THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



777 



ber, and that is, that there is little 

 agreement, and apparently little pros- 

 pect of agreement, among bee-keep- 

 ers, as to the necessity or Ibe methods 

 of securing ventilation, a high tem- 

 perature, a dry atmosphere, late 

 brood rearing, or even as to the neces- 

 sity of cellar wintering ; but they are 

 in practical accord in affirming the 

 necessity of supplying beea for winter 

 ■with stores of a good quality. This is 

 a signilicant fact. Stick a pin here, 

 and bend a hook on the point of it. 



And again, why is it that bees in 

 the cellar suffer most severely during 

 winters when they suffer most out-of- 

 doors ? 



Without stating my deductions at 

 length, let me only say in conclusion 

 that I have found among my own 

 bees, that colonies with plenty of 

 good stores, known to besuch, always 

 winter well, while those with stores 

 of a doubtful character winter more 

 or less disastrously. 



I am satisfied that I cannot winter 

 a colony well on stores that are de- 

 cidedly poor in quality, by any method 

 with which I am acquainted. Who 

 can inform me how to do itV I am 

 confident that I can winter any fair 

 colony well, on stores which are cer- 

 tainly good, by any of the approved 

 methods. Who doubta his ability to 

 do the same V 



Of course it is not to be denied that 

 a low temperature, moisture, etc., 

 seriously aggravate the ill effects of 

 poor stores, but I seriously question 

 whether, unless present in an extra- 

 ordinary degree, they would seriously 

 affect the welfare of a colony well 

 supplied with pure stores. 



R. L. Tatlor. 



After the reading of the foregoing 

 essay it was discussed as follows : 



N. N. Betsinger— If sugar is better 

 for bees, why is it not better for 

 human beings V 



Jas. Heddon— Because bees gather 

 honey is no reason why it is the best 

 winter food for them. Honey con- 

 tains nitrogenous matter, and is well 

 adapted to brood-rearing and supply- 

 ing the waste of muscular tissue ; but 

 for this same reason it is not so suit- 

 able for a winter food. 



N. N. Betsinger— I agree with Mr. 

 Heddon, that sugar is a better winter 

 food for bees than is honey ; but the 

 public does not understand the reason 

 •Why. It reasons that if sugar is bet- 

 ter for bees, it is better for human 

 beings. Even though sugar is better, 

 the public ought not to be told of it, 

 because they draw a wrong inference. 



N. W. McLain— We ought not to 

 pay so much attention to what the 

 public thinks, but rather to what is 

 best for the bees. We all know that 

 bees are not natives of a northern 

 climate, and when we bring them here 

 we may be obliged to make changes 

 in their food ; and to say all this must 

 be explained to the public is foolish ; 

 that is our business. 



Mr. McLain then gave an interest- 

 ing account of his practical accom- 

 plishments and experiments in scien- 

 tific bee-keeping during the past year, 



referring to the interest displayed by 

 the United States Department of Ag- 

 riculture in the valuable and rapidly 

 increasing industry of bee-keeping 

 and the honey product. 



The essay of Mr. D. A. Jones, Bee- 

 ton, Ont., is as follows, and is on 



Establlslilnc: Oat Apiaries. 



This is the question that has been 

 assigued me by the Secretary, and it 

 is one which is receiving considerable 

 attention just now, as many engaged 

 in appiculture are increasing their 

 colonies until they have, frequently, 

 more than they can afford to keep in 

 one apiary. Then the questions arise, 

 what should they do ? Should they 

 sell them off, or start " out apiaries V" 



There are some localities where 500 

 colonies might be kept with success, 

 and there are others where 100 would 

 overstock them. I consider from 100 

 to 200 colonies as many as is profitable 

 to keep in the average apiary. In es- 

 tablishing out apiaries 50 colonies 

 would make a start, but I would 

 recommend 100, as no more trouble 

 need be taken to manipulate them. 

 These would contain 200 colonies in 

 the fall,which might be divided again ; 

 thus your apiaries, if you double your 

 colonies, would double every year. 

 But counting mishaps, sales and 

 losses, perhaps we might more rea- 

 sonably expect to double our colonies 

 every two years. This, of course, 

 depends largely upon the practice of 

 the apiarist. One man is required at 

 each out apiary during the season, 

 which, in this country, varies from 

 four to five months. 



From my home apiary, I located one 

 about \}4 miles to the northwest ; the 

 next about four miles to the north- 

 east ; next, seven miles to the north- 

 east ; then one five miles north, one 

 six miles northwest, and one ten miles 

 northwest, with sometimes smaller 

 ones between. From personal experi- 

 ence I am satisfied that m good locali- 

 ties from two to three miles apart is 

 far enough to have them. I have had 

 as good results from the closest api- 

 aries, as from those furthest apart, 

 and that, too, when there were over 

 200 colonies in each. 



If the locality were suitable,! should 

 prefer to place them so that I could 

 visit all the apiaries by driving the 

 shortest possible distance, that is, five 

 or six apiaries might be placed around 

 a central one, or in a way that one 

 could drive or take them all in in one 

 route. Mine, unfortunately, are not 

 so placed, and it gives me Ave or ten 

 miles of an extra drive to take them 

 all in, but as the locations suited me 

 better, I thought it would more than 

 over-balance the extra cost of the 

 journey to place them as I did. 



Each apiary should have a practi- 

 cal man or woman in charge. I have 

 frequently had students look after 

 them, but it pays much better to have 

 assistants with at least one year's ex- 

 perience, as the foreman cannot man- 

 age to go around to each apiary more 

 than once per week, and sometimes 

 scarcely that, especially if he has to 

 give a day to each apiary, to instruct 

 the one in charge. The assistant in 

 charge has spare time enough on his 



hands to keep the yard in nice condi- 

 tion, besides preparing sections, put- 

 ting them on, keeping tlie hives 

 painted, and making new ones when 

 required. 1 never expect him to do 

 all the work during the honey- flow, 

 but give him assistance in extracting. 

 The more assistance that is required 

 for this purpose, the better the apiary 

 pays. 



When extracting I use little boys 

 and girls for carrying the combs to 

 and from the hives to the extractor. 

 Two of them, a little larger and a 

 little practiced, do the uncapping and 

 extracting. I have also had boys from 

 ten to twelve years old tbat could put 

 the combs back in the hives very well 

 after they had been extracted. This 

 class of labor, with us, is very cheap, 

 and tliere is generally plenty of it in 

 the neighborhood of every apiary, 

 that can be got when required, and 

 the youngsters think it as good as a 

 holiday to gel an opportunity to work 

 in the bee-yard. 



With a good, practical foreman to 

 visit the yards, and see after them, as 

 much can be realized from the " out 

 apiaries " as from the " home " ones. 

 Very often they bring in better re- 

 turns, because they are selected on 

 account of their fitness, while the 

 home apiary may only be tolerated 

 because of "its being your " home," 

 rather than the most favorable place 

 for an apiary. Almost any number 

 of apiaries may be managed in this 

 way if the owner is thoroughly prac- 

 tical, and will devote his entire atten- 

 tion to the business, or if a good, re- 

 liable foreman and trusty students 

 can be secured, or better, those who 

 have had, say a year's experience. 



I am satisfied that after one has 

 mastered the business, and under- 

 stands it thoroughly, if his surround- 

 ings are suitable, he is only fooling 

 away his time with one apiary, as he 

 can manage several without any more 

 trouble than is required to manage 

 one. He would require a suitable rig, 

 so that in driving to each apiary he 

 could take such supplies as he might 

 require, and in returning could bring 

 any honey that there might be on 

 hand. 



I have parties offering me the privi- 

 lege of establishing apiaries on their 

 premises without any charge. One 

 man, where I had an apiary for over 

 ten years, sold his place and moved 

 away. He has asked me to come and 

 establish one on his new place, free 

 of charge, knowing as he does the 

 benefit that the clovers, fruit trees 

 and vines receive from the fertiliza- 

 tion of the flowers by the bees. The 

 highest that I have ever paid is $25 a 

 year for bee-houses or a cellar to win- 

 ter in. All the ground that is re- 

 quired is a quarter to a half-acre to 

 place the bees on. From $5 to $10 a 

 year is the usual rent, where a charge 

 is made at all. 



Even though a person has a sale for 

 all the extra colonies of bees he can 

 spare, it will pay him to have at least 

 one or two out apiaries, because if 

 increase is the principal object, the 

 sale of bees will doubly repay the in- 

 terest on capital invested. Any honey 

 that they may stow away more than is 



