June 1908.1, 



561 



Live Stock. 



considerable '• development. Noteworthy 

 periods of time, however, will be needed 

 before any large returns come from these 

 sources for the expenditure of capital and 

 labour. Bee-keeping, on the other hand, 

 may show a profit worth having in the first- 

 season in which it is undertaken, and when 

 fair amounts of knowledge and skill have 

 been acquired, a high rate of interest on the 

 outlay may be definitely expected. In 

 elucidation of this statement we may men- 

 tion that in May or June — the most favour- 

 able months for beginning an apiary — well- 

 stocked hives may be bought for from 25s. 

 to 35s. each. If swarms are preferred they 

 may be had at prices varying from 10s. to 

 15s., and new hives for their reception, with 

 frames furnished with sheets of "founda- 

 tion " can be had for sums ranging from 15s. 

 to 25s. Now since, taking an average of 

 years, the best authorities on the subject 

 allege that a return of £1 per hive may be 

 looked for annually, it is evident that bee- 

 keeping skilfully carried on is very profitable 

 from a money point of view. That the 

 above estimate is by no means exaggerated 

 may be seen from the fact that with modern 

 methods and experienced management, it is 

 no uncommon event for from 5U lb. to 60 lb. 

 of surplus honey to be taken in one season 

 from a single hive. Under the antiquated 

 plan of keeping bees in " skeps" (old-fashioned 

 straw hives), a yield of 15 lb. to 20 lb. was 

 considered very satisfactory, but the honey 

 squeezed out of the combs was often far from 

 good in quality, being mixed with undesir- 

 able debris from the cells. The means by 

 which present-day methods effect such vast 

 improvements in both the quantity and 

 purity of the produce taken may be briefly 

 described. 



The term "foundation" refers to thin 

 sheets of wax uniformly impressed with exact 

 reproductions of the bases of the cells which 

 bees construct. These sheets, cut to fit either 

 "sections" or "shallow frames," and fixed 

 in them, are of immense advantage to the 

 bees. In the first place, since from 14 lb. to 

 15 lb. of honey are consumed by the workers 

 for the secretion of 1 lb. of wax, a great saving 

 of vital energy is secured by the artificial 

 "foundation" of combs. Then, too, since 

 considerable time and a state of quiescence 

 are needed for the elaboration of wax by the 

 organs devoted to it, a further great advant- 

 age accrues from the use of the impressed 

 sheets, inasmuch as they supply space on 

 both sides on which the bees may immedi- 

 ately set to work. The "sections" are little 

 sideless boxes 4| in. square. They are ar- 

 ranged in crates carrying 21 each, and these 

 are placed above the brood-box so soon as the 

 latter is crowded with bees. "Shallow 

 frames" resemble those which are used in 

 the brood-chamber, but are less deep by 2| in. 

 When these frames are filled with honey 

 sealed over by the bees, they may be lifted 

 from the hive. The cappings are then care- 



fully sliced off, and the combs may then be 

 completely emptied by being whirled round 

 in an apparatus for the purpose, called an 

 "extractor." The emptied combs being re- 

 placed on the hive are immediately cleaned 

 up, repaired where damaged, and speedily 

 refilled by the busy workers. The process of 

 extracting may be repeated twice or thrice 

 in favourable seasons where bee-pasturage 

 abounds, and by this method more than 

 1 cwt. of honey per hive has often been 

 obtained. When "sections" are used, a 

 second crate may be put below the first so 

 soon as this is well on towards being filled. 

 The two are then left on the hive till the 

 forwardest one is quite completed — that is, till 

 all the cells are seabed. In fortunate circum- 

 stances a tier of three crates may frequently 

 be employed. Each section when filled 

 weighs 1 lb. A good shallow frame will yield 

 from 3 lb, to 4 lb. of honey, and as a crate 

 usually holds 10 frames, it is easy to under- 

 stand how successful bee-masters reap, by 

 modern appliances, a large harvest of their 

 special produce. 



Two or three other points deserve brief 

 consideration. One is that bee-keeping opens 

 up an array of deeply interesting and most 

 striking facts in natural history. Any good 

 text-book on the subject will abundantly con- 

 Arm this statement. Then the pursuit easily 

 becomes a most attractive hobby. An old 

 Franch writer says, indeed, on rCaime 

 pas les abeilles : on se passionne d'eux, 

 and this is commonly verified by experience. 

 Again, the occupation is one eminently suited 

 for women, as it does not entail going out of 

 doors in bad weather to supply food, and is 

 not open to the objections incident to the 

 breeding of various domestic animals. As a 

 matter of fact, not only are many of the 

 lady students at our agricultural and horti- 

 cultural colleges taking up the study and 

 practice of apiculture, and becoming certified 

 experts, but throughout the country hun- 

 dreds of women and girls manage, or help 

 in the management of, thousands of stocks of 

 bees. Nor need timid people be afraid of 

 being stung. Adequate protection may be 

 secured by wearing a veil and gloves, and, 

 moreover, the bees can be completely sub- 

 dued and controlled by a few puffs of smoke 

 from an appliance for the purpose, or by the 

 use of a cloth sprinkled with dilute carbolic 

 acid. 



Another very important point is the inti- 

 mate relation between insects and our crops, 

 of fruit. Nearly all the blossoms of our 

 orchards and fruit gardens are dependent for 

 proper pollination on the agency of bees. 

 Hence it is a well-known fact that apples, pears, 

 plums, cherries, peaches, apricots, nectarines, 

 strawberries, raspberries, currants and goose- 

 berries all yield much better results where 

 some stocks of bees are kept in their neigh- 

 bourhood. That honey is not only a very 

 palatable, but also a most wholesome, article 



