1918 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



MENDELSON'S PIRU APIARY 



eluded in this class. Some of the 

 members were to raise extracted 

 heney, and since an extractor was 

 rather expensive for an individual 

 club member to own, the club pur- 

 chased the extractor and all equip- 

 ment necessary for extracting. 



Each club member was urged to 

 subscribe to one bee journal and, if 

 possible, secure a text book. Gloves, 

 veils, smokers, hive tools, hives and 

 hive parts, including supers, frames, 

 sections, foundation, bee escape 

 boards and queen excluders, were 

 secured by each member for his indi- 

 vidual needs. 



Since the object was to make bet- 

 ter beekeepers rather than more bee- 

 keepers, it was planned to have each 

 member make his start with a colony 

 of bees, secured, if possible, from his 

 parents. By so doing it was intend- 

 ed to make a practical demonstra- 

 tion, not only to his parents but to 

 others, of just what could be ac- 

 complished by using modern meth- 

 ods and intelligent care in handling 

 the bees. 



The club opened in the spring of 

 1917 with twelve members. Four of 

 these were obliged to discontinue, 

 but the other eight remained enthu- 

 siastic members throughout the sea- 

 son. 



In order that an exact rating 

 should be given to each member, the 

 hive with which he had started was 

 examined and a value placed upon :t. 

 In making this examination the con- 

 dition and strength of each colony, 

 the race, age and prolificness of the 

 queen, and the condition of the hive 

 and hive parts were all taken into 

 consideration. If a colony was in an 

 old box hive, which would later have 

 to be changed to a better hive, it re- 

 ceived a lower valuation than it 

 would have had it been already in a 

 modern hive. 



After each colony had been ap- 

 praised and its value recorded the 

 club was ready to begin work. Mr. 

 Boyle and Mr. Popence demonstrat- 

 ed how the hive parts should be put 

 together, how many nails to use and 

 where they should be used, and how 

 to paint them so as to have all of 

 a uniform color. 



Those who were going to raise ex- 

 tracted honey learned how to make 

 extracting frames and how to fasten 

 in the foundation which was used to 

 secure straight comb. Those who 

 were interested in producing comb 

 honey learned how to make the sec- 

 tions and how to fasten in the little 

 sheets of wax or "starters." 



Those who had colonies in old 

 boxes were shown how to transfer 

 them to modern hives with movable 

 frames. After the bees were housed 

 in their new homes they could be 

 examined at any time, because the 

 frames in these hives could be re- 

 moved at will. 



As the work progressed new prob- 

 lems constantly presented themselves 

 and Mr. Boyle and Air. Popence were 

 kept busy throughout the summer 

 answering questions and solving 

 problems. 



After the honey season is over, 

 there is a valuation to determine the 

 standing of each club member. Each 

 contestant must submit an itemized 

 account of all his expenses and re- 

 ceipts. Then his colonies are exam- 

 ined along the following line: (1) 



49 



the number of colonies; (21 the 

 strength of each colony; (3) the 

 number of bees in each colony; (4) 

 amount of stores; (5) improvement 

 i.i the race of bees, and (6) possi- 

 bilities of wintering. 



The standing of each contestant is 

 determined by adding the total re- 

 ceipts to the value of the colonies, 

 minus the total expenses. 



Although the summer of 1917 was 

 m general, a poor season for honey! 

 yet several members of the Boys' 

 and Girls' Club did very well. They 

 not only secured very creditable 

 crops of honey, but also learned a 

 great many facts about beekeeping. 

 At the close of the season each con- 

 testant wrote the story of his sum-- 

 mer's work. These stories made 

 more than ordinarily interesting 

 reading. 



Ezra Palmer's, father gave him a 

 colony of bees in an old box hive 

 with which to make a start. Ezra 

 bought a standard hive, supers and 

 other necessary equipment. 



In the fall he sent a frame of 

 honey from his colony to the State 

 1'air at Topeka, for which he was 

 awarded a $3 premium. In addition 



f° £n he S ° ld 10 ° P° unds ' of honey 

 tor $20, making a total income of 

 $23. As his total expense was $4 73 

 his total profit from his one colony 

 of bees was $18.27. Joseph W. Stout 

 secured a yield of 115 pounds of 

 honey and was given an award of 

 merit for his honey exhibit at the 

 State Fair at Hutchinson. Clarence 

 Uadfelter also did well, as he took 

 Hi pounds from his colony of bees. 



The work of the club was so suc- 

 cessful and attracted so wide atten- 

 tion that the members have decided 

 to take advantage of this publicity 

 and market their product under a 

 club name. 



Already fourteen new members 

 have been enrolled for next year and 

 there are at least fiftv who wish to 

 join the club. The older members 

 will take up some of the more ad- 

 vanced problems of beekeeping. Such 



MEMBERS OF THE LV 



itjnty i;ki-: 



in beekeeping 



GREAT INTEREST 



