BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
A heavy stone or a couple of bricks should be placed on the roofs of the hives in spring, to prevent them from blowing off in the gales which so often occur at this time of year. When the roof gets blown off, very serious consequences often follow ; the quilts are often disarranged, and if it happens to be raining, the hive will get a thorough soaking. Any hives and appliances needed for the summer should be ordered in spring,as, if left till just before they are wanted for use, the dealers are often so busy that considerable delay is caused in executing the orders, which frequently occasions much loss and inconvenience to the bee-keeper.
**Planting for Bees.**
Many persons have an idea that by sowing in their garden a few seeds of flowers much frequented by bees they will considerably increase their harvest of honey : this, let it be understood, is a mistake. To make any appreciable difference, plants for bee pasturage must be grown, not in small patches, but by the acre. Bees get the majority of their honey from large fields of flowers, the most important sources from which they obtain it being :--
1. The fruit blossom in orchards.
2. Fields of white or Dutch clover.
3. Fields of sainfoin.
4. Fields of beans.
5. Moors and commons where heather abounds.
6. Plantations of lime trees.
Bees also get a considerable quantity of honey from mustard, trefoil, etc.
The honey gathered from white clover is of very fine flavour, and light in colour : that from sainfoin, somewhat darker ; bean honey is darker still, and of a most delicious, though somewhat strong, flavour. Time honey is very light-coloured, and much esteemed. Heather honey is very dark and thick, having a very pungent and peculiar aroma, highly appreciated by some, while others consider it objectionable.
Bees are very important agents in the fertilisation of flowers, carrying the pollen from plant to plant. If fruit-growers would only realise how dependent they are upon bees for the proper fertilisation of the fruit blossom, they would not only secure much larger crops of fruit, but also a considerable amount of honey, in return for the trouble of keeping a few hives of bees--say two or three hives to each acre of orchard.
Summer Management.
At the commencement of the honey flow, all stocks that are intended to produce comb honey must be supered, and those for extracted honey doubled. Entrances should be kept at full width, to allow good ventilation and free passage-way for the bees. During the summer nuclei can be formed and young queens reared, to supersede old ones at the end of the season, if necessary.
**Introducing Queens.**
There are many different ways of introducing a new queen to a stock, but they may all be classed under two heads--viz., "Caging " and " Direct Introduction." Whichever method we adopt, one thing is necessary : we must remove the old queen before we attempt to introduce the new one. The two most popular cages in this country are probably the "Pipe cover cage" and the "Raynor cage." The pipe cover cage (fig. 37, a)
is used in the following way :--Having placed the queen in it, we put a piece of cardboard underneath, and carry it to the hive, from the centre of which we take a frame, and placing the cage over some cells containing unsealed honey, we withdraw the card, and press the cage firmly down into the comb as far as the mid-rib. A few newly hatched workers from the hive may be put in the cage with the queen.
After forty-eight hours we may again go to the hive, and if the bees show no hostility to the queen, we may release her ; but if they are thickly clustered round the cage, bending up their bodies in their attempts to sting her through the wires, she must remain caged for twenty-four hours more, or until the bees become reconciled to her. If, just after the queen is released, the bees should "ball " her--_i.e._, form in a thick cluster, about the size of a walnut, around her--doing their utmost to get at and sting her, they must immediately be
Figure 37:, American Pipe Cover Cage ; n, Raynor Queen Cage.
dispersed with copious puffs of smoke, and the queen must be caged again.
The " Raynor " cage (fig. 37, b) is a very good one ; the queen is placed in it, and it is inserted between two combs, down through the feed hole, the flange at the top of the cage resting on the top bar of the frame on each side. Care should be taken that the sides of the cage press close against some honey which has just been uncapped, so that the queen may be able to feed through the perforations in the cage ; otherwise she may get starved to death. About forty-eight hours afterwards --in the evening--the wire may be pressed down, and the queen released, if the hive is quiet and the bees seemingly well-disposed towards her. It should be noted that when a queen is introduced by any method of caging, any queen cells which the bees may have formed must be cut out, otherwise the bees are almost sure to kill the new queen. When we give a queen to a hive by the method of direct introduction, it is unnecessary to cut out the queen cells previously.
**Direct Introduction.**
Of the various methods of direct introduction practised in this country, the " Simmins " method is undoubtedly the most popular ; and as it is not my intention, in this little work, to confuse the amateur by detailing a number of ways of accomplishing the same object, I shall only explain the " Simmins " method of direct introduction, which possesses several advantages over the other methods at present introduced. Mr. Simmins' directions are as follows :--
" 1. Keep the queen quite alone for not less than thirty minutes.
2. She is to be without food meanwhile.
3. And to be allowed to run down, from the top of the frames, after darkness has set in, by lamplight."
The queen may be kept in a " safety " match-box for the thirty minutes during which she is kept alone and without food, but the same match-box must not be used twice. She should be kept in a warm room, so as not to get chilled meanwhile. When ready the operator should go to the hive, give a puff of smoke to drive back the bees, then turn up the corner of the quilt, and let the queen run down among the bees in the centre of the hive. No further examination of the hive must be made till at least forty-eight hours afterwards. A queen must not be introduced by this method to a stock from which a nucleus has been formed less than three clear days previq*ly; otherwise the old bees, returning to the hive, will ball and kill the new queen.*
**Shading Hives in Summer.**
Often in very hot weather many of the bees hang out of the front of the hive in clusters, idly doing nothing, when, if the hive were rendered cooler by being shaded, these bees would be working busily in the fields. A very good way to shade a hive is to place a piece of sacking over it, and weight it down with stones, so that the wind may not blow it off.
## Autumn Management.
In the autumn there is a good deal to be done in the apiary Empty combs must be done up in parcels, with camphor to keep away the wax moth, and put aside in some warm, dry room for the winter. Stocks must be fed up and packed before cold weather sets in ; weak ones united, and the apiary generally set in order.
**Condemmed Bees.**
Cottagers who keep bees in straw skeps, and kill them with sulphur when they take their honey in the autumn, can often be induced to sell the bees out of the hives for sixpence a stock, if the apiarist will come and drive them out of the skeps. Two or three such lots joined together and placed in a hive containing empty combs, and then fed up for the winter, will make a very good stock ; and this is a very good and cheap way for the apiarist to procure bees, provided that he has previously had some experience in handling them. The tyro--unaceus-tomed to the management of bees--would be almost sure to meet with failure.
**Driving.**
The operation of driving a stock of bees out of a straw skep is performed as follows :--Procure a large earthquake pan or an ordinary pail, a little smaller than the skep, so that the latter, when turned upside-down and placed in it, will fit down in the pail to about half its own depth, and be kept steady in its place. Having procured the pair, it should be stood on a table or the seat of a chair, to raise it a convenient height from the ground. Now go to the hive, and smoke it well through the entrance. Wait fully a minute or two for the bees to gorge themselves, and then take the sleep up gently, and place it upside-down in the pair; get an empty skep, into which the
bees are to be driven, and with the driving irons (fig. 38) fix it to the skep containing the bees, the skewer being put through the two skeps at P (fig. 39), to form a hinge, while the other two serve to keep the top skep up (one of them is seen in fig. 39, b).
Be careful that F, the point where the two skeps join, is higher than E, as the bees will run to the highest part of the hive; also see that the combs run from E to F, and not cross-wise in the skep. When all is fixed, the apiarist must keep up a drumming on the sides of the skep, either with the hands or with two sticks; the bees are so frightened by this that they at once begin to run up to the skep above, and cluster in the top of it. The queen may, if necessary, be caught as she runs up; but as driven bees are so subdued that, when several lots
Figure 39: Straw Skep, etc., in process of Driving, and section of same.
Figure 38: Driving Irons.
are united together, without any of the queens being previously removed, they show no disposition to fight, it is only necessary to catch a queen if she is known to be old or enfeebled and inferior to the queens of the other lots with which we intend to unite the one we are driving. The rapping on the sides of the hive must not be so hard as to break the combs, yet it must be sufficiently hard to jar them; it must also be kept up continuously, until all the bees have ascended, for if we stop the bees will cease running up. "Close driving " is another method of getting bees out of a hive; by this method the two skeps are fitted close down, one to the other, mouth to mouth, and a cloth is tied round the juncture, so that no bees may escape. The objection to this plan is that we are unable to catch the queen as she runs up, nor can we be quite sure that she has gone up. It is also difficult to know when all the bees have run up. For nervous persons, or when handling very vicious bees, this plan has much to recommend it.
### 6.2 Robbing.
Beware of robbing in autumn ; it is even more dangerous then than in the spring. Do not spill syrup about the hives, or leave pieces of comb containing honey lying about near them. Contract the entrances of all hives--an entrance \(1
rac{1}{2}\) inch wide will be quite sufficient for the strongest stock, while weak ones do not need one so wide. All stocks which have not sufficient stores must be fed up rapidly, till they have 20 lbs. of sealed stores at the very least; with this amount they may be considered safe to stand the winter without any further assistance till the middle or end of March. For further directions concerning feeding up stocks for winter see page 6.
### 6.3 Packing up Hives for Winter.
Although it is not absolutely necessary in every case, stocks are very much benefited by having the spaces between the division-boards and the sides of the hive filled with some such warm packing as corkdust, swdust, chaff, or shavings. With weak stocks this is almost indispensable; while strong ones, thus treated, come through the winter in much better condition. In spring the hive can be lifted from the floor-board, and the packing will then drop out. Plenty of quilts must be placed over the bees before the winter sets in, and care should be taken to see that they fit close to the sides of the hive, so that no heat escapes at the ends of the frames. Some persons prefer porous quilts, whilst others advocate impervious ones, made of such materials as American cloth. Many are the articles which the advocates of each have written on the various advantages and disadvantages, the merits and denerits of the two systems. One thing is certain, and that is, that when impervious quilting is used, a wide entrance--say 6 inches--is absolutely necessary to let off the moisture which is formed in the hive, and which, having condensed, falls to the floor. Where porous quilts are used, such as sacking, carpet, etc., the entrance need not be more than 4 inches wide.
There is really very little to choose between porous and impervious quilts after all; personally, I prefer the porous ones, but I have used impervious ones with perfect success. Where there are not many quilts on hand, newspapers may be made to supply their place, and they can be spread over the one or two thicknesses of quilting with which the hive is provided. They are excellent in every way, keep in the heat well, and have the advantage of being cheap. A good many thicknesses placed over the frames, carefully fitted up close against the sides of the hive, will ensure the bees being warm and comfortable.
See that all hive roofs are thoroughly water-tight before winter sets in. Any hives requiring a fresh coat of paint should have it, and all chinks and cracks must be filled up with putty.
Winter Management.
In winter bees must be left alone entirely. Not even on fine, warm days, when they are flying, should any manipulation be performed, unless under the direct neceesity--as, for instance, when they are attacked by dysentery. If it is feared that they are running short of stores, a corner of the quilt might be turned up, which would enable the bee-keeper to see whether or not they were in need of food, without disturbing the frames in the least. Should a stock need any feeding in winter, syrup must on no account be given, as it would be sure to give the bees dysentery. Candy is the only safe food at this time; it may be made either in the way described on page 67, or else in the following manner:--Take 12 ozs. of lump (cane) sugar, and pound it fine; mix with 4 ozs. of brown or moist sugar two tablespoonfuls of flour, and two of honey;when all the ingredients have been thoroughly well worked together, the whole may be moistened with a little water ; it is then boiled up for a minute, and when cool is ready for use. This candy is known as Viallon candy.
When snow is lying on the ground and the sun is shining brightly it is often necessary to shade the entrances of the hives with a branch of evergreen or some other suitable material, lest the bright reflection of the sunlight from the snow tempt the bees out, only to perish from the cold.
The winter is the time for the apiarist to make the hives and appliances he will need in the following season.
**The Bee-keeper's Library**.
The winter is also the time for him to read and study the subject, and to form his plans for the future. The following are the best books for the beginner to read :--
" Bee-keeper's Guide Book," by T. W. Cowan. 2s. 6d. Published by S. G. Madgwick, Ivy Lane, London, E.C.
" A Modern Bee Farm," by S. Ninamins. 7s. 6d. Published by S. Ninamins, Heathfield, Sussex, and obtainable from the _British Bee Journal_ Office.
Every bee-keeper should read either the _British Bee Journal_ (s weekly periodical, devoted to the interests of apiculture, and published at the small price of twopence only), or else the _Bee-keeper's Record_ (published monthly, price 2d., or 2s. 6d. per year post free). The offices of both these papers are at 23 Bedford Street, Strand, London, W.C. Both these journals were established many years ago, and not only the matter but also the advertisements are helpful to bee-keepers. Recently (1919) two other bee papers, known as the _Bee ('reft_ and the _Bee I'orld_, were also established.
In Ireland a paper is published, known as the _Irish Bee Journal_, which may be obtained for :_e.g._ per year post free from " Bee Publications," Lough Rynn, R.S.O., Co. Leitrin, Ireland.
Not only every fruit grower and orchardist, but also every one who may intend to grow fruit in the future should read "The Fertilisation of Fruit Blossom by Bees," a pamphlet by T. W. Cowan, obtainable from the _British Bee Journal_ Office, price 4d. post free. It is not too much to say that many fruit growers will at least double their income by reading this invaluable little work, more especially if they read it before they plant their orchards.
_THE " WELLLS" SYSTEM OF KEEPING TWO QUEENs IN ONE HIVE_.
How to Keep Two Queens in One Hive.
In the year 1891 Mr. G. Wells, a Kentish bee-keeper, discovered a plan, that has since become very popular with some bee-keepers, by which two queens may be kept in one hive.* Mr. Wells' system is this. In the autumn he gets a hive large enough to take 18 or 20 frames in the body-box, and having two entrances, either both at the same side of the hive (as in the illustration, Fig. 40), or, preferably, one at each end, like an ordinary twin hive. In this he places two strong nuclei, each headed by a fertile queen, or two stocks, divided from each other by a dummy board of thin yellow pine-wood, placed in the middle of the live, the two stocks of bees being crowded up against each side of this dummy. The dummy board itself must be pierced with fine holes, bored with a bradawl, and afterwards burnt out with a piece of red-hot iron wire of \(
rac{1}{8}\) inch diameter, passed through them. The dummy board should be about \(
rac{3}{8}\) inch thick, and Mr. Wells recommends that the edges should be bound with tin, to prevent it from warping. It must, of course, fit closely and accurately against the sides and floor of the hive, so that the bees from one side cannot pass to the other. In the following spring, when the hive is boiling over with bees and ready for supering, a sheet of queen-excluder zinc is placed over the top of the body-box. A doubling box is then added, and one large crate of sections is placed over the whole hive, if we are working for comb-honey, while if we are workingfor extracted the doubling-box is filled with frames, and the bees from each of the two stocks are then allowed to go up, whereupon they will mingle and work quite amicably together. Some bee-keepers prefer to use section racks made in two divisions, but if this is done great care must be taken to see that the bees are able to pass freely from one division of the section rack to the other.
The dummy board must in all cases be made of pierced wood ; not of perforated zinc or wire netting, since it has been found that when either of the latter materials are used the bees of each of the two stocks will cluster as far as possible
away from the dividing dummy, only approaching it when absolutely crowded beyond possibility of staying in any other portion of the hive. This is fatal to the success of the system.
When the bees in one side of a " Wells " have prepare to swarm, the bees in the other side do the same, and, the two young queens coming off together, unless some one is at hand to catch one of them, one is sure to be destroyed.
Mr. Wells recommends that when one of these hives swarms, all the brood combs containing queen cells should be removed and formed into nuclei, their place in the old hive being filled up with frames of empty comb or of full sheets of foundation, and the swarm then be returned to the old hive,being sure, of course, to put one of the old queens in each side.
By the " Wells " system experienced bee-keepers often obtain very large yields of honey, but it is not to be recommended to tyros. In the latter's hands it too often ends in the queen disappearing from one side of the hive, and practically all the bees being found in the other.
A few years ago the " Wells " system was very popular, and practically every manufacturer of bee appliances made his own particular variety of " Wells " hive (that shown in our illustration was made by Mr. W. P. Meadows, of Syston, Leicester), but at the present moment this hive is only listed by Mr. S. J. Baldwin, of Bromley, Kent, and Mr. George Rose, of 23 Bolton Street, Liverpool.
I would strongly advise anyone who seriously intends to try the " Wells " system to first get Mr. Wells' pamphlet and study it carefully, for it not only tells what to do and what not to do, but it also shows _why_ attention to certain details secures success and why failure to attend to other apparently unimportant details leads to complete failure.
## Chapter 3 The Disrases of BECs
Dysentry is caused by one of two things--either the bees have been fed too late in the autumn, or else they have been confined to their hives for a very long time in the winter, owing to the cold; thus they are prevented from taking a cleansing flight, and are obliged to void their excrement within their hives: a strong stock, though confined to its hive for a very prolonged period by the cold, is hardly ever attacked by this malady, while weak colonies are very liable to it; therefore, before winter sets in, be sure that all the stocks in the apiary are strong, and unite any weak ones.
The signs of dysentery are quite unmistakable--the hive and combs are much messed by the brown excrement of the bees, the laus of the frames, the inside walls and the alighting-board, etc., being similarly soiled: the excrement emits a strong, peculiar and disagreeable odour. Whatever the cause of the disease, the cure is the same; on the first fine, warm day, when the bees are flying in good numbers, they must be transferred to a new, clean hive, provided with fresh frames of sealed stores. It is very important to supply the bees with new combs, and this should always be done if it is in any way possible; but if not, the bars of the old frames must be scraped clean, and those combs which are the least soiled chosen for placing in the new hive.
When dysentery attacks a stock in winter, there is not so much chance for it as there is when the disease does not make its appearance till spring; in the latter case the new combs on to which the bees are to be transferred need contain but very little honey, as the bees can be fed at once with warm* by _varm_ syrup I do not at all mean so hot as to scalp the bees, 98\({}^{\circ}\) or 100\({}^{\circ}\) Fahr. being quite sufficiently warm ; it should, in fact, not be so hot that the finger will be at all scadded or burnt when dipped in it.
**Foul Brood**.
Foul brood, or _Bacillus alvei_, as it is generally known in England, is one of the most dreaded diseases to which bees are subject, and, as it is highly infectious, unless measures are taken to stamp it out immediately whenever and wherever it makes its appearance, there is great danger of the beekeeper losing all his hives.
As its name implies, it is principally a disease of the brood, though adult bees are occasionally attacked by it.
The signs of foil brood are these : In the first place the young grubs or larvae die and lie stretched out along the sides of the cells. They turn firstly yellowish and afterwards brown (healthy brood is always nearly white in colour), and then become a putrescent, sticky, coffee-coloured, pappy, ropy mass in the cells. Unless checked in the first stages by the remedies shortly to be described, foul brood is so infectious that it rapidly attacks all the rest of the brood in the hive, and gives off a strong and most nauseous smell, something like bad glue. There is another variety of foul brood (generally known as _Bacillus burri_) which gives off a much less offensive smell, and attacks the larvae when they are a little older--either just before or just after the brood is sealed.*
When a colony of bees becomes badly affected with foul brood the cappings of the brood become concave instead of convex.
There is a third variety of foul brood (_Streptococcus apis_), but as it is seldom met with except in conjunction with _Bacillus alvei_, and as the treatment of all three forms of foul brood is the same, we need not more specifically deal with it.