THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



297 



Read at the N. E. Miohisnn Conventioiv. 



How to Begin Bee-Keeping. 



K. L. TAYLOK. 



[The following is the Presideiifs 

 address, delivered at the Northeas- 

 tern Michigan Convention at Lapeer, 

 March •'>, 1884, as mentioned on page 

 282.— En.j 



1. The tir.st and one of the most im- 

 portant (piestions which one propos- 

 ing to enter upon the business of bee- 

 iiig is : Am 1 fitted for it by nature 'i 

 Unless one has a genuine love for the 

 business, and can keep alive some de- 

 gree of enthusiasm, I doubt if he can 

 attain real success. Tliough the fear 

 of stings seems to the tyro a very for- 

 midable difficulty, it is really the' least 

 of all ; a taste for apiculture will 

 speedily overcome it. If one has, in 

 addition to this quality, promptness, 

 industry and practical" energy in at- 

 tention" to details, with a determina- 

 tion to persistently labor to overcome 

 difticulties, and never to yield to dis- 

 couragements, he may well hope for 

 fair success. 



2. The lirst thing to be observed in 

 deciding upon the territory to be oc- 

 cupied by an apiary, is that a country 

 already stocked with bees must not 

 be entered. To do so means a blast- 

 ing of the hope of success at the out- 

 set. Then, the greatest care must be 

 taken to occupy a place well supplied 

 with all the honey plants necessary to 

 make as complete a succession as pos- 

 sible, from early spring to the frosts 

 of autumn ; and especially should I 

 insist upon an abundance of all those 

 which are the source, generally, of 

 the surplus crop, which are in this 

 part of the State raspberry, white 

 clover, basswood, and fall flowers. 



3. The apiary should be placed upon 

 a plat of ground which cannot by any 

 possibility be flooded at any time of 

 the year, and which has sufficient nat- 

 ural drainage to enable it to absorb 

 quickly what little water remains 

 upon it after a rain. It should, I 

 think, be level, clean, smooth, and 

 covered with a greensward kept 

 closely mown, except where the hives 

 are to stand, where some preparation 

 to wholly prevent the growth of vege- 

 tation would be well, particularly 

 about the entrance of the hive, which 

 should also be so fixed that heavily 

 laden and partially chilled bees that 

 fall to the ground before reaching the 

 entrance, can readily regain the hive 

 without again taking wing. The 

 hives are to be so disposed as not to 

 hinder the work of the apiary, and so 

 as to aid the bees in distinguishing, 

 and so in finding their own honey. I 

 lirefer some shade, if it be not dense ; 

 tor no shade at all is better than such 

 as would create or retain dampness. 

 A wind-break on the north and west 

 is desirable, and should be early pro- 

 vided. 



4. Before obtaining bees, determine 

 satisfactorily to yourself the hive to 

 be used, and that depends largely 

 upon the size of the frame preferred. 

 It is very desirable to use a frame ex- 

 actly of the same size, as that mostly 

 in use among those with whom you 

 are likely to have dealings, either by 



way of buying, or of selling. (Colonies 

 upon frames, such as the purchaser 

 desires to use, are wurth more to him 

 by a large percentage, than are those 

 upon frames clitTerent in dimensions. 

 Perhaps there is nothing about which 

 the beginner is so likely to be careless 

 as in this matter of looking to the 

 size of frames in the hive he procures; 

 and for the amount invested in it, 

 there is nothing so important. The 

 Langstroth frame so-called, which is 

 Dig inches by ITJg inches is, I believe, 

 in more general use than any other, 

 and I advise its selection alvvays. It 

 may not be better than any other, but 

 all things considered, I think it is at 

 least the equal of any. For one who 

 for any reason wishes a shorter, 

 deeper, and somewhat lighter frame, 

 the American or the Gallup is the 

 alternative. AVhen once a frame is 

 selected, adhere to it unflinchingly. 



T). The hive itself should be a plain 

 box without top or bottom. In depth 

 ,^4 inch greater than the depth of the 

 frame selected. One of the other 

 dimensions must be % inch greater 

 inside measure, than the length of 

 the frame ; and the remaining dimen- 

 sions must be graduated to accommo- 

 date the number of frames desired, 

 allowing about 1 T-lfi inches for each 

 frame. There must be a rabbet cut 

 at the top of the ends, or of the sides, 

 as the frame requires, upon which 

 the arms of the frame are to rest ; the 

 rabbet must be just deep enough so 

 that when the frame is put in posi- 

 tion, the space above and the space 

 below the frame are just equal. Some 

 prefer tin ral)bets ; but I doubt 

 whether their advantages balance the 

 outlay. The cover should be a pl^n 

 board simply cleated at the ends. The 

 bottom-board is to be 4 inches longer 

 than the hive, fastened to two pieces 

 about 2 inches square ; out of the 

 upper side at the front end should be 

 cut a triangular piece % inch thick. 

 Two of the angles of the triangular 

 piece are at the front corners of the 

 bottom-board, and the third angle 

 should be about 5 inches back of the 

 middle of the front end of the board. 

 With a circular saw this can easily be 

 taken out. When this is taken out, 

 the space left becomes the entrance 

 to the hive, and this entrance may be 

 enlarged or diminished, or entirely 

 closed by simply moving the hive 

 forward or backward. The hive on 

 the outside, and the cover upon both 

 sides, should, of course, be thoroughly 

 painted with two coats of the best 

 white paint. I should have said, that 

 after the sides and ends of the hive 

 are cut, each piece should have a 

 hand-hole cut into it with a wabbled 

 saw, for convenience iu handling. For 

 a second story, if it were desired'to 

 produce extractied honey, I should use 

 a body precisely like that of the 

 lower story, with a flat honey-board 

 between the two ; preferring the use 

 of the honey-board to the disadvan- 

 tage of having bodies of two styles. 

 For comb honey use the Heddon case. 

 A sufficient amount of foundation 

 should be had for use in the building 

 of all the comb, and that for brood"- 

 frames and extracting should be put 

 upon wires. 



6. It must be remembered that what 

 I am saying is for those who have 

 never handled bees ; particularly when 

 I say that the bees to be procured 

 should be the Italian, on account of 

 their peaceable character ; for this 

 quality will enable the beginner the 

 sooner to divest himself of all fear 

 when handling bees; and the number 

 of colonies should be no more than 2 

 or 3. A good work on apiculture, and 

 one or more of the bee-periodicals, 

 which shotild have been already ob- 

 tained and well studied, should now 

 be kept in constant requisition. 

 These colonies, and largely the time 

 of the learner, should now "be given 

 to investigation, practice and experi- 

 ment. The incense of the smoker, 

 which should of course be provided, 

 should seldom fail to arise on the in- 

 coming of every warm day. 



The object the first year should be 

 to obtain practice, and a good degree 

 of familiarity with bees, and with the 

 various manipulations employed in 

 their management. How to rear 

 qiieens V How to divide colonies V 

 How to hive swarms 'i Can a colony 

 that has begun to prepare for swarm- 

 ing be induced to yield that disposi- 

 tion successfully '? are only a few of 

 the many poiiits that should be 

 studied and experimented upon re- 

 morselessly. 



Let the beginner sacrifice his colo- 

 nies, if need be, in order to become 

 thoroughly grounded by practical ex- 

 perience, in as many as possible of 

 the underlying principles of success- 

 ful apiculture. I could not have gone 

 into details and thus filled out the out- 

 line I have drawn, without trespass- 

 ing on your time ; nor can I take your 

 time to touch on other matters of in- 

 terest and consequence, but will leave 

 the subject here, believing that the 

 above suggestions followed out with 

 a thoroughness which is begotten of 

 genuine interest, will fit the beginner 

 to care for an apiary of a moderate 

 number of colonies, with satisfaction 

 and success. 



Lapeer, Mich. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Students in Apiculture. 



DOBA HYDE. 



If bee-keeping is a science and to 

 be learned by an apprenticeship, it 

 seems to me there ought to be some 

 uniform system agreed upon by the 

 teachers for the students. Now, there 

 are as many " terms to students," as 

 there are bee-keepers who teach, or 

 propose to teach bee-keeping. 



We understand an apicultural 

 school somewhat on the plan of the 

 " Business Colleges," was discussed 

 by some of our leading bee-men last 

 summer ; but no terms could be 

 agreed upon. The exact nature of 

 the school I did not learn, but I have 

 been informed that it was to have 

 hiid a teacher or " professor," who 

 would give instructions in the theory 

 in general, and another, a practical 

 honey-producer, who would furnish a 

 few colonies, hives, sample fixtures, 

 etc., and give a short practical illus 



