SEPTEMBER 1, 1914 



A CITY BEEKEEPER 



PACKS FOUR HIVES IN A WINTER CASE 



BY CHAS. BOWDEN 



You ask in your editorial, page 665, Oct. 

 1, " Are there any city beekeepers who can 

 beat the record of Mr. Geo. Gautner 1 " As 

 1 might modestly claim to have d^ne so I 

 take the liberty of sending the enclosed view 

 of the little apiary under the apple-tree. 

 The colonies are packed for the winter in 

 " fours." The cases were put on the last of 

 September. 



I got 6500 lbs. of hon- 

 ey from 27 colonies, 

 spring count, last year, 

 counting gross weight m 

 5 and 10 lb. pails — also 

 enough to winter them 

 without feeding. 



The best previous av- 

 erage was 55 lbs. I at- 

 tribute the increase, first, 

 to the excellent year; 

 then to the fine Italian 

 stock I have; and then 

 to the method of winter- 

 ing. I did not take off 

 the winter packing till 

 just before the clover. 

 They built up early and 

 strong, and I had a hard 

 time keeping down the 

 swarming. I had six 

 that swarmed in spite of 

 all. No. 23 swarmed 

 and got away, as did 

 an after - swarm. It must have been the 

 number. 



The apiary is about five minutes' walk 

 from the market in a city of about 25,000 

 people ; but it is well isolated at the back of 

 the lot. On each side there is a large barn, 

 at the back a stream, and a patch of tall 

 corn in front. The neighbors are very sel- 

 dom if ever bothered. A good neighbor was 

 stung once, but she didn't mind it much. 



There is a large amount of willow at the 



back from which the bees get vei-y early 

 pollen and nectar. They get the pollen from 

 a yellow willow, and nectar from a greenish 

 kind. It's a treat to listen to the bees work- 

 ing for nectar before the leaves are well out 

 in other trees. 



I increased to 44 colonies by taking the 

 .sealed brood from two hives and introducing 



Chas. Bowden's apiary packed, four hives in a case, for winter. 



a laying queen. This was done the first part 

 of August, 1913, after the white clover, and 

 I secured good rousing colonies by winter. 

 I made a steam-heated honey-knife last 

 year in my spare time. It worked like a 

 charm. I used a 10-lb. honey-pail, with a 

 nipple soldered on the lid, for a boiler, ard 

 a yard of nursing-bottle rubber tube to con- 

 vey the steam to the knife. It seemed as 

 light as the regular knife, and worked twice 

 as well. 



SUGAR SYRUP VERSUS HONEY FOR STORES 



BY L. W. WELLS^ SR. 



I supposed that this question of feeding 

 sugar syrup had been thrashed out by Dr. 

 Miller, Mr. Byer, and others, to the satis- 

 faction of all concerned ; but after reading 

 J. E. Hand's article, page 858, Dec. 1, 1913, 

 I am compelled to add my mite to the dis- 

 cussion. The past three years of my life 

 have been spent in the study of the bee and 



every thing that affects its life. Oregon has 

 given me rare opportunity to study some 

 things that do not usually accrue to the 

 beekeeper who has a fairly steady honey- 

 flow and a sufficient amount to insure plenty 

 of winter supplies at all times. 



I am one who believes that a pound of 

 sealed sugar syrup is the equal of any pound 



