ALBERT R. MANN
LIBRARY

NEW YorK STATE COLLEGES
OF
AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS

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CORNELL UNIVERSITY

 

EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS

BEEKEEPING LIBRARY

 

 

 

 

 
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

FARMERS’ BULLETIN No. 59.

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FRANK BENTON, M. S.,
IN CHARGE OF APICULTURAL INVESTIGATIONS.

(Revised, March, 1905-]

 

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1905.
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

U.S. Department of AGRICULTURE,
BurEau oF EnTOMOLOGY,
Washington, D. C., March 24, 1906.

Sir: Frequent inquiries from correspondents of the Department of
Agriculture for information on matters pertaining to the culture
of bees, and particularly as to the conditions under which one may
reasonably expect to meet with success in this pursuit, led to the prep-
aration of this bulletin in July, 1897. Though designed by the
author primarily to answer a few of the specific questions which are
most likely to present themselves to the mind of the inquirer wholly
unfamiliar with the subject, the aim has been also to introduce in the
treatment of the various topics information which it is hoped will
lead many of longer experience into more successful methods than
they have yet practiced. The stereotype plates of the earier editions
having become much worn, necessitating the resetting of the type
of the entire bulletin, the opportunity has been afforded of inserting
several new paragraphs and making a few slight changes in the text
as heretofore published.

Respectfully, L. O. Howarp,
Entomologist.
Hon. James WILSON,
Secretary of Agrtoulture.

= (3)
Fic.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

. The Bingham bee smoker .......- 2-2-2 22 e eee ee nee ne eee eeeeeee
Mea USS AVM vas ca ahcte AYA cat Ae ati tenet arc ht arctan ate aaah crab babar dre cle arate
. The Porter spring bee escape ..._-.-----.-------eeeee eee eee cece eee
. Langstroth hive with two half-depth supers for surplus honey .-...--.
. The Langstroth hive—Dadant-Quinby form—cross section showing

GCOMSERUCHION (ic, 2 (5)se ceed accent tree sachs 2.0.6 Sencfaeiewaadas Oohewloeeea wade

. Quinby closed-end frames ..._.....--...----. 2-22-2222 22022222
. The Simmins nonswarming system—single-story hive with supers... -
. The Simmins nonswarming system—double-story hive with supers -..
., Quinbysuncappingknile. ccc ascii ve celnnsige Geeeiew vee elsene sales oe xe
. The automatic reversible honey extractor.......-..-----------------
. Langstroth hive—super above, holding 28 sections for comb honey .. -
. Comb honey stored in pound section .........-..-------------------
. Perforated zinc queen excluder .....--..------------------- 2-22 eee
. Shipping cases for comb honey ........------------------+----------
pe Solar wax extractor cos coscccsceecesnanes oud mae ectoheo meee het eo
m IDtCAM WES, EXCMACLOD «concede ice niwsaseteeneceneneeineenenes as
. Double-walled hive adapted to outdoor wintering, as well as summer

USC! ee ceie cs erase eee w we Se stele Se ete ep eee eee ees Se SHER esis.

. The American straw hive (Langstroth principle) of Hayck Brothers --
. Coiony of bees with newspapers packed between inner and outer cases

and brood frames on end for the winter ......--..-.-------2--e-0-

59
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20
20
24
25
30
31
32
32
33
34
35

39
40

41
CONTENTS.

Locations suited to the keeping of bees .............0.002 eee eee eee e eee eee
The returns to be expected from an apiary..........-.-.-- 2020-2 -2-2 eee eeee
Anyone who desires to do so can learn to manipulate bees .............-----
HOW tora Old Stings cc ele ioe's v's eeveete Bote te alse oe eke deal ol oad ete
What race of bees to choose ..-_-.-.-.-------- 0-0-0 -0202 eee eee eee eee
Caicasians vic occd tae wast cette cece ae La eto Me an
Carmi olaniais tcc cantar eet senate cholo ere ncaa meecatascaeticien
Dtalians.ncgacsemaneneeauinameamecetcinde seca wak rer ae eese soem weciele

Cy Prams cco sts acct haere Siw ule ais sha ocMnoas blots ve eeclapehewaheke ata
Cyprio-Carniolans and Cyprio-Caucasians.........--.-.---.--------0---
Syrian and Palestine or ‘‘ Holy-Land”’ bees...-..--..-----.----+--+-----
German, common black, or brown bees........-----.---------e-eeeeeee
What hiveto-adopt 2223 ctee Sen tues ose eaeeaeees sie aGaboerieecewaase
Manapementin Swarining.-. 22 sc-cnccinc eananaeeeieede on eels eeeeedes eee ne
Natal swarming’. ocs0eonntsecewen Gaehseaeeerckeseceaeseecanen cee
ATtificial SWarming.....c..cc. soecewee ee ecce Somacn cence canerets.

DAV AGIUI Gore Neccecs S Gac iota eerie ete ala sree aig varaa wie cots Meise cS

Nucleus SyStEIM) crcisiscs-ccfarec's aclsetcin ie /alelewa's's sardemewleied’s ss eacrenee ues

Shaken or brushed swarms.-..-......------ 2-5-5222 -- eee ee eee eee
Prevention of swarming ...--...--------------------- Se eepischicccisecs
Dequeenines s).s..2 5 ged scenes uae e aaiiewiee ide Gee oe tee eee Agee es
Regueeningy. 22.25 242 snbs cece eo ended < soe amie metas ee tec Bosak edate

Bpace MeAr EALTAN CES. cc 4 onesie eiciein ed ca yeearmeciinew on bene ance ene
Selection In breeding os .cocckecccss Kaeaased cote ecinaseesseeeees

Special crops for honey alone not profitable ........-...-----.---.--+-------
Economic plants and trees for.cultivation for honey and pollen..........
How to obtain surplus honey and wax........--..-..---------------2 0-2 eee
Extracted, honey... 0.2 eceses<steeedcureen seenensededd sess seceeeeere us
Comb WON 3... cen ceiieaciee eae ee eee eee ag ce eeedieis sees ce een katie
Grading and shipping comb honey ..-...-.--..-..----------.--+---

Prod WCtionOk WAX s2 2. saintcaeantaew occas tecasceensioes 2s Sta twa
‘The wintering Gf DEC cocc0.ceas snsncanaaice shaw hageneme at awnsemsaneniee
General considerations... Jccccccacicei es swaiaicia meets dees siecewainn
THOOOr WiNteriNe isda denis so sat ADe en llag sorctylpieisiesaei cis'e's se ee edeemewey
Outdoor wintering .scc.00 + cc seeseeecces +s eenees Witenes se poses ee ere
The risk of loss through disease and enemies .........-..-.----.------------
Foul brodd. or bacillus Of the hive... oss t teeeencdedies oe ssckee tees
Bee paralysis .---.--.------- 020+ cece eee eee eee ee ene eee ee eee eens
Insect:and Other enemies... 002+ sencneesnecscceeceecaceseeeucseecices
RObDGE DGCS siecuie o's oles te ewiee eels nome se eeiocmi sei esis
Legislation affecting apiarian interests -......------+---------- ee eee ee ee eee
Journals treating of apiculture ..-.----.-------- eee eee ee ee eee ence eee eee

59
BEE KEHPING.

LOCATIONS SUITED TO THE KEEPING OF BEES.

It may be safely said that any place where farming, gardening, or
fruit raising can be successfully followed is adapted to the profitable
keeping of bees—ina limited way atleast, if not extensively. Many of
these localities will support extensive apiaries. In addition to this there
are, within the borders of the United States, thousands of good loca-
tions for the apiarist—forest, prairie, swamp, and mountain regions—
where agriculture has as yet not gained a foothold, either because of
remoteness from markets or the uninviting character of soil or climate.
This pursuit may also be followed in or near towns and, to a limited
extent, in large cities. It even happens in some instances that bees in
cities or towns find more abundant pasturage than in country locations
which are considered fair.

The city of Washington is an example of this, bees located here doing
better during the spring and summer months than those in the sur-
rounding country, owing to the bee pasturage found in the numerous
gardens and parks and the nectar-yielding shade trees along the streets.
This is due mainly to the fact that the linden, or basswood, which is
rarely seen in the country about Washington, has been planted exten-
sively in the parks and for miles on both sides of many of the streets
and avenues of the city.* Another source in the city not found exten-
sively in the country adjacent is melilot, Bokhara or sweet clover (J/eli-
lotus alba), which has crept into vacant lots and neglected corners,
and diffuses its agreeable perfume to the delight of all city dwellers,
whether human or insect. The writer has practiced with profit the
transportation of nearly a hundred colonies from a country apiary 10
miles distant to Washington for the linden and sweet clover yield. He
has also seen a prosperous apiary kept on the roof of a business house
in the heart of New York City, and on several occasions has visited
another apiary of 30 to 40 colonies, which a skillful apiarist had located
on the roof of his store in the business portion of Cincinnati, Ohio, and
from which 30 to 40 pounds of honey per colony were usually obtained |

each year.

@ Several species of lindens are included in these plantings, but none yields more
than our common American linden, or basswood (Tilia americana).

(9)

59

8886—No. 59—05——2
10

Another apiary personally inspected was located directly on the
sand banks forming the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. These bees
were, of course, unable to forage westward from the apiary, hence had
but half ‘‘a field.” The soil of the area over which the bees ranged
was a light sand, unproductive for most crops, and the region was little
developed agriculturally, most of the honey coming from forest trees
and from shrubs and wild plants growing in old burnings and windfalls,
yet 25 to 30 pounds of excellent honey per colony was the usual sur-
plus obtained. At one time the writer had an apiary in the city of
Detroit, Mich., where the wide river on one side cut off nearly half of
the pasturage, yet the bees did will. And again for several years he
had an apiary containing from 100 to 200 colonies of bees on a very
sterile coast of the Island of Cyprus, and another nearly as large located
but a few rods from the seashore on a rocky point of Syria. Both of
these apiaries were devoted in the main to queen rearing, yet the yield
of honey was not an unimportant item, especially in the Syrian apiary,
while in the Cyprus apiary some honey was frequently taken, and it was
rarely necessary to feed the bees for stores. In the latter case about
one-fourth of the range was cut off by the sea, the bees being located
at the head of an open bay and a short distance from the shore, while
the location of the Syrian apiary prevented the bees from securing half
of the usual range, hence their greater prosperity was due to the nature
and quantity of the pasturage of their limited range.

It is evident, therefore, that no one similarly located need be deterred
from keeping bees, provided the nectar-yielding trees and plants of the
half range are of the right sort and abundant. Moreover, regions so
rough and sterile or so swampy as to give no encouragement to the
agriculturist, or even to the stock raiser, will often yield a good income
to the bee keeper, insignificant and apparently worthless herbs and
shrubs furnishing forage forthe bees. The ability of the bees to range
over areas inaccessible to other farm stock and to draw their sustenance
from dense forests when the timber is of the right kind, and the free-
dom which, because of their nature, must be accorded them to pasture
on whatever natural sources are within their range of 3 or 4 miles,
must be taken into account in estimating the possibilities of a locality.
It will be found that very few localities exist in our country where at
least a few colonies of bees may not be kept. Whether a large number
might be profitably kept in a given locality can be decided only by a
careful examination as to the honey-producing flora within range of
the apiary (see pp. 12 and 26-29).

The danger of overstocking a given locality is very frequently exag-
gerated. Each range, it is self-evident, has a limit. The writer is,
however, fully convinced, after long experience in numerous localities
and under the most varied circumstances, that three or four times as
many colonies as are commonly considered sufficient to stock a givea

59
11

range may usually be kept with a relative degree of profit. But to
secure such results sufficient care and close observation have too fre-
quently not been given in the selection of bees adapted to the lozality
and conditions. A more frequent failure has been lack of proper
attention to the individual colonies, particularly as to the age and
character of the queens in each. The space given for brood rearing is
often too small, and frequently no care is given to secure the proper
amount of brood in time to insure a population ready for each harvest.
Attention to these points would enable great numbers of bee keepers
who now regard 50 to 100 colonies as fully stocking their range to
reach several hundreds in a single apiary, with slight or no diminution
in the average yield per colony.

THE RETURNS TO BE EXPECTED FROM AN APIARY.

Although apiculture is extremely fascinating to most people who
have a taste for the study of nature, requiring, as it does, out-of-door
life, with enough exercise to be of benefit to one whose main occupa-
tion is sedentary, the income to be derived from it when rightly fol-
lowed is a consideration which generally has some weight and is
often the chief factor in leading one to undertake the care of bees.
Certainly, where large apiaries are planned, the prime object is the
material profit, for they require much hard labor and great watchful-
ness, and the performance of the work at stated times is imperative,
so that in this case there is less opportunity than where but a few colo-
nies are kept to make a leisurely study of the natural history and
habits of these interesting insects, because—unless the keeper is
willing to forego a considerable portion of his profits—his time must
necessarily be almost wholly taken up in attending to the most appar-
ent wants of his charges.

One very naturally supposes that the return from a single hive, or
several of them, in a given locality, may be taken as a fair index of
what may be expected each season. Such return, if considered aver-
age, may serve as a basis on which to reckon, but as so many conditions
influence it, great differences in actual results will be found to occur in
successive seasons. Apiculture, like all other branches of agriculture,
depends largely upon the natural resources of the location, and the
‘favorableness or unfavorableness of any particular season, no matter
how skillful the management, may make great differences in the year’s
return. The knowledge, skill, industry, and promptness of the one
who undertakes the care of the apiary have likewise much to do with
the return. Furthermore, profits are of course largely affected by
the nature and proximity of the markets.

A moderate estimate for a fairly good locality would be 35 to 40
pounds of extracted honey or 25 pounds of comb honey per colony.

59
12

This presupposes good wintering and an average season. When two
or more of the important honey-yielding plants are present in abun-
dance and are fairly supplemented by minor miscellaneous honey plants
the locality may be considered excellent, and an expectation of realiz-
ing more than the yield mentioned above may be entertained. With
extracted honey of good quality at its present wholesale price of 6 to
8 cents per pound and comb honey at 12 to 14 cents, each hive should
under favorable circumstances give a gross annual return of $2.50 to
$3. From this about one-third is to be deducted to cover expenses
other than the item of labor. These will include the purchase of
comb foundation and sections, repairs, eventual replacing of hives and
implements, and the interest on the capital invested. By locating in
some section particularly favorable to apiculture—that is, near large
linden forests, with clover fields within range, supplemented by buck-
wheat; or in a section where alfalfa is raised for seed; where mesquite,
California sages, and wild buckwheat abound; where mangrove, pal-
mettoes, and titi, or where sourwood, tuliptree, and asters are plenti-
ful—the net profits here indicated may frequently be doubled or
trebled.

But these favored locations, like all others, are also subject to
reverses—the result of droughts, great wet, freezes which kill back the
bee pasturage, etc., and though some years the profits are so much
larger than those named above as to lend a very roseate hue to the
outlook for the accumulation of wealth on the part of anyone who can
possess himself of a hundred or two colonies of bees, the beginner will
do well to proceed cautiously, bearing in mind that much experience
is necessary to enable him to turn to the best account seasons below
the average, while during poor seasons it will take considerable under
standing of the subject, energetic action, and some sacrifice to tide
over, without disaster, or at least without such great discouragement
as to cause neglect and loss of faith in the business. On the whole,
there should be expected from the raising of bees for any purpose
whatever only fair pay for one’s time, good interest on the money
invested, and a sufficient margin to cover contingencies. With no
greater expectations from it than this, and where intelligence directs
the work, apiculture will be found, in the long run, to rank among the
best and safest of rural industries.

The value of bees in the pollination of various fruit and seed crops
is often sufficient reason to warrant the keeping of a small apiary, even
if circumstances do not favor its management in such a manner as to
secure the largest possible crops of honey or to insure the saving of
all swarms. The quality and quantity of many varieties of apples,
pears, plums, and small fruits depend absolutely upon complete cross-
pollination. The most active agents in this work are honey bees.

59
13

ANYONE WHO DESIRES TO DO SO CAN LEARN TO MANIPULATE
BEES.

Any person with fairly steady nervesand some patience and courage
can easily learn to control and munipulate bees. There are, it is true,
a few exceptional individuals whose systems are particularly suscepti-
ble to the poison injected by the bee, so much so that serious effects
follow a single sting. Such cases are, however, very rare. In most
instances where care is not taken to avoid all stings the system even-
tually becomes accustomed to the poison, so that beyond momentary
pain a sting causes no inconvenience.

To a certain extent the belief exists that bees have, without apparent
cause, a violent dislike for some people, while others, without any effort,
are received into their favor. The latter part of this proposition has
a better foundation than the first part, for it is the actions, rather than
any peculiarity of the individual himself, that anger the bees.

Bees prefer, of course, not to be disturbed; hence they usually keep
guards on the lookout forintruders. When visitors approach the hives
these guards are very apt to fly toward them as if to inquire whether
harm is intended or not, and should the visitor not inspire them with
fear by using smoke or some similar means, but should himself show
fear and nervousness, he will be very likely to arouse their suspicions
still further, or even to anger them should he strike at them or endeavor
to dodge their approach. Indeed, one not accustomed to the notes of
bees is very likely, unconsciously, to dodge his head about when a
worker buzzes uncomfortably close to his face. It may be a movement
of but an inch or two, but perhaps a quick jerk, and being noticed by
the suspicious guard is resented; a sting follows, and yet the recipient
declares that he did nothing to cause the attack, but that bees merely
hate him and always sting him when he approaches them. On the
other hand, an equally unprotected person who moves about with
deliberation may generally, under the same circumstances, be let off
without receiving a sting. It is in this case not so much what he does
as what he does not do.

It is not to be understood that bees will always refrain from stinging
if one remains somewhat passive in the vicinity of their hives, for the
fact is that at some seasons common black bees and crosses having
blood of this race fly some distance to attack passers-by, or even, with-
out just provocation and with but slight warning, to plant a sting in
the face of one who is standing near theapiary. But as the avoidance
of such unpleasant occurrences depends largely upon the kind of bees
kept, and, to a certain extent, upon an acquaintance with a few facts
with which anyone of intelligence may easily familiarize himself, and
the observance of certain precautions which are quite simple and after

59
14

a little practice will become easy, and as the opening and manipulation
of hives in securing honey, etc., is equally simple and attended with no
greater risks, it is safe to say that almost anyone can, with perse-
verance and the exercise of due caution, learn to manipulate bees with
perfect freedom and without serious risk of being stung.

HOW TO AVOID STINGS.

Stings can be avoided, first, by having gentle bees. If no other
point of superiority over the common brown or black bee than that of
gentleness could be fairly claimed for some of the races introduced and
some of the strains developed in recent years, it would still be worth
while to get them on this account alone. When the fact of superiority
in several other important points is considered also, there should be no
further question as to the advisability of procuring them in preference
to the common variety. The beginner is advised never to think of
doing otherwise. No one likes stings, and even the veteran who affects

insensibility to the wrath of his
eee) charges will find his interest and
“-{ pleasure in them much increased by
replacing blacks and their crosses
with better varieties. Nor is this
merely to gratify a fancy or for convenience alone.
If, by reason of the stinging qualities of the bees kept,
an examination for the purpose of ascertaining the con-
dition of a colony of bees becomes a disagreeable task
ao" to the one who cares for the apiary, little things neces-
ee a sary to the welfare of the colonies will be postponed or
omitted altogether and the apiary will soon present a

neglected appearance, and the actual profits will be affected.

Of the races already in general cultivation, Carniolans are the gen-
tlest, although Caucasians, more recently introduced from south-
eastern Russia and only now being put on sale, are by far the least
inclined to sting of any bees, and may be handled at all times without
resorting to the protection of a bee veil, and generally without smoke, or
at most a very slight application of smoke. Some strains of Italians
equal in gentleness average Carniolans, but in general the race native to
Italy is by no means as gentle as that found in Carniola, Austria, and the
Caucasians are much to be preferred for the beginner. In case these
gentler races are not easily procurable he need not hesitate, however,
to undertake, after adopting due precautions, the manipulation of
pure Italians.

In crossing well-established breeds the males of a gentle race should
be used, otherwise the workers of the cross may vary greatly in tem-
per, especially in the first few generations. Only careful selection

59

  

MeN

 
   
15

continued for some time will so fix the desirable traits as to result in
their reproduction with a fair degree of certainty in the offspring.
Bees having the blood of blacks and Italians are nearly always quite
vicious in the case of the first cross, and are even harder to subdue
with smoke than are pure blacks. Other races need not be considered
here, as they are adapted to special purposes; and the skill of the bee-
master, the conditions of climate, flora, etc., and the particular line of
production to be followed, should decide whether their introduction
is advisable or not.¢

The second essential to enable one to avoid stings is to have a
good smoker at hand whenever the bees are to be handled. Any way
of getting smoke of any kind into the
hive and about it may answer the pnr-
pose, but for ease and effectiveness in
keeping bees under control nothing will
take the place of the modern bellows
smoker (fig. 1). A good one lasts years,
and its cost is so slight ($1 to $1.25 for the
medium sizes) that the expenditure may
be considered one of the wisest that can
be made in fitting up an apiary.

A veil (fig. 2), made of black bobinet or
Brussels net, to draw over the hat, and a
pair of gloves, preferably of rubber, may
be used at first. But whoever has fairly
peaceable bees and learns even a little
about their ways will soon discard the
gloves, unless, indeed, he be exceedingly
timid, or one of those to vhom a bee sting
would be a dreadful affliction. The veil can be safely dispensed with
if the gentlest bees are kept.

Simple and convenient hives, employing the Langstroth principle,
and with stories and frames interchangeable and so constructed as to
reduce propolization to a minimum and to insure straight combs, will
much facilitate the avoidance of stings.

The use of the bee escape (fig. 3) in removing surplus honey greatly
reduces the risk of being’ stung during this operation, for it saves
much manipulation of combs and shaking and brushing of bees. This
useful device is fitted into a slot made in a board the same size as the
top of the hive, and the whole, when slipped in between the brood
apartment and an upper story or super, will permit all of the workers
above to go down into the lower story but not to return to the top

 

Fie, 2.—Bee veil.

 

@ For a fuller discussion of this subject, see ‘‘The Honey Bee: A Manual of Instruc-
tion in Apiculture,”” by Frank Benton, M.8., Bulletin No. 1, new series, Bureau
of Entomology, U. 8. Dept. of Agriculture, third edition, 1899, Chap. I, pp. 11-18.

59
16

one, so that in one night it is possible to free entirely a set of combs
from bees without any manipulation of the combs, and without smék-
ing, shaking, or brushing the bees.

Lastly, reasonable care in manipulation and a suitable system of
management, which, of course, implies the doing of work in proper
season, will, with the observance of the foregoing points, make the
risk of stings exceedingly slight. Indeed, intelligent attention to the
most important of the points mentioned above, with extra gentleness
and moderation in manipulation, will enable anyone who so desires to
avoid all stings.

WHAT RACE OF BEES TO CHOOSE.

Reference has already been made to the relative gentleness of the
various races, and since the gentler types are themselves excellent
honey gatherers, and the particular advantages to be derived from
some of the more energetic races which do not happen to be so mild
in temperament are not likely to be secured by the beginner who is
unfamiliar with the most approved methods of manipulation of such
bees, it is strongly recom-
mended that only the gentle
ones beat first adopted—either
Caucasians, Carniolans, or Ital-
ians. Should full colonies of
these not be obtainable near
home, colonies of ordinary
bees may be changed by re-
placing their queens with queens of the desired race, the latter having
been procured in small boxes by mail. If possible the introduction
had better be made by an expert, although in general, by following
the instructions which accompany the new queen, success will also
be attained by the beginner.

A brief summary of the leading traits of the various races now in
this country will be of use in guiding the purchaser, as well as
instructive to him for reference.

Caucasians are natives of that portion of Russia lying between the
Black and Caspian seas, are exceedingly gentle, good workers, good
defenders of their hives, prolific, build many queen cells, and swarm
often if confined to small hives. The workers are dark leaden gray in
their general color, and present quite a ringed appearance because of
the alternation of this dark color with the lighter fuzz which edges the
segments of the abdomen. They also show frequently one to two
yellow or leather-colored bands, are somewhat smaller bodied than
Italians or Carniolans, have good wing-expanse, and hence are nimble
flyers. The drones are rather small and quite dark in color; queens
not large, and vary in color from a coppery-yellow to a dark bronze.

69

 

Fig. 3.—The Porter spring bee escape.
17

Carniolans are much larger bodied and somewhat lighter gray in
color than the Caucasians, but show likewise in many instances one or
two rusty or dark-red bands. Their great hardiness and excellent
wing power enable thera to fly freely in much cooler weather than
some other races stand, and to regain their hive entrances under adverse
conditions. They are prolific, active, and good honey gatherers, pro-
ducing combs of snowy whiteness. As in the case of the Caucasians,
their prolificness causes them to fill small hives to overflowing with bees,
and this naturally results in numerous swarms. It is therefore advis-
able to use hives containing ten to twelve frames in the brood chamber.
The nature of the Carniolans is essentially a quiet one, so that upow
the approach of cold weather they settle down in a very compact and
extremely quiet cluster, a condition which contributes in no small
degree to their excellent wintering qualities. The drones are the
largest of all drones of this species, and are covered with a thick coat.
of gray fuzz. The queens vary from a light color to a very dark
leather color, the typical queen being, however, dark bronze, large,
well rounded, strong, and active.

Italians, the first of the foreign races to be introduced into this
country, are much more widely known, and have with reason found
great favor, since they are industrious, good defenders of their hives,
and excellent honey gatherers, as well as handsome in appearance,
being usually evenly marked with three yellow bands across the
anterior portion of the abdomen. The blood has become so dissemi-
nated through the apiaries of the country that many hybrid bees.
having but one to two yellow bands are counted as Italians, and their
cross disposition, derived through the males of the common race, is
charged to the Italians. Strains of Italians pure in blood have beew
bred by selection in this country until the three yellow bands have
become so wide as to be nearly or quite joined, and in some instances:
nearly the whole abdomen is yellow. In general, however, as regards.
gathering powers it does not seem that any improvement has been
made by this selection, the aark or leather-colored Italians proving,
all'in all, more vigorous, gentle, and better honey gatherers, while as:
regards wintering they are also superior. It must be acknowledged,
however, that the Italian race is slightly inferior in wintering qualities
to all of the others which have been generally introduced into America.

Cyprians, from the island of Cyprus, may be taken as a general type
with which to compare other eastern races. They are small bodied,
more slender, in fact, than any of the European races of bees. The
abdomen is more pointed and shows, when the bees are purely bred,
three light-colored bands on the upper surface, and considerable yel
low on the under side. Between the wing attachments on the thorax

59
8886—No. 59—05——3
18

is a little prominence, shaped like a half moon, which is usually quite
plainly yellow in color. The queens are small bodied, yellow in color,
with more or less black at the tip of the abdomen. The drones have
a heavy coat of fuzz on the thorax, and the abdomen presents a mot-
tled yellow appearance, being often highly yellow. Cyprians pos-
sess longer tongues and greater wing-power than other races. This,
combined with great prolificness and most remarkable activity, renders
them the best of honey gatherers. In temper, however, they may be
regarded as rather aggressive, rendering their management by any
who are not experts extremely difficult. This feature may, however,
be largely overcome by crossing the queens of this race with the drones
of very gentle types. In this manner bees are produced that are
readily amenable to smoke and ordinary methods in manipulation, com-
bined with the excellent honey-gathering powers and prolificness of
the eastern races.

Cyprio-Carniolans and Cyprio-Caucasians.—The author conceived the
idea in the early eighties that by crossing the Cyprian and Carniolan
races a type might be developed which would combine the excellent
traits of both of these. The first matings of Cyprians and Carniolans
were made by him in 1883 in Carniola itself, thus insuring positively
the fecundation of the Cyprian queens by Carniolan drones. Bees
combining the blood of the two races in various proportions have
since been tested for years in comparison with all other known races,
with the result that the cross mentioned above has been found to
exceed all of the pure races in honey-gathering powers, owing undoubt-
edly to the combination of great energy, hardiness, proliticness, and
wing-power, as well as greater length of tongue—a fact established by
actual measurements. Similar results, with even greater gentleness,
may be expected from the cross obtained between Cyprian queens and
Caucasian drones.

Syrian and Palestine or “‘Holy-Land” bees.—What has been said of
Cyprians may be taken to apply in a general sense to Syrian and Pal-
estine bees, except that in these the good qualities are slightly less
prominent, while some of the bad ones of the Cyprians are accent-
uated. No separate description of these is, therefore, particularly
necessary in this place.

German, Common Black, or Brown bees.—The bees commonly found
wild, and cultivated to a greater or less extent, in this country, and
known under the above name, are probably derived from early intro-
ductions from the Old World. In comparison with the races above
enumerated, they may be said to be inferior, since they possess the
least energy in honey collecting, are less prolific, and not as good
defenders of their hives. Under favorable conditions, however, as
regards pasturage they may be relied upon for excellent results. They

59
19

are, however, spiteful under manipulation, and have the disagreeable
habit of running from the combs and dropping in bunches on the
ground, likewise of flying from the hive entrance and attacking pass
ers-by. They are more easily discouraged than other bees during
slack times as regards honey production, and this is doubtless the main
reason for their generally inferior economic value.

WHAT HIVE TO ADOPT.

The suspended Langstroth frame is used more than any other frame
among English-speaking bee keepers. It is safe to say that in the
United States 500 hives are made and used which are essentially Lang-
stroth in principle to one frame hive of any other kind whatever. In
the British Islands, Australia, and New Zealand the proportion of
frames on the Langstroth principie
in use is probably even greater,
scarcely any other frame hives be-
ing employed.

The success of American bee culture in
the last twenty years was first attributed by
European bee keepers to the honey-pro-
ducing power of the country; but the most
intelligent apiarists who have tried the
American methods with the Langstroth
hive now recognize that success is princi-
pally due to the manipulations that it
permits. (‘‘The Hive and Honey Bee,”
revised, 1888, page 145.)

We can predict, and without any fear of
mistake, that the principles on which the
Langstroth hive is based will be admitted
sooner or later by the most progressive bee
keepers of the world. (‘‘Revue Interna-
tionale d’Apiculture’’ (Switzerland), Sep-
tember, 1885, edited by Edouard Bertrand. )

There being no patent on the Lang- Fic. 4.—Langstroth hive with two half-depth

supers for surplus honey.

stroth hive, and accurately made

hives being obtainable at moderate prices from hive factories in various
parts of the country, it is taken for granted that the enterprising begin-
ner will adopt a simple form embodying this principle—the loose-
fitting, suspended comb frame—as its main feature. The hive should
not only be substantially built, but should have accurate bee-spaces and
a close-fitting, rain-proof cover or roof. Factory-made hives, asa rule,
best meet these requirements, as both lock joints and halved corners can
only be made to advantage by machinery, and the expert hive builder
understands, of course, the absolute necessity of great accuracy in bee-
spaces, as well as the great desirability of good material and work-

59

 

 
20

manship (figs. 4,5,and 11). Provision should also be made for winter
protection. (See pages 39-41.)

For comb honey, hives permitting the insertion in the brood apart-
ment of any number of frames up to eight, or frequently up to ten,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fie, §.—The Langstroth nive—Dadant-Quinby torm—cros sccuon showing construction.

are mostinuse. In securing extracted honey, those with ten to twelve
frames in each story are preferable, and as many stories, one above
the other, are employed
as the strength of the
colony and a given har-
vest may require. A
construction, therefore,
which readily admits of
expansion and of con-
traction, as occasion
demands, is desirable.

Mention should be
made of a hive of quite
different constructicn,
' a prominent feature of
which is this ease of
contraction and expan-
sion. Itis the last hive
which the late M. Quinby gave to the public—the Quinby closed-
end frame hive (fig. 6). This hive is used with great success by cer-
tain American bee keepers of long experience and whose apiaries are
among the largest in the world.

59

 

Fic, 6.—Quinby closed-end frames.
21
MANAGEMENT IN SWARMING.

NATURAL SWARMING.

When a swarm is eeen issuing or in the air, the best. thing to do is,
in general, simply to wait a bit. The weather is usually rather warm
then, and rushing about to get tin pans, dinner gongs, spraying outfits,
etc., aside from its disagreeableness, may get one so excited and into
such a perspiration as to unfit him to do with the bees that which is
likely to be necessary a few minutes later. The bees will probably
gather in a clump on a tree or bush near the apiary, and however formi-
dable getting them into the hive may at first seem, nothing will be sim-
pler than shaking them into their new hive, or into a basket or box,
from which they may be poured in front of the hive, just as one would
pour out a measure of wheat or beans. If any stick to the basket or
box, invert itand give a sharp thump with one edge against the ground.
If the hive has been standing in the shade so that the boards composing
it are not heated, and if it be now well shaded and plenty of ventilation
be given above and below, the bees are almost certain to take posses-
sion at once and begin work actively.

The securing of swarms can be made, however, even simpler than
this by having the colonies placed several feet apart on a smooth lawn
or dooryard and clipping one wing of each laying queen so as to pre-
vent her flying. The prime or first swarm from each hive is accom-
panied by the old queen, and if she be clipped she will of course fall
from the alighting board to the ground and may be secured in a cage.
The bees will circle about a few times and return. Meanwhile the
only thing for the attendant to do is to replace the parent colony by
anempty hive. The returning bees will enter the latter and the queen
may be allowed to go in with them, the cage being placed with its open
end directly against the entrance to insure this. The swarm is thus
made to hive itself.

The parent colony removed to a new stand a rod or more away will
rarely givea second swarm. But to make certain all queen cells except
one may be cut out four or five days after the issuance of the first
swarm. At the same time one-third to one-half of the remaining
bees of the removed colony may be shaken at the entrance of the
hive containing the swarm. This reduces the population of the par-
ent colony greatly, but the loss is soon made good by the young work-
ers emerging daily, and the new queen which will issue from the single
queen-cell, spared when cutting out cells, will soon restock the hive with
brood. The shaking out of additional bees, coupled with the removal
of all queen cells but one, will prevent for the time all further swarm-
ing from the given hive, and in most instances end it for the season.
The bees thus added to the newly hived swarm, even though too young
to enter the field at once as honey gatherers. will nevertheless release

59
22

from inside work an equal number of older bees, enabling the latter
to go out as field bees.

Each after-swarm (second, third, etc.), it should be borne in mind,
is accompanied by one or more unimpregnated queens, and these must
not be clipped until they have flown out and mated. The regular
deposition of eggs in worker cells may nearly always be regarded as
a safe sign that mating has taken place. Eggs will usually be found
in such cells within the first ten days of the queen’s lite. After-
swarms may remain in the air, circling about for some time, and they
frequently cluster high—a good reason, in addition to the more
important fact that their issuance is not consistent with the production
of the most surplus honey, for the prevention of all after-swarming.

ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.

Where an increase of colonies is desired, and in case no one can be
near the apiary to care for natural swarms with clipped queens, some
one of the artificial methods of forming new colonies may be advan.
tageously employed. Natural swarming is, however, to be preferred
to a poor system of artificial increase. And no matter which of the
artificial methods be adopted, it should be cautiously followed, lest,
should unfavorable weather appear suddenly, considerable labor and
expense be incurred to prevent disastrous results. It is also of prime
importance not to weaken materially the gathering powers of strong
colonies just at the opening of the harvest or during its progress;
hence, whatever division takes place then must leave the field force—
the gatherers—in one mass and in normal condition for work, that is,
not discouraged by being queenless, and not overburdened by having
brood without a sufficient number of nurse bees to care for it.

Dividing.—A plan which fulfills these conditions is the following:
From a populous colony a comb or two with adhering bees and the queen
may be taken and placed in a new hive, which, when other frames with
starters have been added, is then to be put on the stand of the populous
colony from which the combs were taken. The remoyed colony is to be
taken a rod or more from its old stand, so that the flight bees returning
from the field will enter the newly established colony. The old colony
may be given a laying queen ora mature queen cell a day or two later.
This finishes the work in a short time.

Nucleus system.—A better plan, though not so quickly completed,
is to take from the populous colony only enough: bees and combs
to make a fair nucleus on a new stand. A queen is easily and
safely introduced into this nucleus, or a queen cell is readily accepted
a day or two later. As soon as the young queen has begun egg
laying, combs of emerging brood may be added from time to time.
These may be obtained from any populous colonies whose tendency to
swarm it is desirable to check, the bees adhering to them when they

59
23

are removed being in all instances brushed back into their own hive.
With fair pasturage the nucleus wil! soon be able to build combs and
may be given frames of comb foundation, or, if the queen be of the
current year’s raising, frames with narrow strips of foundation as
guides may be inserted, since all combs constructed by the nucleus will
be composed of worker cells.

Shaken or brushed swarms.—The practice of shaking or brushing
bees from the combs of populous colonies into new hives to form arti-
ficial or forced swarms has been practiced for many years, to a limited
extent in this country and more largely abroad. As early, at least, as
1872 the late C. J. H. Gravenhorst, the editor of Die Illustrierte
Bienenzeitung, author of Der Praktische Imker, and inventor of the
Bogenstuelper hive, made artificial swarms in this manner. His
articles led the author to experiment in this line and finally to settle
upon the plan of placing colonies designed for honey production in
pairs in the apiary and, after having brought them up to a suitable
strength, shaking or brushing most of the bees of the two into a third
hive at the approach of the main honey flow, one queen being allowed
to enter the new hive with the shaken swarm. The latter is to be placed
on the old stand midway in position between the spots previously occu-
pied by the parent colonies, these having been removed some distance,
to be managed thereafter as colonies that have swarmed. The newly
shaken swarm is to receive comb-foundation starters in the frames
and within a day or two surplus receptacles for honey. In case, how-
ever, drawn combs be used in the super, there had better be one or
two frames in the brood apartment partly filled with completed comb
to hold the first pollen collected. The shaking or brushing should be
done toward the latter part of the day and during a time when new
honey is coming in, or in the absence of the latter liberal feeding
should precede the shaking and be kept up until the start of the honey
flow. The shaken swarm is thus brought into quite the same condition
as usually obtains in the case of a natural swarm. It is able to send
out a strong gathering force at once and will store honey rapidly.
The increase of 50 per cent is as large as is consistent with the secur-
ing of the best honey yield.

PREVENTION OF SWARMING.

Under the conditions most frequently occurring, however—that is,
where it is not practicable to be present at all times during the swarm-
ing season, or where the desired number of colonies has been attained—
a system of management is advisable which in general contemplates
the prevention, in so far as possible, of the issuance of swarms with-
out at the same time interfering with honey storing. The pizagraphs
following on this subject are taken from the Department publication
*‘The Honey Bee,” cited on page 15, footnote:

59
v4

The most commonly practiced and easily applied preventive measure is that of
giving abundant room for storage of honey. This to be effective should be given
early in the season, before the bees get fairly into the swarming notion, and the
honey should be removed frequently, unless additional empty combs can be given in
the case of colonies managed for extracted honey, while those storing in sections
should be given additional supers before those already on are completed. With
colonies run for comb honey it is not so easy to keep down swarming as in those run
for extracted honey and kept supplied with empty comb. Free ventilation and
shading of the hives as soon as warm days come will also tend toward prevention.
Opening the hives once or twice weekly and destroying all queen cells that have
been commenced will check swarming for a time in many instances, and is a plan
which seems very thorough and the most plausible of any to beginners. But some-
times swarms issue without waiting to form cells; it is also very difficult to find all
cells without shaking the bees from each comb in succession, an operation which,
besides consuming much time, is very laborious when supers have to be removed,
and greatly disturbs the labors of the bees. If but one cell is overlooked the colony
will still swarm. The plan therefore leaves at best much to be desired, and
is in general not worth
the effort it costs and can
not be depended on.

Dequeening.—The re-

 

   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

Tee ~> moval of a queen at the

opening ofa swarming sea-

sc son interferes, of course,

; with the plans of the bees,

Li} | |__|] ; and they will then delay

ét sy | t swarming until they get a

yi 1 youngqueen. Then, ifthe

M4 bee keeper destroys all

1 bc queen cells before the

v i tenth day, swarming will

oi ‘ ¥ | again be checked. But to
eer prevent swarming by
SOS SSeS SSS l See SS eS eee keeping colonies queen-

Fic. 7.—The Simmins nonswarming system—single-story hive with Jess longer thana few days
supers: bc, brood chamber; sc, supers; st, starters of foundation: at most is to attain a
e, entrance. ‘ :

certain desired result at a
disproportionate cost, for the bees will not store diligently when first made queen-
less, and the whole yield of honey, especially if the flow is extended over som?
time, or other yields come later in the season, is likely or even nearly sure to be less
from such colonies, while the interruption to brood rearing may decimate the
colony and prove very disastrous to it. The plan istherefore not to be commended.

Requeening.—Quite the opposite of this, and more efficacious in the prevention of
swarming, is the practice of replacing the old queen early in the season with a young
one of the same season’s raising, produced, perhaps, in the South before it is possible
to rear queens in the North. Such queens are not likely to swarm during the first
season, and, as they are vigorous layers, the hive will be well populated at all times
and thus ready for any harvest. This is important, inasmuch as a flow of honey
may come unexpectedly from some plant ordinarily not counted upon; and also,
since the conditions essential to the development of the various honey-yielding
plants differ greatly, their time and succession of honey yield will also differ with
the season the same as the quantity may vary. Young queens are also safest to
head the colonies for the winter. The plan is conducive to the highest prosperity

59
25

of the colonies, and is consistent with the securing of the largest average yield of
honey, since, besides giving them vigorous layers, it generally keeps the population
together in powerful colonies. It is therefore to be commended on all accounts as
being in line with the most progressive management, without at the same time
interfering with the application of other preventive measures.

Space near entrances.—Arranging frames with starters, or combs merely begun,
between the brood nest and the flight hole of the hive, while the bees are given
storing space above or back of the brood nest (figs. 7 and 8), isa plan strongly rec-
ommended by Mr. Samuel Simmins, of England, and which has come to be known

‘“‘the Simmins nonswarming method,’ some features of it and the combination
into a well-defined method having been original with him. It is an excellent pre-
ventive measure, though not invariably successful, even when the distinctive features
brought forward prominently by Mr. Simmins—empty space between the brood
combs and entrance, together with the employment of drawn combs in the supers—
are supplemented by other measures

already mentioned; but when, in

      

 

addition to the space between the
brood and the flight hole, the precau-
tion be taken to get supers on in time,
to ventilate the hive well, and to
keep queens not over two years old,
swarming will be very limited. If to
these precautions be added that of
substituting for the old queens young
ones of the current season’s raising,
before swarming has begun, practical
immunity from swarming is generally
insured.

Selection in breeding.—Some races
of bees show greater inclination than
others toward swarming, and the same
difference can be noted between indi-
vidual colonies of a given race; there-
fore, whatever methods be adopted to etn ;
prevent or limit increase, no doubt PU, —Thesinnins nenevarming oem double
the constant selection of those queens _—_gupers; sf, chamber with starters of comb founda-
to breed from whose workers show tion; ¢, entrance.
the least tendency toward swarming
would in time greatly reduce this disposition. Indeed, it is perfectly consistent to
believe that persistent effort, coupled with rigid and intelligent selection, will event-
ually result in a strain of bees quite as much entitled to be termed nonswarming
as certain breeds of fowls which have been produced by artificial selection are to be
called nonsitters. These terms are of course only relative, being merely indicative of
the possession of a certain disposition in a less degree than that shown by others of
the same species. It might never be possible to change the nature of our honeybees
so completely that they would never swarm under any circumstances, and even if
possible it would take a long period, so strongly implanted seems this instinct. But
to modify it is within the reach of any intelligent breeder who will persistently make
the effort. Such work should be undertaken in experimental apiaries where its con-
tinuance when a single point has been gained will not be affected by the changes of
individual fortunes.

59

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26
SPECIAL CROPS FOR HONEY ALONE NOT PROFITABLE.

With a small apiary, planting for honey alone certainly can not be
made profitable. Small plats of honey-producing plants are valuable
mainly because they afford an opportunity of observing when and
under what circumstances the bees work on certain blossoms, and for
the purpose of determining what might be depended upon to fill a gap
in the honey resources of a given locality whenever the size of the
apiary might make this a consideration of some importance. Even
with a large apiary probably no case exists in which, in the present
condition of the subject, planting for honey alone would prove profit-
able. But when selecting crops for cultivation for other purposes, or
shrubs and trees for planting, the bee keeper should of course choose
such as will also furnish honey at a time when pasturage for his bees
would otherwise be wanting.

As complete a list as possible should be made of the plants and trees
visited by honeybees, and notes should be added as to period of blos-
soming, importance of yield, whether honey or pollen or both of these
are collected, quality of the product, etc. If gaps occur during which
no natural forage abounds for the bees, some crop can usually be
selected which will fill the interval, and, while supplying a continuous
succession of honey-yielding blossoms for the bees, will give in addition
a yieid of fruit, grain, or forage from the same land. The novice is
warned, however, not to expect too much from asmall area. He must
remember that as the bees commonly go 24 to 3 miles in all directions
from the apiary, they thus range over anarea of 12,000 to 18,000 acres,
and if but 1 square foot in 100 produces a honey-yielding plant they
still have 120 to 180 acres of pasturage, and quite likely the equivalent
of 30 to 40 acres may be in bloom at one time within range of the bees.
A.few acres more or less at sucha time will therefore not make a great
deal of difference.

But if coming between the principal crops—especially if the bees, as
is often the case, would otherwise have no pasturage at all—the area
provided for them may be of greater relative importance than the larger
area of natural pasturage; for it frequently occurs that the smaller
part only of the honey produced by the field over which the bees of
an apiary range can be collected by them before it is washed out by
rains, or the liquid portion is evaporated and the blossoms withered,
while a smaller area may be more assiduously visited, and, the nectar
being gathered as fast as secreted, a greater yield per acre may result.

It is further of some importance to fill in sucha gap with something
to keep the bees busy, instead of letting them spend their time trying to
rob one another; and, what is probably even more important, the pas-
turage thus furnished will keep up brood rearing and com) building and
assist materially in preparing the colonies for the succeeding honey flow.

59
27

There are many plants and trees of economic value, in addition to
their production of honey, which may be utilized in one portion or
another of the United States in the manner indicated. Adaptability
to climate and soil, the periods of honey dearth to be filled in, markets
for the crop produced, etc., must all come in to influence the choice.
The following list includes the more important plants of economic
value in this country which are good honey and pollen yielders. Most
of those named are adapted to a considerable portion of the Union.
Except in the case of plants restricted to the South, the dates given
are applicable, in the main, to middle latitudes.

ECONOMIC PLANTS AND TREES FOR CULTIVATION FOR HONEY
AND POLLEN.

Filbert bushes, useful for wind-breaks and for their nuts, yield pollen
in February and March.

Rape can be grown successfully in the North for pasturage, for green
manuring, or for seed, and when permitted to blossom yields consider-
able pollen and honey. Winter varieties are sown late in the summer
or early in the autumn, and blossom in April or May following. This
early yield forms an excellent stimulus to brood rearing. Summer or
bird rape, grown chiefly for its seed, blossoms about a month after
sowing. It does best during the cooler months of the growing season.

Russian or hairy vetch is a hardy leguminous plant of great value for
forage and use in green manuring. The blossoms appear early in the
season, and, where there is any lack in early pollen, especially in north-
ern and cool regions, this vetch will be found of great value to the bees.

Fruit blossoms—apricot, peach, pear, plum, cherry, apple, currant,
and gooseberry—<yield pollen and honey in abundance during April or
May; strawberry and blackberry are sometimes visited freely by bees,
but are generally far less important than the others mentioned. Colo-
nies that have wintered well often gather during apple bloom 12 to 15
pounds of surplus honey of fine quality. The raspberry secretes alarge
amount of nectar of superb quality, and coming in May or June, thus
later than the other fruit blossoms and when the colonies are stronger
and the weather is more settled, full advantage can nearly always be
taken of this yield. Grape and persimmon blossom also in June; the
latter is an excellent source. In subtropical portions of the country
orange and lemon trees yield fine honey in March and April, and the
cultivation of the banana has added a profuse honey yielder which
puts forth successive blossoms all through the summer months. |

Locust, tulip tree (‘‘ poplar,” or whitewood), and horse-chestnut, use-
ful for shade, ornament, and timber, are all fine honey producers in
May. The locust yields light-colored, clear honey of fine quality, the |
others amber-colored honey of good body and fair flavor.

59
kok

28

Clovers.—Crimson, blossoming in April or May, yields fine, light-
colored honey; white, alsike, and mammoth or medium, blossoming in
May, June, and July, give honey of excellent quality and rich yellow
color.

Mustard grown for seed flowers from June to August. The honey
is somewhat acrid and crystallizes soon, yet the plant, where abundant,
is of much importance to the bees and the bee keeper in case other for-
age is scant at the time.

Asparagus blossoms are much visited by bees in June and July.

Esparcet, or sainfoin, yields in May and June fine honey, almost as
clear as spring water. It isa perennial leguminous plant, rather hardy,
an excellent forage crop, and particularly valuable for milch cows. It
succeeds best on a limestone soil or when lime is used as a fertilizer,
and is itself an excellent green manure for soils deficient in nitrogen
and phosphoric acid.

Sulla, or sulla clover, a perennial plant, closely related to esparcet or
sainfoin, succeeds, like the latter, best upon limestone soil or when
fertilized with lime. It yields a splendid quality of honey from
beautiful pink blossoms, which continue during May and June. The
plant is an excellent soil fertilizer and of great value in connection
with the feeding of stock, particularly dairy animals. It is, however,
much less hardy than esparcet, and success with it can therefore
hardly be looked for above the latitude of North Carolina and Arkansas.
When the qualities and requirements ef this plant were brought by
the writer to the notice of a prominent scientific agriculturist of the
South, this gentleman suggested as very probable that the black belt
of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas would be well adapted
to it, the lands of this region being exceedingly strong in lime. In
portions of southern Europe sulla clover is a most important forage
crop for farm stock as well as for honey bees.

Serradella is an annual leguminous plant which will grow on sandy
land, and which yields, besides good forage, clear honey of good quality
in June and July.

Chestnut, valuable for timber, ornament, shade, and nuts, yields
honey and pollen in June or July.

Linden, sourwood, and catalpa, fine shade, ornamental, and timber
trees, yield great quantities of first quality honey in June and July.

Cotton.—In the South cotton blossoms, appearing as they do in suc-
cession during the whole summer, often yield considerable honey. It
would appear, however, that when the plants are very rank in growth
the blossoms—being correspondingly large—are too deep for the bees
to reach the nectar.

Chicory, raised for salad and for its roots, is, whenever permitted to
blossom, eagerly visited for honey in July and August.

Sweet, medicinal, and pot herbs, such as marjoram, savory, lavender,

59
29

catnip, balm, sage, thyme, etc., when allowed to blossom, nearly all yield
honey in June, July, or August. Where fields of them are grown for
the seed the honey yield may be considerable from this source.

Alfalfa furnishes in the West a large amount of very fine honey dur-
ing June and July. Its importance there as a forage crop is well
known, but how far eastward its cultivation may be profitably extended
is still a question, and even should it prove of value in the East asa
forage plant, its honey-producing qualities there would be still
uncertain.

Parsnips, when left for seed, blossom freely from June to August,
inclusive, and are much frequented by honey bees.

Peppermint, raised for its foliage, from which oil is distilled, is most
frequently cut before the bees derive much benefit from it, but when-
ever allowed to blossom it is eagerly sought after by them, and yields
honey freely during July and August.

Bokhara, or sweet clover, is in some sections of the country consid-
ered a valuable forage crop. Animals can be taught to like it, and it
is very valuable as a restorer of exhausted lime soils, while in regions
lacking in bee pasturage during the summer months it is a very
important addition. It withstands drought remarkably well and yields
a large quantity of fine honey.

Cucumber, squash, pumpkin, and melon blossoms furnish honey and
some pollen to the bees in July and August.

Eucalypti, valuable for their timber and-as ornaments to lawn and
roadside, are quick-growing trees adapted to the southern portions of
the United States. They yield much honey between July and October.

The carob tree, whose cultivation has been commenced in the South-
west, is an excellent honey yielderin latesummer. Itisan ornamental
tree and gives, in addition to honey, another valuable product—the
carob bean of commerce.

Sacaline, a forage and ornamental plant of recent introduction, is a
great favorite with bees. It blossoms profusely during August, is a
hardy perennial, and thrives in wet and also fairly in dry situations,
withstanding the ordinary summer drought of the Eastern States
because of its deeply penetrating roots.

Buckwheat is an important honey and pollen producer. Its blossoms
appear about four weeks after the seed is sown, hence it may be made
to fill in a summer dearth of honey plants.

HOW TO OBTAIN SURPLUS HONEY AND WAX.

Good wintering, followed by careful conservation of the natural
warmth of the colony, the presence of a prolific queen—preferably a
young one—with abundant stores for brood rearing, are, together with
the prevention, in so far as possible, of swarming, the prime conditions
necessary to bring a colony of bees to the chief honey flow in shape to

59
39

enable it to take full advantage of the harvest. In addition itis only
necessary to adjust the surplus honey receptacles in time, making the
space given proportionate to the strength of the colony, and, while
continuing to prevent as far as possible the issuance of swarms, to
remove the accumulated honey fast enough to give abundant storage
room.

EXTRACTED HONEY.

To secure extracted honey, the requisite number of combs may be in
one long hive, or in stories one above another. Preference is most
generally given to the latter plan. The brood apartment is made in
this case to hold eight to twelve Langstroth frames, and a second, and
sometimes a third or even a fourth story, may be added temporarily.
These added stories may be for full-depth frames, or, for convenience
in handling and in order to be able to control more closely the amount
of space given, they may be half the usual depth, and but one of the
half-depth stories added at a time. If numerous sets of combs are at
hand, or if it is desirable to have others built, additional stories are
put on as fast as the combs already oecupied by the bees are filled.
Before removing the filled combs time should be allowed the bees to
ripen and cap the honey;
hence enough combs are
necessary to give the bees
storage room while they are
capping others. The honey
in combs that are quite or neavly sealed over may be considered suffi-
ciently ripened to be removed from the hive.

It should also be taken promptly, in order to keep the various grades
or kinds separate. However, when the combs of a given super are
completely filled and sealed it may be marked and left on the hive if
more convenient to be extracted later.

The cells are uncapped by means of a sharp knife, made especially
for this purpose (fig. 9), and the combs are then made to revolve rapidly
in the honey extractor (fig. 10). The centrifugal force exerted on the
honey throws it out, leaving the comb cells uninjured, or so slightly
injured that they are wholly repaired within an hour or so after the
return of the comb to the hive. The chief advantages of this method
of harvesting over that of crushing the combs are at once apparent
when it is known that each pound of comb saved represents several
pounds of honey (consumed in its construction), and may, with care
be used over almost indefinitely in securing surplus honey. Further-
more, extracted honey is of much finer quality than that obtained by
crushing the combs and straining out the liquid part, since it is free
from crushed bees, larve, pollen or ‘‘ bee bread,” etc., which not only
render strained honey dark and strong in flavor, but also make it liable
to fermentation and souring.

 

Fic. 9. anitibe uncapping knife.

59
31

The extracted honey is run into open buckets or tanks and left,
covered with cheese cloth, to stand a week or so in a dry, warm room
not frequented by ants. It should be skimmed each day until per-
fectly clear, and is then ready to be put into cans or barrels for
marketing, or to be stored ina dry place. Square tin cans, each made
to hold 60 pounds of extracted honey, are sold by dealers in apiarian
supplies. This style of package is a convenient one to transport, and
is also acceptable to dealers. Wooden shipping cases are usually con-
structed so as to hold two of these cans. Barrels and kegs may be
used, especially for the cheaper grades of honey used chiefly in the
manufacture of other articles. They should be dry, made of well-
seasoned, sound wood, and the hoops driven tight and secured, as
well-ripened honey readily absorbs moisture from wood, causing.
shrinkage and leakage. They should also be coated inside with bees-
wax or paraflin. This is easily done by warming the barrels and then
pouring in a gallon or two of hot wax
or paraffin, and, after having driven
in the bungs tightly, rolling the bar-
rels about’ a few times and turning
them on end. The work should be
done quickly and the liquid not ad-
hering to the inner surfaces poured
out at once, in order to leave but a
thin coating inside.

The surplus combs are to be re-
moved at the close of the season and
hung an inch or so apart on racks
placed in a dry, airy room, where no,
artificial heat is felt. Mice, if permit- %&
ted to reach them, will do consider- |
able damage by gnawing away the cells
containing pollen or those in which Fig. 10.—Automatic reversible honey extractor.
bees have been bred, and which therefore contain larval and pupal skins.
Moth larve are not likely to trouble them until the following spring,
but upon the appearance of milder weather their ravages will begin, and
if the combs can not be placed under the care of the bees at once they
must be fumigated with burning sulphur or with bisulphide of carbon.

 

COMB HONEY.

The main difference to be observed in preparing colonies for the
production of comb honey, instead of extracted, is in the adjust-
ment cf the brood apartment at the time the supers are added. After
the colony has been bred up to the greatest possible strength, the
brood apartment should be so regulated in size, when the honey flow
begins and the supers are added, as to crowd many of the bees out and
into the supers placed above.

59
32

On each hive a super is placed (fig. 11) holding 24 to 48 sections,
each section supplied with a strip or a full sheet of very thin founda-
tion. It is best not to give too much space at once, as considerable
warmth is necessary to enable the bees to draw out foundation or to
build comb. A single set
of sections is usually sufli-
cient at a time. When the
honey is designed for home
use or for a local market,
half-depth frames are some-
times used, the same as
those often used above the
‘brood nests when colonies
arerun forextracted honey,
but for the general market
Ze pound sections (fig. 12) are
Z, ee hetter adapted.

ES zz,  Itis the practice of many
2 to have nice white comb
partially drawn out before
the main honey flow begins,
or even the season before,
feeding the colonies, if nec-
essary, to secure this; and,
when the honey yield be-
gins, to supply sets of sections with these combs having cells deep
enough for the bees to begin storing in as soon as any honey is col-
lected. Earlier work in the sections is thus secured, and this, as is well
known, is an important point in the prevention of swarming. Mr.
Samuel Simmins, of England, has long contended
for this use of partially drawn combs, and though
it forms a feature of his system for the preven-
tion of swarming it has been too often over-
looked. Comb foundation is now manufactured
with extra thin septum or base and with the
beginnings of the cells marked out by somewhat
thicker walls which the bees immediately thin
down, using the extra wax in deepening the cells. yy4. 19. comb honey stored
This is not artificial comb, but a thin sheet of in pound section—size 4}
wax having the bases of the cells outlined on  ?¥*'7°?e

it. Complete artificial combs have never been used in a commercial
way, although there exists a widespread belief to this effect, which is
founded on extravagant claims that have appeared from time to time
in newspaper articles.

If the brood apartment has been much contracted when the supers

59

  

Fic. 11.—Langstroth hive—super above holding 28 sections
for comb honey.

 
33

were added, the queen may go into the sections and deposit eggs
unless prevented by the insertion of a queen excluder (fig. 13). This,
merely a sheet of zine with perforations which permit workers, but
not the queen, to pass, is placed between the brood apartment and the
supers. The great inconvenience of having brood in some of the sec-
tions is thereby prevented. When the honey in the sections has been
nearly capped over, the super may be lifted up and another added
between it and the brood apartment. Or, should the strength of the
colony not be sufficient, or the harvest not abundant enough to war-
rant the giving of so much space, the sections which are completely
finished may be removed and the partly finished ones used as ‘‘ bait
sections” to encourage work in another set of sections on this hive or
in new supers elsewhere. The objections to the removal of sections
one by one, and brushing the bees from them, are (1) the time it takes,
and (2) the danger that the bees when disturbed, and especially if
smoked, will bite open the capping and be-
gin the removal of the honey, thus injuring
the appearance of the completed sections.
A recent valuable invention, the bee es-
cape (fig. 3), the use of which is explained on
pages 15 und 16, when placed between the
super and the brood nest, permits the bees
then above the escape to go down into the
brood apartment, but does not permit their
reentering the super. If inserted twelve
to twenty-four hours before the sections are
to be removed, the latter will be found free
from bees at the time of removal, provided
all brood has been kept out of the supers. |:
Grading and shipping comb honey.—Be- ~ BRR
fore marketing the honey it should be care- — ™% 8 Perforated zine qneen-
fully graded, and all propolis (‘‘ bee-glue”),
if there be any, scraped fromrthe edges of the sections. In grading for
the city markets the following rules are, in the main, observed. They
were adopted by the North American Bee-Keepers’ Association at its
twenty-third annual convention, held in Washington, D. C., in Decem-
ber, 1892, and are copied from the official report of that meeting:

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

Fancy.—All sections to be well filled; combs straight, of even thickness, and firmly
attached to all four sides; both wood and comb unsoiled by travel stain or other-
wise; all cells sealed except the row of cells next to the wood.

No. 1.—All sections well filled, but with combs crooked or uneven, detached at the
bottom, or with but few cells unsealed; both wood and comb unsoiled by travel stain
or otherwise. ‘

In addition to the above, honey is to be classified, according to color, into light,
amber, and dark. For instance, there will be ‘‘fancy light,”’ ‘‘fancy amber,”’ and
“fancy dark,’ ‘No. 1 light,” ‘‘No. 1 amber,” and ‘No. 1 dark.”

59
34

The sections, after grading and scraping, are to be placed in clean
shipping cases having glass in one or both ends (fig. 14). Several of
these may be placed in a single crate for shipment. To prevent break-
ing down of the combs it is best to put straw in the bottom of the crate
for the shipping cases to rest on, and the crates should be so placed ag
to keep the combs in a perpendicular position. The crates are also
likely to be kept right side up if convenient handles are attached to the
sides—preferably strips with the ends projecting beyond the corners.
Care in handling will generally be given if the glass in the shipping
cases shows.

Owing to the appearance of statements of a sensational character to
the effect that complete honey combs are manufactured by machinery
and filled with sweets lower in price than honey (glucose, cane sugar,
or mixtures of these), then sealed over and sold in the market as
genuine honey, a strong suspicion exists regarding the comb honey
commonly offered for sale. Wide circulation has been given to these
wild stories by sensational
newspaper writers, and even
monthly periodicals, usually
far more discriminating and
ZA accurate, have repeated
them. Some writers have
ZA even tried to locate the
‘“comb-honey factories” in
given cities, but investiga-
tion has always shown that

1G, 14.Shipping cases for comb honey. the locations were myth-
ical. The forfeit of $1,000 which a reputable tirm has had standing
for fifteen years past for a pound of manufactured comb honey of a
nature to deceive the buyer still remains unclaimed.

The National Bee-Keepers’ Association, at its annual convention held
in St. Louis in 1904, offered also a like forfeit of $1,000 for satisfac-
tory proof of the existence of such a thing as manufactured comb
honey. But no claimant has come forward, notwithstanding the
$2,000 which awaits his proof. The fact is, there is no truth in the
‘‘varn,” and no one has thus far shown the thing possible. The comb
honey in the markets is pure and wholesome—a healthful and nour-
ishing sweet, casier to digest than cane sugar or any of the sirups
so commonly sold. It is worth a place on the tables of all who can
afford to use it.

 

PRODUCTION OF WAX.

No method has yet been brought forward which will enable one, at
the present relative prices of honey and wax, to turn the whole work-

ing force of the bees, or even the greater part of it, into the produc-
. 59
35

tion of wax instead of honey; in fact, the small amount of wax produced
incidentally in apiaries managed for extracted or for section honey is
usually turned into honey the following season; that is, it is made
into comb foundation, which is then employed in the same hives to
increase their yield of marketable honey. It is even the case that in
most apiaries managed on approved modern methods more pounds of
foundation are employed than wax
produced; hence less progressive
bee keepers—those who adhere to
the use of box hives and who can
not therefore utilize comb founda-
tion—are called upon for their wax
product. As each pound of wax
represents several pounds of honey,
all cappings removed when prepar-
ing combs for the extractor, all
scrapings and trimmings and bits of
drone comb, are to be saved and
rendered into wax. This is best
done in the solar wax extractor (fig.
15), the essential parts of which are a metal tank with wire-cloth
strainer and a glass cover, the latter generally made double. The
bottom of the metal tank is strewn with pieces of comb, the glass
cover adjusted, and the whole exposed to the direct rays of thesun. A
superior quality of wax filters through the strainer.

Another method is to inclose the cappings
or combs to be rendered in a coarse sack and
weight this down in a tin boiler partly filled
with rain water or soft spring water and boil
slowly until little or no more wax can be
pressed out of the material in the sack. Melt-
ing in an iron receptacle makes the wax dark
colored. A special utensil made of tin, for use
as a wax-extractor (fig. 16) over boiling water,

“ ean also be had. The bits of comb are placed
in this, in an inside can having fine perfora-

tions, through which the steam from below
Fig. 16.—Steam wax-extractor. enters and melts out the wax, which drips
from a spout into another receptacle partly filled with water, from
the surface of which the cake of wax may be removed when cold.

THE WINTERING OF BEES.

How to bring bees successfully through the winter in the colder por-
tions of the United States is a problem which gives anxiety to all
who are about to attempt it for the first time in those sections, and

 

Fic. 15.—Solar wax-extractor.

 

59
36

even many who have kept bees for years still find it their greatest
difficulty. It may happen occasionally that a queen, apparently young
and vigorous in the autumn, will die during the winter, when a young
one can not be reared, and as a result the colony will dwindle away.
Such losses are, however, rare, and, aside from the possible results of
fire, flood, or violent storms, are about the only ones which can not be
avoided by careful attention to right methods in wintering. Insuffi-
cient or poor winter stores, hives faulty in construction, lack of pro-
tection from cold and dampness, too much or too little ventilation, too
great a proportion of old bees or too great a proportion of young ones,
overmanipulation late in the season, etc., are the most important and
most easily detected causes of loss in wintering bees. In some instances
colonies supposed to have been placed in the same condition under
which others have wintered well become diseased and die or dwindle
away without prominent signs of disease. It is evident, however, that
some condition existed in one case which was not present in the other,
or that, in spite of some unfavorable condition, the favorable ones
combined, in the first instance, to render the wintering successful.

In the South wintering in the open air on the summer stands is the
only method followed, while in the colder portions of the country,
although with proper precautions bees may be wintered successfully
in the open air, many prefer to house them in special repositories built
with double walls, or to place them in darkened cellars, or in clamps.
Indoor wintering should be confined to regions where there are sev-
eral weeks, at least, of continued severe weather. When all conditions
are right, consumption of honey will be less indoors and loss of bee
life less than with the methods usually practiced in outdoor wintering.
Under proper conditions, however, especially when abundant protec-
tion has been given, colonies out of doors will consume no more food
nor mect with greater losses in numbers than those wintered under
favorable conditions indoors. In wintering indoors certain essential
conditions are, ina measure, beyond the control of the bee keeper,
hence must be left to chance, and certain other conditions and emer-
gencies lable to arise, though easily understood and met by the man
of experience in this direction, are yet very likely to be overlooked
by the novice or to be puzzling and disastrous to him. For these
reasons it 1s safer for him to keep closer to the natural method at first
and try outdoor wintering.

In wintering out of doors the conditions within the control of the
bee keeper are more readily perceived and easier to meet, and though
the original work of preparation for good wintering out of doors is
greater per colony, yet the work during the winter itself and the fol-
lowing spring is likely to be less; moreover, the feeling of greater
security, as well as the greater certainty of finding the colonies in good
condition to begin gathering in the spring, are points well worthy of

59
37

consideration. In other words, indoor wintering should be left to such
experienced bee keepers as may prefer it and are located in cold
climates, while novices, wherever located, should first endeavor to meet
the requirements of successful outdoor wintering; that is, to prepare
the colonies so that Nature, whatever her mood as regards the weather,
will bring her tiny charges safely through the perils and vicissitudes
of the winter months.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.

Whatever method be followed in wintering, certain conditions regard-
ing the colony itself are plainly essential: First, it should have a good
queen; second, a fair-sized cluster of healthy bees, neither too old nor
too young; third, a plentiful supply of good food. The first of these
conditions may be counted as fulfilled if the queen at the head of the
colony is not more than two years old, is still active, and has always
kept her colony populous; yet a younger queen—even one of the cur-
rent season’s rearing, and thus but a few weeks or months old—is if
raised under favorable conditions, much to be preferred. The second
point is met if brood rearing has been continued without serious inter-
ruption during the latter part of the summer and the cluster of bees
occupies, on a cool day in autumn, six to eight or more spaces between
the combs, or forms a compact cluster 8 or 10 inches in diameter.
Young bees, if not well protected by older ones, succumb readily to
the cold, while quite old bees die early in the spring, and others, which
emerged late in the summer or autumn preceding, are needed to replace
them. The third essential—good food—is secured if the hive is lib-
erally supplied with well-ripened honey from any source whatever, or
with fairly thick sirup, made from white cane sugar, which was fed
early enough to enable the bees to seal it over before they ceased fly-
ing. The sirup is prepared by dissolving 3 pounds of granulated sugar
in 1 quart of boiling water and adding to this 1 pound of pure extracted
honey. Twenty to 25 pounds for outdoor wintering in the South, up
to 30 or 40 pounds in the North, when wintered outside with but slight
protection—or, if wintered indoors, about 20 pounds—may be con-
sidered a fair supply of winter food. A smaller amount should not be
trusted except in case much greater protection be furnished against the
effects of severe weather-than is usually given. A greater amount of
stores will do no harm if properly arranged over and about the center
of the cluster, or, in case the combs are narrow, wholly above the clus-
ter. In many instances it will be a benefit by equalizing in a measure
the temperature in the hive, as well as by giving to the bees greater
confidence in extendiag the brood nest in early spring.

59
38
INDOOR WINTERING.

A dry, dark cellar or special repository built in a sidehill or with
double, filled walls, like those of an ice house, may be utilized for win-
tering bees in extremely cold climates. It should be so built that
a temperature of 42° to 45° F. (the air being fairly dry in the cellar)
can be maintained during the greater part of the winter. To this end
it should be well drained, furnished with adjustable ventilators, and
covered all over with earth, except the entrance, where close-fitting
doors, preferably three of them, should open in succession, so as to
separate the main room from the outside by a double entry way. The
colonies, supplied with good queens, plenty of bees, 20 to 25 pounds
of stores each, and with chaff cushions placed over the frames, are
carried in shortly before snow and severe freezing weather come.

Any repository which is damp or one whose temperature falls below
freezing or remains long below 38° F. is not a suitable place in which
to winter bees. When in repositories, the bees have no opportunity
for a cleansing flight, nor do they, when the temperature rises outside,
always warm up sufficiently to enable the cluster to move from combs
from which the stores have been exhausted to full ones; hence in a cold
repository they may possibly starve with plenty of food in the hive.
As a rule, colonies would be better off out of doors on their summer
stands than in such places.

OUTDOOR WINTERING.

Cold and dampness are the great winter enemies of beelife. A single
bee can withstand very little cold, but a good cluster, if all other con-
ditions are favorable, can defy the most rigorous winters of our coldest
States. But if not thoroughly dry, even a moderate degree of cold is
always injurious, if not absolutely fatal. Dampness in winter is there-
fore the most dangerous element with which the bee keeper has to
contend. The matter would, of course, be quite simple if only that
dampness which might come from the outside were to be considered,
but when the air of the hive, somewhat warmed by the bees and more
or less charged with the moisture of respiration, comes in contact with
hive walls or comb surfaces made cold by outside air, condensation
takes place, and the moisture trickles over the cold surfaces and cluster
of bees, saturating the air about them or even drenching them, unless
by forming a very compact cluster they are able to prevent it from
penetrating, or by greater activity to raise the temperature sufficiently
to evaporate the surplus moisture, or at least that portion near
them. But this greater activity is, of course, at the expense of mus-
cular power and requires the consumption of nitrogenous as well as
carbonaceous food. Increased cold or its long continuance greatly
aggravates conditions.

59
39

Nature has provided that the accumulation of waste products in the
body of the bee during its winter confinement should be small under
normal conditions, but unusual consumption of food, especially of a
highly nitrogenous nature like pollen, necessitates a cleansing flight, or
diarrheal difficulties ensue, combs and hives are soiled, the air of the
hive becomes polluted, and at last the individual bees become too weak
to generate proper warmth or drive off the surplus moisture which
then invades the cluster and brings death to the colony; or, what is
more frequently the case, a cold snap destroys the last remnant of the
colony, which has been reduced by constant loss of bees impelled by
disease to leave the cluster or even to venture out for a cleansing flight
when snows and great cold prevail.

The problem then is: Zo retain the warmth generated by the bees,
which is necessary to their well-being, and at the same time to prevent the
accumulation of moisture in thé hive. A simple opening at the top of
the hive would permit much of the moisture to pass off, but of course
heat would escape with it and a draft
would be produced. Absorbent ma-
terial about the cluster creates, 7

|

ll
li
J

without free ventilation, damp sur-
roundings, and again the temperature

to occur, and to take care also that me. 17—poubie- Se hive adapted to out-
this enveloping material is of such door wintering as well as summer use below

   
    

     

is lowered. It is only necessary,
40° north latitude in the United States.

however, to surround the bees with
sufficient material to protect them
fully against the greatest cold likely 5
a nature and so disposed as to permit Thickness of each wall, 3 inch, space be-
the free passagé of the moisture tween walls, 2 inches, packed with dry chaff
which would otherwise collect in the """™"™" °°"
interior of the hive, and to permit the escape into the surrounding
atmosphere of such moisture as enters this material from within.
This packing should also be fully protected from outside moisture.
South of Virginia, Kentucky, and Kansas single-walled hives may
be employed in most localities with good success in outdoor wintering.
On the approach of the cool or the rainy season a close-fitting quilt
should be laid over the frames and several folded newspapers pressed
down on this, or a cushion filled with dry chaff or some other soft
material may be used- instead of paper. The cover or roof should be
absolutely rain proof, yet between this cover and the cushion or
papers should be several inches of space with free circulation of air.
In order to permit this ventilation above the top packing, the cover
should not rest upon the cap or upper story all of the way around, or
if it does, an auger hole in each end, protected by wire cloth against
the entrance of mice, should give free passage to the air. In the

59
4u

more northern portion of the section referred to some further protec-
tion is advisable (fig. 17), and is really necessary in the mountainous
parts of the same territory if the best results are to be obtained.
Farther north, and especially in the cold Northwest, much greater
protection becomes an absolute necessity. Quilts with newspapers or
thin packing above do not alone suffice. The side walls of the hive
may be made of pressed straw (fig. 18). These, with top packing, if
kept dry outside, are excellent for outdoor wintering, even in climates
so cold that ordinary wooden hives do not afford sufficient protection.

In the severest climates, however, still greater protection on all sides
of the colony is needed, and packing with chaff or other soft material
is decidedly the best plan. The thickness of this surrounding packing
should be from 2 inches to 8 or 10 inches for single colonies, according
to the severity of the climate, but if four or more colonies are grouped
for the winter, so as to make the natural warmth generated mutually
advantageous, somewhat less packing will be sufficient. A most
important point is to have the soft
» warmth-retaining packing come in
close contact with the edges of the
combs, and above all not to have a
hive wall, etther thick or thin, be-
tween this material and the bees. A
good plan is to construct an open
framework or skeleton hive of laths,
cover it with sacking, or, prefer-
ably, some less fuzzy cloth which the
bees will not gnaw, and after placing
Fic. 18.—The American straw hive (Langstroth if in an outer wooden case large

eee ae enough every way to admit of the
necessary packing about the colony, to fill in on all sides with some
dry, porous material (fig. 19). If the frames are shallow, like the
Langstroth, it is better to construct the inner case so as to place them
on end, and thus give a deeper comb for the winter. Layers of
newspapers may come next outside the cloth covering of the frame-
work. Wheat chaff answers well to complete the packing. Wool is
to be preferred, but is of course too expensive unless a waste product.
Ground cork, waste flax,.hemp, sawdust, etc., in fact, any fine porous
material, if thoroughly dry, may be used.

A board passageway 38 or 4 inches wide and three-eighths of an inch
high should connect this inner apartment and the flight hole of the
outer case, thus affording an exit for the bees whenever the weather
may permit them to fly. When these preparations have been com-
pleted, the hive is ready for the combs, which, with adhering bees, are
taken from the summer hive and inserted in the winter hive. A quilt
is then laid on the frames and the top packing put on. This, for con-

 

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venience, may be held in a cloth-bottomed tray. Itis quite important,
as already mentioned, that air be allowed to circulate freely above the
packing. The outside case must be quite rain-proof or else wholly
protected from the rain by a roof.

All other necessary conditions having been complied with shortly
after the gathering season closed, the combs may be lifted from the
summer hives and placed in these specially arranged winter cases
before cold weather wholly stops the bees from flying out. Thus pre-
pared for the winter the colonies will need but slight attention from
October unti} March, or, in the North,
even later, and the losses will be lim-
ited to the small percentage of cases
due to failure of apparently good
queens.

THE RISK OF LOSS THROUGH
DISEASE AND ENEMIES.

Winter losses through disease su-
perinduced by unfavorable surround-
ings which it is within the power of
the bee keeper to avoid have already
been considered. But one other very
serious disease has been widespread.

  
   

FOUL BROOD OR BACILLUS OF
THE HIVE.

This is a highly contagious affec- =

tion which, as it mainly affects the ATT TIN
developing brood in the cells, is UI
commonly known as “‘foul brood.” mie. 19—Colony of bees with newspapers
It is due to a microbe (Bacillus alvei) Packed between inner and outer cases and
whose spores are easily transported —

from hive to hive by the bees themselves, by the operator, in honey,
or in combs changed from one hive to another. Once established
in an apiary, it usually spreads, unless speedily and energetically
checked, until all of the colonies in the neighborhood are ruined and
even exterminated. The most apparent symptoms are the turning
black of larve in open cells, many sealed cells with sunken caps, fre-
quently broken in and containing dead larve or pupe in a putrid con-
dition, brown or coffee-colored, jelly-like or ropy in consistency, and
giving off an offensive odor. The disease, though known to exist in
nearly al’ countries, can hardly be said to be common. The writer, in
an experience of over thirty years in bee keeping in several States of
the Union, as well as in a number of foreign countries, has met the
disease but rarely, and has had but one experience with it in his own

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42

apiary, it having been in this instance brought in by a neighbor who
purchased bees at a distance. It was easily cured, without great loss.
Thus the beginner’s risks of disaster in this direction are, if he be fore-
warned, comparatively small. He may, furthermore, gain assurance
from the fact that, should the disease invade his apiary, prompt and
intelligent action will prevent serious loss.

The following is the treatment for a colony which still has sufficient
strength of numbers to be worth saving: The bees are to be shaken
from their combs just at nightfall into an empty box, which is to be
remoyed at once to a cool, dark place. They are to be confined to
the box, but it must be well ventilated through openings covered with
wire cloth. During the first forty-eight hours ho food should be given
to them, and during the second forty-eight hours only a smail amount
of medicated sirup—a half pint daily fora small colony to a pint for a
strong one. This food is prepared by adding one part of pure carbolic
acid or phenol to 600 or 700 parts of sugar sirup or honey. Atthe end
of the fourth day the bees are to be shaken into a clean hive supplied
with starters of comb foundation. This hive is to be placed outside ona
stand some distance from all other colonies, and moderate feeding with
medicated sirup or honey should be continued for a few days thereafter.

The combs of diseased colonies which contain brood may be assem-
bled over a single one of these colonies, or, if the amount of brood be
too great for one colony to care for, over several such diseased colonies,
until the young bees have emerged. All of the honey is then to be
extracted. While it is wholesome as food, it should not be offered for
sale, lest some of it be used in feeding bees or be inadvertently exposed
where foraging bees might find it and carry to their hives the germs
of this disease, harmless to other creatures but so fatal to bee life. A
good use for this honey is to employ it in making vinegar. One and
one-third pounds added to each gallon of rain water or soft spring
water and allowed to ferment for three months in a warm place makes
a quality of vinegar quite equal to the best cider vinegar. Provision
for the free circulation of air through the cask should be made. This
is easily secured by placing the cask, not completely filled, on its side
and boring an auger hole in each end near the upper side, the holes to
be covered with cheese cloth or fine gauze, to keep out insects.

If the honey containing the germs is to be used for feeding bees, it
is to be diluted with half its own quantity, by measure, of water and |
kept at the boiling point for three hours in a water bath—a vessel
within another containing water.

The combs from which the honey has been extracted, as well as all
of the pieces built by the bees during their four days’ confinement,
may be melted into wax, by thorough boiling in soft water. This
wax should be kept liquid for 48 hours or longer, to allow all impuri-
ties to settle. These will include the foul brood spores, which may

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then be removed with the impure wax by scraping or cutting away
the bottom of the cake. These scrapings should be burned. The
same disposition had better be made of the frames from which the
combs containing germs were removed.

In all of this work the utmost care should be exercised to avoid the
dripping of honey about the apiary or the exposure of implements,
receptacles, or combs smeared with or containing honey from the
diseased colonies. It may even be better, in order to save time and
possible risk, where but few combs and a comparatively small amount
of honey are involved, to destroy all of these immediately after their
removal from the hive. The old hive and all utensils used about the
diseased colony should be disinfected by washing in a solution of cor-
rosive sublimate— one-eighth ounce in one gallon of water—and should
afterwards be exposed to the air and sun for some time. If healthy
colonies are to be manipulated immediately after handling diseased ones
the hands of the operator must also be disinfected by washing in the
solution just mentioned.

Those who care to try and save combs and brood should employ the
remedia] method developed by the late Professor Cheshire. This is
explained in full in his work on bee keeping,? and a brief statement of
it may also be found in ‘‘ The Honey Bee,” Bulletin No.1, new series,
of the Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agri-
culture. Notwithstanding these remedies, some will prefer, where
healthy colonies of bees can be bought at moderate prices, to burn
diseased bees, combs, and frames rather than spend time to effect a
cure, and risk, as they fear they may, the further spread of the pest.
To kili the bees thus is, however, neither profitable, humane, nor neces-
sary, for if confined as described above and separated at once from the
other colonies, this work being done at nightfall, when ail of the bees
are in their hives, the risk of spreading the disease will not thereby
be increased, nor is the labor much greater than that involved in the
removal of combs and bees for burning. And if it be found that the
diseased colonies are weak in numbers and seem, therefore, individually
hardly worth saving, this need not be taken as an excuse for the death
sentence, as several colonies may be smoked and shaken together
into the same box to make a single strong colony, the best queen of the
lot having been selected and caged in the box in such a way that the
workers can release her within a few hours by eating through candy.

BEE PARALYSIS.

Among other diseases of a bacterial nature paralysis is most notice-
able, although not to be dreaded as foul brood. It affects the adult
bees only, producing’ a paralyzed condition of their members anda

 

a** Bees and Bee keeping,’ by Frank R. Cheshire, F. L. 8., F. R. M. 8., London,
1888, Vol. II, pages 554-575.

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swelling up of their bodies. The diseased bees, often set upon by
other workers, lose the hairy covering of their bodies, and, black and
shiny in appearance, may often be seen wriggling away from their
hives to die. In such cases the working force of the affected colony
frequently becomes so greatly reduced as to preclude any return in
the form of honey or swarms during the given season. The source
from which the bees obtain the original infection is unknown, but,
once in the apiary, it is spread mainly by the entrance of affected
workers into healthy colonies, and probably also by the visits which
bees from healthy colonies make to the diseased ones, the latter often
being so weakened in numbers as to be unable to protect their stores
from healthy bees out on robbing expeditions.

Ordinary paralysis may generally be cured by strewing powdered
sulphur over the combs, bees, and along the top bars of the frames,
the precaution first having been taken of removing all unsealed brood.
This brood would be killed by the application of sulphur, but as there
is no danger whatever of spreading the disease by the transfer of brood
or honey from one hive to another, provided absolutely every one of
the adult bees has first been shaken or brushed from the combs, the
latter may be given to healthy colonies which need strengthening.

Another simple plan for getting rid of the disease and yet utilizing
the available strength of the affected colonies is to close their hives at
night and move them a mile or more, locating them, if possible,
outside of the range of other bees. As the brood in these colonies
remains healthy all that is sealed or even well advanced in the larval
stage may have the bees shaken from it and be distributed among the
remaining colonies of the apiary. The bees of the diseased colonies
thus become rapidly reduced in numbers, and several of the colonies
themselves may soon be combined, the best queen being selected to
continue egg deposition. Eventually the diseased apiary becomes, by
the removal of the developing brood and the death of the old bees,
reduced to nothing. None of the queens should be saved nor should
any of the adult workers be returned to the healthy apiary.

A combination of the sulphur cure with the last plan mentioned—
that of getting rid of the disease through the removal of brood combs
from affected colonies—is really, all in all, the best procedure. When
a fairly strong colony has heen made up by shaking the adult bees of
two or more together and this removed to an isolated locality, the
application of sulphur may be made before any brood has been started.
It is well, also, to replace the queen with a vigorous one from stock
entirely unrelated to the diseased bees. Should any signs of the dis-
ease reappear, constant removal of the brood should be followed, as
mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Other bacterial diseases, though existing, have developed only very
locally or have been too limited in the amount of injury inflicted to
require special mention here.

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45

INSECT AND OTHER ENEMIES.

The bee or wax moth ( Galleria mellonella Linn.) is regarded by those
‘unfamiliar with modern methods in bee keeping as a very serious
enemy to success in this work. It was frequently such when only the
common black bee was kept and the old way of managing, or rather
of trusting to luck, was followed. But with the better races now
introduced and with improved hives and methods, and especially with
the care that is now given to have no colonies queenless long ata time,
the wax-moth larve are no longer regarded with great concern.

Some species of wasps take a little honey at times—more particu-
larly when hives are opened—and they annoy the bees; others capture
and eat workers, as do also the large ant-like ‘‘ cow-killers” (Mutil-
lide), and certain predaceous flies (Asilide), true bugs (Phymatide),
and neuropterous and orthopterous insects (Libellulide and Mantide).
The larve of certain beetles (Dermestide and Tenebrio) feed upon
pollen and the cast-off skins of developing larve and pupe, and cer-
tain of the Meioid larve attach themselves to the bodies of bees as
parasites. Ants (Formicide) and cockroaches (Blattide), which gather
above the quilts and between the quilts and the tops of the frames in
order to be benefited by the warmth of the cluster of bees, sometimes
help themselves to honey, and their presence annoys the bees more or
less. Some of the insects here mentioned are only found locally, the
predaceous ones being confined mainly to the South, while it may be said
that the general welfare of strong colonies is not often materially affected
nor the return noticeably reduced through the attacks of any of them.

Spiders, toads, and lizards destroy, in addition to many injurious
insects, also some bees, and should be tolerated in the vegetable garden
rather than in the apiary.

Swallows, kingbirds or bee martins, mice, skunks, and bears only
occasionally commit depredations in the apiary.

Properly constructed hives enable the bees to limit in a great meas-
ure the injury which these various enemies might inflict, and the
avoidance of overswarming, with care to insure the constant presence
of a prolific queen and a supply of food suited to the needs of the
colony at the time, will keep 1t populous and therefore in shape to repel
attacks or to make good most of the unavoidable losses.

ROBBER BEES.

Robbing is sometimes a more serious matter, although it very rarely
happens that a little careful attention just at the right time on the part
of the bee keeper would not avoid all serious trouble on this score.
When bees find nothing to gather during weather when they can still
fly out they are easily tempted to appropriate the stores of weaker
colonies. Exposure of combs of honey at such times may even occasion
a combined attack upon a good colony otherwise quite able to take

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46

care of itself. It is then that the greatest destruction ensues, for such
a colony will defend itself vigorously, and a pitched battle, with per-
haps fifty or sixty thousand Amazons on either side, leaves the ground
literally strewn with dead and dying.

If the invaders conquer, every drop of honey is taken from the few
vanquished that are likely to be still alive; and in turn the despoilers
invariably fight among themselves as to the possession of the booty.
When the robbing takes place during the absence of the owner, the con-
dition of the robbed colony may not attract immediate attention, and
during warm weather moth larve gain full possession of the combs
within a few days. When this condition is observed, the whole damage
is very likely to be attributed to the moth larvae. Colonies that have
been left queenless for some time, and those weakened by disease or by
overswarming, are especial marks for such attacks. Of course these
defects should be remedied whenever observed, but meanwhile, if legiti-
mate field work is likely to be interrupted, every colony should be
assisted in protecting itself against assault by having its hive made
secure and the entrance such a narrow pass as to enable a few workers
to repel attack there.

Should robbers get well started before being observed, the entrance
of the hive should be narrowed at once, and wet grass or weeds may be
thrown Joosely over it, or a pane of glass may be stood against the front
of the hive in a slanting manner to confuse the intruders. In extreme
cases the attacked colonies may be removed to a cellar for a few days,
plenty of ventilation being given during confinement, and a new loca-
tion, apart from other colonies, selected, on which they are to be placed
just at nightfall; or, instead of putting them in the cellar, they may be
taken a mile or more away and returned only when the danger has
passed. With these precautions, little loss is to be feared on this score.

In general, the intelligent owner who gives careful attention to cer-
tain important points in bee management finds that he very rarely has
disease to contend with, and that the reduction of profits through the
depredations of bee enemies is not, in most parts of the Union, a seri-
ous discouragement. Altogether it seems to the writer that the risks
in these directions are even less in bee keeping than those usually met
in the keeping ef other animals, which, like bees, are legitimately
made to contribute to the wealth of the individual and of the nation.

LEGISLATION AFFECTING APIARIAN INTERESTS.

Many States have in recent years passed laws having for their pur-
pose the eradication or suppression of contagious diseases among bees.
State and county inspectors have been appointed under these laws,
whose duty it is to go about and ascertain where diseased colonies of
bees are located, and recommend the treatment to be given, or inssome
cases to carry out this treatment, even to the complete destruction of

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colonies or apiaries where the virulence of the attack seems to war-
rant it. Where these laws have been conscientiously and energeti-
cally executed, much has been accomplished toward freeing the apia-
ries of the given State from disease.

Some States have passed laws making it a misdemeanor to spray
fruit trees during the time of blossoming, since thereby bees are
poisoned, and besides the injury to the apiarist the pollination of the
fruit blossoms is seriously interfered with.

Laws against the sale of adulterated goods as genuine, known com-
monly as pure-food laws, are in operation in some of the States, and
where bee inspectors or bee keepers have taken the pains to have
these laws applied to the marketing of honey, a check bas been put
upon the selling of adulterated honey in the liquid form, which has
been practiced to a greater or less extent and still occurs in some of
the city markets.

In general, the rights of bee keepers to own and cultivate bees, either
within the limits of cities or on farms adjoining those devoted to graz-
ing and general stock raising, are becoming more clearly defined
through decisions of supreme and county courts. In this connection the
work of the National Bee-Keepers’ Association should receive mention,

This organization is in no sense a trades union, but has for its purpose
the defense of its members against unjust attacks upon their legal
rights, the suppression, in so far as possible, of the sale of adulterated
honey, the securing of legislation for the protection of its members
and favorable to the general advance of the industry, as well as the
dissemination among its members of advanced ideas in bee manage-
ment and information regarding the marketing of apiarian products.
The membership fee of one dollar per annum entitles every honey
producer to membership and participation in all of the benefits
enumerated, as well as to the published report of the annual conven-
tion held by the association. The membership numbers nearly 2,000
at the present time, and the influence of this large body of intelligent
beemasters is already being appreciably felt in the general advance
of the industry in this country.

JOURNALS TREATING OF APICULTURE.

Asa matter of general information, the following list of journals
relating to apiculture is given. It comprises all those published in
this country at the present time.

The American Bee Journal, Chicago, IIl.
Gleanings in Bee Culture, Medina, Ohio.

The Bee Keepers’ Review, Flint, Mich.
Phevtmerican Bee Keeper, Falconer, N. Y.
‘Ehe-Progressive Bee Keeper, Higginsville, Mo.
Wester: Bee Journal, Kingsburg, Cal.
Phe-Rural Bee Keeper, River Falls, Wis.

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