GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



contemplating bviying this; but if we can do 

 as well with more bees, we may extend our 

 bee operations and buy a smaller home. 

 Kilbourn, "Wis. H. "W. Loomis. 



[Your question is a hard one to answer, as 

 so much depends on your locality, your 

 farm, yourself, as well as the members of 

 the family. Generally speaking, we would 

 say that, if one has made a success of farm- 

 ing, he had better stick to it. In any event, 

 we would not advocate a, radical change all 

 at once. In your case we would advise you 

 to continue on in your farming on your 

 rented farm where you are, gradually ex- 

 panding your beekeeping operations. This 

 you can do without very great expense by 

 taking bees on shares, and managing a series 

 of outyards. In that way you will secure a 

 certain amount of increase and some honey. 

 Operate this way for two or three years, 

 hiring the work done on the farm, but be 

 sure you keep a direct supervision over all 

 the work done. 



Our belief is that the right kind of man in 

 a good locality will make more money by 

 keeping bees than by running a small farm. 

 A fifty-acre farm intensively operated can 

 be made to yield large returns; but as a 

 "•eneral thing the average farmer seems to 

 think he must have a hundred acres. 



If you have an eye to going into beekeep- 

 ing some time, continue making increase 

 until you can get all you can handle; but 

 you should not have less than 400 or 500 

 colonies; and if you operate more than this 

 number you will probably have to hire help 

 a part of the year. Everything will depend 

 on you, your locality, the character of your 

 soil, and whether you keep abreast with the 

 times. 



If you have growing boys who are en- 

 thusiastic with you, you will have a big 

 advantage; but if you have to hire all your 

 help, and that help is incompetent and high- 

 priced, you will have to confine your oper- 

 ations down to what you can do yourself. 

 In that case, a fifty-acre farm or 400 or 500 

 colonies will be all you can handle. You 

 cannot very well work more than 100 colo- 

 nies in connection with a fifty-acre farm/ 

 and then you would have to have pretty 

 good help from your boys, your wife, and 

 your daughters. 



No one can succeed. in either line of busi- 

 ness unless he takes several papers relating 

 to those lines, and carefully planning so that 

 there will be no waste movements. After 

 you have read up, unlimited patience will be 

 essential, because your full returns will not 

 be forthcoming the first season nor perhaps 

 for several seasons. — Ed.] 



panied by the inspector 's certificate. We 

 have no foul-brood law nor inspector in 

 Maine. I have in the past had quite a large 

 trade in bees from Massachusetts. Accord- 

 ing to his statement, as there is no inspector 

 near, if I have to get that on eyery ship- 

 ment, my bee-trade is entirely cut off. 



J. B. Mason. 

 Mechanic Falls, Me., Feb. 23. 



[While it is true there is no bee-inspection 

 law in Maine, and while it is true you do 

 not need any inspection card, or certificate 

 of inspection, for shipments of bees in 

 Maine and a great many states of the Union, 

 yet you do need such certificates for states 

 like Massachusetts that have rigid bee-in- 

 spection laws. As a general precaution it is 

 wise to have such a certificate go out with 

 every package of bees. 



In your case you are placed in an embar- 

 rassing position for the simple reason that 

 you have no inspector who can furnish you 

 with the necessary statement. We don't 

 know what you can do except to get a foul- 

 brood law before your legislature and get it 

 passed. It will be difiicult for you to get a 

 large appropriation the first year. If you 

 asked for a mere nominal appropriation and 

 then had some one appointed inspector who 

 could inspect your bees you would then be 

 able to send out a certificate like all the 

 other bee-raisers of the country.- — ^Ed.] 



Is It Necessary to have an Inspector's Cer- 

 tificate on Every Package? 

 I wish to make some inquiries about ship- 

 ping bees. Our agent of the express com- 

 pany tells me that I cannot in the future 

 ship any bees unless they are inspected by 

 an inspector, and each shipment is accom- 



Feeding by Filling Combs with Syrup 



Last fall I had the same experience that 

 many other beemen had. In mid-summer I 

 removed all the honey from my bees that I 

 could get, and extracted it, expecting my 

 bees to gather enough more from the fall 

 flow to run them thru the winter; but on 

 account of the incessant rain the fall flow 

 failed to materialize, and so I had to buy 

 barrels of sugar and go to feeding. 



I used the Boardman entrance feeder, and 

 had considerable trouble because of robbing. 

 Perhaps I was a little careless, however. I 

 wondered why I could not put the syrup in 

 the comb for the bees. Therefore I got one 

 of my extracting bodies and frames which 

 had the empty comb in. I then melted the 

 sugar and made a thin syrup. I took the 

 frame of empty comb and laid it flat and 

 poured the comb full of the syrup. I then 

 turned it over and held the comb at an 

 angle of about 45 degrees, and poured the 

 other side full. I filled as many of these 

 frames as I wanted a colony to have, put 

 them in the extracting-body, and set the 

 body on the hive. 



On examination I discovered that some of 

 the colonies had scarcely any honey at all. 

 When I found a colony in such a condition I 

 would lift out an empty frame from their 

 brood-chamber and put in one or more 

 frames filled with syrup. My bees up to 

 date are all healthy and strong; and if they 

 continue to do so well I shall keep up this 

 method of feeding for the young brood. 



Brookville, Ind. Darlie M. Hanna, 



