MAY 1, 1916 



353 



this that has made me hesitate so long about 

 sayinj? anything about it. This is, tliat the 

 knowledge of it puts a very effective tool 

 into tlie hands of those who might be dis- 

 honestly inclined. A thief who understands 

 his business could get away with a great 

 deal of honej' in a short time, and could re- 



move the honey from the hives by night al- 

 most as well as by day. So if you use tliis 

 plan, let me advise you to keep it strictly to 

 yourself. Do not use it when visitors are 

 around. Tlie outfit needed is small. Keep 

 it out of sight when not in use. 

 Grand Junction, Colo. 



CARING FOR 1000 COLONIES OF BEES IN IMPERIAL VALLEY 



1!Y .JOSEPH GKAY 



To see four carloads of honey jnled up in 

 one lot, the product of one 1000-colony bee- 

 keeper, speaks well for the system here out- 

 lined. Here in the Imperial Valley our 

 flora is chiefly alfalfa bloom. The desert 

 and banks of the canal system yield less 

 every year from the cottonwood, willows, 

 wild hollyhock, gi'easewood, arrow-weed, etc. 

 Bermuda grass, i^rice of hay, the reluctance 

 of ranchers to irrigate and harvest in July 

 and August when the themometer is 110 in 

 the shade; the putting in of barley along 

 old alfalfa pastures for barley hay in the 

 spring; the changing of crops to cotton, 

 milo maize, feterita, melons, canteloupes, all 

 lend to cut down the long honey harvest for 

 which this valley has been noted. 



Eight apiaries of over 100 colonies each, 

 stretching away over ten to twelve miles, 

 means considerable figuring for simplicity 

 of handling. Two men in a Ford or other 

 small car can do all the work of the api- 

 aries early in the season, weeding out the 

 dead, caring for the combs, and equalizing 

 stores. It does not pay here to buy sugar 

 to feed. The feeding is all done by ex- 

 cliange of combs. Only one size of frame 

 is used — the standard Lang'stroth. It mat- 

 ters little if it is plain or spaced, thick or 

 thin top-bar, wide or narrow. The same 

 applies to hives 8, 9, or 10 frame. All are 

 in use in 1000 colonies. Later in the season 

 two teams of two men each are needed, and 

 a boss to follow the work, requeening, draw- 

 ing honey, getting it liauled, cans and cases, 

 besides the wax question. A market-wagon 

 cai'ries what is needed for the day. One 

 man operates the yard while the lesser ex- 

 l)erienced man uncaps and extracts. The 

 combs of honey are collected in a long five- 

 foot box mounted on a skeleton wheelbar- 

 I'ow covered with four wet sacks. When it 

 is run into the extracting-house the two 

 men lift the box on two upturned supers 

 and place an empty box of combs on 

 the wheelbarrow. One of the easiest meth- 

 ods to handle eappings is a wet sack on the 

 bottom of the uneapping-tank. The cap- 

 ping's after draining are lifted out bodily 

 and carried to the solar extractor. 



Many are the devices used to make each 

 hive an open book. Fig. 1 shows a liive- 

 cover with three columns — a " wanted " col- 

 umn on the left; spare column on the right ; 

 center column, queen. A little reflection 

 will give you the positions. Right is abun- 

 dance; left is want; center is queen life; a 

 small blue nail driven into any of these po- 

 sitions gives the index to the colony. For 

 instance, a nail is shown in Figaire 1 at 

 " watch." The boss finds the notation " 26- 

 4, drone-layer," hence the index at "watch." 

 Another may be indexed " Requeen." This 

 calls attention to a possible record — " 26-4, 

 queenless." Again, the index at " Queen " 

 may reveal, in date 'column, " 26-4, saw 

 queen XXX." That gives the apiarist's 

 opinion of the queen as seen at that date. 

 The list of terms covers nearly every phase 

 of beework. 



Term.^ used in <flp;ari/. 



rStore^ to Spare 



ofhort ofSforej. 

 "Seen^ueen \\\ w x 



if?equeen 



Drone Breeder. 



4 of Jioney 



<3 of &rood 



O K 



afec lions 



9iuen -Brooc/ 



'S/uen &ggs. 

 cfiiper on or off. 

 Q>\cluder on or oJf_ 

 2>ivide . increase 

 Combs Luanied. 



A location here costs about $25.00 per 

 year rent. The bees must be put 100 feet 

 from the fence line, and 300 feet from the 

 roadway. One must consider the possibil- 

 ity of the bees getting irrigated as well as 

 the land. As we have no rain, the roadway 

 for the wheelbarrow will need to be irrigat- 

 ed for a barrow will not run in hrose sand. 

 We secured a location for one year, or may 

 be two. A longer time is not advisable, be- 

 cause next year, instead of alfalfa we might 

 see a mile of cantaloupes, or a couple of 

 miles of corn or cotton; and, (hough it will 

 cost you $50.00 to move, it pays to shift 



