22 



For tanketeers. 



Perhaps you op- 

 erated a tank over 

 there, and you 

 may have been 

 born and reared 

 on a farm, or may 

 have become in- 

 terested in some 

 sort of farming or 

 may now become 

 interested in it. 

 There never was a 

 time when there 

 was such a de- 

 mand as now for 

 persons skilled in 

 the operation of 

 farm machinery, 

 particularly farm 

 tractors. Head 

 the Opportunity 

 Monograph on 

 farm occupations 

 published by the 

 Federal Board. 

 There you will 

 learn all about 

 opportunities in 

 agricultural pur- 

 suits — poultry 

 farming, stock 

 raising, garden- 

 ing, dairying, 

 fruit culture, and 

 other lines. 



to the fullest capacity of the hive before the secretion of nectar begins 

 from the principal honey plants. Second, he prevents a division of 

 the working force of the colony by swarming, through the well-under- 

 stood means of discouraging it. In addition to these activities, he pro- 

 vides the additional space necessary for storage of the surplus honey 

 crop at the right time. To have the bees reach their greatest strength 

 in time for the first honey flow taxes the skill of the best apiarist, but 

 by a careful study of the flowers from which the principal nectar crop 

 is obtained in this locality the beekeeper is able to create sufficiently 

 in advance conditions which will greatly multiply his working bees. 

 Failure to do this and failure to appreciate the importance of being 

 prepared has caused many beekeepers the loss of the best honey flows 

 of the year. In such cases the beekeeper often does not know that he 

 is missing the largest flows, because his colonies do not acquire their 

 full strength until after these flows have terminated. 



It may seem unnatural to fight the swarming instinct, as swarming 

 is the natural way for new colonies to be formed. It is, however, the 

 nature of bees to swarm at a time when swarming will result in a division 

 of the working force, and just at the period when they should be con- 

 centrating on the principal flow of the season. Therefore the bee keeper 

 arranges, if possible, that any increase in the number of colonies shall 

 be made when it will not prevent the gathering of nectar. This re- 

 quires vigilance just at the swarming season, since no satisfactory way 

 has been devised for treating the whole apiary long in advance of this 



Fig. 20.— Hiving a swarm of bees. 



season to cheek the swarming instinct. There are, however, ways of 

 control by weekly visits during the swarming season — ways which can 

 not be explained in this short monograph, but which can be learned 

 from literature or in an agricultural college course in beekeeping. 



