1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



1193 



later on. after the "shook" swarming has 

 taken place, become their brood-nest: or 

 when these combs are occupied for their 

 l)rood-nest proper, none of this cleaning of 

 old conil)S is indulged in. or cappings from 

 over emerging young bees, handleil. to carry 

 Ijits of old comb or travel stain into the sec- 

 tions while they are being capped, as is the 

 case with all other ways of using old comljs. 

 1 have noticed for yeai's that, when bees are 

 cleaning old combs, or where much brood is 

 emerging near the top-l)ars to the frames 

 just under the sections, more or less of this 

 refuse matter is worked into the cappings to 

 our section honey. Even where new swarms, 

 hived on starters, put brood next to the top- 

 Ijars to the frames under the sections, the 

 cappings to such sections as are sealed after 

 this brood begins to emerge are not nearly 

 so white as it was previous to this — especial- 

 ly along the comb in the sections near the 

 l)ottom. 



Then the labor part in producing section 

 honey by the plan as here outlined is much 

 less than with any of the other plans recom- 

 mended in our bee books and papers, so far 

 as I have tried them, and I have tried near- 

 ly all. A man of usual working ability 

 should be al)le to work live out-apiaries, in 

 connection with the one at home, with little if 

 any help except, perhaps, a few days when 

 he is making swarms and setting the l)ees in 

 and out of the cellars. Were I ti'om 25 to 40 

 years old, and free from the rheumatism 

 which I now enjoy (?), I should not hesitate 

 to undertake the working of six yards con- 

 taining from 50 to 75 colonies each, including 

 the home yard. But my age, and rheuma- 

 tism in ))ack and knees, to an extent which 

 makes it very difficult to '"get to going" 

 every morning, and often with only pain 

 and weariness during the whole day, prohil> 

 it me from taking a very active part in these 

 matters much longer. 



After preparing, crating, and marketing 

 the honey produced by the sixteen colonies 

 at the out-apiary. woi"ked as has been given 

 on the preceding pages, I summed up the 

 product and found it as follows: 



Section honey sold, 1763 pounds. 

 Given to neiirhbors, 42 " 

 Kept for home use, 27 " 



Total, 1832 " 



This tlivided by 16, the number of colonies 

 worked for section honey, gives the average 

 product of each colony as 114^ pounds, and 

 that in a season when my bee-keeping neigh- 

 bors report but very indifferent success. 

 Had the season been good during the bloom 

 of only one of the honey-producing flora this 

 coukl easily have been 150 to 175 pounds, 

 while good honey weather during all of the 

 bloom would doubtless have chronicled an 

 average of 250 to 300 pounds. There is also 

 about 500 pounds stoi-ed in the reserve combs, 

 ready for turning into bees, etc., next spring, 

 which is fully as much as was on hand a 

 year ago, besides an increase of nine good 

 colonies. 



As I see it, this yield of 114^ pounds per 



colony in a poor season came from three 

 reasons. First, the great number of bees in 

 each hive at the commencement of the har- 

 vest. A careful estimate of the emerging 

 bees in hives worked on this plan in the 

 home yard, where 1 could more certainly 

 verify these things by opening a hive or two 

 set apart for sui^h work, every day or often- 

 er. if I thought it necessary, would give 76.- 

 431 bees on the stage of action at the time of 

 the first "shook swarming," barring acci- 

 tients. Then should we allow 16,431 for 

 these accidental deaths, which would be a 

 greater loss than I woukl think possible, we 

 would still have 60,000 bees as the number to 

 commence work in the harvest from white 

 clover, which is a mighty army. sure. 



The second reason was, that these 60.000 

 bees had no desire to swarm, so they worked 

 with great energy on every and all occasions, 

 when there was a day or hour, even, when 

 it was suitable for a bee to go out, or for the 

 secretion of nectar. 



The third reason was, the giving of super 

 room enough, and in such a way that it en- 

 couraged them to the greatest activity, kept 

 them from contracting the swarming fever, 

 and at the same time did not, at any point, 

 discourage them from entering this room nor 

 cause them to retreat from any of the room 

 which they had commenced to work in. 

 This giving of storage room, in a way ad- 

 vantageous for the best work, either in a 

 light or heavy flow of nectar. Ijoth before 

 and after our "shook" swarming is done. i& 

 an item which has not sufficiently entei-ed 

 into the plans of the past. By this plan the 

 l)ees are at work in a second hive of combs 

 before they hardly know it: and at the time 

 of our making them swarm, the whole of 

 that "mighty host" are ready to take im- 

 mediate possession of the sections through 

 their j)revious occupation of a "super hive," 

 which now becomes their "richly endowed" 

 home or brood-nest. 



The plan of coaxing bees to an early work 

 in the sections, and at the same time retard- 

 ing swai'ming l)y giving an extracting-super 

 for a short period before the opening of the 

 honey harvest, and on the advent of such 

 harvest taking off this super and putting on 

 the sections (this causing the bees to enter 

 readily the sections from having previously 

 worked in the extracting-super) was originat- 

 ed some years ago. But that plan did not 

 place the honey stored in this extracting-su- 

 per in the sections, nor prevent the swarm- 

 ing of the colonies so treated, later on: but 

 generally light in the height of the honey 

 hai'vest. "when swarming is the most injuri- 

 ous to the prospect of a crop of section hon- 

 ey, hence was only a step in advance of the 

 older ways of working. 



To emphasize a little: The beauty of the 

 plan I have now given is, it puts alt honey, 

 not actualbj //scd by the bees in the sections, 

 and that with no swarming during the honey 

 harvest, or previous thereto, and that with 

 the largest possible force of bees in a colony, 

 consistent with working for section honey. 

 Concluded in next issue. 



