580 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



Sept. 14 1899. 



as the worker and drone larvze, with the important differ- 

 ence that the larva? intended for queens are fed abundantly 

 with this food from first to last, and are not weaned or 

 stinted in any way or at any period, thus the usual time for 

 a queen to develop is 16 days ; viz., the eg'g' hatches on the 

 fourth day ; larva fed until the eighth day, when an extra 

 abundant supply of food is g^iven, and the cell is sealed by 

 the ninth daj' — the perfect queen coming; forth on the 16th 

 day. 



This is generally the case under normal conditions, but 

 it is not unusual to have whole batches of queens not forth- 

 coming until the 18th and 19th day, sometimes issuing' 

 nearly all at one time, and sometimes hours after one 

 another, being almost entirely dependent upon when the 

 cells were respectively sealed. 



This power of controlling the development of their 

 young, and the many varied circumstances which affect 

 this question is one of the most absorbing phases of our 

 craft, and is another portion of scientific bee-keeping upon 

 which more light is wanted. — British Bee Journal. 



Running- an Apiary for Extracted Honey. 



BY F. A. SNKLL. 



I FIND it quite essential to run a part of my bees for ex- 

 tracted honey, as I have quite a number of customers 

 about home who wish their honey in this form, and dis- 

 tant customers as well. The lower price at which it is sold 

 compared with that in the comb, is no doubt the main rea- 

 son. Another reason with buyers living at a distance is, 

 the safety with which it can be shipt, and the lower freight 

 rates charged for transportation. I wish to be in shape to 

 supply all who want to buy, and can only secure this condi- 

 tion by having a supply of both comb and extracted honey 

 on hand. 



It is seldom that any surplus storing-room is needed 

 here until the opening of white clover bloom, early in June. 

 The latter part of May or first of June I have all supers in 

 shape to put on the hives, all being clean, or free from dust, 

 webs, or litter of any kind. 



At the opening of the honey-flow from white and Alsike 

 clovers, the upper stories for extracting are put on all colo- 

 nies strong enough to need them. Perhaps in from a few 

 days to a week later other colonies will need room, which is 

 given. Bees increase very rapidly at this time of year, and 

 their streng'th and progress are noted once each week, and 

 more room given if required by colonies not supplied with 

 upper stories, until all are given supers. 



After work has been well begun in the supers, if the 

 honey-yield be good, the first stories on the stronger colo- 

 nies should be raised up and a super with complete empty 

 combs placed next to the brood-chamber, and the first one 

 placed at the top. The bees will then have time to com- 

 plete the first and better ripen the honey before extracting 

 than when the honey is taken sooner. The bees are not 

 then crowded, and more and better honey will in a good 

 "season be secured by thus tiering all strong colonies. 



As a rule I do not extract from the combs given later 

 when taking- the first honey. Very little if any new or thin 

 honey will be in the top storj' when the extracting is done, 

 but will be next to the brood-chamber. 



In five or six days after giving the second stories I 

 empty the first ones given, and the same evening, or next 

 morning after, I place these empty supers under those par- 

 tially filled on the hives, bringing the latter to the top. 



I proceed in the same routine until the close of the sum- 

 mer harvest. About one week to ten days later I extract 

 the honey from all upper stories, and at early evening place 

 the empty supers on the hives for the bees to clean up and 

 care for the combs, which are left on the hives until the 

 close of the honey season, unless the fall flow is so great 

 that more room is required, in which case the honey is re- 

 moved and combs returned to the bees. 



At the close of fall bloom, or soon after, the extracting- 

 supers are all taken off, the honey thrown from the combs, 

 and the supers placed at one side of the bee-yard, tiered up, 

 and the little honey remaining in the combs is cleaned up 

 by the bees, and mice excluded ; thus the supers remain 

 until the next season. 



In taking honey from my bees I have practiced the 

 shaking-oft" and escape plans of ridding the combs of bees 

 when extracting. 



In producing- this honey I use a queen-excluder over the 

 brood-chamber, which keeps the queen and all brood out of 

 the supers. When I have a large amount of honey to ex- 



tract, bj- the shaking-off plan, three of us work at it. One 

 stands behind the hive with smoker well lighted, with which 

 the bees are kept under control, and out of the way ; a 

 frame of honey from one side the hive is taken out, and the 

 bees given a little smoke, when the frame is handed to the 

 second man, who shakes most of the bees off by one or two 

 quick jerks. The few remaining bees are brusht off with a 

 brush made from asparagus tops tied in a bunch, which I 

 like better than those for sale, as I have tried such. 



This second man then places the honey in an empty 

 hive-bod3', which stands on a cart near at hand. The sec- 

 ond frame is taken from the hive by man No. 1, and treated 

 the same as the first. No. 2 frees the comb of bees and 

 puts it beside the first frame, and so we proceed until the 

 hive is empty of frames. If the hive is a three story one, 

 the empty body is removed, bees driven down out of the 

 way, and the hive closed. 



No. 2 wheels the cart to the honey-room door, lifts off" 

 the hive-body and combs, and places it on a bench in the 

 honey-room, raised one inch, by strips, from the top of 

 bench proper. 



"When extracting from two-story hives, the combs of 

 honey are taken out and the empty body filled with empty 

 combs by No. 1 before closing the hive. No. 2 taking a set 

 of frames empty of honey from the honey-room each time 

 one is brought in full. 



Man No. 3 takes out the first frame, uncaps the sealed 

 cells, and places it in the extractor; the second and all 

 other frames in the first hive-body are thus emptied and 

 placed back ready to be returned to the bees. 



While inicapping the combs the frames rest on a rack 

 at the top of the uncapping-can, the comb or caps dropping- 

 below into a metal basket made of perforated tin. From 

 this the honey drains to the bottom of the can. 



From the extractor the honey is run into a pail, and 

 from that poured into a large can covered with a strainer- 

 cloth, which keeps out all specks of comb, bees, flies, etc., 

 if such are present, and the little specks of comb or caps. 

 always are. The honey from these cans will run out of the 

 gate at the bottom clear and nice. 



Man No. 2 at all times shakes the bees from the combs, 

 on an alighting-board just in front of the hive-entrance,, 

 and from which they can run into the hive. 



The above method is best practiced during a good 

 honey-flow. During- a time of scarcity I much prefer the 

 escape plan, of which I will speak later. 



Carroll Co., 111. 



Covering' the Brood-Frames with Paper During- 



the Season of Cold— Is it an Advantag-e 



to the Bees? 



BY W. W. M'NKAI^. 



IF there is one good thing that I enjoy above another it is. 

 light — beautiful light — be it in the heart or " out-doors.'*" 

 And I believe I never appreciated it more fully than on 

 Feb. 15, last, when after the clouds had rolled away, the 

 gentle sunlight again reacht my little apiary and me. The 

 air became remarkably dry, however, during that time, so 

 much so that when the mercury was 20 degrees below zero, 

 and sometimes lower, the cold did not penetrate to one's, 

 very bones like the damp, chilly air we so often experience 

 here along the Ohio River. 



My bees were in single-walled hives, with the poorest 

 of stores it had ever been my misfortune for them to have.. 

 As day after day past, and the cold did not abate, I could 

 not conceal from myself the fact that my watch over the 

 bees was becoming no less than a death-watch ; I was hop- 

 ing against hope, and when the sun did shine, it was a sor- 

 rowful sight to see the bees drag.ging themselves out of" 

 their cold, comfortles-> hive, with swollen bodies. Doomed 

 they were, as much from discouragement, seemingly, as. 

 the eft'ects of poor food and the cold. 



Of all this, two things stood out very prominently^ 

 namely, that where such extreme cold is, a properly-con- 

 structed cellar should be the place for the bees during that 

 time ; and that honey-dew — such as we had here last year — 

 is not a winter food for bees. By a lack of warmth-produc- 

 ing elements, it simply overburdens the bee long before the 

 expected time. Honey, good, ripe honey, is the food for 

 bees ; having- it, I am not afraid of their suffering from, 

 confinement to the hive by the cold. 



The onl}' extra protection I have given the bees of late 

 years in these hives was several thicknesses of common 

 newspaper placed directly on the frames, the upper ones. 



