22 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



January, 1920 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



excluders being commonly used. This hon- 

 ey-house is of wattles daubed with mud and 

 has solid doors and no windows, thatch 

 roof, is not screened and is not bee-tight 

 These various items make it advisable to ex- 

 tract at night. 



When all was ready the beekeepers from 

 near-by apiaries to the number of a half- 

 dozen came in to assist, and along with 

 them a dozen or more volunteers to help 

 from the fun of it, or for the honey they 

 could eat or steal. The proprietor had to 

 be there also from start to finish, for there 

 was not one who could be trusted not to 

 carry away honey if there was an opportuni- 

 ty, and attempts are made under his very 

 eyes. An apiary cannot be left alone, but 

 someone must always be there to prevent 

 frames, honey, or whole hives from being 

 carried off. 



A moonlight night was chosen so barrels 

 could be filled outdoors and combs could be 

 put on the hives readily after they had been 

 emptied. As soon as the bees had ceased 

 flying, work began. One man took frames 

 out of supers and brushed off the few re- 

 maining bees, handing the frame to another 

 who handed it to one of the two uncappers 

 ■ivho were seated, one on each side of the un- 

 capping-tub. From the uncappers the frames 

 were passed to a man who piled them in an- 

 other tub from which they were taken by 

 another workman and passed up to the man 

 at the extractor. The extractor was placed 

 on a shaky platform about three feet high 

 — high enough so that a funnel and barrel 

 could be put under the extractor gate. At 

 least two men on this platform managed 

 the extractor and removed the empty combs, 

 passing them to a man who handed them to 

 another who passed them out the door to 

 another who handed them to another who 

 placed them in the empty supers. Another 

 man, no, two men, distributed these supers 

 thru the apiary while the beekeeper, with 

 a helper, set the supers on the hives without 

 much regard as to whether the frames were 

 spaced, or whether or not the brood-cham- 

 ber was full, as many frames had been re- 

 moved from the brood-chamber for extract- 

 ing. In a week or so after the bees had 

 quieted down from the cleaning up of combs 

 and house and the robbing which ensued 

 during the next few days, the beekeeper 

 would space combs and put things to rights. 

 When the first barrel was full and run- 

 ning over, the man who was watching the 

 funnel took it out of the barrel with the 

 stream of honey running out of the funnel, 

 and attempted to put it up on the edge of 

 the extractor to let it drain. The neck of 

 the funnel came into contact with the re- 

 volving reel, knocking off the neck of the 

 funnel and breaking an extractor basket 

 screen. Fortunately a supply of screens 

 was on hand for such accidents, as was also 

 an extra set of gear wheels, and the ex- 



tractor was soon running again. Honey was 

 spilled all over the place, tho there was 

 enough dripping around before that, and 

 the barrel had to be moved outside the 

 house, too many men being inside. Then the 

 funnel had to be repaired as best they could. 

 The neck was stuck into its place, well 

 wrapped with rags, and then placed into 

 the bung of the barrel. Of course the joint 

 leaked sadly and honey ran out all over the 

 barrel. Then, they insisted on filling every 

 barrel to overflowing, after which the out- 

 side of the barrel was wiped by someone 's 

 hand, and put back in the tin or into some- 

 body's mouth. Now, much more could be 

 mentioned in this connection, but perhaps 

 it would be as well to leave it to the imagi- 

 nation. 



It is easily seen that with so many men 

 working in the extracting-house, passing 

 combs here and there, and being continually 

 in each other 's way that not very efiicient 

 work was done. There were some advan- 

 tages, however, in doing the work after 

 night, when it was somewhat cooler than 

 during the day and the doors could be open, 

 for that small room was oppressively full of 

 sweating negroes, and some ventilation was 

 desirable, to say the least. There were 13 

 men in that room at one time, all working. 



Such is honey-extracting according to 

 Haitian methods, and you may guess that 

 the next extracting will not be done in 

 quite the same manner. I wanted to see 

 one extracting in their own way just to see 

 what I was up against. I saw. I am glad 

 to say that beekeeping in some parts of the 

 Dominican Republic is rather better than in 

 Haiti. E. L. Sechrist. 



BEES SHIPPED in POUND PACKAGES 



Need Air and Ventilation Even More than They 

 Need Water 



Articles that have appeared in Gleanings 

 in regard to shipments of bees in pound 

 packages and the need of supplying the 

 bees with water en route, are of great in- 

 terest to any one who contemplates either 

 buying or shipping bees by the pound. 



I have in the past bought bees in this 

 way; and, as my office is near that of the ex- 

 press company, I have been called in a great 

 number of times to advise how to treat the 

 bees received in bad condition. In case the 

 bees had water-bottles in the packages, the 

 hole in the bottle was sometimes stopped up; 

 and, of those I bought, fully 25 per cent ar- 

 rived in bad condition. I have received bees in 

 pound packages that had only candy feed — 

 no water container — shipped from the same 

 distance (California) that came thru in bet- 

 ter condition than those having water. In 

 fact, some of these pound packages having 

 only candy came thru in what I would call 



