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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



October, 1917 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



Wintering in Florida and Summering 

 in the North 



There is not a beekeeper from the north- 

 ern portion of our country who is more 

 welcomed to Florida during winter than 

 G. H. Adams, of Schenectady, N. Y. He 

 is a keen active lad of 65 winters, and has 

 been keeping bees since he was 16 years old. 



There is, perhaps, no one else who has 

 come so near solving the problem of bee- 

 keeping north and south. First l.e spent 

 a winter here looking around and planning; 

 and by the time he was ready to go back 

 north he had bought a small orange-grove 

 and a small plot for an ajjiary site. He 

 was so anxious to get back south to carry 

 out his ideas that he could scarcely wait 

 for the summer fully to pass. 



Before we hardly knew it he had bought 

 bees all about the country, including one 

 yard of 55 colonies located a few miles 

 from Bradentown. As soon as the first 

 honey-flow came on, he inci'eased this api- 

 ary to 81 colonies, the increase raising 

 their own queens besides a few to replace 

 those he killed. A small per cent of these 

 queens were lost in mating, and such queen- 

 less colonies he set to work building more 

 queen-cells. 



On again coming south for the winter he 

 found seven colonies dead and their combs 

 eaten by moths, but these were the weaker 

 colonies and did not contain much comb. 

 This left him 74 colonies all in the best 



condition. I was much interested in this 

 venture; and so when Mr. Ada:rs leached 

 his apiary I was on hand as were also sever- 

 al other beekeepers. I took a picture of 

 the yard before it was touched or molested, 

 just as it was left six months previous 

 (see cut). Weights had been put on each 

 hive for fear a storm or heavy wind might 

 blow otf the covers. We were surprised to 

 see what the " let-alone plan " hrd done 

 and how small was the variation in the 

 amount of surplus stored by each colony. 

 They were rousing colonies, and yet they 

 had been obliged to build mcst of their 

 comb two in each brood-chamber, and all 

 but one or two combs in each super. Every 

 super had been given one or two combs for 

 bait to induce the bees to store above. 

 Also each top super was raised half an inch 

 at the rear, leaving good ventilation above 

 the cluster. This, together with the cut-up 

 condition of the brood-nest, and the gxeat 

 amount of storing room above, must have 

 helped in the prevention of swarming, and 

 thus been the direct cause of more storing. 

 The amount of surplus stored must have 

 averaged considerably over 40 pounds. 

 The original 55 colonies cost him $290. 

 There was also the wax, the increase, and 

 the ready-built combs. 



By trying such a plan it seems to me 

 other Northerners might winter in t.hei 

 South, and at the same time make some- 

 thing above exjienses. 



Bradent( \vn, Fla. J. J. Wilder. 



Florida npiary owned by a northern man, G. H. Adams, left entirely alone from spring until fall. 



