BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
_Through the Farm Demonstrators_--Of all agencies at work carrying information to the farmer, it is evident that none is quite as effective as the farm demonstrator. His relations are more intimate with the farmer than is true of any other educational official. For this reason it was decided to add one more item to the already long list of duties with which the farm demonstrator is charged, and with him visit the farmer beekeepers.
The object of this was to give the farm demonstrator such information relative to beekeeping that he might be in a position to offer helpful advice to the farmer. Practically every farm activity except beekeeping is taught in the agricultural schools, and the farm demonstrators have had an opportunity to accumulate more or less information in every agricultural line except apiculture. Tours were made during 1916 with the farm demonstrators in Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, Burlington, Mercer and Sussex counties, and the interest of these men in the bees will surely be productive of good results.
Educational work is highly important, since it is evident that when the beekeeper is conversant with the best management of bees for profit the question of disease control will be largely solved.
The result of the educational effort is not easily shown in figures. Signs of progress, however, are noted in the changed attitude of beekeepers in some places from one of indifference or opposition to one of interest.
Requirements of Profitable Bee Husbandry
These are (i) the individual; (2) the location; (3) the bees, and all of which must be favorable if greatest success is to be attained.
There are four factors which influence profitable bee husbandry, (4) the apparatus.
Bee Disease Control 21
The Individual
In beekeeping, as in all other occupations, success depends upon the individual. Other factors enter into the problem to a considerable extent, but the individual can control the other factors and thus bring about success. To illustrate, should a given locality not be well adapted to profitable production because of a lack of nectar-secreting plants, or because the plants produce an inferior nectar, the beekeeper can change his base of operations. Should the usual supply of nectar from early blooming plants fail, the beekeeper can move the bees to another location in time to meet a honey flow from later blooming plants. Should his stock of bees be below the average in productiveness, a change can be easily and quickly made.
It is readily seen then,that any failure to secure profitable returns is usually directly traceable to the individual. There are no special qualifications necessary for success in beekeeping. An interest in the business and a willingness to give the bees every needed attention are the main requirements.
Manipulations with bees must be properly timed, thus promptness is necessary.
The successful beekeeper will not eagerly look forward to the close of the day's work; but will often consider the coming of darkness an undesirable interruption of his work. It is sometimes suggested that invalids may take up beekeeping. As an avocation this is true, but as a business it cannot be recommended for invalids.
Bees uninterfered with by man usually select some 'cavity for a home, and if its protection is insufficient to preserve them through the inactive season they perish. Likewise, if the amount of pasture within their reach is insufficient for their needs they perish. But when man undertakes the care of bees, due regard must be had to provide the conditions which will enable the bees not only to exist, but to accumulate the maximum amount of honey. The apiary should be located where the natural flora produces an abundance of nectar of high market value or where the farm crops usually grown are such that such nectar can be had from them. Planting for honey alone has not proven profitable. Since it is claimed that bees do not profitably go more than 2 miles for nectar, the apiary should be located so that abundant forage is within this distance.
The location of the apiary in relation to its exposure to prevailing cold winds is a matter which will make for or against success. The ideal situation is on a gently sloping hillside, protected by trees from the prevailing cold winds, and with a southern exposure.
Bees should not be located where they may prove troublesome to persons or animals passing.
Variation in the productivity.of honey bees is as great as in any other form of live stock. Several races of bees have been tried, but none as yet have proven as profitable as the Italians. There are a number of strains of these.
The apiarist should secure queens from a number of breeders with the best reputations, and from these select for propagating those which prove the most satisfactory. The honey producer has a better opportunity than the queen rearer to discover the good traits of his colonies.
The Apparatus
New and complicated apparatus is constantly being offered to the beekeeping public, much of which is of little or no use to the practical honey producer. The simplest apparatus will be found the most satisfactory.
The majority of successful honey producers are using a dovetailed hive with Hoffman frames and telescoping cover. For comb-honey production the tendency in New Jersey is to use a tall section measuring 4 x 5 x 13% inches. The 4% x 4% x 1%-inch plain section also is used somewhat. There is not enough difference in these styles of sections either as regards the behavior of the bees toward them or their appeal to the honey purchasr, to decide which is better. It has been contended that the tall section is more attractive to the prospective customer because it presents a large comb surface to the eye, but this has not been Figure 8: The Annual Returns from this New Jersey Apiary are Entirely Satisfaction.
Figure 7: The Owner of this Type of Apiary in New Jersey finds that Bekeeping Does Not Pay.
Figure 10: Two Hundred Sections were Secured from this New Jersey Colony in One Season.
Figure 1: Unfortunately, Many Apiaries are Obliped to Pass Through the Winter with no more Protecton than is Given this New Jersey Apiary.
Figure 1: A New Jersey APAY Provided with Winter Cases WHICH
Give Ample Protection against Low Temperatures.
proven. For extracted honey production practically all New Jersey beekeepers use the Hoffman frame. Apparatus such as swarm catchers, queen and drone traps, and many types of feeders on the market, have no place in a successful honey-producing apiary.
In selecting apparatus it is well to consider some form of winter protection for the bees more than is provided by the single-walled hives.
_Returns from Beekeeping_
The amount of money to be made from a business is often the main consideration. The opportunities to amass wealth in any rural occupation are rare indeed. There are, however, greater and quicker returns in beekeeping, considering the amount of time and capital invested, than in any other rural occupation. Many times the beekeeper receives for one season's crop an amount equal to his total investment. It is, of course, too much to expect this to occur every year. As is true of every other rural business, there are seasons when the returns are small. Rare, indeed, is it necessary in New Jersey to feed the bees to keep them alive. Judging from personal experience and the data which have been secured in the past five years' inspection work in the State, a gross return of $5 a colony per year is a conservative estimate if the honey is sold at wholesale. Should the beekeeper be able to retail his honey (and this is desirable), so per cent could be added to these figures.
An average of 35 sections of comb honey, or 60 pounds of extracted honey, per colony is common. Individual cases of 250 pounds of extracted and 200 sections of comb honey from a hive have been secured.. A few instances of what has been accomplished in New Jersey with bees will give some idea of the financial possibilities of beekeeping in this State. The person operating the largest number of colonies in the State has but 250. His investment he estimates at $2,500. About one-third of the bees are operated for comb honey and the remainder for extracted. No help is hiredat any time. The crop one year was 18,000 pounds of honey, both comb and extracted. This was sold so that the net price received was 12 cents per pound. After deducting 10 per cent for interest and depreciation on the investment, the beekeeper received $1,90 for his labor, which in all did not exceed 7 months of the year. It might not be out of place to point out here that this beekeeper is much past the prime of life, is not rugged in health and took up beekeeping after business cares had compelled him to abandon another business. Five hundred colonies in 5 yards can be operated by one active person. And by using in selling the honey that period of the year when the bees do not need attention, an amount per colony equal to that secured by the above-mentioned beekeeper can be realized, or $3,500 to $3,700 per year.
One apiary during the season of 1916 was increased from 45 to 90 colonies and 4,000 pounds of extracted honey secured. The wholesale cash value of the crop was $320.
An apiary of 96 colonies yielded one year 7,000 pounds of extracted honey, worth wholesale $490. Another of 8 colonies was increased to 16 and $100 received for the crop of honey. Another of 7 colonies was increased to 15 and a cash return of $96 secured. Three thousand pounds of extracted honey sold at $240 is the record for an apiary of 23 colonies which was increased to 32. An average crop of 50 pounds of honey, both comb and extracted, has been secured for the past 5 years from an apiary of 50 colonies. The wholesale value of the crop was $375. In another case the beekeeper of 5 colonies did not see the bees between June 10 and September 15, yet the crop was 460 sections, worth wholesale $69, or $13.80 per colony. In another case an apiary of 32 colonies yielded 3,600 pounds of extracted honey, which was sold at a farmers' market, and 18 cents per pound realized, or $648.
In each of these cases except the first, it is readily seen that the number of colonies is so small that anything like a fair estimate of the time and labor involved is difficult. In all probability, in each case the time used was that which otherwise would have been wasted.
## 10.10 Healthful
There are practically no conditions about beekeeping which would injure the health of the person following the business, unless the stings might be considered unhealthful. Since, however, they can be almost entirely prevented and their effect is so easily overcome, they need not be considered.
Much of the work is out-of-doors in the most pleasant time of the year, and there is no occasion for exposure to harmful weather.
It is a mistake, however, to consider beekeeping as a business well suited to the invalid in body or mind, since such is not the case. Considerable manual labor is necessary for best results, some of which is rather strenuous. The problems presented by the ever-changing seasons are such as will sometimes puzzle the most active brain. Nevertheless, beekeeping can be and is followed by persons well advanced in years. One of the most successful beekeopers in the United States today has passed his eightieth birthday. But he has in his long experience learned to get maximum results with a minimum amount of labor.
### 10.1 Pleasure
To the person really interested in the work, beekeeping affords boundless pleasure. Bountiful crops of honey, of course, increase the pleasure.
Practically no two seasons in the bee yard are alike, hence the work always presents new and interesting problems, and thus there is no opportunity for pleasure to wane through monotony or sameness of the work. The problems of beekeeping lead the apiarist into so many branches of investigation that his interest is continually held. His problems bring him into close contact with the great out-of-doors.
Not the least among the pleasures of beekeeping is that which comes from a knowledge that the beekeeper is gathering a healthful food which would otherwise go to waste, and therefore he is a benefactor to mankind. Also, at the same time that the bees are gathering this healthful food they are carrying pollen from flower to flower, causing a greater production of fruits and seeds and thus further benefitting the human family.
When one becomes thoroughly familiar with the bees' activities, the work can be so arranged that the beekeeper can be absent from the bees for a considerable length of time, even in the summer, without detriment to the bees. Thus it will be seen that there is a certain flexibility to the work, and that there is not the feeling of bondage which attends the management of many forms of live stock which demand attention every day in the year.
_Opportunities for Profitable bekeeping in New Jersey_
The conditions within and the location of New Jersey make its beekeeping opportunities quite unique.
First, the dairying interests in the State are extensive and because much of the soil within the State is lacking in lime, alsike clover is much grown for the cattle and the acreage of this plant is annually increasing. Alsike clover will grow on acid soil where other clovers would fail. The quality of honey from alsike clover is such that only experts can distinguish it from that gathered from white clover, and it is well known that white clover honey brings the highest market price. The yield of nectar from alsike clover is heavy and extends over a considerable period of time, usually 6 weeks at least.
Alsike clover, however, must not be considered to be the only important nectar-secreting plant. Locust is also important. White clover contributes its share to the beekeeper's profits. Tulip, poplar, sumac, golden rod, aster and buckwheat also help to make the crops satisfactory. Besides these, there is an almost innumerable array of trees and plants which furnish more or less nectar for building up the colonies to maximum strength as well as to help swell the surplus crop.
Second, the climate of the State is such that only the grossest neglect of the bees will result in any considerable colony loss during the winter. This is particularly true of the lower two-thirds of the State, but this must not be construed as an endorsement of such shiftless wintering arrangements as poor hives and no extra protection against low winter temperatures. It does show, however, that with ordinary care there need be no winter loss whatever.
The flora of the State is so varied that when one plant which usually furnishes nectar for one reason or another fails to do its
be safely stated that the present consumption of honey in New Jersey could easily be increased tenfold by a judicious advertising campaign.
It would be fully to estimate the amount of nectar annually wasting in New Jersey because of insufficient bees and beekeepers to gather it. The figures would be so large that no one would credit them. It is very sure, however, that with proper management the bees already in the State would annually produce 35,000 dollars' worth more honey than is now being received from them.
Doubling the number of colonies in the State and giving them all proper care would result in an increased annual income to the beekeepers of the State of $85,000. This amount, it would seem, is worth while securing, more particularly so since no effort is required by anyone to _produce_ the crop--all that is needed is to _gather_ it.
Some attempt can be made to compute the value of the nectar which the bees would gather, but the value of the service which they perform as pollenizers cannot be computed. It has been estimated to be even more than the value of the honey and wax secured. Certain it is, however, that the increasing crcharding in the State will create a demand for more honey-bees as pollenizers. In fact, one orchardist has offered $100 for the use of too colonies for about 10 days, or during the blossoming period of the fruit trees.
### Beekeeping Literature
Many of the beekeepers of New Jersey rely entirely too much on folklore in the management of their bees. Such practices as "drumming" to "settle" a swarm, or "telling the bees" when a member of the family dies to ward off ill-luck, or refusing to sell bees for fear of "selling their luck" cannot result in profitable beekeeping. There are causes for all bee activities, and in order that he may direct this activity so that it will result in giving him the greatest profit, the beekeeper needs to learn as much as possible of the causes which underlie these activities.
Satisfactory results will be had when the beekeeper prevents entirely, or at least controls, swarming rather than trusting to some such incantations as "drumming" and "tanging" to prevent swarms from leaving.
If, instead of "telling the bees" when the caretaker dies, some other person gives them proper care, "bad luck" will have no effect on the bees.
Every beekeeper should have at least one good book on bee culture; more would be better that his views be not too much influenced by a single writer. At least one bee journal should come regularly to the person who hopes to get satisfactory results from his bees.
Publications Pertaining to Beekeeping Issued By the United States Government
Through its corps of trained investigators the United States Government is constantly issuing circulars and bulletins containing information invaluable to the bekeeper. Many of these can be had upon request; for some a small charge is made. For the convenience of the beekeeper a list follows, and it is urged that each one secure the entire list.
The bulletins named below may be had free by applying to the congressman of your district at Washington, D. C.
Farmers' Bulletin No. 442, The Treatment of Bee Diseases.
" " " " " 447, Bees.
" " " 503, Comb Honey.
" " " " 487, Sweet Clover.
" " " " 653, Honey and its Uses in the Home.
" " " " 695, The Outdoor Wintering of Bees.
The publications in the following list may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents at the prices indicated. Remittances should be made to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., by postal money order, express order or New York draft. If currency is sent, it will be at sender's risk. Postage stamps, defaced or worn coins, foreign coins and uncertified checks will not be accepted.
Photomount
Pamphilet
Gayford Bros., Inc.
Phil. Ass 71, 1000
## Chapter 6 For the prospective Beekeeper
By C. P. DADANT
Editor of the American Bee Journal
G. B. LEWS COMPANY
MAKERS OF
LEWS BEEWARE
WATTORWN, WISCONSIN, U.S.A.
COPYRIGHT, 1914, BY C. P. DADANT
_Price Fifteen Cents_
# Handling Bees
The fear of stings is the greatest hindrance to the popular keeping of bees. Were it not for this, bees would be found on farms as commonly as poultry, for their honey is one of the most delicious of Nature's products.
Yet, there is VERY LITTLE DANGER OF STING when bees are properly handled. A little smoke, provided by the use of a BELLOWS SMOKER (Fig. 1), at the entrance of the hive and over the combs when opening a hive will render the bees tractable. Bees do not sting when filled with honey. Like a man who has just eaten a good meal, they feel peaceable. Frightening them with smoke, before opening the hive, will cause them to fill themselves with honey in anticipation of ejection from their home. Keeping smoke within reach after that will secure a quiet behavior in ordinary circumstances. You are in no more danger from a properly managed hive of bees than you would be from the heels of your favorite horse or from the horns of a gentle millch cow. Bees may be handled without smoke, but a novice should use smoke until he has become an expert. A BEE VEIL (Fig. 5) should be used to protect the face in case of accident and gloves (Fig. 3) may be worn, but the latter make your actions clumsy. We do not recommend their use.
When you go among the bees avoid wearing black or woolen clothes. White or light colored cotton clothes are best, for cotton is a vegetable fibre, familiar to bees, while wool is an animal product and is therefore disliked by them. Have your coat off and wear a straw hat (Fig. 4).
Bees returning from the fields, or flying about:
fields, are not prone to sting. Those leaving the hive
Fig. 5: Hee Yelk.
Fig. 1: Bednor Suedhar.
Fig. 2: Hee Yelk.
or performing duties at the hive, are the only ones that need be feared. Do not carelessly jar the hive, or strike at them or fight them, but go about quietly and avoid unnecessary quick motions or standing in the line of their flight to and from the hive.
## 4 NATURAL HISTORY
The honey-bees are scientifically classed in the hypenoptera, because, like the wasps, bronets and bumble-bees, they have four membranes g a u z y wings. The scientific name of the common or black bee is "apis mellifera," owing to her production of honey from the nectar of flowers, which she cathers. A slight chemical change is made in the nectar while in the honey-sack of the bees, but its color, flavor and quality remain the same. Syrup. glucose or molasses, if fed to bees, would not change in appearance, and clover honey does not resemble either alfalfa. basswood, spamish needles, very low quality.
The place where bees are kept is called an APIARY and the bee-keeper APIARIST. Bees originally lived in hollow trees, clefts of rock, etc. The habitation which men provide for them is a BEE-HIVE.
There are three different kinds of inhabitants in a bee-hive, the QUEEN, the WORKERS, the DRONES.
The QUEEN (Fig 7a) is the only perfect female in the hive, she is the mother and lays all the eggs. This is her only duty, and so well does she perform it, that she deposits, at some seasons, especially in spring, as many as 3.500 eggs in 24 hours. The eggs are carefully laid at the bottom of each cell. She mates only once in her life, about six days after her birth, in the fields, on the wing. She never after that leaves the hive, except with a swarm. Her life's duration is from two to five years. Usually after the second or third year her fertility decreases. A queen which has been prevented from mating by accidental confinement to the hive for a period of about three weeks after birth, is no longer able to mate, but she can still lay eggs that will hatch. These, however, will produce only drones. This ability to lay eggs that produce life without impregnation belongs only to a few insects, and is called "parthenogenesis."
The queens hatch in a queen-cell, a peculiar shaped cell hanging like an acorn cup from the combs. (Fig. 9.)
There is but one queen in each hive at one time, except when new ones are raised for swarming or when an old
Figure 9: (Sper Cells, growth enlarged.
queen is being superseded or replaced by the bees, when two or more queens may exist in the hive at one time. In ordinary circumstances, queens fight each other to death.
THE WORKERS (Fig. 7b) are the most numerous inhabitants of the bee-hive, as also the smallest. They number from a few thousand up to eighty thousand or more. They do what their name implies, build the combs, rear the brood by feeding it and keeping it warm, harvest the honey, chase intruders away and keep the hive clean. They ventilate their home in the summer by the fanning of their wings and cluster together for warmth in the winter. They have short, thick, smooth manibles that enable them to tear the corolla of flowers and to build their combs out of soft wax, but they have no teeth like waps or hornets. They are therefore UNABLE TO **CUT THE SMOOTH SKIN OF ANY KIND OF SOUND FRUIT**.
Bees have five eyes, three small round eyes in a triangle at the top of the head, called "ocelli," and two large copies copies formed of thousands of facets, one of these large eyes on each side of the head. The latter enable them to see at a distance, the former enable them to see within the hive, on the combs, in the dark.