GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February, 1922 



c 



TALKS TO 



Geo. S 



ALTHO. thru- 

 out most of 

 the United 

 States and Can- 

 ana, February is 

 the time for bee- 

 keepers and 

 prosiiective bee- 

 keepers to study 

 their books and 

 bulletins on beekeeping and to attend bee- 

 keepers' conventions, instead of doing any 

 thing with the bees, it is now time for those 

 who have not yet secured their bees to make 

 arrangements to do so. 



Various Ways to Secure a Start in Bees. 



Some of the 1922 class of beginners will 

 purchase established colonies already in 

 first-class condition from some reliable deal- 

 er or a neighboring beekeeper. ^ For many 

 this is by all odds the best way, since start- 

 ing right makes the going easier later. Some 

 will i^urchase unproductive colonies not in 

 first-class condition at a much lower price 

 from someone who has not learned to make 

 bees profitable, and then gradually correct 

 the faults until the colony is in first-class 

 condition, thus paying in labor a part of the 

 cost of the equipment. Some will purchase 

 bees probably of inferior stock in box-hives 

 or log gums, then in the spring transfer the 

 bees to modern hives, and later change to 

 better stock by killing the old queen and 

 introducing one of better stock purchased 

 from some reliable queen-breeder. Some will 

 secure their first colonies by cutting bee- 

 trees in the spring and transferring the bees 

 to modern hives. Some will purchase either 

 packages of bees, each with a queen (shipped 

 in wire-cloth cages without combs) or two 

 or three frame nuclei (small colonies with 

 combs) from a breeder or a dealer, and when 

 these arrive put them into hives already pre- 

 pared. Some will waif until the swarming 

 season when they will take to a neighbor 

 beekeeper some empty hives prepared for 

 receiving swarms and arrange for him to 

 hive swarms in them. Some will not think 

 of keeping bees until a stray swarm comes 

 to their place and clusters on a tree or fence 

 as if asking to be put into a hive. This 

 classical and romantic method is the way 

 manv of our greatest beekeepers, including 

 A. I." Root and the late Dr. C. C. Miller, made 

 their start. 



Which of These Ways Is Best? 



Those who are sufficiently interested in 

 how to obtain a start in bees to be reading 

 this page, should arrange to secure them 

 in time for the bees to store a crop of honey 

 this season. This rules out the purchasing 

 of swarms, which usually do not issue, espe- 

 cially in the North, until the midst of the 

 honey flow. There is left a choice of any 

 one of the various ways of securing estab- 

 lished colonies mentioned above or purchas- 

 ing either package bees or nuclei in time 



BEGINNERS 



Demuth 



1 



f o ]■ the ni t o 

 liuilil \\\t to full 

 strength for the 

 main honey flow. 

 The main hon- 

 ey flow of the 

 season may be 

 expected to be- 

 gin as early as 

 March and 

 April in some parts of the extreme South, 

 and as late as the latter part of June in the 

 far North and some parts of the alfalfa re- 

 gion of the West. Since it requires six 

 weeks or more for a colony to build up 

 from a two or three pound package or a two 

 or three frame nucleus to full strength, it 

 would be necessary to have these bees de- 

 livered in the North in April or early in 

 May, to have them ready for the main honey 

 flow in June and July. In the South where 

 the main honey flow comes much earlier, 

 there would not be time to build up to full 

 strength from package bees or nuclei, for 

 the breeders and dealers usually are not 

 ready to deliver package bees and nuclei 

 until about the first of April. But in some 

 parts of the South where there is a later 

 honey flow, package bees or nuclei can be 

 built up in time to gather surplus honey. 



Since not many package bees or nuclei 

 will be shipped until after April first, meth- 

 ods of handling these will be described later; 

 but those who expect to procure bees in this 

 way will do well to order them soon, before 

 the best breeders have booked orders for 

 all they can supply. 



In the South those who expect to purchase 

 established colonies should do so this month 

 or next, especially in regions where the hon- 

 ey flow comes early. In the North it will be 

 just as well to wait until April or May; tho, 

 if an opportunity to purchase good colonies 

 of bees presents itself earlier there is no 

 reason why they should not be purchased 

 now, except that it is better, when possible, 

 for the beginner to 'avoid the chances of 

 winter loss by waiting until after the cold 

 weather is over. 



Great Difference in Value of Colonies. 



There is a great difference in colonies of 

 bees that may be available for purchase. 

 Some colonies are in odtl-sized hives which 

 do not fit standard equipment. Some are in 

 poorly made hives, having crooked combs or 

 ill-fitting frames, which can not easily be 

 taken out of the hive for examination; and 

 some are in box hives, hollow logs, or nail 

 kegs with the combs built solid to the sides; 

 while other colonies are housed in new fac- 

 tory-made hives of standard si/e, cut witli 

 great accuracy so that the combs can be 

 readily taken out for examination and other 

 necessary work done without irritating the 

 bees. Some colonies, even in the very best 

 hives, have such poor combs for brood-rear- 

 ing that the bees can not build up as strong 



