BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Since the amount of pasturage in a locality determines how many colonies can be kept in an apiary, it follows that, after the region is stocked to the limit, a new location must be sought for colonies above the number that can be supported with profit. The new apiaries established under these circumstances are called out-apiaries. The number of them may vary from one to a dozen, or more, according to the colonies owned. The question as to how many colonies may be kept in a certain site can only be answered by the beekeeper himself in the light of his experience, and after studying all the factors involved. Since conditions vary, with regard to such changes, in different parts of Texas, no set rule, as to the proper number, can be given. While a good location will support 100 or more colonies, another, only a few miles away, may be fitted to only one half that number. In most Southwest Texas localities 100 colonies is considered near the proper number, while it has been found that better results have been obtained with only 50 colonies in a place, as localities farther northward are reached. It has also been determined that, in localities where 100 colonies in one place will do well, they would do better if only 50 werekept in each of two separate apiaries several miles apart. The secret of this is, that the bees are not compelled to forage so far away from the apiary, and thereby waste less time going and coming. There are other advantages, chief among which is (since the difference in locations is so great) eatching a possible honey flow at one apiary which may be out of reach of another. With apiaries scattered far and wide, securing honey in some of them is more certain, while, with bees all in one, or the same kind of, location, they may secure none at all, and, as a whole, run the risk of starving. Consequently, the location of many and smaller apiaries, instead of fewer and larger, has come more and more into practice. Another is that the beekeeper can complete certain work in a small apiary within a short time, and then go to another not far off, before the bees are stirred up to the point of robbing. It is very disagreeable to be compelled to continue the work, when bees are robbing, but such is often necessary with large apiaries.
Ordinarily the apiaries are placed about three miles apart, depending upon the lay of the land, the nectar yielding sources and the locations obtainable for placing the apiaries. Sometimes sites for only a few apiaries may be found in a certain locality, and it becomes necessary, on account of the adjacent territory being unsuited for the pur pose, or already oceupied by other beekeepers, to go several miles before reaching a suitable place. The point in view should be to so locate the apiaries that any, or all, of them may be easily reached.
Sometimes it becomes necessary to put them in low valleys and river bottoms, subject to overflow by flood waters, in which event the hives should be properly elevated upon high benches or scaffolds.
How far do beess fly?
This is another question often asked. Under ordinary conditions does do not go as far in quest of stores as is generally supposed. 'Inless compelled to do so, they rarely forage to greater distance than three miles, and that less profitably than if they are not required to go so far. It is safe to say that most of the foraging is within two miles of the apiary under average favorable conditions, and in cases where nectar is plentiful they do not go that far. During a scarcity of nectar, bees, in some instances, will go many miles for food, while in others they will starve in their home environment when bees only a few miles away are finding more than a sufficiency of food. These conditions must be watched carefully, or, while the apiarist finds the bees in the best condition in one of his apiaries, those in others may be near the point of starvation.
## 6 Renning of locations.
There is no set rule as to proper rentals for apiary locations; mainly, perhaps, on account of the varying conditions and circumstances that determine price. While some persons readily agree upon certain terms of pay, others do not care to accept any remuneration for the place the apiary occupies on their property. But the apiarist can easily afford to properly compensate those whose land he uses, because a good location is very essential and a valuable asset in extensive out-apiary management.
As a rule, where apiaries average 100 colonies, a money rent of $10 and some honey, varying in quantity according to the favorableness of the seasons, is a fair rental, and one in general vogue. Where only 50 colonies are kept, on the average $5 is sufficient. The rental under these arrangements, including the honey donated, will amount to from $10 to $20 yearly. Where no money rent will be accepted, honey should be donated, a practice of many beekeepers. Some beekeepers secure their locations, and sometimes the entire territory in which to locate apiaries, for a term of years by a lease, and in various other ways.
Out-apiaries should be located some distance away from houses, preferably in a secluded place near a water tank in pastures, where the bees will not molest or be molested. A good fence of smooth wire, to prevent possible damage to running stock, should surround the apiary, and this can often be constructed by selecting a number of trees to fasten the wire to. The land owner is not required to give the bees any attention, the entire management being conducted at long range by the beekeeper, who visits his out-apiaries, whenever necessary. With proper facilities, of which the automobile is coming to be an important factor, the systematic and successful management of a large number of out-apiaries is a profitable business.
## 7 HIVE EQUIPMENT.
Simplicity is one of the chief requisites of a good bee hive. It may be said that generally the best hive is one that gives most ready access to every part, and that is capable of most expansion and contraction. It must be strongly made of lumber least likely to warp and twist, or check and split, when subjected to extremes of heat, cold, or moisture. For this reason, our native pine is not so desirable as white pine, which is far superior and is almost exclusively used.
The ten-frame hive, of Langstroth dimensions, is in most general use, although hives of other sizes are also extensively used. For the beginner, the Langstroth hive is advised, since it is considered the standard hive. The main hive body consists of a plain box, 16x20x91/2 inches outside measurement. Inside this hang ten frames, in which the combs are built. These are 175x891% inches outside measurement. The top bars of these frames are 18% inches long, and extend one-half inch over the outside of the frames, by which they hang in the hives. These projections, or ears, as they are often called, rest in rabets cut out of the upper inside edge of the end walls of the hive. These rabets are deep enough to lower the top of the frames exactly one-fourth inch from the upper edge of the hive, and it brings the lower side of the frames almost flush with the bottom of it.
It will be seen that the frames are of such dimensions as to allow a one-fourth-inch space between their ends and the walls of the hive body, when these hang in position. This one-fourth inch is called a "bee space," through which the bees can pass freely, and it prevents them from glueing the frames to the hive walls. Any space, less than the regular one-fourth-inch bee space, will be filled up with "bee glue," or "propolis," a resinous substance gathered by the bees, while they will build honey comb into spaces that are larger than the bee space.
Various patterns of frames are made, but those known as self-spacing frames, such as the Hoffman, are in most common use. As natural comb is found to be spaced 13% to 11% inches from center to center, the frames must be spaced accordingly, to be spaced right. This is accomplished by making the end bars of such width that, when the frames are pushed close together, the desired spacing is secured. In localities where an abundance of propolis is gathered by the bees, an objection to self-spaced frames is that they are glued together more or less, so that their manipulation is difficult. Spaeing with nails, staples and other metal spacers, that allow of an easy separation of the frames, are used to some extent, while unspaced frames are popular with many. The self-spaced frames have first place for the beginner and the general beekeeper, however.
There is no top and bottom to the hive body. These are separate from it, and are differently constructed. The various manipulations and "Showing end-bar spacing".
interchanging of the hive parts afforded by up-to-date hives would not be possible with the bottom and cover nailed to the hive. One of these operations is known as "'tiering up," i. e., simply setting one hive body over another; in doing which the nailed-on bottom, or cover, would be in the way. The cover must also be loose, so it can be removed instantly, for rapid examination of the interior of the hive, and to allow putting other hive bodies on top to give the bees more room when needed.
## HIVE bottoms and covers.
The bottom board of the hive may be made of a single board, or several boards held together by a cleat at each end. It should be no wider than the hive, but two inches longer, so as to extend in front and afford an alighting board, or landing place, for the bees. On three sides of the upper surface, cleats, 3%x7% inch, are nailed, on which the hive rests, thus raising the frames in it a bee space from the floor. The long opening, left between the two eleats on the sides of the bottom board, affords an entrance to the hive, 3%x14 inches, just right under all conditions, which may, however, be regulated by movable blocks.
A satisfactory hive cover is one of the most essential requisites of a good bee hive. It must be so constructed that it will resist warping, shrinking and twisting, and protect the inside of the hive from the weather and water. There are several good hive covers for sale by the manufacturers of apiary supplies, while others are bad, especially for our severe, hot and dry climate. Tin and zinc may be used in making a good cover, but is expensive. An easily constructed cover is made of two boards, 1x8 inches, 24 inches long, well cleared together at each end by two cleats, 1x1%x16 inches. A three-inch batten is nailed over the middle where the boards come together. The under side should be flat and smooth, so the cover will lay flat on top of the hive.
So far we have described the hive with only its one-hive body. In this the swarm, or colony, of bees oeeupies the ten frames in which the combs are built, for rearing their brood and for storing honey and pollen or "bee bread," for the immediate needs of the colony : hence this is generally known as the "'brood chamber." It is seldom that honey is taken from this part of the hive. The surplus honey is obtained from separate receptacles known as supers--boxes of the same outside dimensions as the hive body, but varying in depth and inside fixtures, depending upon the kind of honey that is to be produced by the beekeeper. Of this there are two kinds: First, comb honey, just as the bees build it in the frames, and which is cut out for the market by the beekeeper; or it may be built by the bees directly in small, square pound boxes, or "sections," in which the honey is sold; and, second, extracted honey, which is the same as that stored in the combs of comb honey, but is thrown out of them by meansof the honey extractor, and the empty combs returned to the hive for the bees to fill again. The supers are placed above the hive body.
For the production of extracted honey many beekeepers use simply another hive body with the same kind of frames as the brood chamber--two, or more, on very strong colonies when necessary. The tendency, however, is toward a shallower super than the regular depth, since these possess certain important advantages, chief amongst which is that additional storage room can be given more gradually, according to the needs of a colony, especially if it is weak, or hampered by the condition of the honey flow, to care for a large amount of room at a time. Another is the ease with which these shallow supers may be freed of bees and removed from the hive when filled with honey. The combs in such shallow frames are more easily uncapped for the extractor by one stroke of the uncapping knife when the honey is to be taken from them.
The advantages of shallow supers are especially notable with comb honey supers, of which there are two kinds. Most extensively used are those 5% inches deep, equipped with ten shallow Hoffman frames 53% inches in depth. For bulk comb honey production these are un-surpassed. Section box comb honey supers are much more complicated in their equipment. There are many styles of these supers, and the best way to get a good idea of them is to procure, from one of the manufacturers of beekeepers' supplies a catalog in which they are described more fully. The most popular of these supers are those with 4x5 sections and fence separators. Section honey is produced by very few beekeepers in Texas, although it is very pretty in appearance, and ability to turn out a fancy grade of it is considered proof of the art. That Texas apiaristsdo not more largely devote their attention to it is because it requires more laborious work and preparation, and is less profitable. The bees do not build in the small boxes as readily as in the larger frames, and, hence, loss in time and honey is considerable. It is, also, more difficult to ship safely, on account of its being fragile. The losses from breakage and leakage are great, and the difference in price of this and other kinds of honey is not large enough to pay for the extra trouble and cost of production. So little of it is produced that it is seldom demanded, except in a very small way.
No matter what style of supers are adopted, at least three or four should be figured for each hive in use, to allow tiering up, as practiced by all experienced beekeepers. This is done by placing a newly prepared super under one already on the hive as soon as the first one is about half-filled, or more, and the bees need additional room. A third super may be inserted underneath the two if more room is needed, and so on, always providing room for the bees next to the brood chamber, where the bees work best.
make OR buy hives.
An important question is whether it is cheaper to make the hives and supplies than to buy them "in the flat," the pieces cut ready to put together. Unless one is skilled in the use of tools, the inaccuracies in the spacing of the fixtures in home-made hives will often lead to an indefinite amount of trouble. It is better to buy them ready for use until one is thoroughly familiar with the needs of good hives, and then, if deemed advisable, to attempt to make them. Even then the frames and inside fixtures would better be bought from the manufacturers, who are prepared to furnish them accurately made, since this course is not only the cheapest, but they will fit better in every way, and thus make their manipulation easier and more agreeable. Not so difficult to make are the bottoms and covers to the hives, and the descriptions and the illustrations will enable any average person to make these quite cheaply.
A vexing and erroneous notion of the average beginner, after perusing the pages of a bee supply catalog, is that almost all things needed must be purehased when starting in beekeeping. This is not necessary. The start should be made with only a few colonies of bees, preferably two or three, and, outside of the hives and frames actually required for these, and possibly one extra hive for each, for the increase, or swarms, a good smoker, a veil, a honey extractor and a good bee book are all that is necessary to buy at the beginning.
If it is desired to produce extracted honey, the honey extractor is needed to remove the honey from the combs. This is a large can in which wire baskets are suspended on a reel that revolves rapidly when turned. The combs of honey, from which the cell caps have been removed, are placed in these baskets and centrifugal force, or suction, forces the honey out of the combs, and causes it to fly against the walls of the can and accumulate below, where it may be drawn off. As the honey flies out of only one side of the combs, on account of the septum or mid-rib forming a partition, it is necessary to turn them around and revolve again to get all the honey. Before reversible extractors were made, with which the simple reversing of the baskets brings the opposite side of the combs into place, it was necessary to entirely remove the combs from the stationary baskets, turn them around and replace them in the baskets.
An extractor may be dispensed with the first season if comb honey only is to be produced, but one will be necessary later on --almost surely the next season. By all means, do not omit a good text book on bekeeping, as it is as necessary as, if not more needed than, anything else, for successfully conducting an apiary.
There are many little useful devices that may be added from time to time, some of which may be made by the bekeeper himself, depending upon his ingenuity. An important instrument is the hive-tool, used for opening hives and prying frames apart. Besides the one shown, a short piece of a buggy-spring blade, sharpened at one end and rounded at the other, is a good one for both prying and scraping. A handy little combination tool box and seat can be made and supplied with hammer, screwdriver, sharp knife, etc., in addition to the smoker and hive-tool.
Although all hives, supers and accessories, likely to be required, may be procured from supply dealers at any time previous to needing them, the experienced beekeeper, as a rule, purchases his supplies for the next season in the preceding fall, as he gains several great ad vantages by doing so. Supply dealers encourage this, to avoid the general, overwhelming rush in the spring, and, hence, offer very liberal discounts for early orders. In addition to this, they are able to give quicker service and better satisfaction. Then, too, the bekeeper can devote spare time during the long winter months to putting the supplies together, painting them and making them ready for use when needed.
The general beekeeper has his time taken up by other things when the honey season comes, and, with everything in readiness and in good repair for immediate use, it is not much trouble, and not much time is required, to look after the bees during the swarming time and to give supers as needed. As the supers can be tiered up several high on each colony if necessary, always placing the new ones under those already on, the honey may be removed at any time after the rush of the season. Leaving the honey on the hives improves it in both quality and flavor as it is ''ripened,'' or ''cured,'' over the heat of the colonies, by a process of evaporation carried on by the bees.
## painting hives.
Things that are well painted, and kept well painted, will last much longer, and this applies with particular force to bee hives, which are constantly subjected to the weather. Besides preserving them, there is nothing that freshens up the entire surroundings more than a good coat of paint, properly applied to the bee hives in an apiary. Plain white is the color preferred for this purpose, mainly because it reflects the rays of the sun, and the hives are consequently cooler, which is an important item in a hot climate. Besides, a good white paint will give \(\cdot\)better results and has more lasting qualities than colored.
The question as to which is the best paint for bee hives is often asked. After trying all kinds of paint and applying it in different ways, I find that best results are obtained with a good, well-mixed pure white lead, zinc and linseed oil paint. The lead and the oil are the main constituents of any good paint and are often used without the zinc, but an objection to this is that it does not hold well and chalks off after a short time. By adding the zinc, the paint has a harder surface, holds on better and longer and, therefore, is more durable. Too much zinc must not be used, as a coat of such paint will soon crack and scale off.
The best way to apply paint is to put a very thin coat on, spreading it out well, and thoroughly working it into every part of the wood. This should be on six months, or more, before the second coat of paint is applied, and when this is thoroughly dry a third and final coat should be given. No other way of painting has proven so durable and satisfactory.
## Appendix A Aparameter
There are many necessary manipulations that can be profitably made in preparing the bees for the honey season, but many beekeepers tinker with the bees too much. This should be avoided as far as possible, without neglecting the bees. Each individual must study out a system best suited to enable him to get best results in his particular case. In this age of progressive ideas, "short cuts" that aid in accomplishing maximum results are of much importance in the bee business and should be adopted whenever possible.
## Honey flows.
After the bees are located in the apiary in the spring, they should be gotten in the best condition for the honey season. The time of the main honey flow varies in different localities. The spring flow, usually the most important, comes in Southwest Texas very early in April and May, and from two weeks to a month, or more, later in the more northern parts of the State. In many localities there are several main honey flows besides the usual flow in spring or summer. These flows are of varying duration. The beekeeper must learn when to expect them in his particular locality, by studying the flora and times of appearing of blooms from which his main honey flows are procured, or by obtaining the information from beekeepers or others who possess the knowledge, if such, fortunately, happen to be in the neighborhood. The locality should be so studied that the apiarist may be able to foretell from seasonal developments, the commencement of honey flows in his locality. In connection with this, the time to begin preparations for developing the colonies to the greatest possible strength for the flows should be studied also. As bees over two weeks old are the honey gatherers, it should be the aim to have as many bees over that age as possible, and just before the honey flow the hives should be teeming with bees. This preparation is the main aim of the experienced beekeeper who has the end in view of securing big crops of surplus honey.
## spring examinations.
Beginning with the first settled warm weather in the spring, all colonies should be examined to ascertain if they have sufficient stores to tide them through the heavy breeding season that will soon be under good headway, and during which time very much honey is required. Needy colonies should receive one or more combs of honey from others that can spare them. In the absence of this, one
eient amount, as strong colonies require far more than weak ones. But taking from them combs of brood is different, for brood means bees, and the more bees in a strong colony the more honey, while the same bees given to a weak colony may not be able to gather honey at all.
Where honey flows come late, conditions are entirely different, and the apiarist has ample time in which to build up all his colonies to good strength for the honey harvest. In this case, the strong colonies are drawn upon for both brood and honey to help the weak. Great care should be taken at all times to choose combs not containing too much brood for the size of the colony to which it is to be given. Combs should be selected from which most of the brood is already hatching, as the weak colonies may not be able to care for it properly. These combs should always be placed with the brood as nearly next to that already in the hive as possible, to prevent breaking up the cluster, especially early in the season. It should be remembered that all this work must be done slowly and carefully and with good judgment.
Feeding bees.