1921 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



223 



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API ARY W ORK 



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Daily record used in the Dadant apiaries. 



and Holland were moved about .Tuly 

 20, 1919 by two motor ti-uoks and 

 placed in the midst of the waste land 

 fields grown up in Spanish needle, 

 heartsease and other fall blossoms. 

 These locations, as shown, were Kir- 

 lin, Nichols and Jenkins. The map 

 shows how well this lowland territory 

 was covered by 700 colonies of bees 

 in eight locations. As permanent out- 

 apiary locations are hardly practical 

 in the lowlands, on account of bad 

 roads during spring months, and the 

 spring clover crop would be limited, 

 the three temporary locations were 

 thus established and placed three or 

 four miles apart, in a line about paral- 

 lel to the five permanent apiai'ies on 

 the bluff. In this way, wedge-shaped 

 territory measuring about four miles 

 wide at the south end and one mile at 

 the north end, seventeen miles long, 

 was occupied. No doubt if this migra- 

 tion had not been done, heavy feeding 

 to save these upland apiarie.s, during 

 August, September and October, 

 would have been necessai-y in order to 

 carry the spring count of 544 colonies 

 over for the next year. It is doubtful, 

 too, whether a sufficient quantity of 

 sugar or good honey could have been 

 obtained to feed all the colonies. The 

 result from the colonies comprising 

 the 30 per cent increase was also 

 gratifying. They built up well by 

 October 1 with plenty of honey for 

 the W'inter, and many of them pro- 

 duced as much as one to two supers 

 of surplus. The crop resulting shows 

 an average of 75 pounds per colony 

 for a spring count of 544, or 60 

 pounds for a fall count of 700. 



Because of the failure of the spring 

 flow, some hea\'y feeding of sugar 

 syrup was done, as the 6,000 pounds 

 of sugar recorded testifies, same being 

 used dui-ing the spring and summer 

 months. Half was used to build up 

 the 30 per cent colony increases, made, 

 while the other half was fed to carry 

 the bees through the summer until the 

 fall crop arrived. About 500 pounds 

 of sugar was fed after the fall honey 

 flow, to provide brood-chambers which 

 contained a very large percentage ot 

 brood and a small quantity of honey. 



There was but little annoyance or Although there was not sufficient 

 loss of bees from swarming. The honey flow at any of the apia'-It-j in 

 swarming recorded is about 4 per cent 1919 to carry the colonies along prop- 

 in 1919 and 2 per cent in 1920. V^ith erly before August 1, there was not 

 a little closer attention during the an entire lack of nectar. Vo; in- 

 height of the honey crop, :he last len stance, at the Dadant home apiary, 

 days of August, swarming could have where an increase of 50 colonies was 

 been reduced one-half in 1919. A made from a spring count of 59, 

 shortage of supers for some oi the there was a little steady honey flow 

 stronger colonies caused a crowded from 16 acres of sweet clover, during 

 condition, which must always be July, which was sufficient to furnish 

 avoided ahead of the height of a about as much nectar as the quantitv 

 honey flow. A few swarms came fron. of sugar syrup fed. At the Hiii a])i- 

 colonies headed by old queens The ary, there was a light flow of honey 

 various factors well known to control from various sources, after June 10, 

 and almost prevent swarming were lasting until the fall crop, which be- 

 practiced, and may be mentio!..Hl in gan about August 1. At the Sack 

 the order of their importance: apiary there was one light flow dur- 



1 — Young queens. ing the last 10 days of May, which 



2 — Large brood-nests with combs was only sufficient to help brood- 



huilt from full sheets of comb-founda- rearing for about two weeks. Con- 



tion. sequently, more feeding had to be 



3 — Plenty of extracting supers done, there, before the fall flow- 

 filled with drawn combs in snallow started. At the Koch apiai-y, there 

 supers. was the usual ten days' flow from 



4 — Plenty of ventilation and shade, black locust during the last days of 



including spacing of frames I Ya May. This necessitated the placing 



inches center to center. of many supers on hives and destroy- 



5 — No queen excluders. ing some queen-cells in order to pre- 



6 — Very few drones. vent swarming among colonies 



I r?':J ^- .^*v". ' *i_ 1 Investment 



1919 1920 



Honey houses and equipment $1000.00 .$1000.00 



(owned previous to 1916). 



550 1-story hives, no bees, at $6.50 3575.00 3575.00 



150 1-story hives, new, no bees at $9.75 1452.50 



1375 supers at $1 1375.00 1375.00 



375 supers, new, at $1.50 562.50 



$5950.00 $7965.00 



550 colonies bees at $5.00 2750.00 



700 colonies bees at $5.00 3500.00 



Receipts 



$8700.00 $11465.00 



1919 



41,800 lbs. amber fall honey at 18c $7524.00- 



462 lbs. beeswax at 40c 184.80 



156 colonies increased bees at $5.00 780.00 



13000 lbs. clover honey at 20c 



12000 lbs. amber fall honey at 15c 



lbs. beeswax at 35c 



Expenditures 



$8488.80 

 4603.10 



1920 



2600.00 



1800.00 



96.25 



$4496.25 

 4361.16 



Profit $3885.70 $ 135.09 



Expenditures 



1919 1920 



_$ 704.00 133 hrs. at $1 $ 133.00 



Labor — 



Dadant, 704 hrs at $1. 



Help 3053 hrs. at 40c-. 

 Mileage (without driver) — 



Ford, 3334 miles at 10c__ 



Dodge 1380 miles at 12 %c 



Trucks 1638 miles at 22 %c 

 Sugar — ■ 



6000 lbs. at $9.85 



500 lbs at $12.51 



Queens — 



658 at 80c 



Small equipment 



Ban-els used 1 year — 



76 at $1 



Rentals — Cash 



Decrease in Colonies — 



Bees only 



Depreciation on Investment— 



5 per cent on $5950.00. _ 



1221.20 2325 hrs at 55c 1278.75 



333.40 530 miles at lie 58.30 



172.50 3464 miles at 14c 484.96 



368.55 782 miles at 25c 195.50 



591.00 6532 lbs. at 20c 1306.40 



62.55 



526.40 

 50.00 



76.00 

 200.00 



none 



297.50 



131 at $1 131.00 



50.00 



45 at $1 .».. 



45.00 

 200.00 



16 colonies at $5 80.00 



5 per cent on $7965. 00__ 398.25 



$4603.10 



$4361.16 



