PROPOLIS 
084 
extracted honey, the same extractor, un- 
ca pping-knives, and smokers can be used 
at a central extracting-station. He is thus 
enabled to put his invested capital where 
it will be earning’ money for him all the 
time in the busy season instead of eating 
up interest part of the time. Let it be as¬ 
sumed that some of his swarms get away 
from him; let it be assumed also that some 
of the work is not done as well as when he 
had only 300 colonies; but he has in¬ 
creased his honey crop by three times, pos¬ 
sibly, and has increased his actual operat¬ 
ing expenses only to the extent of the help 
that he has to pay for, extra hives, and 
sugar to feed. An exti’a man and a boy 
three months in a year—the men at $4.00 
each and a boy at $2.00 per day—would 
make his expense $450, counting 25 work¬ 
ing days to the month. To this should be 
added $70 for extra team or automobile 
truck hire. The cost of the extra 700 colonies 
with hives and supers divided by ten (as¬ 
suming that they would last ten years) 
would be $840 more, or $1360. But there 
must be added $350 more for sugar for 
feeding and $700 for sections, foundation, 
and shipping cases making $2,410 as the 
total added expenses for the 700 extra colo¬ 
nies. Say he is producing comb honey, and 
that he can average 35 lbs. per colony. If 
this nets him 15c he would get from 300 
colonies $1,575. If he has 1,000 colonies 
his gross income will be $5,250 by adding 
only $2,410 to his general expenses. 
This is a supposable and a possible case. 
But it shows that the operating expenses 
will not be proportionately increased if the 
number of colonies be doubled or trebled—- 
all on the assumption, of course, that the 
beekeeper has the necessary skill and busi¬ 
ness ability. 
PROPOLIS (From the Greek; pro, be¬ 
fore, and polis, city, referring to its 
use in partially closing the entrance or 
gateway to the bee commune or city).— 
Propolis is a gum gathered by bees from 
a variety of plants, but especially from 
the buds having some sort of gum or sticky 
substance. As it occurs in the beehive, it 
is dark reddish brown in color, and re¬ 
sembles the pitch of commerce. It has an 
aromatic odor similar to that of the buds 
of the balm-of-Gilead, is extremely brit¬ 
tle, melts at about 150 degrees F., is partly 
soluble in alcohol, only slightly soluble in 
turpentine, but readily dissolves in ether 
and chloroform. When wax and propolis 
are melted in the same receptable the liq¬ 
uid wax, being of less specific gravity, rises 
to the top and the liquid propolis sinks to 
the bottom. Propolis quickly sinks in wa¬ 
ter. 
Bees do not pack propolis in the cells, 
but it is applied at once to some portion 
of the hive. When newly gathered it is 
very soft, and in an almost liquid state is 
forced by the bee’s tongue into cracks and 
crevices, or spread as a varnish over the 
surface of combs. It is found in every 
part of the hive, but is especially abundant 
around the edges of the cover and at the 
ends of the frames, often completely filling 
the space between the ends of the top-bars 
and the front and back walls of the hive. 
It occurs in many parts of the hive, where 
it is entirely useless, as on its walls, bot¬ 
tom-board, middle of the cover, and on the 
frames and sections. In some cases it is 
found in' pellets or small masses, in others 
in narrow bands. It is stated that empty 
combs, which are not immediately used for 
brood-rearing or honey, are given a thin 
coating of propolis to preserve them. The 
spaces between the wires of queen-exclud¬ 
ers are often partially filled with propolis, 
but wax is also used for this purpose and 
is often covered with propolis. English 
beekeepers check projoolizing by rubbing 
chalk over the edges of frames and covers, 
and whitewashing the interior of the hive 
is sometimes practiced for the same pur¬ 
pose. It is seldom, however, that any 
measures to prevent propolizing are neces¬ 
sary. 
Small animals which enter the hive are 
stung to death, and are then sealed up in 
a wall of propolis. Snails, lizards, mice, 
and even small snakes, have been embalmed 
in an impervious coating of glue. 
If the sections are left on the hive too 
long, the bees will not only cover the wood¬ 
work but will also varnish over the whole 
surface of the white cappings, rendering 
the honey almost unsalable. The best 
course is to take off the supers as soon as 
the sections are capped over, for during a 
strong flow of honey little propolis is 
