462 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  26,  190^. 
Supeping. 
Bees  have  an  inherent  disposition  to  carry  tlieir  stores  up¬ 
wards,  and  to  confine  the  brood-rearing  to  the  lower  portion  of 
the  hive,  and  by  enlarging  a  hive  by  placing  a  super  above  the 
brood  chamber,  and  preserving  a  free  communication  through¬ 
out  the  whole  tier,  they  will  be  induced  to  fill  it  with  honey. 
This  enables  the  bee-keeper  to  remove  his  surplus  free  from 
impurities,  and  without  disturbing  the  brood  nest  or  destrojdng 
the  lives  of  the  bees.  The  giving  of  these  surplus  boxes  requires 
considerable  disci’etion,  as  there  are  so  many  conditions  to  be 
taken  into  consideration  in  practising  it.  For  instance,  if  a 
colony  be  supered  too  late  the  swarming  fever  will  be  engen¬ 
dered,  and  if  supered  too  early  in  the  season,  or  before  the 
brood  nest  is  well  crowded,  the  bees  will  be  too  weak  in  num¬ 
bers  to  raise  the  temperature  of  the  additional  space  sufficiently 
for  the  secretion  of  wax  and  building  of  combs. 
From  this  it  may  easily  be  perceived  what  mischief  may  be 
done,  as  the  addition  of  supers  exercises  a  great  influence  upon 
the  temperature  of  a  hive,  which  in  turn  affects  the  quantity  of 
honey  gathered,  besides  which,  diminution  of  warmth  in  the 
hive  will  retard  the  rapid  production  of  brood.  In  the  former 
case,  the  extra  room,  although  it  may  be  taken  possession  of, 
is  only  a  lounging  place  for  the  excess  population  until  a  favour¬ 
able  opportunity  arises  for  the  issue  of  a  swarm. 
The  fact  that  no  fixed  time  can  be  given  for  supering  is 
evident,  but  colonies  carefully  attended  to  should,  as  a  rule, 
be  ready  for  them  at  the  latest  by  the  middle  of  June,  when 
the  apiarist  must  use  his  own  discretion  as  to  the  strength  of 
.stocks  and  atmospheric  conditions.  Prior  to  supering  a  hive, 
fii'st  ascertain  that  the  brood  chamber  is  filled  with  bees,  eggs, 
and  brood  in  all  stages  of  development,  the  weather  warm  and 
settled,  and  the  ingathering  of  honey  from  the  fields  in  excess 
of  the  daily  consumption  of  the  inhabitants,  which  is  evidenced 
by  the  elongation  of  the  cells  next  to  the  top  bar  of  the  frame. 
When  a  stock  is  not  in  this  condition  when  the  honey  flow  is 
commencing,  some  preparation  is  necessary.  Combs  containing 
a  little  sealed  broqd  should  be  exchanged  for  combs  full  of 
brood  from  other  hives  able  to  spare  them,  and  any  combs 
partly  filled  with  honey  should  be  bruised,  and  if  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  hive  it  renders  this  system  more  effective,  as 
they  are  immediately  filled  with  eggs.  Additional  room  should 
be  given  a  little  in  advance  of  the  requirements  of  the  bees 
rather  than  too  late ;  at  the  same  time,  it  must  be  gradual,  and 
for  this  purpose  shallow  supers  have  been  found  the  best,  which, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  honey  flow,  are  better  filled  with 
sheets  of  foundation,  as  the  bees  will  build  combs  at  this  time 
at  much  less  ex])ense  than  when  the  honey  flow  is  at  its  height. 
One  drawn-out  bar  in  the  centre  will  entice  tjieni  to  commence 
M'ork  in  the  super. 
In  working  for  extracted  honey  a  little  extra  room  is  not  a 
disadvantage,  as  more  comb-surface  is  required  to  ripen  the  newly 
gathered  nectar,  and  it  also  minimises  the  swarming  desire. 
As  soon  as  the  first  super  is  two-thirds  filled  and  sealing  com¬ 
mences,  a  second  should  be  given,  and  so  continued  throughout 
the  season.  In  very  hot  weather  ventilation  is  also  necessary. 
Slightly  raising  the  roof  and  the  hive  front  by  half-inch  wedges 
is  very  effectual. 
When  working  for  comb  honey  the  super  space  should  be 
contracted  towards  the  end  of  the  season  by  gradually  removing 
the  completed  sections,  and  then  closing  up  with  a  dummy. 
Compelling  the  bees  to  crowd  in  the  remaining  sections  in 
tins  manner  a.ssists  materially  in  the  rapid  ripening  of  the 
honey,  and  the  quick  and  clean  capping,  as  in  many  cases  tlie 
honey  is  carried  up  from  the  brood  nest  and  stored  in  the 
sections,  which  is  preferable  to  having  too  many  on  the  hive, 
some  of  which  are  left  incomplete.  The  main  object  is  to  con¬ 
centrate  the  bees  and  heat. 
The  greater  part  of  the  comb  building  is  done  when  the 
wdiole  population  is  in  the  hive  at  night,  as  the  heat  nece.ssary 
for  the  secretion  and  working  of  wax  in  the  combs  is  easily 
maintained  then.  The  importance  of  warm  quilts  to  cover 
supers,  and  closely  secure  its  retention,  will  therefore  readilv 
be  seen.— E.  E.,  Sandbach. 
Bee  Moth. 
This  is  a  very  trouble.some  pest,  and  is  often  the  result  of 
neglect  on  the  part  of  the  apiarist  himself.  The  grubs  of  this 
moth  are  rarely  found  in  a  strong  colony.  -Many  bee-keepers 
rail  to  remove  the  collection  of  cappings  to  be  found  on  the 
floor  board  of  every  hive.  Here  the  wax  moth  will  lay  her 
eggs,  and  the  worms  creep  up  the  sides  and  begin  their  "work 
of  destruction  on  the  combs.  Wake  your  hives  clean  and  sani¬ 
tary  early.  The  bees  love  cleanliness,  and  will  enjoy  better 
health  if  all  rubbi.sh  and  filth  is  removed.  If  a  hive  be  infested, 
examine  the  frames,  and  cut  out  all  webs  and  worms,  taking 
great  care  to  kill  the  grubs.  It  is  amusing  to  watch  Italians 
make  short  work  of  these  pests.  If  a  badly  infested  frame  be 
placed  in  the  centre  of  a  colony  of  Italians,  you  will  soon  see 
the  grubs  dragged  out  on  to  the  alighting  board.  When  surplus 
combs  for  extracting  are  stored  for  the  winter,  always  place 
them  about  2^in  apart,  and  remove  all  hives  out  of  the  apiary 
where  bees  have  perished,  and  never  throw  about  bits  of  comb 
near  the  hives. 
Handling-  Bees. 
The  number  of  people  who  are  scared  when  they  hear  the 
pleasing  hum  of  the  bee  is  legion.  It  arises  from  ignorance. 
I  can  well  rememl)er  the  time  when  I  first  had  a  home  of  my 
own  and  commenced  bee-keeping.  IMy  dear  mother  heard  of  it 
and  was  horrified.  I  soon  received  a  letter  imploring  me  to 
give  up,  or  I  would  be  stung  to  death.  An  enclosed  newspaper 
cutting  related  how  a  carter  had  been  stung  to  death  while 
taking  some  bees  to  the  heather. 
Nearly  all  the  deaths  that  occur  arise  from  ignorance. 
Men  do  not  know  when  a  bee  is  angry  or  harmle.ss,  and  conse¬ 
quently  treat  all  alike.  We  require  fearlessness,  gentleness,  a 
leisurely  movement  whilst  handling  bees,  and  plenty  of  common 
sense.  Some  of  our  most  expert  bee-keepers  can  manage 
without  smoke,  but  they  always  have  the  smoker  lighted  ready 
for  an  emergency.  Perhaps  it  would  be  best  for  most  of  your 
readers  to  give  a  puff  of  smoke  invariably  at  the  entrance  about 
two  minutes  before  making  an  examination  of  the  hives. 
Make  an  examination  always  when  the  bees  are  busy  in  the 
fields,  i.e.  about  noon,  and  stand  behind  the  hive.  If  one 
stands  in  front,  we  are  obstructing  the  bees,  and  they  remind 
us  of  this  by  using  their  powerful  and  painful  stings.  Never 
examine  hives  in  the  summer  when  the  bees  have  much  spare 
time,  for  bees  are  like  human  beings — they  do  more  damage 
during  hours  of  idleness  than  when  they  are  very  busy. 
Carelessness  in  leaving  bits  of  comb  containing  honey, 
causing  robbing,  will  set  a  whole  apiary  so  that  it  is  only  pos¬ 
sible  for  the  most  skilful  of  bee-keepers  to  do  anything  at  all 
with  them.  Mind,  you  may  often  leave  whole  combs  of  honey 
aboui  -when  there  is  a  good  yield  of  nectar,  and  the  bees  seem 
to  scorn  the  idea  of  touching  it.  I  have  known  men  to  do 
their  extracting  not  far  from  hives,  and  no  harm  has  come  of 
it,  but,  after  all,  it  is  dangerous  amusement,  and  may  cost 
you  dearly  if  you  try  the  experiment.  As  you  lift  the  quilts 
puff  in  a  little,  very  little,  smoke  to  drive  down  the  bees,  for 
these  insects  often  resent  a  powerful  blast.  In  fact,  always  use 
as  little  smoke  as  possible  if  you  desire  to  obtain  the  best 
results. 
Bees  and  Fpuit. 
Our  gardening  friends  are  very  ready  in  too  many  cases  to 
blame  bees  for  the  damage  done  to  fruit.  After  closely 
watching  these  insects^  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
are  not  the  real  culprits,  but  birds  and  wasps  are.  Robins  are 
very  fond  of  fruit,  and  puncture  it  in  the  first  instance.  The 
bees,  finding  some  sweets  to  hand,  very  soon  begin  to  visit  the 
damaged  fruits,  and  as  they  are  so  often  seen  there,  bear  the 
blame  of  the  damage.  The  birds  are  so  quick  in  their  move¬ 
ments,  and  their  visits  to  the  fruit  so  brief,  that,  unless  they 
are  closely  watched,  they  escape  detection  and  blame  also. 
Perhaps  gardeners  are  eager  to  blame  the  bees  because  of  their 
fear  of  the  insects.  Very  ripe  and  bruised  fruit  is  often  thickly 
covered  with  bees  if  an  apiary  be  near.  Still  this  is  no  reason 
why  the  bees  should  take  the  blame  of  the  cause  of  the  damage. 
Mouldy  Combs. 
During  the  spring  of  1903  a  lady  bee-keeper  called  me  in  to 
inspect  some  combs  that  had  been  stored  in  a  damp  place.  They 
had  been  taken  from  a  hive  vhere  the  bees  had  died,  as  many 
did  last  year.  She  had  been  picking  out  the  dead  bees,  trying 
to  dust  off  the  mouldy  particles,  and  had  made  a  woeful  job  of 
it,  and  was  on  the  point  of  burning  them  all,  when  she  saw  me 
pass.  I  simply  told  her  to  leave  it  all  to  the  bees  a  little  later. 
She  took  the  advice,  stored  them  in  a  drier  place,  and  when 
the  weather  was  more  favourable  she  placed  them  one  at  a 
time  in  the  centre  of  a  strong  colony.  By  the  evening  all  the 
comb  was  spotlessly  clean,  all  dead  bees  removed,  all  breakages 
made  good,  and  in  some  instances  there  were  eggs  in  the  centre 
cells. — Hybla. 
Fkuit  and  Vegetables. — English  vegetables  are  gradually 
taking  the  place  of  foreign,  and  are  now  in  large  supply. 
London  reports,  “  Cornish  Cabbages  are  arriving  with  better 
hearts,”  and  “  Asparagus  is  in  full  season  from  Evesham  and 
elsewhere.”  Potatoes  show  a  fall  generally,  owing  to  heavy 
arrivals  from  abroad.  English  Gooseberries  and  French 
Cherries  are  arriving  in  large  quantities,  but  the  London 
reporter  states  that  the  latter  are  not  an  “  active  sale.” 
