December, 1909. 



American He^ Journal 



go on each colony the average number 

 of these baits can be used in each. 



I prepare in this way only one for 

 each colony, as after any colony gets 

 well started to work in a super, baits 

 used afterward seem of little use. Of 

 course the readers all know that these 

 baits are used to entice the bees into 

 the super quicker than would other- 

 wise be the case, as bees will occupy 

 and store nectar in combs which are 

 built out several days before they will 

 go into an empty super and begin 

 building new comb or even working 

 on foundation. Where I can have 

 things just to my liking, I use 8 baits 

 in each super in which any baits are 

 used. I use 11 wide frames holding 4 

 one-pound sections each to each super, 

 so if I can have 8 baits for each super I 

 have 2 wide frames filled with these 

 baits, when I place one wide frame full 

 of sections with foundation next to the 

 side of tlie super, then a wide frame of 

 baits following this with 7 wide frames 

 of sections filled witli foundation, then 

 another of baits, and lastly one with 

 sections filled with foundation ; when 

 the "follower" board is put in and the 



we can secure nearly the same thing 

 by having crowded colonies when work 

 in the sections is going on, but such 

 crowded colonies are notable to secure 

 as much nectar as will those which are 

 enticed along, while the crowded col- 

 ony is much more apt to contract the 

 swarming fever, in which case we will 

 not secure more than half as much as 

 would otherwise be the result. 



I have dwelt on this matter more 

 largely than I otherwise would, be- 

 cause I find that very many bee-keepers, 

 especially beginners, pay little if any 

 attention to the matter of having all of 

 the sections in a super completed at as 

 nearly the same time as possible, and 

 without crowding the bees so as to lose 

 a part of the nectar flow, or else have 

 the bees contract the swarming fever, 

 or both. 



Having all of the supers which are 

 to contain baits completed, the next 

 thing is to fill all that are left with sec- 

 tions filled with thin or surplus comb 

 foundation, when all are to be piled 

 away in their proper places ready to be 

 used in an hour or so when they are 

 needed. 



vicinal apiary in Wisconsin. An out- 

 apiary contains 73 colonies. 



I have the 10-frame hive in different 

 styles, all taking the Langstroth or 

 regular Hoffman frames. Some 8- 

 frame hives are made to interchange 

 with the 10-frame by attaching ys-inch 

 strips on either side, top and bottom. 



The hives are arranged in pairs. l(i 

 inches apart, and 32 inches between the 

 pairs, facing south. Each row con- 

 tains 30 hives. Each hive rests on a 

 concrete block. I()x28x2>^ inches. The 

 hives are mostly 3 and 4 story in the 

 busy season. The extracting supers 

 contain but 8 or combs each. 



I had 2000 new combs built out, con- 

 sequently my crop is only about 14,000 

 pounds from 281 colonies, spring count, 

 mostly extracted ; 2000 pounds of this 

 being damaged by about 5 percent 

 honey-dew. My bees had to fly from 

 1>^ to 2 miles to the hickory. 



" Protection Apiary," one mile further 

 away, gathered no honey-dew. 



Our flow was very slow, but lasted 

 from June 20 to July 26. On account 

 of this slow flow, and building new- 

 combs, the first supers were filled with 



" High View Apiary" of H. C. Ahlers. Taken July 26. 1900—223 Colonies. 



11 wide frames keyed tightly together, 

 when the super is ready to go on the 

 hive as soon as the season opens. 



I put these baits in thus, for the rea- 

 son that the tendency of any and all 

 colonies is to commence work in the 

 center of the super or directly over the 

 brood of the hive, which cause the 

 center sections in the super to be com- 

 pleted quite a little before those at the 

 sides are nearly ready to come off, and 

 thus much valuable time is lost to the 

 bees, while the completed center sec- 

 tions get travel-stained and not so 

 marketable, from being completed so 

 long before we can take the whole 

 super off ready for market. 



With the baits placed in the super as 

 above given, the whole number of sec- 

 tions in the super are completed at 

 once, the bees being enticed to each 

 end of the super when they first enter 

 it, so that the wide frame of sections 

 beyond the baits is completed as soon 

 as are those in the middle, and thus we 

 can tier this super up. put others over it, 

 or take the completed whole off with- 

 out interfering in any way with the ob- 

 jects we wish to accomplish. I know 



Then I next go over all unoccupied 

 hives, and make new when new ones 

 are needed, repair anything and every- 

 thing about the apiary which needs 

 such repairing, till everything that 

 needs attention to make it in perfect 

 order for the coming season has been 

 looked after. In this way my time will 

 not only be spent much more profit- 

 ably, but much more enjoyably. than it 

 possibly could be by allowing other 

 things to take my attention during the 

 winter and spring, and crowding all of 

 this preparing into the surplus season, 

 which is sure to result in a diminished 

 crop of honey, and through this a lack 

 of love for our chosen pursuit; which 

 lack is sure to produce only a second- 

 class apiarist. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



A Large Wisconsin Apiary 



BV H. C. AHLERS. 



Editor York : — I send you the en- 

 graving of " High View Apiary," which, 

 I think, is at present the largest iricii- 



brood where hives had no excluders. 

 These hives made up the loss, however, 

 during basswood bloom. 



I don't sell honey cheap enough to 

 sweeten near home, so I am beginning 

 to sweeten Chicago and further awav. 



West Bend, Wis.. Aug. 25. 1909. 



The Two Cans of Honey 



BY E. D. TOWNSEND. 



{Cofttinued from page ,?6p.) 



There is one place where this arti- 

 ficially cured honey may do ; that is. for 

 the baker or manufacturer, as this kind 

 of honey sells for a very low price; we 

 cannot afford to put our clover honey 

 in with this grade. All the baker re- 

 quires in his honey is a good body. 

 Tliey do not buy high-priced honey for 

 the sweet there is in it; if it was only 

 sweet they wanted they would buy 

 sugar, which is cheaper; the baker uses 

 honey instead of sugar, for the reason 

 that the honey keeps the baked goods 

 moist for a long time. The fact is. 

 some of their baked goods, sweetened 



