106 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



Honey Flows, Localities and Their 

 Influence in Swarming. 



ADRIAN GETAZ. 



N the November issue, of 1905, re- 

 ^ quest is made for the discussion of the 

 management of out-apiaries, in regard to 

 the swarming question; the object being 

 to learn how to manage a large number 

 of colonies with the least possible work. 



Those who have successfully managed 

 large apiaries are the ones best qualified 

 to speak on the subject. That rules me 

 out. 1 might say, however, that 1 always 

 have had some other business to attend 

 to, besides the bees, and usually the time 

 that could be given to them has been 

 very limited. In fact, during the first 

 three or four years of my bee keeping, ths 

 cnly time I could devote to them was at 

 night, after supper, except now and then 

 a half day. So you see, the question of 

 short cuts, and time-saving-devices and 

 processes, have been as important to me 

 as to many owners of hundreds of colonies. 

 But this is not the point I am going to 

 make; I want to call the readers' atten- 

 tion to the relation between the locality 

 and the management to be adopted. It is 

 not altogether a question of which method 

 requires the least work, but which will 

 give the best returns, everything taken in- 

 to consideration. 



THE NATURE OF HONEY FLOW. 



What we call locality consists, in a 

 general way, of three features, which are: 

 1 st the climate. 

 2nd the length and nature of the honey 



flow. 



3rd the market; whether extracted or 

 comb honey is required, or both, and, m 

 the latter case, in what proportion. 



Concerning the swarming question, the 

 chief point to consider is whether at that 

 time of the year, the apiarist works for 

 comb honey or for extracted honey. I say 



at "that time of year," because where 

 there is white honey at some time of the 

 season, and dark honey at some other, it 

 might often be profitable to harvest the 

 white honey as comb, and the dark as ex- 

 tracted. A very late flow has to be taken 

 in the extracted form, because, at that 

 time of the year, the weather is too cold 

 to admit of anything like brisk comb 

 building. 



The question of climate may be set 

 aside, but that of the nature and length 

 of the flow is the most important and the 

 most difficult to deal with. There are 

 many kinds of honey flows, or, rather, 

 honey seasons; here are a few by the 

 way of classifying them. 



1st. A long, uninterrupted flow of sev- 

 eral months, that is. in good seasons; be- 

 ginning rather late, after the swarming is 

 over. That, I understand, is the condi- 

 tions in a portion of the Pacific Coast. 

 Under such circumstances, it is said that 

 a colony and its swarm will give almost 

 twice as much (in a good season) as an 

 old colony not having swarmed. 



2nd A locality with two distinct flows. 

 For instance, in some of the Western 

 states where the surplus is obtained from 

 ■ the two crops of alfalfa. Or in New York 

 and some other North Eastern states, 

 where there is a flow from basswood and 

 white clover and another from buckwheat. 

 3rd. A locality with a single flow of a 

 few weeks duration; usually very heavy, 

 comparatively, and opening suddenly. 

 That is the situation in most of the North- 

 ern States where white clover and bass- 

 wood are the main sources of surplus. As 

 the great majority of your correspondents 

 are in that kind of locality. 1 expect to 

 see that part of the program fully discus- 



