230 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



April 1. 



HOW TO USE IT. 



In full sheets, always. If you have but ten 

 sheets it is better to put nine in frames so as to 

 fill them, and cut the other sheet into half-inch 

 starters for the rest of your frames, than to di- 

 vide the lot into quarter or half sheets. If this 

 be done you are sure to get perfect combs as far 

 as the foundation goes: and, remember, a comb 

 once finished is good for all time so far as we 

 are concerned. They are the foundation of your 

 business, part of your capital stock, and let 

 them be just as perfect as you can get. If the 

 foundation is cut into strips to quarter or half 

 fill the frames, the chances are. that, as soon as 

 the bees get below the starter, di-one comb will 

 be built, and this is just what you want to avoid 

 as much as possible; for I have noticed that. 

 be just as careful as we can. and keep out all 

 drone com*bs as a whole, thei-e is sure to' be 

 enough in the hive. Either by the mice gnaw- 

 ing the combs, holes left from cutting out 

 queen-cells, or some way, it gets there. 



TWO WAYS ONLY TO GET COMBS. 



1. Having the bees build them: 2. Using 

 foundation and having them drawn out. 



The ilifficulty with the first is in getting too 

 many imperfect combs, either crooked or too 

 mucii drone comb, and it is too slow. I fully 

 believe that, up to a certain amount, say five or 

 six combs, bees in a reasonably strong colony 

 will make them entire witli as little lo^sof force 

 as in any other way. I b -lieve with Dr. Miller, 

 that a certain amount of wax is secreted any 

 way. whether we save it or not: and if I were 

 sure of always having vigorous young queens 

 in all my swarms I would hive them all on 

 empty frames only, for I am sure we lose bee 

 force right there: but the loss is more than off- 

 set on the other hand by the imperfect combs 

 and the annoyance of righting them. So. practi- 

 cally, we are reduced to the method of increase 

 of combs: i. e.. foundation. 



WHEN TO PUT IN FOUNDATION. 



Not loo early in the season, nsually not befoi-e 

 swarming commences. A certain amount of 

 heat, at least 1(X»°. I think, is necessary to make 

 the wax soft enough for bees to work out into 

 combs: and up to June 1st to 10th the tempera- 

 ture of the hive is not high enough for wax- 

 working — first, on account of the weather out- 

 side: and. second, on account of lack of num- 

 bers in the hive to maintain the required heat. 

 Another reason why it must not be put into the 

 hive too early is. that be<'S will not work on it 

 but to a very limited extent before honey is 

 coming in. True, some years we get honey 

 from fruit-bloom and dandelions so as to give 

 the bees quite a start: but this would better he 

 used to fill the combs you already have with 

 ijroo'l. to push things later on when clover is in 

 bloom. 



HOW MUCH AT ONCK. 



Do not make the mistake of putting too much 

 foundation in a colony at once. I went to see a 

 bee-keeper last summer, and found plenty of 

 his strongest colonies with eight full frames of 

 foundation over them, while other colonies not 

 quite as strong had none, and were really suf- 

 fering for lack of room. What was his duty in 

 this case? First, take out four frames of comb 

 from the colonies having no foundation, giving 

 these to tiie colony having eight frames of foun- 

 dation, and giving the four fiames of foun- 

 dation (displaced) to the one losing the frames 

 of comb, then all will be merrily at work, not 

 having so big a job as t(» become discouraged: 

 and the result is,' eight frames of comb in less 

 than half the time he would have had them if 

 all left in one place, and he has saved all this 

 time for the bees, which means more honey, and 



therefore more money. As a rule, not over two 

 frames should be given to a colony at once, and 

 not that if there are not bees enough to cover 

 them entirely. 



WHERE TO PUT IT. 



Moderately strong colonies seem to draw out 

 and finish up combs better than very weak or 

 very strong ones: therefore of ten given colonies, 

 if five were medium and five strong. I would 

 take combs from the medium, substituting 

 foundation and giving the combs to the strong, 

 with, say, one frame each of foundation, for I 

 have found that a colony strong in bees will 

 drawout oneortwoframesof foundation ateach 

 time of extracting, at little if any loss of honey: 

 and before I got all the combs I wanted, I made 

 it a rule to give them at least one frame. Weak 

 colonies should be made to draw out combs for 

 the use of the strong ones. The few bees they 

 have are compelled to remain at home to care 

 for the brood, and maintain the heat of the hive, 

 so they can be kept busy working for their more 

 prosperous brethren, or perhaps sisters would 

 be more appropriate. Always put foundation 

 between frames of comb if possible, and near 

 the center of the hive, if the colony will bear 

 to be spread that much. 



FALL HONEY AND COMBS. 



The honey we nsually get after basswood is 

 dark, and brings but a small price in market: 

 hence, this is one of the best times to crowd the 

 l)ees in drawing out and finishing up combs, to 

 be ready for the white honey the next year. If 

 you can so manage that you have turned all 

 this dark honey into wax. you have done well 

 and increased your capital at the smallest pos- 

 sible expense. But here is a point of advantage 

 few bee-keepi rs have taken, for a sale of foun- 

 dation in August or September is very rare, and 

 yet I have found it one of the best times to ge 

 combs. 



In closing I should like to emphasize three 

 points mentioned as seeming to be of greatest 

 importance of any: 1. Full sheets always: 2. 

 Not putting too much in a hive at once: 3. 

 Turning buckwheat or late honey into combs. 



ItViEifa Wi«*lVInr S C. A. HaTCH. 



Ithaca, Wis.* Mar. 3. 



[Mr. H.'s remarks smack strongly of experi- 

 ence: and so many things in it corroborate 

 some of our own experiments during the past 

 sninmer that we fed like putting the whole ar- 

 ticle in Italics. It should be borne in mind, that 

 Mr. Hatcn's hints have a special reference to 

 the pi'oducer of extracted honey: and to such a 

 one. drawn-out empty combs are his best stock 

 in trade. Some of these things we have known 

 of before; but it is necessary to have good 

 things pounded again and again into our heads 

 until we condescend to tiy them.] 



PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY. 



REQUISITES for: COST PER POUND OF EX- 

 TRACTED IH)NEY. 



I am asked to answer the following questions: 

 '• What are the requisites for producing ex- 

 traoted honey?" "What kind of packages do 

 you use in shipping and retailing the same?" 

 " How do you dispose of the most of your honey 

 crot ? " 



Now, friends, I don't know that I can handle 

 this first question to suit all places. It covers 

 a great deal of territory. Locations will vary 

 somewhat, but the first and most important 

 requisite is an abundance of honey-producing 

 flowers from early spring until late in the fall. 

 Here in the North, if I could have it to suit me. 



