BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
We now come to the question, Shall the frames run parallel to the entrance, or at right angles to it? There are many advocates of both systems, each claiming great advantages for the one he prefers ; but, after all, there is little to choose between them, and one is about as good as the other. A hive in which the frames run parallel to the entrance is known as a "Combination Hive"; and this kind is, perhaps, rather warmer than one having the frames running at right angles to the entrance. In a hive of more than ten or twelve-frame capacity --_i.e._, one more than 18 inches long--the frames should always run parallel to the entrance, as otherwise they would be awkward to manipulate, and the hive would present an exceedingly clumsy appearance to the eye.
The Size of the Hive.
The size of the hive, or how many frames it shall hold, is a very important point. For general use, a hive made to take ten frames and two \(
rac{3}{4}\)-inch dummies--_i.e._, a hive \(16
rac{1}{2}\) inches long inside--will be found the most serviceable, as, when the dummy-boards are removed, and the frames spaced close together--1\(
rac{1}{2}\) inch from centre to centre--the hive will take thirteen frames if need be, or twelve quite easily. If we keep Carnialon or Syrian bees, a hive to take fifteen or eighteen frames--_i.e._, one \(22
rac{1}{2}\) inches or 27 inches long--may possess some advantages over a hive only \(16
rac{1}{2}\) inches in length ; but the fifteen or eighteen-frame hives are very bulky and unwieldy things, and most bee-keepers will prefer a ten-frame hive.
## 2 Dehes for pleasure and profit.
### Doubling-boxes.
Each hive must be provided with a doubling-box, whether we wish to produce comb or extracted honey. A doubling box is very much like the body-box of a hive, only it has no porch or entrance. The inner walls, on which the ends of the frames rest, should be made as shown in fig. 14, A, so as to slide into grooved pieces of wood (fig. 14, B), which are nailed on the inside of the doubling box. By this means we may remove the inner walls when we wish to tier up crates of sections on the hives. The doubling-box being 9 inches deep will accommodate two crates of sections one on the top of the other; and if the roof be made 5 inches deep to the caves, as previously advised, we can have three crates of sections on the hive at the same time--as many as are needed when working for comb honey.
If we intend to work for "run " or "extracted " honey, we shall require two doubling-boxes to each ten-frame hive.
Almost every manufacturer has his own particular kind of hive, for which he claims special advantages; but the tyro should always buy a hive from one of the best firms, who have had much experience, and he will then obtain a well-finished article of accurate workmanship, instead of a cheap and, unfortunately, often badly finished hive, made of unseasoned wood, which will soon crack and warp, and cause endless annoyance through the different parts not fitting well. The annotur would soon repeat his purchase of such an article, and wish that he had paid a little more for his hives until he gained experience in selecting the kind most adapted to his particular requirements.
Figure 14: **, Inner walls of Donbling-box, showing slot which s'lies in the grooved pieces of wood (a), nailed to outer walls.**
**The Quilt.**
In order to prevent the bees from getting into the roof and there building comb, which they would otherwise do, a quilt is placed over the frames. This quilt should be the exact size of the inside of the hive, and may be made of carpet, felt, American cloth, etc.
In summer three such quilts will be sufficient to maintain the necessary warmth ; but in winter there should be at least four thicknesses of carpet or else plenty of newspapers placed on the top of the quilt to maintain the heat.
**Home-Made Hives.**
Any handy man, having in the first instance bought a good bar-frame hive as a pattern, will be able to make excellent hives in his spare time out of packing cases, which he can buy at very little cost, and in these days of high prices the saving thus effected is considerable.
## Chapter 5. _Hoil to Make a Start in Bee-Keeping_.
How often are failure and disappointment in bee-keeping brought about by a bad start!
If the would-be apiarist has a friend who keeps bees, he should obtain his advice as to purchasing a stock. A very good start can be made with one or two strong stocks of bees in skeps, which can easily be obtained from some octure bee-keeper in the neighbourhood. The beginning of April is the best time to purchase them. The tyro should get his friend to inspect the bees and to tell him if the stocks are strong and in good condition before he purchases. Preference should be given to stocks which have swarmed the previous summer, as they would be sure to have young queens.
But should the novice have no friend who keeps bees, he had better not buy stocks in skeps, as they may turn out to be weak, and do but little work all the summer. It would be better to buy a first swarm in May from a straw skep, the price usually asked being about ten shillings.1
Footnote 1: Since the war the average price for first swarms has increased to about forty shillings.
In moving an old stock in April it should be borne in mind that, if moved less than \(\cdot\) mile and a half or two miles, many of the old bees will go back to the place where they used to be. But the bees of a swarm, whether lived only a few feet or several miles from the parent hive, mark the position of their new home, and do not return to their old hive.
Supposing that the amateur has obtained a stock of bees in a straw skep, he will need a bar-frame hive to put the expected swarm in ; or, if he has bought a swarm, one will be required for it ; and, if half-a-dozeu frames of empty comb are available, there is a very fair chance of obtaining some honey from a strong, early swarm. In this case a division-board should be placed on each side of the frames, to keep the bees out of the rest of the hive, and a crude of sections should be placed on the top of the frames ; in a week or ten,days a fresherate may be placed under the first one ; and should both these be filled with honey, the tyro may think himself fortunate. For this purpose a divisional super (fig. 15), with the rows of sections in separate racks, is very convenient, as two rows fit over six frames.
Empty combs may be fitted into the frames, and a couple of pieces of tape tied round each frame will make all secure : in a few days, when the bees have fastened up the combs, the tapes may be cut and removed.
If no empty combs are to be had, it will be best to hive the swarm on ten frames, fitted with full sheets of foundation, which should be " wired " by the process soon to be explained. At the close of the season we may obtain some extracted honey from such a swarm, but to obtain comb honey in quantity would require a very good season and an exceptionally strong swarm.
A second swarm hived on six or seven frames fitted with empty comb will usually gather sufficient honey to last it for the winter ; but if hived on frames only fitted with foundation, a little feeding may be necessary in the autumn to supplement its natural stores.
**How to Hive a Swarm.**
How to hive a swarm when we have got one is the next question which naturally presents itself to the reader's mind.
The swarm, after issuing from the hive and circling about in the air for a few minutes, will begin to settle in some neighbouring tree or bush. While the bees are clustering, see that the
Figure 15: Devisioual Super.
have intended for their reception is got ready. Between the alighting-board and the ground place a large board or a cloth, and wedge up the front of the hive with a stone, so as to form an entrance the whole width of the hive and at least \(
rac{1}{2}\) inch deep. As soon as the bees are fairly settled (which they may be made to do more quickly by directing a shower of water from a garden syringe so as to fall like a shower of rain on those in the air), take a straw skep and hold it inverted just under the swarm. Now grasp the branch or limb of the tree on which the bees have settled, and give it a sudden, sharp jerk, which will throw them all off the tree and into the skep. Next carry the inverted skep to the new hive, and gently turn it over, holding it firmly with both bands ; slowly lower it till it almost touches the board or cloth which has been placed between the ground and the alighting-board of the hive ; then suddenly lift it about 18 inches, and lower it again with a sharp jerk, which will have the effect of throwing almost all the bees out on the board or cloth : a few of them will rise in the air, but before many minutes they will all enter their new home. Should we only have lived a portion of the swarm, and the queen be amongst the remainder, the bees will not stay in their new home more than a few minutes : as soon, therefore, as we have thrown the first lot of bees out of the skep on to the board, we must go back and secure the remainder of the swarm, which will most probably have clustered again by this time. As soon as all the hses are in, the stone which wedges up the front of the hive should be removed. Sometimes l.es settle in very awkward positions, such as a fence or a thick, low bush. In such cases we may hold the skep above them, and drive them up into it with smoke ; or spread a sheet on the ground, and shake the m on to it.
Bees when swarming, being gorged with honey, will not sting unless absolutely crushed or hurt ; so we may easily hive a swarm without fear of being stinging.
### Foundation.
It may here be as well to inform the reader what foundation is, and how it is used.
Foundation (fig. 16) is now now now made into thin sheets, on which the hses of the cells of honeycomb and the basement of the side walls are imprinted by metal rollers : the bees rapidly draw out these side walls when the foundation is given them. In some foundation the bases of the cells are made flat; hence it is known as flat-bottomed foundation ": it is used principally in supers, but the bees do not seem to take to it so readily as to the natural-based sort, and so, though it can be rolled somewhat thinner, it is not to be recommended to the tyro.
Foundation for the stock hive is now usually made in two thicknesses, the first being that most generally used, of which about six sheets cut for use in the standard frame weigh one pound, and the second and thinner foundation intended for wiring into frames, about nine sheets of which go to the pound. The advantages of wiring foundation into the frames are very great, as we thereby obtain perfectly straight combs, and can use a thinner make of foundation, which, though a little dearer by the pound, is much cheaper in use when we consider the extra number of sheets in the pound. For extracting, too, wired frames are invaluable, owing to the extra strength given to the combs by the wires which run through them. I have had beautifully straight combs built in the brood nests of hives in wired frames filled with foundation so thin that sixteen sheets went to the pound.
### Why Foundation is used.
Why we should use foundation instead of letting bees build comb for themselves unaided is the question which will probably occur to the reader's mind.
The two principal reasons are that bees take a long time to build comb and use a good deal of honey in doing it--though they do not use nearly so much as was thought at one time, as Simmins and others have clearly demonstrated. Simmins states that 62 lhs of honey are consumed in producing
Figure 16: Comb Foundation.
1 lb. of wax. The most important consideration, however, is the loss of time. On the under-side of the abdomen of the worker bee are eight wax pockets in which the wax is secreted ; and as, to secrete wax rapidly and in quantity, bees apparently need perfect rest, when building comb they hang in clusters or festoons within the hive : in this way much valuable time is often lost just at the very height of the honey flow.
It must be understood that, were we to hive a swarm in a bar-frame hive, and leave the bees entirely to their own devices, the result would be that they would build their combs across the hive in all directions, joining one comb to two or three frames, and making it quite impossible for the frames to be separatly removed. It is therefore absolutely imperative that a strip of foundation, at least \(
rac{1}{2}\)ineh deep, should be fitted along the centre of the top bar of every frame : this will act as a guide from which the bees will draw out their combs.
### How to fix Foundation in Frames.
Frames are almost always now made with a saw-cut down the middle of the top bar, and this saw-cut is intended for fixing the foundation in. If a screwdriver is inserted in it, and the handle turned round slightly so as to hold the cut open, the foundation may be slipped into the cut, and, the screwdriver being withdrawn, it will be held firmly in its place : a little melted wax run along the bar just at its junction with the foundation will make all secure.
In heating beeswax great care must be taken that it does not burn, to avoid which it should be placed in a vessel, and this vessel placed in another of boiling water. An ordinary glue-pot is a very good article to heat b essayax in.
### Wiring Foundation into Frames.
A thin description of tinned wire is the best for wiring foundation with : it may be obtained from most of the dealers in bee appliances. Along the centre of each side bar of a frame bore two small holes with a broadwl, about two inches from the top and bottom bars, and draw the wire through these holes as shown in fig. 17. Now get a board \(
rac{1}{8}\) inch thick and the same size as the inside of your frame ; keep this board damp, so that the foundation may not stick to it, and lay it flat on the table, fitting the frame over it ; insert the sheet of foundation in the saw-cut, and then over the foundation draw two more wires crosswise, as in fig. 18.
To imbed the wires in the foundation I have found nothing better than a large bradawl or small screwdriver, out of the edge of which a large \(\Lambda\)-shaped piece has been filed. It must be heated in the fire or in a jug of boiling water, and when many frames arc being wired it will be found best to have two at hand, so that one may be heating while the other is in use.
Place the edge of the instrument so that the \(\Lambda\)-shaped part fits over the wire ; then run it rapidly along the whole length of the wire ; if it be done too slowly, it will burn ho'es in the foundation ; if too rapidly, it will not melt the wax sufficie
Figure 17: Frame wired and prepared for fixing Foundation in.
Figure 18: Frame fitted with sheet of Foundation, wired in.
## Chapter 6. _Manipulating Bees_
Ilow many are deterred from keeping bees simply by the fear of being stung! And though I do not pretend that the amateur will never get a stin\({}_{5}\), I must say that this bugbear of stings is greatly overrunted by those who are not accustomed to manage bees. In handling bees quietness and confidence are quite indispensable--never be in a hurry when you are manipulating, for the old proverb, " More haste, worse speed," is very true with regard to bees, as any sceptical person may soon demonstrate to his own satisfaction (!). It may be some consolation to the intending bee-keeper to know, that the oftener he is stung the less annoyance will each subsequent sting occasion him. At first they swell a great deal and cause much pain and irritation; but after a time the swelling becomes less and less, until a sting only causes a little temporary pain, and no swelling whatever takes place. It would appear that the person becomes inoculated with the poison (formic acid).
### 6.1 What to Do when Stung during a Manipulation.
When stung during a manipulation, the operator should retire a few yards from the hive (as the smell of the poison irritates the bees **c**xtremely), and should at once pull out the sting--taking care not to press the poison--bag, thereby emptying its contents into the part stung. The back of the nail or a knife is a good thing with which to extract a sting. A little smoke blown on to the place will help to hide the smell from the bees. Much relief will often be experienced by bathing the sting in a mixture composed of one teaspoonful of ammonia to a pint of water; and if the hands are dipped in this just before a manipulation, care being taken to apply it to the wrists also, it will act as a very good sting preventev, the hands being again dipped in it if they get dry during a long manipulation.
Another good sting preventive is Grinshaw's "Apifuge," a few drops of which should be rubbed over the hands and wrists. The peculiar smell of "Apifuge," which some find disagreeable, is a disadvantage in its use. The smell of ammonia, however, very quickly passes off.
The sting having been extracted, and a little smoke blown upon the place--or a drop of "Apifuge " will do--the operator may go back to the hive, and proceed with his manipulation.
**Bee-veils.**
To protect the face a bee-veil (fig. 19) should always be worn.
It may be made of black not or leno, like a in fig. 19; but perhaps the b st veil of all is that represented in fig. 19, b, consisting of a band of leno or black net at the top, with an elastic to make it fit close round the hat over which it is to be worn, the next band being made of fine wire net, ten or twelve mels:es to the inch, and the third band, which should be tucked underneath the coat, of leno or black net. The great advantage possessed by this description of veil is that the wire stands clear of the face and head, gives perfect ventilation, and is very easy to see through.
**Gloves.**
Gloves seem to be particularly obnoxious to bees, which sting them on all occasions; and unless they are made so thick and
Figure 19: Bee veils. a, Net Veil. b, Wire and Net Veil.
clumsy as to make it next to impossible to perform a delicate manipulation while wearing them, bees _vill_ sting through them. The bee-keeper will receive far fewer stings, and be able to manipulate with much greater comfort, if he will make up his mind to discard gloves as useless bee-gear.
### Gorging the Bees.
We have already seen that bees when swarming are not at all inclined to sting, because they are gorged with honey. If, therefore, we can make the bees in a hive gorge themselves, they will be as harmless as those in a swarm. We can accomplish this in several ways ; for, taking advantage of the fact that bees, when frightened, immediately go to the unsealed cells of honey and gorge themselves, we have only to rap on the outside of a hive (having closed the entrance with perforated zinc), introduce the fumes of carbonic acid, or blow smoke into a hive, and the bees will be so much frightened that they will at once fill themselves with honey, and in a minute or two we can remove the quilts and perform the desired manipulation.
### Smoking.
Of the three methods just mentioned, that of blowing smoke into the hive finds the most general acceptance, and it is indeed by far the most convenient.
For this purpose a smoker (fig. 20) is used. It consists of a tin cylinder, a, in which the fuel is placed, a cone-shaped funnel, b, which is removable to allow of the fuel being put in, and a pair of bellows, c, to create the d
Figure 20: Snoker : A, Cylinder for fuel ; n, Removable Nozzle ; c, Dellows ; b, Hand guard.
fuel in a is kept alight. Most smokers are provided with a hand-guard, d, to prevent the operator from burning his hands. Brown paper is a very good description of fuel to use ; it should be rolled up loosely, lighted, and placed in the cylinder, A--lighted side downwards. Sacking, old corduroy, hep-carpet, etc., may also be used as fuel for a smoker.
When not being used during a manipulation, the smoker should be stood upright, so that the contents may stay alight.
### How to Manipulate
The operator, having put on his bee-veil, and got his smoker well alight, proceeds to the hive and takes off the roof. A corner of the quilt is then raised, and the nozzle of the smoker placed underneath, and slowly drawn along the ends of the frames underneath the quilt, the bellows being kept working, so as to blow the smoke into the hive. Next, a corner of the quilt at the other side of the hive is raised, and smoke introduced at the other ends of the frames ; thus every seam of bees is smoked. A little smoke may also be blown in at the hive's entrance.
Having given the bees a minute or so to gorge, the quilt is slowly rolled back, smoke being very gently blown along the top bars to keep the bees down. The quilt is only moved off two or three frames at first. The operator then moves the division-board two or three inches back, and gently takes out the frame next to it, taking care not to jar it by any sudden jerk, which would anger the bees. The frame, having been examined, is replaced in the hive close against the division-board ; and the next frame is taken out, examined, and replaced close against the first one. The remaining frames are similarly treated. The great advantage of moving back the dummy-board is, that when a frame is returned to the hive, it has not got to be wedged in between the two other frames standing close together, which invariably irritates the bees, owing to tbe brushing of the bees and combs against each other. The manipulation being completed, the frames are moved forward again, as is also the dummy-board.
### Manipulating a Full Hive
When a hive is quite full of combs, it would be impossible to move the dummy back. In this case the frame next to one side of the hive should be removed and examined, but not returned. The next frame should then be examined and replaced next the side of the hive whence the first comb was taken. The third frame, after being examined, should be returned to where the second frame had been; and similarly with the remaining frames. By this plan, when all the frames have been examined and replaced, there will be just room for one more between the last frame and the side of the hive; and here the comb which was taken out first, but not replaced, should be put.
**Quieting Bees with Carbolic Acid.**
As carbolic acid is a strong poison, it must be used with care. In a part of warm water mix one ounce of Calvert's No. 5 carbonic acid and one ounce of glycerine. A piece of calico should be steeped in this, and then wrung out dry. The operator then goes to the hive, and, as he rolls back the quilt, places the calico over the frames. Under this treatment the bees rapidly descend from the top portion of the combs, which enables one to manipulate the frames with greater comfort. Care must be taken that the solution is well mixed before using it.
The very strong and disagreeable smell possessed by carbolic acid is an objection to its use; and, although it is a powerful disinfectant, most bee-keepers will prefer to use smoke when manipulating.
## Chapter 7 The production of comb honey.
The apiairst, taking advantage of the fact that bees store honey above their brood, places chambers above the stock hive for the bees to store their honey in, which are hence called supers.
### Sections.
Comb honey is now almost entirely produced in American oco-piece sections (fig. 21) which have quito superseded the large old-fashioned supers. Amongst other advantages which they possess over large supers, the following may be mentioned:
1. They are easier to produce.
2. They are more saleable.
3. They are very neat and attractive in appearance.
4. Being smaller, they are consequently strong:r, and therefore may be sent safely long distances by rail if properly packed.
Sections are always sold in the flat; they are dovetailed at the ends, and the joints are grooved in the shape of a V. Before folding, these joints should be damped to toughen them, as otherwise they are very apt to break: the damping can easily be done with a small, wet sponge, or where a large number are being folded they may be stood upright, and a gentle stream of warm water poured between the joints from a can. To fold a section, the sides should be gently drawn at
Figure 21: American one-piece Section (two Bee-way).