1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



r65 



honey. How different now, with these im- 

 proved methods put into practice I 



According to our books, during the past 

 three seasons we have produced 181,337 lbs. 

 of honey. Now, when all expenses were de- 

 ducted, such as hired help, including board, 

 barrels for honey, sugar fed in the spring to 

 stimulate early breeding, interest, and taxes 

 on $5000 capital invested, our own labor, in- 

 cluding delivering on thecai'sat this station, 

 we find the actual cost to have been a fraction 

 less than one cent per pound. 



Now, when honey has been and can be 

 produced at one cent per pound, mostly with 

 hired help, it is not far out of the way to 

 state that bees will pay $5.00 per colony, 

 clear of all expenses. But in order to do so 

 you must learn how to reduce expenses to 

 their lowest possible minimum, and produce 

 honey in the largest possible quantities that 

 a certain number of colonies can be made 

 to do. 



The fact that thousands of bee-keepers are 

 not making $3.00 per colony is no disparage- 

 ment to the business. The same can 

 be said of hundreds of farmers in this 

 section, who are not making net $100 

 per year from their farms. But there 

 is no reason why each could not be 

 made to pay well if better methods 

 were adopted. 



No, my friends, I don't care to mod- 

 ify my statement in the least, that 

 about $5.00 per colony, spring count, 

 clear of all expenses, is a moderate 

 estimate of the profits from the busi- 

 ness. There are those that are doing 

 even better than that, as well as hun- 

 dreds who are making but little. 



A few have seen fit to criticise our 

 methods in securing these results, and 

 I do hope that they will give the read- 

 ers of Gleanings much better meth- 

 ods than any I have been able to give, 

 so we can all produce honey still 

 cheaper. If so, I shall be one 'of the 

 first to take of my hat and thank them 

 all for their very valuable informa- 

 tion. 



Delanson, N. Y. 



[There is one class of writers who 

 can write well, but who, somehow, are 

 not able to practice what they preach. 

 Surely, Mr. Alexander is not one of 

 that kind— nay, rather, he is one who 

 "does things." We venture to say 

 that there are not many in our ranks pn 

 who can make such a showing. 



Speaking about dispensing with out- 

 yards leads us to say this is possible in 

 a locality like Mr. Alexander's; but we doubt 

 if bee-keeping can be carried on on a large 

 scale in most localities — at least not profit- 

 ably — without scattering the bees in several 

 out-yards. Alexander's apiary is on a hill 

 overlooking hundreds of acres of heavy bee- 

 forage which his bees can plainly see for 

 niiles, for there is nothing to obstruct the 

 flight or vision; hence they will fly further 

 than ordinarily. — Ed.] 



A SEASON'S WORK AVITH SECTIONAL 

 HIVES. 



Swarm Control and Comb-honey Produc- 

 tion; Harmony witli Nature's Plan. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



In a former article we mentioned certain 

 hive manipulations as being necessary in or- 

 der to prevent the brood-chamber from be- 

 coming crowded with honey and brood, 

 which are the prime causes that bring about 

 swarming. This brings us down to the sec- 

 tional hive. As that hive is the only one 

 that can solve the problem of the rational 

 hiving of swarms so that work in the sections 

 is not in the least interfered with by the is- 

 suing of a swarm of bees, but goes right on 

 with even more vigor than before, even so 

 we must look to the sectional hive as the 

 only means of swarm control in the produc- 

 tion of comb honey where the brood and bees 

 are to be kept together, with no desire to 

 swarm, right through the honey-flow, be it 



. 1. — J. h. llAMi- -■IJ riONAI, 111\K; lUvOOl) 

 SECTIONS AND SUPEKS ALL ALIKE AND 

 INTERCHANGEABLE. 



long or short, fast or slow. To the fact that 

 the principles embodied in the construction 

 of the sectional hive ai'e the result of a care- 

 ful study of the natural instincts of the bee 

 is due the reason why it is destined to 

 solve the problems of perfect swarm control 

 and successful comb-honey production that 

 have for so many years baffled the skill of 

 the users of the full-depth flxed-brood-cham- 

 ber hive. 



