THE AMER1CA_N BEE JUURNAL. 



439 



effort at self-preservation, and lay an 

 abundance of eggs, not as the queen 

 does in her own regular manner, de- 

 positing an egg in a cell, but as many 

 as 10 or more eggs in a cell, irregularly 

 dispersed over tlie combs. Their eggs 

 being unfertilized produce dronesonly. 

 The only way to save one of these 

 colonies is to give it a few combs of 

 hatching brood and adhering young 

 bees from another hive, when they 

 will readily accept a queen or hatch 

 out a queen-cell given them. 



It is not generally known that bees 

 attain an age of only six or eight 

 weeks in the summer. Tliey wear 

 themselves out with hard work. 

 Their wings become ragged, when 

 they fall an easy prey to birds, drop 

 into the water, or perish in some man- 

 ner. Thousands of young bees hatch- 

 ing daily more than make up for the 

 loss. It is essential to know another 

 item. Bees swarm when they are 

 crowded. It is tlie queen which, by 

 her restless roving over the combs, 

 creates the swarming fever, when by 

 a bountiful flow of honey her brood- 

 nest becomes crowded, and she can 

 find no room for depositing her eggs. 

 In such cases she is one of the first to 

 leave the hive, followed by the old 

 bees, and tlie young able to fly. If, 

 however, the workers become crowded 

 for want of room to deposit honey, 

 and this is generally the ease, they 

 start the commotion, a swarm issues, 

 and the queen is one of the last to 

 leave the hive. 



In a well arranged apiary of the 

 present day the combs are all mova- 

 ble and fastened or built in frames, so 

 that each one may be examined and 

 re-arranged at the pleasure of the bee- 

 keeper. The most popular hive, and 

 perhaps the most practical one. is the 

 "Langstroth," because of its shallow 

 combs and simple arrangements. It 

 being the nature of the liees to store 

 above their brood, there is the brood- 

 chamber below, and the lioney-cham- 

 ber in the upper story of tlie hive. 

 Ten frames of comb compose the 

 brood-chamber, affording a surface of 

 over 1,300 square inches, with a hatch- 

 ingcapacity for over fiO,000 young bees. 

 The upper story, or honev-chamber, 

 may be arranged for comb "or extract- 

 ed honey, to suit the fancy of the bee- 

 keeper, but it should never be put on 

 until all ten frames in the lower story 

 are filled with brood, and honey is 

 coming in. Whenever this precau- 

 tion is observed, swarms will be the 

 exception and not the rule, because 

 plenty of young bees are emerging 

 and the queen is kept busy refilling 

 with eggs, their vacated cells. 



Combs are built only during a flow 

 of honey. When flowers cease to 

 yield, all progress in comb-building 

 stops. Combs are wax which is manu- 

 factured by the bees. They consume 

 large quantities of honey when small 

 scales of wax sweat out between the 

 segments of their bodies ; the bees 

 take these from one another and form 

 them into combs, clustering about the 

 spot, and creating thereby the neces- 

 sary heat for moulding their wax. 



Close observation has shown that 

 bees must consume about one hundred 

 pounds of honey in order to fill their 



hive witli comb, or manufacture four 

 pounds of wax. It is here where the 

 invention of comb foundation does 

 wonders in the eyes of the uninitiated. 

 Comb foundation is sheets of bees- 

 wax with the impression of cells made 

 on each side with even greater regu- 

 larity tlian if they were made by the 

 bees. A brim of wax is left around 

 each cell for the bees to finish it with. 

 The bees make use of these improve- 

 ments very readily and waste no time 

 or honey with comb-building when 

 supplied with foundation. After the 

 cells are filled with honey they are 

 emptied of their contents liy the cen- 

 trifugal honey-extractor, and given 

 back to the bees to be refilled. This 

 process is repeated as long as the sea- 

 son lasts, and the same combs can be 

 used year after year. The result is an 

 average crop per colony of 100 to 200 

 pounds of honey in a good season. 

 Bee-keeping has now become an avo- 

 cation, and honey production has be- 

 come a profitable business. I am 

 acquainted with bee-keepers whose 

 product is from 2.').000 to 50,000 pounds 

 of honey annually. 



Bee-keeping is divided into two 

 branches, viz : queen-rearing, and 

 honey production. The former re- 

 quires close observation, strict integ- 

 rity of the operator, and a thorough 

 knowledge of the nature of the bee. 

 Only a person with a strong inclina- 

 tion in that direction should follow 

 exclusively that particular branch of 

 the business. 



HONEY PKODUCTION 



is generally the aim of all bee-keep- 

 ers as the most remunerative part of 

 the business, and slioujd, therefore, 

 be also understood. It is a fact that 

 while bees are kept by many there are 

 but few good bee-keepers, and while 

 honey can • be produced by almost 

 everybody in a good season, there are 

 but few bee-keepers who can give a 

 large average result per colony, or 

 navigate their bees safely through a 

 bad season or a severe winter. 



The production of extracted honey 

 pays best generally because it requires 

 the least labor and expense. By good 

 care the same honey- combs can be 

 used year after year, and nothing is 

 necessary but a good honey-extractor, 

 a vessel or vessels for evaporation, 

 and good barrels. Extracted honey 

 will remain unchanged for anv length 

 of time if kept in a dry place, and 

 there is almost no risk in transit when 

 shipped ; besides, more than double 

 the quantity can be produced of ex- 

 tracted than of coQib honey, even if 

 sections are filled with foundation. 



If comb honey is our object, we 

 have to use sections, fasten starters 

 under the top-bars, watch the progress 

 of comb-building, and straighten up 

 whenever we find an inclination of 

 the comb to one side or other of the 

 section. Dark combs are unsalable; 

 consequently only white comb honev 

 should be produced. After all the 

 combs are nicely capped, they have to 

 be graded according to quality, and 

 offered for sale in neat shipping-cases, 

 whicli should have glass sides, and 



hold no more than 20 to 25 pounds net. 

 While one-poinid sections are perhaps 

 tlie most salaljle St vie for comb honey, 

 two-jiound sections' are the next most 

 desirable size. There is more or less 

 loss connected by breakage with al- 

 most every shipment of comb honey, 

 and if not sold during the same sea- 

 son the quality is apt to be damaged 

 by the wax moth, or soiled by flies, 

 dust, etc. However, the production 

 of comb honey should go hand in 

 hand, as experience will soon tell of 

 which to produce the most. 



Populous colonies in early spring are 

 our " stand-bys " in the honey season, 

 and to prepare for them we must com- 

 mence in the fall. When bees are pre- 

 pared for winter, every one of their 

 combs should be ^ or % full of honey, 

 with the lightest"combs toward the 

 sides of the hive. I prefer for the 

 middle, two combs with their upper 

 halves well filled. It is immaterial if 

 part of the honey is uncapped, and 

 immaterial if our bees have access to 

 cider mills. The principal factor in 

 safe wintering is plenty of honey 

 within easy reach of the cluster, and 

 a dry, healthy air in the hives. This 

 can be accomplished in several differ- 

 ent ways. My own way during late 

 years has been to cover the brood- 

 chamber with the 3 (so-called) " third 

 covers," with which most bee-keepers 

 are acquainted. The boards have 

 generally shrunk somewhat, while the 

 battons have not, which will leave a 

 crevice between them of about 1-16 

 inch, when all bee glue is scraped off 

 in the latter part of fall. These crevi- 

 ces will permit the exhalation of the 

 colony to pass off, while a straw mat 

 or its equivalent placed on top of the 

 boards will prevent draft, cause a 

 gradual renewal of the air, and retain 

 the necessary heat. If the covers are 

 tiglit an iucli hole should be bored iu 

 one or two of them. A winter pas- 

 sage should be cut through the center 

 of every comb, which is perhaps 

 easiest done by running the blade of 

 a pocket-knife through and turning 

 it. The full width of the hive-en- 

 trance is to be left open. A small 

 colony can be wintered in this manner 

 witli almost the same safety as a large 

 one, provided we give them, between 

 two division-boards, as many combs 

 only as they can cover, and fill the 

 spaces between the division- boards 

 and the sides of the hive with soft hay 

 or its equivalent. If combs of honey 

 were placed on the outside of division- 

 boards, instead of liay, with blocks in 

 front, they would become mouldy and 

 affect the colony, while without the 

 blocks the abode would be too cold in 

 a severe winter. The second-story is 

 placed over the brood-chamber, and 

 roof on top as usual. 



Bees prepared in the above manner 

 will winter every time ; and when 

 opened on a nice day in March you 

 will find their combs entirely free 

 from mould, and brood-rearing hardly 

 commenced, unless there has been 

 very warm weather. Now move the 

 heaviest combs nearest the cluster, 

 put a division-board on each side, and 

 contract the entrance. Division- 

 boards used in spring should not 

 touch the bottom by about three- 



