Geo. S. Demuth

“ The wide variation in the building up of colonies previous to the honey flow in different localities and seasons, the race of bees, and the skill of the beekeeper are all factors entering into this problem, which make it improbable that beekeepers will ever fully agree on this point. The races that build up more rapidly in the spring are, of course, other things being equal, able to use to advantage a larger brood chamber than the races that are more conservative in brood rearing. ”

“ It should be noted that the shorter the duration of the honey flow, the greater becomes the necessity of having the colonies in proper condition at its beginning and keeping them so until its close. However lavish nature may be with the secretion of nectar and fine weather, it is of little avail if the beekeeper fails to secure a large force of workers to gather and store his crop or, even having provided workers, if he fails to keep his forces together and contented, bending all their energy in the one direction of gathering and storing honey. ”

“ The fact that bees usually, by the construction of queen cells, indicate about a week in advance their intention to swarm, enables the beekeeper to control swarming by examining each colony once a week during the swarming period and forestalling the colonies that are making preparations to swarm. It is also possible to manipulate all the colonies before any swarming occurs so that most of them go through the honey flow without swarming, thus eliminating the weekly examinations. ”

“ The first super should contain some empty comb when given to the colony, and each succeeding super should be given in advance of the time when the bees would be in any way crowded without it. At no time should all the sections be removed and new supers containing only foundation be given, but the surplus apartment should contain sections in all the various stages of development. In this way there is no break in the work in the supers, and the critical periods, so far as the super room bears upon the problems of swarming and energetic work, are largely eliminated. ”

“ Of course the brood chamber that is barely large enough for one colony will be too large for another in the same apiary or the character of the season may be such that all brood chambers may be too large for best results one season and too small the next, so an average must be sought. While by manipulation good results may be secured by the use of any of the sizes in common use, any great departure in either direction from the size best suited to conditions of a given locality necessitates an excessive increase in labor to give best results. ”

“ Some races breed up more rapidly in the spring than others. The Italians are somewhat conservative in this respect, but have so many excellent traits that they are generally used in this country. In localities having intermittent honey flows Italian bees may not give the best results because of their tendency to restrict brood rearing during the honey flow by crowding the queen and to curtail the production of brood during a scarcity of nectar. Drone comb within the brood nest in early spring is a decided barrier to rapid brood rearing. ”

“ If feeding is not practiced during this critical period, the beekeeper should see that each colony is at all times supplied with a reserve of stores, for surprisingly large quantities are consumed when brood rearing is going on rapidly. If any colonies should run short, brood rearing will be carried on sparingly and the colony so severely crippled that it may not recover its strength until after the honey flow is over. ”

“ Grouping the third and fourth factors we have conditions capable of being brought about by manipulation and for which the beekeeper is more directly responsible. The beekeeper's skill therefore lies in supplying and maintaining these factors throughout the short period during which the bees may store more than they consume. He should know which plants may be expected to furnish the nectar for his crop of honey, that his various manipulations may be properly timed. ”

“ If swarming occurs at a time when the resulting young bees can take part in gathering and storing the crop of honey, the usual practice is to allow the brood to emerge in a separate hive and later to add these young bees to the colony from which it was taken. ”

“ Stimulative feeding, if properly done, will undoubtedly result in the rearing of more bees for the harvest. When the beekeeper is operating several apiaries and must travel some distance to reach them the labor involved is considerable, and the question to be decided is whether this labor would yield greater returns if expended in stimulative feeding or in operating a larger number of colonies. If the brood chamber is large and well provisioned or if the flowers furnish some nectar in early spring the colonies may have sufficient stores for this period of heavy brood rearing. ”

“ Among extensive beekeepers the tendency is decidedly toward letting the bees alone until the weather is more settled, simply making sure that they have sufficient stores. The apiary should, if possible, be so located that the bees may have access to water without the necessity of exposure of a long flight during bad weather. In localities that do not furnish natural pollen, it may be necessary to feed an artificial substitute, such as rye meal. A good hive that will conserve the heat of the cluster is also a great help in early brood rearing. ”

“ There should be no restriction whatever in the room for brood rearing up to the time of putting on the supers, just previous to the honey flow, for a crowded brood nest at this time tends to diminish the number of workers available for the honey flow as well as to encourage swarming. ”

“ It is necessary that the beekeeper know what plants are likely to furnish the surplus honey and their approximate period of bloom so that he can determine the limits of the heavy brood-rearing period in order to secure the largest possible working force for the honey flow. ”

“ When the swarm is hived back without the brood on its old location in this manner, the colony does not lose any of its flying bees and is back at work with renewed energy in the same set of supers it was but a few minutes before so eagerly deserting. ”

“ If queen cells are well advanced, their destruction usually has little or no effect as a swarm preventive measure. While destroying queen cells in their early stages can not be relied upon as a preventive of swarming, beekeepers who practice examining the brood chambers once a week for queen cells during the swarming season are usually surprised at the number of colonies that can be induced to give up swarming and turn their attention to storing in this way. ”

“ Few beekeepers, however, go to this extreme, as the season usually closes before the latest emerging young bees are thus transferred to the colony with the supers and these later-emerging bees may be used for increase at little if any expense in surplus honey. (5) If increase is not desired, the bees may be added to the swarm on the old stand as before, and after 10 or 15 days the combs of the parent colony still containing some unhatched brood may be used on which to hive another swarm. ”

“ By supplying each colony with a young queen the previous autumn, or at least supplanting all undesirable ones, a greater number of young and vigorous workers are reared late in the season, which usually means greater vitality and numbers the next spring. Young queens reared the previous summer or autumn should be in prime condition the next spring. If to this combination is added an abundance of stores within the hives, brood rearing should progress rapidly, even in spite of adverse weather conditions. ”

“ Comb honey to command the higher price—proportionate to the greater cost of production—must justify the extra cost to the consumer by its finer appearance. The consumer of extracted honey is not concerned as to the straightness or finish of the combs in which it was originally stored, but by virtue of its appearance there will probably always be a good demand for the finest grade of comb honey where appearance is the chief consideration. Present tendencies therefore emphasize the desirability of producing comb honey of the most attractive appearance possible. ”

“ Well-filled sections of comb honey with delicate white comb and perfect cappings are obtainable only during a rapid honey flow of sufficient duration to insure their completion. The production of comb honey, the appearance of which is sufficient to justify its extra cost, requires a combination of conditions that are peculiar to rather limited areas, outside of which the beekeeper will find it decidedly advantageous to produce extracted honey. ”

“ The sectional hive in which the brood chamber is composed of two or more shallow hive bodies, making it horizontally divisible, offers some advantages, especially to the comb-honey specialist. Most of the ordinary manipulations can be performed readily with such hives without removing the frames. One of their greatest advantages in comb-honey production is the rapidity with which the apiarist can examine the colonies for queen cells if natural swarming is to be controlled by manipulation. ”

“ The comb-honey producer is more exacting as to certain details of construction of hives than is the producer of extracted honey since it is more necessary for him to handle individual brood frames during the honey flow. ”

“ If this is not possible the very weak colonies can more profitably be used for purposes other than comb-honey production. Another plan of equalizing is that of shaking bees from combs taken from strong colonies at the entrance of colonies less strong. The older bees at once take wing and return to their hives, while the younger bees enter the weaker colony. The operator must, of course, be sure that the queen is not on the comb thus shaken. ”

“ To bring about the best results in comb honey, the entire working force of each colony must be kept undivided and the means employed in doing so must be such that the storing instinct remains dominant throughout any given honey flow. ”

“ In localities where the main honey flow is so late that colonies may be divided long enough before the flow so that both colonies may be built up to proper strength in time to take advantage of it, of course increase previous to the flow would be advisable. This condition is rare in comb-honey localities.
Swarming.
All colonies do not behave alike as to swarming. (1) There are certain colonies that go through the season with apparently no thought of swarming. Such colonies do the very best work in the supers, and their number can be increased by skillful management. ”