?  510  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER,  .tune  io,  1897. 
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m 
,'HE  BEE-KEEPERS 
- 1  -i  -  .i  - 1’- 1  - 1  --r.-r.-r- 1  -T-n-  i  -  r--r.i  ivm  ^  1  Fa 
SEASONABLE  NOTES. 
Bee-keepers  whether  on  a  large  or  small  scale  must  now 
decide  in  what  form  they  will  obtain  a  surplus,  as  in  districts 
where  the  bulk  of  the  honey  is  obtained  from  held  Beans,  White 
Clover,  and  the  Limes,  the  next  six  weeks  will  decide  the  question 
whether  the  present  season  will  be  a  good  one  for  honey  production. 
Prospects  are  decidedly  good.  Since  my  last  notes  the  much 
needed  rain  has  come  ;  the  temperature,  too,  being  higher  is  all  in 
favour  of  the  plants  making  a  rapid  growth.  Alreadv  the  parched 
up  sheep  pastures,  which  are  composed  chiefly  of  White  Clover, 
are  progressing  favourably,  and  will  be  in  full  bloom  by  the  last 
week  in  June.  Beans,  of  which  there  is  a  limited  quantity  grown 
in  the  district,  although  short  on  the  stem,  owing  to  the  cold  winds 
experienced  this  spring,  are  just  opening  their  flowers.  The  honey 
obtained  from  field  Beans  is  of  *ood  flavour,  with  a  pleasant  aroma, 
but  is  rather  dark  in  colour.  Bees  work  freely  on  them,  and  if 
there  is  a  field  of  Beans  within  ttvo  miles  of  the  apiary  will 
disregard  all  other  flowers  in  favour  of  them. 
It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  ingenuity  of  bees  in  their 
endeavours  to  obtain  the  nectar  secreted  in  the  flowers  of  Beans. 
The  tube  being  too  long  for  the  proboscis  of  the  bee  to  reach  it 
from  the  entrance,  they  bore  a  hole  at  the  base  of  each  bloom,  and 
so  obtain  the  much-coveted  nectar.  The  humble  bee  is  often  sup¬ 
posed  to  first  bore  the  hole,  and  the  worker  bee  follows  and  obtains 
the  honey,  but  after  carefully  observing  the  hive  bees  at  work  I 
am  convinced  they  are  capable  of  doing  the  whole  of  the  work 
themselves. 
Working  for  Extracted  Honey. 
What  system  is  best  for  obtaining  a  large  quantity  of  run 
honey  of  the  first  quality  ?  Some  bee-keepers  advocate  large 
hives  with  extra-sized  brood  chambers.  Others  use  hives  of  less 
size,  and  when  the  queen  requires  more  room  for  ovipositing  some 
frames  of  brood  are  removed  and  placed  over  the  brood  nest  in  a 
top  storey,  the  empty  space  being  filled  with  frames  of  fully  drawn 
out  combs  or  foundation.  This  is  termed  the  doubling  system. 
Good  results  are  obtained  from  both,  but  for  reasons  previously 
given  I  prefer  the  latter. 
It  is,  however,  immaterial  so  loog  as  the  hive  is  crowded  and 
ample  super  room  is  piovided  for  the  bees  to  store  a  surplus,  which 
should  always  be  directly  over  the  brood  nest.  If  a  stock  has 
fiftei  n  or  more  frames  of  brood  in  the  body  of  the  hive  the  same 
system  of  doubling  may  be  carried  out  with  advantage.  By 
restricting  the  brood  nest  during  the  honey  flow  to  ten  frames, 
and  the  whole  of  the  top  storey  filled  with  frames  of  brood  and 
empty  frames  of  fully  drawn  out  combs,  at  least  a  fortnight  before 
honey  is  coming  in  freely,  will  result  in  a  larger  surplus  of  run 
honey  than  can  be  obtained  by  any  other  means. 
Colonies  that  have  not  the  required  number  of  bees  may  be 
assisted  with  frames  of  brood  and  adhering  bees  from  weak  stocks, 
for  preference  from  those  having  aged  queenB.  This  should  be 
done  in  the  middle  of  a  fine  day,  when  bees  are  freely  on  the  wing. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  sprinkle  them  with  flour,  syrup,  or  anything 
else  at  this  season,  for  if  the  frames  are  placed  alternately  with 
those  in  the  hive  to  which  they  are  to  be  united,  the'  majority 
of  them  being  youug  bees,  no  fighting  will  take  place,  and  the  bee¬ 
keeper  will  have  the  satisfaction  of  having  a  given  number  of 
stocks  in  his  apiary  in  prime  condition  for  obtaining  full  benefit 
from  whatever  flowers  there  may  be  in  bloom. 
Queen-excluder  zinc  must  always  be  used  when  full-sized  frames 
are  employed  as  supers,  otherwise  the  queen  will  not  remain  in  the 
body  of  the  hive,  but  will  fill  the  frames  intended  for  extracting 
purposes  with  brood.  Shallow  frames  may  also  be  used  for  extract¬ 
ing  ;  by  using  them  the'  brood  nest  is  not  interfered  with.  They 
are  useful  on  a  small  scale  ;  but  after  experimenting  with  them  for 
several  years,  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  as  large  a  surplus  as 
from  the  above-mentioned  plan. 
Prevention  of  Swarming. 
Under  the  modern  system  of  bee-keeping  it  is  an  advantage  to 
keep  the  bees  at  work,  storing  honey  when  it  is  possible,  instead  of 
wasting  their  energies  on  swarming.  When  the  majority  of  bees 
were  kept  in  straw  skeps  it  became  a  necessity  f.>r  the  bee-keeper  to 
allow  his  bees  to  swarm,  otherwise  there  would  be  no  young  queens 
raised,  and  there  would  be  a  difficulty  in  removing  the  combs, 
the  bees  being  driven  or,  as  was  more  often  the  case,  destroyed. 
Now  all  this  is  altered,  and  the  aim  of  the  majority  of  bee-keepers 
is  to  obtain  ai  much  honey  as  possible  without  their  bees  being 
troubled  with  the  swarmiDg  mania. 
Tp  prevent  swarming  it  is  necessary  to  give  the  bees  room  at 
the  right  time.  It  is  useless  doing  so  when  queen  cells  are  formed. 
If  the  queen  cells  are  all  removed  others  will  at  once  be  formed, 
and  the  bees  will  probably  come  off  the  first  fine  day.  Ample 
space,  rather  in  advance  of  their  requirement*,  should  be  provided, 
plenty  of  ventilation,  and  shade  from  bright  sunshine.  If  supers 
are  used  place  a  crate  of  empty  sections  under  the  previous  one 
placed  on  the  hive  when  it  is  about  three  parts  full.  The  empty 
supers  should  always  be  placed  underneath  and  not  on  the  top  of 
those  partly  filled.  By  wqrking  on  the  above  lines  very  little 
swarming  will  take  place,  and  should  the  weather  be  favourable 
will  result  in  a  bountiful  harvest  of  honey  instead  of  swarms. 
^  Comb  Honey. 
The  most  handy  form  in  which  to  obtain  comb  honey  is  by 
using  the  1-lb.  sections,  and  the  most  useful  sized  crate  is  one 
holding  twenty-one  sections.  Place  them  on  a  strong  colony  and 
cover  them  up  warm.  When  the  sections  are  about  three  parts 
filled,  and  the  more  forward  sections  in  the  middle  of  crate  are 
partly  sealed  over,  lift  it  off  the  hive,  and  put  another  crate  of 
empty  sections  in  its  place.  The  crate  of  partly  filled  sections 
should  now  be  placed  on  the  top,  care  being  taken  that  they  fit 
closely.  If  the  weather  is  favourable  the  bees  will  at  once  com¬ 
mence  to  store  a  surplus  in  the  empty  sections,  and  as  the  honey 
becomes  ripened  in  the  top  sections  will  seal  it  oyer.  When  honey 
is  coming  in  freely  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  have  three  crates 
of  twenty-one  sections  on  a  strong  colony  at  one  time.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  use  excluder  zinc  when  sections  are  used.: — An  English 
Bee  keeper. 
®e°  All  correspondence  relating  to  editorial  matters  should,  until 
further  notice,  be  directed  to  “  The  Editor/’  8,  Rose  Hill 
Road ,  Wandsworth ,  London ,  S.  W .  It  is  requested  that  no 
one  will  write  privately  to  any  of  our  correspondents,  seeking 
information  on  matters  discussed  in  this  Journal,  as  doing 
so  subjects  them  to  unjustifiable  trouble  and  expense,  and 
departmental  writers  are  not  expected  to  answer  any  letters 
they  may  receive  on  Gardening  and  Bee  subjects,  through  the 
post.  If  information  be  desired  on  any  particular  subject  from 
any  particular  authority  who  may  be  named,  endeavour  will  be 
made  to  obtain  it  by  the  Editor. 
Correspondents  should  not  mix  up  on  the  same  sheet  questions 
relating  to  Gardening  and  those  on  Bee  subjects,  and  should 
never  send  more  than  two  or  three  questions  at  once.  All 
articles  intended  for  insertion  should  be  written  on  one  side  of 
the  paper  only.  We  cannot,  as  a  rule,  reply  to  questions  through 
the  post.,  and  we  do  not  undertake  to  return  communications 
which,  for  any  reason,  cannot  be  inserted. 
Laburnums  ( F .  B.). — Your  specimens  represent  another  example  of  the 
result  of  grafting,  about  which  see  reply  to  “II.  C.”  on  page  468  of  our  issue  of 
May  27th,  1897. 
OdontogloBBum  nebulosum  (J.  B.). —  Though  your  flower  had  shrunk 
somewhat  in  travelling,  it  was  not  too  far  gone  for  its  quality  to  be  readily 
seen.  The  sepals,  petals,  and  lip  are  all  of  very  fine  form,  while  the  chocolate 
markings  are  much  better  than  in  many  forms  we  have  seen. 
Temple  Show  Awards  (C.  Beckett). — So  much  had  to  be  done  in  such 
little  time  that  we  were  almost  surprised  by  the  R.H.S.  officials  supplying  us 
with  so  many  awards  in  time  for  publication  on  the  night  of  the  first  day  of 
the  show.  We  are  glad  that  a  silver  cup  was  granted  for  your  exhibit,  which 
it  thoroughly  well  deserved. 
Tomato  Flowers  Dropping  (  TV.  B.). — The  sample  was  very  small  indeed, 
and  considerably  shrivelled  by  drying  in  the  box.  There  did  not  appear  to  be 
otherwise  anything  the  matter  with  the  flowers.  There  may  have  been  too 
much  moisture  in  the  atmosphere  to  have  prevented  the  setting.  So  far 
as  we  could  perceive  there  does  not  seem  anything  to  be  alarmed  about.  We 
can  only  suggest  more  liberal  ventilation,  leaving  a  little  air  on  constantly,  and 
enlarging  the  openings,  before  the  sun  acts  powerfully  upon  the  house.  This 
should  be  accompanied  by  corresponding  dryness  both  at  the  roots  and  in  the 
atmosphere;  then  the  flowers  would  no  doubt  set  freely,  and  especially  if  carefully 
fertilised  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  There  is  no  harm  in  dusting  with  the  anti- 
fungoid  powder,  as  it  will  prevent  attacks  of  fungi,  and  to  some  extent  lessen 
the  liability  to  damp.  More  air  appears  to  be  the  chief  want,  and  it  ought  to 
be  secured  even  if  artificial  heat  ha»  to  be  resorted  to.K 
