184 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1919 



Round About the Home Plot— Continued 



Bee Keeping for Boys 



One of the finest hobbies a boy can have is 

 bee-keeping. It will not only prove interesting 

 to watch the habits of the insects but it should 

 provide plenty of pocket money for the average 

 boy. The first money is likely to come in from 

 the sale of honey; but if Mr. Boy is wide awake 

 he will soon want to try some of the more profit- 

 able and more interesting lines of work such as 

 dividing and increasing colonies so as to sell 

 them, or the still more fascinating work of queen- 

 rearing for sale. 



It would be hard to find a place except in the 

 large cities where bees can not have plenty of 

 flowers from which to gather nectar. Wherever 

 Basswood, Catalpa, and Locust trees, Clover of 

 any kind except the large red, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, 

 Golden-rod, wild Asters and many other flowers 

 are abundant the bees will find ample forage. 

 In fact, about the only unsafe place to start is 

 where there are not flowers within five miles. 



The start does not cost much. Good, strong 

 colonies in modern hives can usually be bought 

 in the spring for #5 to #10. Other necessities 

 such as a bee-veil, a smoker and a feeder cost 

 only a trifle each. Preferably the colony should 

 be moved to its new quarters in early spring 

 because the bees will thus become acquainted 

 with their new home and not return to the old. 

 Also a colony then has passed the winter in safety. 

 In buying always see that there are lots of bees 

 and larvae in the hive, that there is an energetic 

 queen and at least a fair supply of honey. 



It is always a good plan to have two or more 

 extra hives with some combs of honey and 

 "foundation" for other combs so that should the 

 colony bought suddenly divide there will be a 

 place ready to house the new swarm. Then, 

 too, there is always the chance of catching a 

 stray swarm. Often the neighbors will tell a 

 boy who is keeping bees where such a swarm has 

 alighted or where one has taken possession of a 

 hollow tree, or a cavity between the walls of a 

 building. Such swarms cost nothing but the 

 effort to get them, and often they pay well before 

 the season is over. The writer of this article 

 visited a place last summer where fifteen or 

 twenty such swarms had been caught and hived. 

 Some of them were enticed to enter hives placed 

 in trees; others were jammed into sheets and 

 dumped in front of the hives to which inclined 

 boards served as runways. 



It is a good thing to have beginners' books on 

 bees and to read the articles in bee and other 

 magazines; but if the boy can get to some ex- 

 perienced bee-keeper's place occasionally and 

 help the bee-keeper as well as ask questions he 

 will make better progress. But besides this 

 he should try to keep his own eyes and mind 

 open to discover for himself the wonders of bee 

 life. One of the most interesting books to read 

 is by Maurice Maeterlinck. It does not pretend 

 to be a "practical" book, but it will surely open 

 the eyes of any boy or girl to the general life 

 habits of the honey bee. 



The country boy may be thought to have the 

 advantage of the boy in the small town but this 

 is only a seeming. The boy living where there 

 are flower gardens has just as good a chance as 

 the one in the actual country; for bees have 

 been known to fly more than ten miles for their 

 supplies of nectar. 



The one point usually brought up against bee- 

 keeping is the bees' sting! It certainly feels hot 

 the first time it is presented and there may be 

 more or less swelling the first few times each 

 year. But very soon it hurts even less than a 



mosquito bite and even where through careless- 

 ness or wrong management several stings are 

 received close together the effect is little or noth- 

 ing because the human body becomes resistant 

 to the stings. The interest in bee-keeping and 

 the money to be made will soon make almost 

 any one forget about the sting. 



Breeds of Bees. — In the United States the 

 German or black bee is commonest. It is hardy, 

 makes whiter combs than other varieties but is 

 inclined to be "touchy" so is not the best kind 

 for the novice to begin with. Cyprians are even 

 worse. They are not popular on this account. 

 Not even smoke will subdue them. In distinct 

 contrast is the Carolina bee — the most gentle 

 of all. Unfortunately it makes new swarms upon 

 very slight provocation! Like it the Caucasian 

 bee, recently introduced into the United States, 

 is so gentle as to be considered stingless! It has 

 stings but is slow to anger. Of all the races, 

 however, the Italian is the most profitable and 

 satisfactory. It is more gentle than the black 

 bee, handsomer, having a golden yellow and 

 black abdomen, an energetic worker and honey 

 gatherer, active defender of its home against 

 the bee moth and other enemies but in order to 

 be carried through the winter it must be well sup- 

 plied with food and be well protected against cold. 



Easy Money ! It is often said that in honey 

 production alone bee-keeping pays better in 

 proportion to the investment of both money and 

 necessary time than any other line of rural occu- 

 pation. The editor would like to have several 

 short personal experiences showing how amateurs 

 — people with only a few colonies — have made 

 bee-keeping pay them. 



Hives in Winter. — Unless the hives have been 

 well painted they may leak during stormy weather 

 if wintered out of doors. To make sure that all 

 is well inside, remove the roofs occasionally after 

 rains and see that things inside are in good con- 

 dition. If there is a leak either use paint or 

 putty to close it. Should the cushions or quilts 

 in the top of the hive be wet replace them with 

 dry ones. It is a good plan to use two or three 

 thicknesses of wrapping paper between the layers 

 of quilts or to place a cushion filled not too full 

 with any leaves, corn shucks, chaff, cork .dust or 

 other good insulating material. The idea should 

 be to keep the bees as cozy as possible during the 

 winter. 



Whitewashing the poultry house is excellent 

 for cleanliness. Use only freshly slaked lime 

 for this purpose. Never apply it until after the 

 whole interior has been cleaned and never let 

 the whitewash or any lime come in contact with 

 poultry manure because its chemical action robs 

 manure of its most valuable fertilizing substance 

 — nitrogen. This is wasted in the air as ammonia. • 



At least once a month after thoroughly cleaning 

 the poultry house spray with kresol as per di- 

 rections on the bottle. This is a far safer disin- 

 fectant than carbolic acid and is fully as effective 

 in cleansing the premises of disease germs. 



Spray the interior of the poultry house, es- 

 pecially the cracks, the roosts and the nest boxes 

 with kerosene to kill the mites that hide during 

 the day in such places. At least once a month! 



Wash the drinking fountains at least once a 

 week with boiling water and a stiff whisk broom. 

 Once a week or perhaps oftener add a few crys- 

 tals of permanganate of potash to the water as 

 an internal disinfectant— just enough to give the 

 water a slight purplish tint. 



Advertisers will appreciate your mentioning The Garden Magazine in writing— and we will, loo 



