BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Now drive a small nail into the bench between the spool of wire and end-bar about half way down, and bend it over so that, when the wire is cut, the end can be brought under the nail and hold it, and keep it from getting tangled. Drive a very small tack about half way up, near the top and bottom holes in the end-bar nearest to the spool of wire; and when the wire has been run through all the holes, beginning at the top, wrap it a few times around the tack near the bottom hole, and drive the tack down; then draw the wire until all the slack is out, and give it a few wraps around the other nail, and drive the tack up; then cut the wire near it, and bring the end under the bent-down nail, and the frame is wired, which can be removed and another wired in like manner. Then when all the frames have been thus wired the foundation can be put in, which can best be done by nailing a short plank down on the bench on the edge so that the top edge will take two or three inches, being perpendicular, so that, when the frame lies on its top-bar beside this plank the bottom-bar can rest over on it, then a beveled-edge strip can be put under the bottom-bar, which will give it a solid foundation and hold it in place. This inclined position of the frame will keep the foundation in its groove and out of the way while the wedge is being driven in beside it; and when this is done carefully, remove the frame and lay it on a board cut just the same size as the inside of the frame, so that it will go down over it with the strands of wire and the foundation next to the board. Then carefully run the wire-imbedder (see under "Apiarian Implements") over the wire pressing down just enough to imbed them well into the foundation; but be sure, before this is done, that the wires rest tightly across the foundation, which can be done by pressing the frame down over the fitting piece under the foundation. As the frames are finished, set them in the hives and wedge the division-boards up against them, and they are ready for the bees.
As previously stated, there are other styles of modern hives and supers, and some of them are used in the South; but I have given the construction of the three most commonly in use here. Some of our Southern bee-keepers use what is called a ten-frame hive, which is constructed the same as I have described, only they are just a little wider. There is no doubt that these ten-frame hives are the best for extracted honey in locations where they sometimes have overwhelming crops of honey; but generally the eight-frame hive will answer all purposes. There are also many bee-keepers who use shallow frames and shallow supers for extracted honey. The hive I have described for chunk honey can also be operated for extracted honey and the frames wired if desired.
The close observer, as he puts his hives together, will notice a small space all around and through the fixtures of the hive. This space is called a "bee-space," allowing them a passage all through and around in the hive, making the hive as convenient and suitable for them as possible; and notice. too, how quickly and easily all the fixtures can be removed from the hive and set back, giving the bee-keeper a'quick and easy access to the bees and all parts of the hive.
The writer will never forget the first modern hive he constructed, and the length of time he was at it; but he soon learned the "kinks," and hive-construction has always been a pleasure to him.
## 11 Subdung Bees.
Bees are irascible insects; but they can be so completely conquered or subdued with smoke that they will not offer resistance, even to an intruder upon them removing their young or their only source of living (honey) With proper precautions and protection (using vests and gloves), and a good smoker, any one can be safe and feel comfortable among bees. But he must let them know on approaching them that he is to be master of the situation. Never go out into the apiary to molest the bees without having the smoker full of good fuel and well burning.
On approaching a colony of bees to do certain work in it, send in a few whiffs of smoke at the entrance; then with the hive-tool pry the cover loose and send in smoke along the crack a few moments before you raise it high enough to let the bees escape; for if you let any out at the opening of the hive they will be sure to give you trouble. As soon as they have been smoked a few moments remove the cover and send a few whiffs of smoke over the frames so some of it will reach the bees along on the top of the comb; but don't send strong whiffs down between the frames, for this will be too much smoke, and will cause them to become confused. Now begin frame manipulation, inspection, or whatever there is to be done; but keep the bees subdued, whenever they show signs of resistance, by mounting the top-bars from below and giving you a straight look. Another whiff of smoke will send them back down, head foremost. Repeat the dose as long as these mounters appear while handling their comb. Usually bees will offer resistance but a minute or so after they have been disturbed, for they will hustle about over the comb until they find uncapped cells of honey, and then they will gorge themselves on honey, and lose all inclination to fight or resist their intruder.
The art of subduing bees is soon learned after a few painful stings have been endured.
"Smoke should not be used in hiving swarms or in handling bees after they have settled, any more than possible, for they don't need subduing, but. rather, gentle treatment.
## 6 Frame Manipulation.
Handling frames of comb, honey, and bees intelligently is where the wheel of fortune begins to turn in bee-keeping. Bees are subject to failure at any time; but by handling their comb from time to time, inspecting the condition of each colony, these failures, either on their part or the part of their keeper, or Providence, which seems not to make a provision for man's part, can be easily detected and supplied before the colony fails or soon after it has started to. The needs or failures of a colony of bees will be fully explained elsewhere in this book, which can be and should be supplied from an outside source, or have the bees help each other by making the "strong bear the infirmities of the weak" by changing and interchanging frames of comb, honey, and brood from one hive to another, equalizing them.
There is no supposition in bee-keeping. If the frames are manipulated we know what to depend on, for the condition of our bees is clear to us, and we know that we can have them in good condition or in shape to gather honey previous to each honey-flow, and that we shall save as large an amount as possible with our force of bees if the weather condition is in our favor.
Then, too, frame manipulation is interesting--so much so that it never gets to be monotonous. Each hive of frames handled offers new ideas in bee culture for our consideration; and the art of handling them is soon learned by any one who will apply himself.
If it is desired to make an inspecting-tour over the apiary, one or two of the center frames are all that is necessary to be removed to reveal the condition of the colony. This can be done by lifting out the'division-board, or one frame on the outside, and then prying the others away from the frame we wish to inspect, and lift it out; and the inspection of 'this frame should show the colony to be in good condition (plenty of eggs and food in all stages of development in it, as other colonies have, although sometimes bees don't carry much brood; and if this be the case none of them will be carrying much), but if the inspection of this frame is not satisfactory, lift out the next one; and if that is, set it back in-the hive carefully, and set the outside frame or division-board back in the hive, and wedge the frames up and put on the cover; but if the inspection shows the colony not to be in good condition, lay something on the cover.' When all the colonies have been thus examined, then turn back and supply the needs of those that are not in a thriving condition. If they need stores, give them a frame of honey from some colony which may have it to spare, or feed them (see "Feeding"). If there are no eggs or brood in the hive when there should be, give them a frame of brood, for they may have lost their queen, or there may be a young queen in the hive which has not begun to lay yet. Inspect the frame of brood next day; and if they have started queen-cells, give them another queen as soon as possible, or a ripe queen-cell, or you can put them to raising them another queen (see "Queen-rearing"). If the bees do not start queen-cells, there is a young queen in the hive which should begin to lay in a few days; but examine the hive often as possible, and see that they do have a queen.
Then, again, if the colony should have plenty of stores (remember, a good queen without plenty of stores can not keep up her colony), but be behind the average in eggs and brood, then the queen is old or failing, and another one should be given the colony, also one or two frames of sealed brood, if the colony has run down any. Strong colonies should never dwinddle down if they are kept supplied with stores and young prolific queens; but should any colonies run down in bees they should be given frames of sealed brood from strong colonies from time to time.
The observant bee-keeper can soon learn the needs of his bees, and how to supply them by handling or manipulating the frames containing the comb of his bees, changing and interchanging them from hive to hive from time to time over his apiary.
## 11 Apiary Work.
To give a modern apiary the necessary attention to prolong the existence of all colonies, and to obtain the greatest amount of surplus honey possible, requires more time and work during the year than the average bee-keeper may suspect; but the bulk of the work comes at intervals just before and during the honey-flow, and at the close of them. Work to get the bees in readiness for the honey-flow. Work to give them the proper room to store honey during the flow, and work to remove and market it at the close of the flow. Of course, the amount of work is governed by the size of the apiary and the extent of the honey-flow.
There are three essential things to know in successful apiary work, and they are: i. To know what to do.
2. When to do it.
3. How to go about it to accomplish it best. First, let us consider our duty to our bees, if we owe one, and we surely do for they are very useful and necessary insects in the vegetable or plant kingdom upon which we so depend. Then, too, their products are very valuable and necessary. Our appetite calls for honey, and our frail bodies need it to nourish them; and the mission of the honey-bee and its field of work, and the usefulness of its products, show conclusively that it was not sent among us as a pest to be brimstoned, or its culture ignored. Notwithstanding, thousands of colonies have been killed in various ways, as all they had to subsist on was taken away from them, which soon resulted in their death. Yet a few are left awaiting cultivation and to do this we must read, study, think, and apply ourselves'to apiary work, so that we may know the needs of our bees.
Second, while we are applying ourselves to know apiary work we must not forget there is a time to do all things; and to do it properly it must be done at the right time or loss will be the result. It is necessary that we walk about the woods and know about when to expect the honey-plants, that yield a surplus of honey, to bloom.
The time to do apiary work in the South varies considerably; and the time to prepare bees for the honey-flow varies greatly in different sections and locations; and even the honey-plants are by no means the same everywhere. Different plants here and there yield honey at different times of the year all over the South, so there is much for every bee-keeper to solve in his own immediate location, especially as to the time of apiary work.
Third, next is applying the work properly. With the needs of the bees clear in mind, and the time of supplying them known, the apiary work ought to glide along smoothly, and the bees make great progress under the guiding hand of their keeper; but the work should be done considerably, watching the bees closely that the work-may bring progress to them.
With these ideas in mind, what to do, when to do, and how to do apiary work, and with a feeling that, if we keep bees, it is our duty to give them a small portion of our time at least, let us take up apiary work for one year in as simple and condensed a form as possible.
## 11 Apiary Work for January
This is usually our coldest month, and about all that can be done is to paint the hives if the weather is dry and not too cold to work. Also honey-houses might be erected and supplies ordered for the season, and some of them set up during the latter part of the month, if they arrive in time.
## Appendix A Apiracy work in February
The remainder of the supplies should be set up and in readiness during the first part of the month. If bees are to be moved it should be done during this month. If the weather warms up during the latter part of the month, all colonies should be carefully gone through, and their condition noted during the warmer parts of the days when bees are flying briskly. By this time the earliest pollen-glands are in full bloom, and breeding is going on at a rapid rate if the weather permits; and if the first honey-plant will begin to bloom in about six weeks it should be under headway. If pollen is coming in rapidly, and no honey, and there are any colonies not spreading their brood as rapidly as they should, feed them a little.
## Appendix B Apiracy work for March
There should be a good many warm days in this month, during which all colonies should be looked through carefully again, and their condition noted; and if any of them are running short of stores, feed them; and if any are behind in brood-rearing, insert an empty clean comb in the middle of the brood-nest; if it has a rim of honey along the top-bars and end-bars it will not hurt; and when they are given the frame, still continue to feed them slowly. In three days look over the colony again; and if the inserted frame is full of eggs, lift it out and set it on the outside of the last frame which has brood in it; then insert another frame, and in three days remove it and set it on the other side of the hive beyond the last frame of brood on that side; then insert another frame of empty comb, and keep up feeding. By the latter part of this month all colonies should be strong in bees, and rearing a lot of brood.
## Appendix C Apiracy work for April
During this month honey-plants will be blooming in almost all sections of the South, and all hives should be boiling over with bees, and the brood-partment full of young bees in all stages of development; and as soon as the honey-plants begin to bloom, put the supers or top stories on; then don't molest the bees any more than you can help while they are storing honey; for it will detain them in their work; and don't let them fill the supers and need store-room; but don't give them too much room to heat up.
## Appendix C Apiracy work for May
In many locations in the South, the honey-flow will extend on through this month. By the first of this month we usually have settled warm weather, and great progress should be made by the bees. Well-filled and capped-over frames of honey can be extracted, and finished supers of honey can be removed.
## Appendix D Apiracy work for June
By the first of this month the honey-flow is off in most locations, and all surplus honey should be removed and put on the market. In locations wherethere is not another honey-flow during summer or fall, requesting should be done as soon as possible at the close of the flow.
## 11. Apiracy Work for July
During the latter part of June and the first of this month there is a honey-death in most locations in the South, and there is not much apiary to do; but in sections where the flow begins during this month, every thing should be in readiness for it; but it is not so much trouble to get the bees in proper shape for it, as the weather is warm and no setbacks from, cold snaps such as we have in early spring. All colonies with young prolific queens and plenty of stores should be strong, and ready for honey-saving. The "weaklings" can be easily bought up as we bring them up in spring. During the latter part of this month the flow from cotton will start; and in all cotton locations, bees and the proper storing room should be ready for,it.
## 12. Apiracy Work for August.
Summer and fall honey-flows are not in "jerks," as are spring flows, but slow and long in duration in most sections, and not so much swarming to look after and rushing apiary work to do; and we can and should give our bees better attention during this month. If there is a lot of honey capped in the hives, don't be in any rush to extract it, for usually our summer and fall honey is inferior to the honey secreted in spring; and the longer it is left with the bees the better it is. Comb honey should be removed as soon as it is well capped, for at this season it will get travel-stained faster than it will in spring.
## 13. Apiracy Work for September.
In most locations the honey-flow will slack up during this month, and it is the best time during the season to requeen and make increase (see "Increase and Requeening"). The weather is still warm, and some honey and pollen are.coming in. The apiarist has more leisure time; also, at this time there is always a large number of drones in the apiary; and, in fact, it is the best all-around time to requeen and make increase, and it should be done by all means. During the latter part of this month honey can be removed when the flow is over.
## 14. Apiracy Work for October.
All surplus honey should be removed and rushed on the market during this month, for it will soon granulate; and bees should be properly and snugly put up for winter (see "Wintering Bees"). This is our last busy month in the apiary, and we should be able to look back over the preceding ones with but few if any regrets; but if we have made blunders we should mark them and overcome them next season; and if we have learned anything, impart it to other bee-keepers.
## 15. Apiracy Work for November.
As apiary work includes the work we do in our honey-houses and work-shops, all supers, sections, section-holders, separators, frames, etc.,should be cleaned up, or the propolis removed from them by scraping them with a knife or scraper; then stack them up nicely in the shop.
## 11 Apiracy Work for December.
This month is a good time to look up and do the repair work in the apiary. If the hive-stands will not last another season they should be replaced by new ones; or if the old ones need overhauling it should be done. If the bottoms, tops, or any parts of the hives need overhauling or to be supplied with new parts, the work should be done now, so that it can be painted next month. All hives should be raked around and cleared of rubbish, so that if fire were to get out it would not destroy the apiary; and it is a good time to plant vines or trees to shade the apiary.
Now, dear reader, I have touched here and there on seasonable apiary work, or, in other words, outlined it; but a deeper and clearer insight to it can be obtained by familiarizing yourself with what is said under other heads, such as "Hive Manipulation," "Bee Culture," "Queen Rearing," "Wintering Bees," etc.
## 12 Apiracy System.
Bee-keeping is a business or a profession, and should have a business consideration, and some system adopted, even if it is pursued only on a small scale. Every bee-keeper, large or small, should have a record-book for his apiary; and whatever has been expended on the bees should be placed against them, and the return from them should be placed to their credit, so that, at the end of each season, we can see the results of the apiary. Many pounds and pankuls of honey have been removed from our hives, and not placed to the credit of our bees, and many chunks of the desired and wholesome sweet have been eaten about the apiaries, and the industrious bees have received no credit for it.
Every colony, in the apiary should be numbered, and a record' kept of each one--the number of swarms it has cast, and the amount of surplus honey that has been removed from each season; and if it has not furnished any surplus honey, give it a blank and cultivate it more and better next season, that it may make a good record. Also, in the record of each hive should be kept the age of the queen and her progeny, etc., so that we may not carry her over one season too long, and thereby lose a surplus of honey from the colony that season. Give every colony a good queen and every queen a good chance, and the apiary record will be an interesting one. Apiary work is many times done too late, and sometimes done too soon; so it is very necessary that it be done at the right time, or loss will be the result. We should take a look through every colony every two weeks at least during the bees' busy season, for often a colony in a prospearous condition will suddenly need attention; and if it does not receive it, it will start backward. A queen may fail during the height of her egg-laying, especially if she is old. I have seen very prolific queens all at once cease laying fertile eggs and fill the comb with unfertile ones, and soon the hive would be full of drones and the colony in a hopeless condition. Sometimes bees will clog the brood-nest with honey, and crowd the queen out, and soon the number of bees is greatly diminished; especially will they do this if they get crowded for room to store honey. Hence it is necessary that we look over our apiary at least every two weeks during warm weather, and supply the needs of our bees; and if there are any hives which need attention sooner than two weeks it should be set down in the hive-record book the day the visit should be made, and 'what is to be done, etc.; then all we have to do is to refer to the record-book, and treat the colonies that need attention, and not molest those which do not need it. A bee-keeper will not advance far in bee culture before he will learn that there is much apiary work to be done at certain times and days or the result will be a great loss. Suppose a queen is laying 2,000 eggs a day, and then fails, and the colony loses the use of her for four or five days: the result is a heavy loss. Then suppose we have a batch of queen-cells that need grafting, or a batch of ripe cells to be removed and distributed on a certain day. If we fail to get around, the result is a loss.
Again, suppose there is a sudden change in the honey-flow and it is very heavy, and the bees are not supplied with the proper room: the result is a loas. So systematic bee-keeping is the best and safest way to keep bees.
Hives should be arranged in the apiary to suit the convenience of the apiarist as much as possible. He should stand at the back or on either side of the hive while examining it, and never in front of it. Hives should never be arranged in front of each other closer than six or eight feet, and further is better, so that, while looking through one colony,' other colonies will not be molested; and these should be arranged in pairs, or two set about 18 inches apart, so the aparist can work or pass around them; and one hive can be used to set the smoker on, or to lay the hive-tool and other things on while doing work in the other hive.
Hives should be arranged in pairs and rows, and never scattered promiscuously, for it is better in appearance, and the bees can mark and find their own hives better; and it is more convenient for the apiarist. Where an apiary is located under natural shade the hives should be arranged so as to get the benefit of the shade as much as possible, and at the same time arrange them in pairs and in rows if possible. Apiaries should never be located :in thickets, for it will obstruct the flight of the bees. Small bushy trees, scattered somewhat, furnish the best natural shade for an apiary.