THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



93 



keeper who is just starting may find 

 something that will be of benefit to 

 him and am fully alive to the fact 

 that I have left several gaps open 

 for the professional beekeepers to 

 jump on me with both feet, so let me 

 say now that in my humble opinion 

 there is no well beaten track that can 

 be followed without variation, but it 

 is a science which must be worked 

 out according to locality, seasons 

 and general surroundings, and the 

 man that makes good is the man who 

 does not depend on others for his 

 knowledge, but "works out his own 

 salvation" with his own hands and 

 brain, to a reasonable degree, after 



getting the fundamental principles 

 from text books. 



(Good for you, friend Rennolds! 

 That is a fine showing for a begin- 

 ner. We might add that your advice 

 to the average beeman is NOT to try 

 making his own hives, if he desires 

 accuracy and science in the making of 

 all fixtures. We, too, are now making 

 our own hives with an electric power 

 saw, and like it, and the results; but, 

 may we add, we, too, have worked at 

 the machine end of things, more or 

 less, since boyhood and love the work, 

 too. We can fully appreciate the feel- 

 ing that Mr. Rennolds has about it 

 all, for the same reason. Let us hear 

 from you again.) E. G. B. 



The Care of the Bees from April 1st to June 10th 



By GEO- H- KIRIvPATRICK, Rapid City, IVIich- 



It is possible to have a good flow 

 of honey and yet secure no surplus. 



How to have colonies strong in 

 number at the opening of the harvest 

 is well worthy of consideration. 



Aside from food in abundance, 

 warmth is the one great essential 

 needed to promote safe, early breed- 

 ing. An ordinary colony will gener- 

 ate sufficient heat to enable the bees 

 to rear as much brood as they can 

 attend to. The trouble is that so much 

 of this heat is lost by radiation. 



I remember the spring of 1907, May 

 26th we had eight inches of snow 

 fall and the mercury down to 32° F. 

 This was after two weeks of fine 

 weather during which considerable 

 honey and pollen had been gathered, 

 and the combs filled with brood. 



The cold weather lasted three days 

 and how the weak colonies did suffer. 

 Some of them lost half of their brood 

 and a few died outright. 



Had the bees been warmly packed 

 the damage would have been small. 



Another year there was a cool 

 snell of weather in May, during which 

 the mercury remained at about 35 

 degrees for nearly a week and some 

 fair colonies actually starved, the bees 

 being closely clustered upon their 

 brood and unable, or unwilling, to 

 leave it to bring honey into the clus- 

 ter. 



Numerous instances like the above 

 have convinced me that it pays to pro- 

 tect bees after taking them from the 

 cellar, allowing the bees to remain 



protected until the beginning of the 

 harvest. I once believed that it was 

 better to leave the bees in the cellar 

 until late. I now believe it's best to 

 get them out early, into the open air, 

 and protect the hives from the cold 

 winds in a manner that will retain 

 all the animal heat of the colony. 



A little freshly gathered pollen, 

 honey and water seems to act like a 

 real charm, putting new life into the 

 colony. This encourages brood rear- 

 ing as nothing else will. 

 Spring Protection Need Not Be An 

 Expensive Affair. 



I believe it will pay and pay well 

 to build clamps of a cheap grade of 

 lumber. They can be constructed in 

 sections so as to be set up and then 

 at the beginning of the harvest taken 

 down and stored away to be used an- 

 other season. The apiarist should get 

 the clamps ready and then select a 

 moderate day to remove the bees 

 from the cellar to the clamp. 



It will be best to select a day too 

 cool for bees to fly. On the evening 

 previous to setting the bees out, open 

 the cellar doors and windows. This 

 will lower the temperature and the 

 bees will cluster closely. 



When removing the bees from the 

 cellar close the entrance with a damp 

 cloth well tucked in. 



Soon after setting the bees into the 

 clamps they should be carefully ex- 

 amined. I equalize the bees and their 

 stores, knowing that all colonies are 

 supplied with sufficient stores to last 



