NOVKMRKR. 1917 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



841 



is the way the bees are worted just before 

 they begin to breed up for the honey-flow. 

 The principal flow is from the algaroba, and 

 occurs during the summ^^r months. All 

 winter long the bees do nothing in the way 

 of gathering surplus. What little they do 

 gather is put into the brood-ncst, with the 

 result that; just prior to the algaroba flow, 

 the brood-nests have about half the combs 

 filled with honey. When the time comes 

 for the bees to breed up for the algaroba, 

 those frames of honey are taken out of the 

 brood-nest, and frames with full sheets of 

 foundation put in their place. By the time 

 the bees get these sheets of foundation built 

 out and filled with brood the algaroba flow 

 is on, and the bees immediately lose all idea 

 of swarming. 



The bees are also given plenty of super 

 room. When the first super is about half 

 full of honey the second one is added. The 

 frames are spaced eight frames to a ten- 

 frame super. Gilbert has another theory 

 that helps account for his bees not swarm- 

 ing. This theory, however, he admits " is 

 but a theoiy," but he thinks there is some- 

 thing in it. He believes that the bees are 

 not inclined to swarm, because there is no 

 place for them to go when they leave the 

 hive. There are no hollow trees or other 

 natural cavities that the bees can enter and 

 use as a habitation. When once a swarm 

 is cast, that swarm has to do one of two 

 things^either hang on the limb of an al- 

 garoba - tree or return to the hive from 

 whence it came. 



MANAGEMENT OF APIARIES. 



With three hundred apiaries it is neces- 

 sary that a well-developed system of man- 

 agement exist. This, Gilbert has. Tlie 

 apiaries are divided into four groups. Each 

 group has a central apiaiy, and all work 

 is directed and managed from these central 

 apiaries. They are the uistributing points 

 for supplies. The making of foundation, 

 and all other work of a like nature, is also 

 done at these central yards. The Japanese, 

 who ai-e employed thruout the entire year, 

 live at these central apiaries. Men are 

 kept at most of the other apiaries during 

 the honey-flow. 



These central apiaries, where situated on 

 the railroad, are of enough importance so 

 that the railroad management considers 

 them stations. One is called Gilbert, as is 

 shown in (2) in the photograph. The vege- 

 tation in the picture is sugar-cane. On the 

 opposite side of the railroad is one of Gil- 

 bert's algaroba forests; and it is in this 

 forest that the apiary is situated. To give 

 an idea of the completeness of this central 



apiary at Gilbert, 1 took a picture of tlie 

 puraping-plant, photograph (3). This plant 

 furnishes wafer for general purposes, and 

 for irrigation. 



In some of the apiaries, as is shown in 

 the accompanying photograi^h (4), a track 

 is laid from the honey-house to the apiary. 

 On this track a car is run on which twenty- 



five or thirty supers can be placed, and the 

 combs are taken to and from the extracting- 

 hpuse on this car. 



All the hives have qu?en-excluders ; and 

 when extracting, the supers are taken off 

 entire, bees and all. The method of driv- 

 ing the bees from the supers is very simple. 

 First an empty super is placed on the 

 ground, and in it is placed some smoldering 

 burlap. On this super and over this smol- 

 dering burlap are placed the supers, bees 

 und all, as they are taken- from the hives. 



They are usually stacked five high, and 

 it takes but a few moments for the smoke 

 from the smoldering burlap to diive all the 

 bees from out the supers. The supers are 

 then placed on the car and taken to the 

 extraeting-room. All the honey is taken of? 

 at an apiary before commencing to extract. 



As a rule, at least two supers are used to 

 the colony. When the first super Ls about 

 half full, another super is added on top. 

 When this first super is ready to be ex- 

 tracted it is removed and the other placed 

 over the brood-nest. By reason of the fore- 

 going method the actual time consumed in 

 taking otf the honey of seventy-five or a 

 hundred colonies is very short. However, 

 it necessitates having on hand at least two 

 su]3ers for every colony of bees. 



EQUIPMENT. 



All hives and paraphernalia connected 

 with all the apiaries are of standard goods. 

 The liives are ten-frame Langstrotli; the 

 frames are Hoffman ; and the extractors are 

 Cowan, everything being manufactured in 

 the United States, and purchased thru 

 agents, 



Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands. 



