1909. 
A CHAPTER ON BEE-KEEPING. 
I saw an article in a recent number of The It. N.-Y., 
“Why Are Not More Bees* Kept." I know nothing about 
bees, but would like to have some. There is nope in my 
neighborhood, so I would like information about the best 
way to start and their general care. w. j. d. 
Crittenden, N. Y. 
There is practically only one way to start bee¬ 
keeping, and that is, of course, to buy some bees. 
The best plan for beginning is to buy at the most 
two colonies, as he has much to learn, and some¬ 
times the first lesson will be all that he will ever 
want to take. All authorities agree that a small 
outlay at the start is the only safe plan, and my 
advice is, if you intend purchasing, or have a few 
hives of bees, get the best bee book that you can, 
and make a thorough study of it before you get the 
bees, and then you will not be so apt to throw up 
your job at the first experiment. Langstroth wrote 
many years ago that, “of all farm pursuits, bee-cul¬ 
ture requires the greatest skill, and may be called 
a business of details,” which is certainly the case. 
It is necessary to learn to open hives, and handle 
the bees as often as necessary for noting their con¬ 
dition, putting on surplus cases, or taking off honey, 
as the case may be, and these points may all be 
learned by studying the bee book, and then with a 
hive of bees to practice on, one may develop a 
talent for bee-keeping and find a new field of pleas¬ 
ure and profit. 
You will need besides your hives of bees some 
supplies, and you want them right on the spot, so as 
to have them when you need them. It is too late 
to get new hives when the bees are swarming, or 
sections after a honey flow is under way. The best 
time to get supplies ready is in the Winter, while 
there is plenty of time for such work, and they may 
be either bought or made at home, and stored in a 
clean dry place, ready to use at short notice when 
needed. If you decide to make your own hives, 
do not cut a board until you decide what hive you 
will adopt, and then get one already made, and 
make your new ones exactly like the pattern. The 
reason for this will be apparent when you need to 
exchange some fixtures between hives, or give a 
frame of brood to a weaker colony, or any of the 
dozens of changes that are often necessary after 
your apiary has begun to grow; so never tolerate 
different styles of hives in the same yard. Unless 
one is a natural mechanic and has 
good tools, and can do a perfect job, 
he would better buy his supplies than 
to make them. Some of the manu¬ 
facturers put up what they call a be¬ 
ginner’s outfit, consisting of a few 
hives, and supers, sections, comb foun¬ 
dation, veil, smoker, etc., at a reason¬ 
able price, but one can usually select 
what he needs from a catalogue, and 
order only what one wants, and save 
money by doing it. I hardly think it 
will be necessary to go many miles to 
find a few bees that can be bought for 
a reasonable price. 
The rest of the question is the larg¬ 
est proposition I ever had to tackle 
in a short article, but I will try to AX EGYP 
make a few .of the main points as 
plain as possible. First, the location 
of the hives is important. They should 
stand where they would be protected 
from winds as much as possible, and 
also where no stock could get to them. 
I should also want them where they 
could be easily seen from the main 
living room of the house, say about 
three or four rods away, so that the 
women folks could keep an eye out for 
swarms during swarming time. A 
south or east exposure is considered 
'the best, and hive entrance ehould 
face one or the other of those points. 
1 lie hives should he set level from 
side to side, and slant from back to 
front, to prevent storms from beating 
in and forming pools of water, or 
cakes of ice, on the bottom of the hive. AN 
This is important, but often neglected 
by farmer bee-keepers, and is often the cause of 
loss of colonies, especially in Winter. I prefer a 
hive stand about 10 inches high, as this keeps the 
toads from living on bees all Summer. When my 
hives were all on the ground I have caught as many 
as 40 toads in one night, sitting in front of the 
hi\es and snapping up bees as fast as they came 
in their reach. This will sometimes keep a colony 
so weak that they can gather no surplus all the sea¬ 
son. Spring is by far the best time to buy bees, 
and if you can buy a colony that cast a swarm last 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
year you get a young queen, which will be at her 
best for the next two years, while if you buy a 
cast swarm you get the old queen, and she may be 
three or four years old and not equal to making you 
a profit, even though she might keep up the colony. 
One of the main reasons why so many colonies fail 
to produce a surplus of honey is that the queen has 
passed her best period, and the bees have not super¬ 
seded her. Most bee-keepers have a record of the 
age of all their queens, and re-queen all colonies 
as soon as they reach the age limit. My rule is two 
A BANANA PLANT AT LOS ANGELES, CAL. Fig. 1SS. 
years, but extra good ones I keep three years, and 
poor ones no longer than to find out that they are 
no good. 
The first thing to do with the bees in the Spring 
is to see that they have plenty of stores to carry 
them through until new honey comes in. The hives 
should also be cleaned out; that is, the dead bees 
scraped out of the bottom, and the top closed per¬ 
fectly tight, as the bees need all the warmth they 
can generate at this season for brood rearing. Many 
will disagree with this advice, and say never open 
the hive until May, but T want to see how many 
bees there are, and how much honey, and also the 
TIAN FARMER AND I IIS PLOWING OUTFIT 
AMERICAN FARMER TURNING THE SOD. Fig. 
dead bees removed, as early in Spring as it is warm 
enough for the bees to fly freely. As soon as the 
honey flow from clover, if that is the first one, be¬ 
gins, the bees should be looked over every day or 
two, and all hives having the brood chamber full 
of brood and bees, and beginning to deposit white 
new wax on the edges of the comb, should be given 
surplus cases at once. It pays to use full sheets of 
foundation in all sections, and there should be at 
least one section of drawn comb in every super; 
partly filled sections from last season are best, but 
if you have none it will pay to buy a few sections 
of honey at the store, to use to bait the bees into 
the supers. If you use combs of honey it is best 
to scratch the cappings with a fork so that the honey 
will leak, as that will start the bees right away to 
take care of it, and generally start work all through 
the super as well. When the first super is well 
lender way, say one half to two-thirds full, if the 
honey flow is likely to last some time longer, it 
should be raised up and another empty one put 
under it. This may be continued as long as the 
prospect is good for a continued flow, but judgment 
must also be used, or you may give too much room, 
and be left with a lot of partly-filled sections. There 
will nearly always be some anyway, and they should 
be kept for baits next season. 
As soon as the honey crop is gathered it should 
be removed from the hives at once or the bees will 
soil the face of the comb and lower the market 
value of it. The honey may also be removed, a few 
sections at a time, as fast as they arc filled, and 
empty ones put in their place, and only one super 
used to each hive, but I would not recommend this 
plan if one has more than one or two hives. If one 
has a Fall flow from buckwheat or other sources the 
partly-filled sections may be put on the hives, and 
may be filled if weather conditions are right. When 
the honey is removed from the hive it should be 
sorted and the sections scraped clean, and be stored 
in the warmest, and dryest place in the house. It 
should be remembered that the bees keep the honey 
very warm, and they know what is best. I give this 
caution because many people think they must put 
their honey in the cellar, which is the very worst 
place it could be put, as it will gather dampness, and 
the cappings will crack and let the honey leak, and 
the whole thing will sour and be a total loss, as 
many readers doubtless know, and I find many who 
do not know the remedy, which is, keep honey dry 
and warm. I have tried to cover some of the main 
points of managing bees, but have necessarily only 
touched some of the most essential. I have not said 
a word about swarming, handling, hiving, etc., but 
these will likely be inquired about by some one later. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. _ j. a. crane. 
TRAPPING PRAIRIE CHICKENS. 
The trap as made should be about four feet 
square and 18 inches deep. Boards, 
lath or sticks may be used in its con¬ 
struction. The side next to the ground 
may be left open. Cut a hole a foot 
wide and two feet long in the top for 
a trap-door. The latter consists of a 
thin board a little smaller than the 
opening in the box. This board rests 
on two nails driven into the edges, one 
on either side, about one-third the dis¬ 
tance from one end, and left sticking 
out about one inch. A staple over each 
nail holds it in place. The short end 
may be weighted so the board will just 
balance on the nails, which serve as a 
pivot or axis, the short end resting on 
the edge of the opening in the trap. 
Fig. 189. Corn or other grain is used for bait, 
and is placed on the long end of the 
board. When the bird alights thereon 
his weight swings the board down and 
he slides off into the trap. The board 
then swings back into a level position, 
closing the hole. Tf the bait is fixed 
so it will not slide off the door several 
chickens may be taken at one setting. 
Quail and pheasants may also be 
trapped in this way. 
Instead of using a trap-door, one 
edge of the box may be lifted and held 
up by a figure-four trigger. The lat¬ 
ter should be made of pieces of hard 
wood about an inch wide and half as 
thick. No. 1 is 10 inches long, No. 2 
12 inches. No. 3 15 inches. The trig¬ 
ger is set so the sharpened end of No. 
3 points under the trap. A piece of an 
l 90 - ear of corn may be used for bait. A 
downward pressure on the end of the 
bait-stick releases the trigger, letting the box fall 
to the ground. Shelled corn may be strewn around 
the trap, leading to the bait inside. For rabbits, bait 
with an apple. o. H. b. 
Holt, Montana. 
R. N.-Y'.—The details of trap figured on preced¬ 
ing page give a clear idea of how it is made. A 
good many country boys are familiar with the mak¬ 
ing of these traps. In our vicinity game is quite 
closely protected, but there are many parts of the 
country where trapping seems a necessity. 
