THE HAMPSHIRE COUNTY FARM BUREAU MONTHLY 



SPRING CARE OF BEES. 



Thu daty of beekeepers in the 

 spring is to get plenty of bees in 

 time for fne. iioney flow. If this is 

 not done his work is a failure. The 

 population of the colony is reduced 

 during the winter, especially where 

 wintering conditions are not the best, 

 and this must be corrected if the col- 

 ony is to get tne full honey crop. It 

 is poor beekeeping to have weak colo- 

 nies at the beginning of the honey 

 flow from which the surplus crop Is 

 obtained. 



After brood rearing gets under way, 

 bees need three things: Room for 

 heavy brood rearing, an abundance of 

 stores, and protection. A common 

 error is to cramp the colony by fail- 

 ing to provide empty cells for the 

 reception of eggs. Each coloney 

 should ultimately have the equiva- 

 lent of at least eight Langstroth 

 frames entirely full of brood, so 

 that even a single 10 frame hive is 

 scarcely large enough at this season. 

 Some beekeepers practice giving a 

 second hive body during this period 

 of heavy breeding. This is especial- 

 ly necessary for colonies that have 

 abundant stores. 



If in early spring the weather is 

 suitable and if nectar is available, the 

 bees will add considerably to their 

 hoards of honey, but they use it so 

 rapidly that it is seldom that any 

 gain in the stores occurs even dur- 

 ing fruit bloom. However, since the 

 weather is uncertain at this season, 

 the beekeeper should not depend too 

 much on incoming nectar to supply 

 the needs of his bees. If they ara 

 short of stores, feed a warm thick 

 sirup made of granulated sugar and 

 feed lavishly. This will be stored 

 by the bees in the brood combs and 

 used as needed. The sirup may be 

 half water and half sugar, or thick- 

 er if preferred. There is no better 

 investment in beekeeping than to 

 give abundant supplies in the spring. 



Bees generate considerable heat in 

 rearing brood rapidly, for the tem- 

 perature of the brood must be n-«,in- 

 tained nearly at human blood neat 

 The better they are protected from 

 winds and the more insulation thej 

 have, the easier it is foF them to 

 keep the proper temperature and th\ 

 faster they build up. 



On some warm day the hive* 

 should be opened and give a spring 

 house cleaning. At this time one 

 wing of the queen should be clipped 

 so that when swarming time comes 

 she can not fly to the woods with 

 the swarm. If any queenless colonies 

 are discovered (having no brood) they 

 should be united with colonies hav- 

 ing queens. This can be done simply 



by setting the queenless colony on 

 top. 



The stimulation to heavy brood 

 rearing should occupy six to eight 

 weeks previous to th^ surplus honej 

 flow, and every beekeeper should 

 know when that comes in his locality. 

 If he is a beginner, any beekeeper 

 who is older in the work can give 

 that information. If a colony has a 

 good queen and plenty of empty cells 

 for egg laying, i.s well supplied with 

 stores, and is protected from cold and 

 wind, one may expect a colony which 

 is capable of storing the maximum 

 crop. 



Having gone to all this Jjouble to 

 get plenty of bees in the hive the bee- 

 keeper will readily see that he should 

 do everything in his power to pre- 

 vent swarming. Swarming just be- 

 fore or during the honey flow is the 

 greatest drawback to a good crop. 

 Experienced beekeepers have worked 

 out methods by which this can large- 

 ly be prevented and every beekeeper 

 should study these methods. 



E. F. Phillips. 

 Bureau of Entomologj'. 



TEXAS ONION CROP 

 The Texas onion crop of 1915 is 

 estimated to cover 10,657 acres as 

 compared with 9,343 acres in 1915 

 an increase of 14 per cent. The con- 

 dition of the crop on March 1 is esti- 

 mated as 65.6 per cent, of normal 

 which forecasts a yield of about 230 

 bushels per acre, or a total produc- 

 tion of 5,328 cars of 460 bushels each. 

 In 1915 the shipments amounted to 

 about 4.607 cars. These estimates 

 are made by the truck crop special- 

 ist of the Bureau of Crop Estimates. 

 The low condition of 65.6 is ac- 

 counted for by two freezes and the 

 general prevalence of the thrips, 

 which is especially severe in the 

 Laredo district. It is believed, how- 

 ever, that the ravages of this insect 

 have been checked by the energetic 

 efforts of the growers in spraying 

 their crops, several crops having 

 been so saved. 



A GOOD INA^ESTMENT 



For those who stil question the 

 value of spraying fruit trees, the fol- 

 lowing cost accounts may be interest- 

 ing. 



Profjte. C. Sears says: — 



"At tne Bay Road Fruit Farm we 

 have kept careful accounts of our 

 spraying costs, but being convinced 

 already that it was a profitable thing 

 to do we have not left any check 

 trees. Here are our figures: — 

 53 Bearing Baldwin Trees 



Labor, 3 men and team 6i/^ 

 hr. at 87%c per hr. $5.69 



Spray materials 15 lbs, ar- 

 senate of lead at 8c 1.20 

 5 gallons lime sulphur at I4c .70 



Total — or 1-ic per tree for 

 spraying $7.59 



Thi!5 was very thorough spraying 

 and is a high cost. The trees aver- 

 aged about five barrels of apples and 

 were sprayed twice that year, maS- 

 ing about 6c per barrel for spraying. 

 It would not take many wormy ap- 

 ples to lose that much. 



The Nebraska Experinu-nt Station 

 obtained the following results. Thir 

 work covered a period of four yearb, 

 in 16 orchards, 3300 trees, averag« 

 age, IS yrs., number of ai)rayjngs per 

 year, 4. 



Cost of materials per 

 tree $ .11 3-10 



Cost of applying per 



tree, .12 7-10 



Total $ .24 



Average amount materials per 



tree per year 13 gals. 

 Sprayed tre«s: 

 ^Marketable 

 .fruit 4.4 bu. @ 52c $2.28 



Culls and 



windfalls 1.1 bu. @ 6c .07 



Total 5.5 $2.35 $2.35 



Unsprayed trees: 



Marketable 



fruit 1.8 bu. @ 41c $ .73 



Culls and 



windfalls 1.7 bu. @ 5c .08 .81 



Difference in 

 sprayed trees 

 Cost of spraying 



cost 



of 



$1.54 

 .24 



Net gain per tree $1.30 



The farmer who has poor apples 

 this fall will either have to pay 35 

 to 40c a barrel to have his apples 

 packed under the new law or head 

 them up as he has in the past and 

 label them "Ungraded." This means 

 the lowest price on the market or In 

 other words, small returns for his la- 

 bor. Why not invest in some spray 

 materials, give our trees a good 

 thorough spraying and insure a good 

 profit for our labor? 



BUYING NURSERY STOCK. 

 At this season many people are 

 making out an order for the nursery- 

 man. Everyone has the feeling in thei 

 spring that they must plant some- 

 thing. A good axiom to follow Is 

 to always buy direct from the whole- 

 saler. Agents have their place but 

 not in the nursery business. Pick 

 out two or three reliable concerns, 

 make out your order, and then send 

 to them for prices. 



