the demand for early comb honey at high prices. 



Managing out-apiaries for comb honey is not easy 

 work. It is continuous work the whole year. It has some 

 disadvantages over having all one's bees at a home yard. 

 Much valuable time is lost each day on the road to and from 

 the yards. But there are great advantages. In one locality, 

 from one or another cause, the bees may dwindle badly, or 

 the flowers may fail, then if the bees are all there a com- 

 plete loss results. At another yard, perhaps at a short dis- 

 tance, conditions may differ so that there is a full crop and 

 some profit is realized. Different parts of the country 

 vary so that in one State it may be advisable to concentrate 

 the stock ; at another to scatter it widely. Each bee- 

 keeper must study and adapt himself to the conditions of 

 his own environment. There is one principle that applies 

 to all localities : To get good results in comb honey it is 

 absolutely necessary to have all hives full of bees at the 

 time of the honey-flow. W. L,. PoRTER. 



Mr. Gill, who was to have responded to Mr. Porter's 

 paper, not being present, and being engaged on a commit- 

 tee, the President stated they would proceed with the dis- 

 cussion of the paper without waiting for the response. 



R. D. Williams — I have four out-apiaries, and I have 

 never any use for a honey-house. When the honey is ready 

 to take off I go with a wagon and haul it home ; I think it 

 is cheaper than to build a honey-house, and I don't think it 

 is necessary ; if a person is careful in taking the honey off 

 he will have no trouble. Cover it up well, and you can get 

 away with it all right. 



R. A. Wilson— What is the best plan for handling the 

 swarming question in out-apiaries? 



Mr. Brown— In our locality [California] our out-api- 

 aries are usually managed by dividing. We go through 

 perhaps once in ten days and divide all colonies that have 

 any indications of swarming ; and about two or three times 

 over is sufficient, 



W. P. Collins— Do you take the brood-frames and re- 

 move them from the hives j-ou expect are going to swarm ? 



Mr. Brown — Yes. 



Mr. Collins— What do you put back ? 



Mr. lirown — Empty combs. 



Mr. Collins — That you had brood in the previous year ? 



Mr. Brown — Yes ; take them from the extracting super. 



W. L. Hawley — I understand this is for comb honey. I 

 have two out-yards that I run for extracting, and the 

 swarming does not trouble me very much ; but if I run it 

 for comb honey it would fail entirely. I think the system 

 of removing or dividing is all right for extracting, but 

 when it comes to comb honey, it is a question. 



Mr. Collins — I have seen hives prepared that way for 

 comb honey, and I have taken five frames out of an 8-frame 

 hive, and, in eight days after, I have seen a swarm cast. It 

 is a very doubtful question whether we can produce comb 

 honey in that way. My plan is to have two hives for one 

 colony, and shift my colony, and fix the honey hive so that 

 the hatching bees for the next 21 days pass continually 

 through into the new hive ; and it is not once in a hundred 

 times that a swarm will issue. 



S. Francis — I have had a little experience in managing 



some out-apiaries, and we have practiced the shaking-out 

 plan ; we have the colonies all in good shape, and they are 

 about ready to swarm, and we have the stands arranged in 

 pairs. We take the queen from one and shake all the bees 

 from the other, and then make one colony of the two; we 

 take the one we took the queen from and put it on another 

 stand, and put the new stand on the one we took the queen 

 from, and in that way we get all the working force into one 

 colony. 



Mr. Ivy — I would like to ask those people who recom- 

 mend that plan if that does not interfere with the bees stor- 

 ing comb honey ? Do they continue as well after the 

 manipulation as they did before ? 



Mr. Collins — As far as I am concerned I followed out 

 the plan from which I suppose it has hindered a little the 

 storing of honey. Where I have allowed the hatching bees 

 to pass out through the hives which I shift the colony onto, 

 I have been unable to see any difference. The plan Mr. 

 Porter has spoken of is the one I follow where I want an 

 increase. If I don't want it I attach the old hive to the 

 new one so that every bee, in order to reach the field, must 

 pass through the new one, so that when the worker returns 

 he will return and stay in the new one. 



I never had any die, and it is the handiest way, by far, 

 because it saves a second shaking. 



Mr. Hutchinson — Mr. Gill, of Colorado, is now here, and 

 will respond to Mr. Porter's paper. 



MANAGING OUT-APIARIES FOR COMB HONEY. 



When W. L. Porter has told you what he knows about 

 running out-apiaries for comb honey, there is nothing left 

 for me to say. But I will attempt to make a few comments 

 and add a few suggestions. 



What Mr. Porter has said about locating of apiaries 

 and about certain strains of bees, is terse, and to the point, 

 and any one will find it profitable to follow his advice. 



In locating an apiary I like to have it convenient to 

 drive to, and have at least one approachable side where I 

 can drive to and from with my loads without being in an 

 exposed place with my team. 



If I had everything just as I want it, I would prefer to 

 have only one shop and honey-house. I would have a good 

 shed at each out-apiary, under which to set supplies tem- 

 porarily that were not in use. I like a good wagon adapted 

 to the business, a Daisy wheelbarrow, and a large wagon- 

 sheet. All supplies would be hauled from the central loca- 

 tion to the out-apiaries, and all honey loaded right from the 

 hives onto the wagon and taken to the central location, 

 where it would be cleaned and cased ready for market. 



With regard to the kind of hives and fixtures, and as to 

 some particular strain of bees or some particular mode of 

 management. I would say, follow no fad beyond the practi- 

 cal point. There is a limit as to how far we shall carry out 

 the minor details in the management of out-apiaries that is 

 certainly found between the practical and fussy plans for 

 such work. 



In the running of several out-apiaries for comb honey 

 there is a constant demand upon our energy, and while what 

 Mr. Porter says about valuable time being lost in traveling 

 from one apiary to another is true, we find that there is 

 rest in the variation, and that the changed scenes and con- 

 ditions help to keep the work from sameness and drudgery. 



Again, much depends upon being prepared, and if you 

 are running a number of out-apiaries, and haven't faith in 

 your business, and faith in the promise of a seed-time and 

 harvest enough to prepare for a crop during the winter and 

 early spring, you do not deserve a crop, and,in fact, can not 

 secure otie. 



At the close of the season finish your work just before 

 the bees finish theirs. Don't leave on a part of the supers 

 perhaps all winter, but remove them, and take good care of 

 all drawn combs, as they are valuable next season. 



August and September is the time to put bees in condi- 

 tion for next year's crop. 



In conclusion I would say, don't let this season's work 

 lap onto next year's work, but put your bees in good condi- 

 tion, clean up all your honey, both comb and extracted, and 

 sell it. Save and make all the wax from combs that accu- 

 mulate. 



If you are going to be a honey-producer, produce some, 

 and when you get it produced sell it to some one who likes 

 to dabble with pints and pounds, and turn your attention 

 towards producing some more. M. A. Gill. 



Pres. Hutchinson — In order that some one may pass 

 upon the exhibits, I would ask the Vice-President to take 

 the chair so that I may get the committee to work. 



