BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
Honey is the sweet sap of certain plants called honey-plants, which have nectar-glands to convey this sweet sap into their blossoms, buds, tender joints, etc., where the bees or nectar-loving insects can reach it. At the extremity of these glands the sweet sap may ooze out and stand in a ring around the tiny berry or fruit, as it may be, in small drops about the blossoms and tender growing parts of the plant. Honey-bees remove this sweet sap, or nectar, as it is most commonly called, with their long delicate little tongues, which work in a folded tube. If you will give a bee a drop of honey it will show you its tongue better than I can explain it; but it will be seen that the tongue will work out at the end of the folded tube, and feed about in the honey, and soon the drop of honey will disappear if it is a small one, and be nicely cleaned up. In like manner it removes the nectar from plants; and as it is licked up it goes from the tongue through the folded tube into another tube which conveys it through the waist of the bee into the honey-sac, which is located in the front part of the bee's abdomen. This sac or honey-stomach holds only a small drop of nectar; and when it is full the bee will rise in a circulating manner and soon disappear toward its hive. But when honey is first gathered it is very thin sweet water, and has an unpleasant sappy taste; but from the time it is removed from the honey-plant it is undergoing an evaporating or ripening process. As soon as the nectar-laden bee reaches its hive it goes up on the comb among its busy sisters and there deposits its load of nectar into a cell by belching it out of its honey-sac, or it may give its load to some attending bee if there happens to be one present, and this second bee will deposit it in a cell. If this is among its first loads of honey from the field it is apt to act in a frisky manner, shaking itself about as. it crawls around on the comb for a few moments before giving its load to another bee or depositing it. As soon as a field-bee disposes of its load of honey it may take a few moments of rest somewhere in the hive before returning to the field, or it may look around over the comb, and then return to the field. Thus the tiny drops of honey are pouring into the comb, which, if Jarred, will rain out on the bottom; or if the comb is turned to one side it will run out. As soon as it is stored in the comb no time is lost in turning it into honey by fanning it or sending a current of air through and over it, and by moving it from place to place in the comb, and by injecting it into the honey-stomach and throwing it back out, etc. Thus they keep it in a vibrating state for several days and nights, spread out over the comb, in uncapped cells, and at the same time the temperature is kept high in the hive. Now, when the bees have removed or evaporated about all the water from the nectar so it will keep without souring, or have done about as much as they can with it, it is capped over, and then is honey.
## How Bees Build Honey-Comb.
The lower of comb honey is not apt to stop eating it and take notice of the beautiful small thin hexagon-shaped wax cells it is stored in. When bees need wax to cap their honey, or more comb to store it in, some special bees seem to be appointed, or take up at this particular time, wax-secreting; but any worker-bee in the hive can and may secrete wax; but I have never seen very young or field-bees do so. Wax-secreting bees may be found anywhere in the hive, but mostly where the comb is being built; but they do not seem to take an active part in the work of comb-building. Wax-secreting bees keep
Wax-POCKETS.
themselves gorged with honey or nectar and are sulky, clumsy, and can scarcely fly at times. Wax is secreted in eight tiny pockets under the bee's body, between the rings, and extending out from these pockets or certain places between the rings in tiny white thin scales which are nearly round. These little specks of wax are removed by the attending bees, or the wax-secreting bees themselves will very often remove them; and it is done with their front feet. Then it is placed edgewise between the jaws of the bee, and carried thus to where it thinks it is needed; and as the temperature is high in the hive or cluster, and the little scale is very soft, it will easily adhere where it is placed, and thus make a part of the comb. At times they seem to have a surplus of these scales, and they will fall like tiny flakes of snow from the cluster, and collect on the bottom so thickly that it can be gathered up. This is often the case where new swarms have been hired, but generally they are very saving of it, and will often remove it from the bottom and carry it back up to where the comb is being built. Wax-secreting bees consume no small amount of honey while performing this duty.
Just how bees build comb is hard to explain; but every one who has watched the interior force of bees at work knows that they do a little work here and there, moving in a nervous manner over the comb. So it is in combbuilding. Every bee that passes along does something toward the building of the comb, and the little scales of wax are fast placed along where they are to go, many of which it seems would drop off if touched; but the passing bees put them in place by use of their jaws and feet; and when they finish working it, it is as thin and white as the finest paper, and the cells are hexagonal in shape, and built on the incline. So the work goes rapidly along, each passing bee doing a little here and there, the tiny scales being rapidly placed along, then worked into the straight parts of the cells and into the hexagonal corners, etc., and so on the work goes day and night until they need no more comb, when wax-secreting and comb-building will stop.
## 11 Pleasure in Bee-Keepering.
The question might be asked, "Where is the pleasure in handling stinging bees and enduring their stings?" This is the first interesting problem for a bee-keeper to solve. He can get badly stung and endure it, or he can avoid it. The greatest pleasure in any pursuit is in mastering it, and so it is with bee-keeping. The more we master of it, the more interesting it is, and the more pleasure we derive from it. But bee-keeping is unlike many other pursuits in life, for it is never mastered. There are always new and interesting problems arising for our solution in the culture of our bees: I have worked many long days in my apiaries, and not eaten my dinner until on my way home at night, as the work was so interesting, and seeing that the bees were prospering me under my guiding hand. I was totally absorbed its my work, and did not care to stop to eat.
Pleasure is one of the essentials of any successful business; and if the pursuer is not deriving any pleasure from his pursuit he is not apt to aspire to higher office in that line of business, and, of course, sooner or later he will abandon it. But this is rarely the case in bee-keeping. It is not only a pleasant pursuit, but it is a fascinating one--so much so that but few who ever embark upon it abandon it. I don't think any pursuit should be taken up, even on a small scale, just for the pleasure alone it may afford; and surely bee-keeping never can, for bees are too industrious and sure to make their culture profitable as well as pleasant. I have often seen colonies of beautiful yellow bees sitting in front yards or convenient places about the premises; and when the keepers were asked about their bees they remarked that they were keeping a few colonies for the pleasure of cultivating them, but at the same time the bees were furnishing their homes with honey.
It is often remarked that farming affords more real pleasure than any other pursuit in life; and it seems to be a fact when we see the farmer following along behind his plow, whistling and singing, and every thing flourishing around him, and the singing birds cheering him with their sweet songs;but yet the bee-keeper in his apiary, supplying the needs of his bees, with millions of tiny drops of honey pouring into his apiary from a thousand hills, may be the happiest man in all this world.
PROFIT IN BEE-KEEPING.
Profit in any kind of business is apt to be the first thing considered by the prospective or enterprising man; and if he concludes from what he can learn from others who are engaged in a certain line of work that there is profit in it he will embark; but if he concludes there is but little if any profit in it be may try it on a small scale, or turn his attention to something else. Bee-keeping seems not to have been considered as a profitable business but by few of our enterprising men in the South.
The common public here is skeptical when it comes to consider the honey-bee and its usefulness. It may be that they have not been sufficiently educated or informed in regard to the industry, or it may be that the honey-bee is too insignificant-looking an insect to be considered profitable. Many bee-keepers are skeptical when it comes to the cents and dollars in bee-keeping; but I have yet to meet a bee-keeper or a man who has kept bees who says they did not pay him a greater per cent. of profit than any other investment he ever made so long as he gave them intelligent attention. No one in the South has ever lost any money by investing it in bees, and this is more than can be said of any other industry here. Many times has the question been asked, "Is there any money in bee-keeping?" I always answered, "Yes, if it is done with enthusiasm and intelligence." Then, again, another question comes, "Can I get rich by making bee-keeping my business?" I always answer that there is such a thing as a bee-keeper spreading his bee-business out over the country, and saving enough of the vast amount of honey that is going to waste each season to gather up a large amount of this world's goods around him; but, like all other business, the profit can be estimated only by the amount of capital invested in it, and the constant care it receives. If bee-keepers would work in their apiaries as the farmer works in his fields I don't know what the results would be; but I can safely say that they would be satisfactory. When it comes to giving the profit in cents and dollars on bee-keeping in the South I can not do it, for in this respect locations and sections vary much here; but go to your nearest bee-keeper and find out what he has got invested in bees, and the amount of intelligent attention he gives them, and the amount of Money, wax, and swarms he gets from them, and this will give you some idea of the profit in bee-keeping in your location.
## Bee-Keeping a profitable side business.
I am glad that I can conscientiously recommend bee-keeping as a profitable side line of business for people engaged in almost all callings of life.
This is a progressive age, and progressive people are considering other lines of business, and adding them from time to time. Bee-keeping is worthy of consideration, and should be added to other main lines of business far more than it is. It is true that progressive business men have but little time to spare to side issues, and that they are likely to be neglected; yet it would not require much time to give a small well-established apiary the necessary attention.
There are but few enterprising or business men who do not have a few spare moments every two or three weeks which could be profitably spent in the apiary, and surely the weck would be recreative. Such apiaries shou'd be operated for chunk or extracted honey so there would be no swarms to hive, and the honey could be removed from the hives at leisure. Of course it would be necessary to read up some on bee culture; but this could be done during spare moments at business or at night. It must be remembered that, children love the study of bees, and to work among them; and if they are supplied with veils and gloves they will take great interest in the bees, and be of much assistance in apiary work.
I have a list of names of people who are mayors of cities and towns, railroad employees, bankers, lawyers, doctors, ministers, merchants, etc., and, in fact, men engaged in almost all pursuits of life who are succeeding with bee-keeping as a side line. I have a long list of farmers who are successful bee-keepers and many of them are realizing better results from their apiaries than their farms. There is no reason why any one interested in bee culture should not succeed in following it to some extent as a side line to their main business; and especially is this true with our farming class of people who are scattered out over the country, and who live surrounded by honey-plants so convenient for the bees, and, as a rule, they have more spare time which they could devote to their bees than any other class of people; and, too, they are better situated to keep bees. The farmers usually produce what they consume, and honey on their tables as food would certainly be an addition of great value. Many of them raise something for market, and honey to sell would be quite an item. It is customary for farmers to borrow money in early spring to make their crops on, and they have to pay large per cent interest on it. Suppose they operated progressive apiaries, the products of which could be marketed in early spring when the returns could best be expended on their farms, and the amount of borrowed capital greatly diminished if not completely covered.
## Bee-Keeping as a side issue.
Bee-keeping is looked upon with much distrust by the uninitiated. The bees are supposed to be desperate in disposition, attacking any one in sight; and any one seen handling them with apparent ease and indifference is supposed to have some charm over them, or, as is often said, "The bees don't sting him." But if such a one is persuaded to go close enough to see what is going on he will learn that the secret of the operator's immunity lies in the fact of his composure and in his care not to jar the hive or mash the bees, which would be sure to anger them.
Persons may often become interested in bees by some such chance acquaintance, and become bee-keepers in a small way, and occasionally quite extensive ones devoting their whole time to it. This is a very natural consequence and we only wonder that more people are not bee-keepers. Bees are, perhaps, the most interesting and useful insects, and bee-keeping can be made both pleasant and profitable. It is on account of ignorance of the habits and disposition of bees, and the lack of an introduction, you might say, because, when once interested, a person is hardly satisfied till he has a hive of his own. There is no reason why the hive should not be as common as the chicken-coop at our homes. One or two hives would furnish a home with honey, which is, at the same time, a luxury and of value; as food it can not be too highly estimated, and would, perhaps, furnish more pin money than the "old hen" herself. The pleasure they afford to those who take an interest in them is not to be overlooked either.
Bee-keeping offers peculiar advantages to persons already engaged in some occupations. They require very little attention, and that can be given at leisure. The capital invested is small, and the profit proportionately large. Most important of all, they would add to a person's capacity for money-earning, and thus better his condition. It is an outdoor pursuit, and consequently beneficial to the health. It is an absorbing occupation that makes you forget other cares and worries, as it has been said you can not work with bees and think about something else.
Bee-keepers are not an exclusive set, but welcome any new recruits to their ranks. They are generally religious, and stand for principles that make the highest type of citizens Our organizations believe that, in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. Every one who is interested in bees should belong to at least one of these organizations. The stronger in numbers the more potent they are to benefit their constituents.--H. M. Parker, Jr., James Island, S. C.
EXTENSIVE BEE-KEEPING.
The above subject is only a dream of the future with many of the bee-keepers of the South; but a great number of them are pulling for the mark, and some of them are joining us each season, and soon we shall have a large list of professional bee-keepers. Extensive bee-keeping is spreading bees out over the country, or reaching out and saving honey by successfully operating out-apiaries.
There is another thing of great importance in locating out-apiaries; and that is, they should be located close to a lasting spring or stream of water, for bees consume a large amount of it during the season, especially at times when brood-rearing is at a high pitch. Apiaries should not be located on open land some distance from the forest, because in early spring we have much high cold wind that usually plays havoc with our honey crop; and if the bees have to go across untimbered land they are beaten down by the high wind, and many of them never reach their hives. But if they are located along branches or creeks the growth will protect them while flying. My apiaries are located on creeks; and when the wind is high the honey-laden bees will mostly come in low on the opposite side of the timber from the wind. The most of the creeks and branches have a heavy growth along on either side of them, and certainly furnish great protection to bees in their flight.
Every outer apiary should also have a good honey-house to do extracting in, or to keep honey in for a short time, and to keep extra supplies in, and to get in out of bad weather while working over the apiary. There should also be a smoker, veil, and hat at each honey-house for convenience. The extensive bee-keeper must control the increase of his bees, and, of course, should have a conveyance to go from yard to yard ministering to the needs of his bees.
How to make increase at these apiaries to establish others, see "Artificial Swarming."
After you have as many apiaries as you want in the home territory, and decide you can care for more bees properly, take a trip over the railroads running by your station or.town, and get off at each one, and view the surrounding territory for some distance out; and after you have surveyed the country as far as you wish to in this way, making a memorandum of the amount of honey-plants at each station, and the convenience for establishing an apiary there, locate an apiary at the most favorable station, as close to it as possible, so as to be convenient to the depot. Then establish another apiary at the next favorable station, and so on until you have as extensive honey business as you desire. If you wish you could have your entire business scattered along the railroads and make the visits to the apiaries on the train, and transportation would be good. Your bee business would be much better if scattered, and you would be almost sure to have a good crop at some location. While transportation might be rather high, yet you could do thorough work at each apiary, and make but few visits.
ESTABLISHING AND Managing OUT-APIARIES.
The location is, evidently, the first thing to consider. Of the sources of nectar that may be found, whether it is in the forests containing basswood, poplar, or other nectar-bearing trees, or in cultivated areas of sweet clover, alsike clover, buckwheat, etc., I have found here that white clover and buckwheat are of very little value, owing to a climate too warm and too dry.
The kind of soil has considerable bearing on the subject. It is necessary for the production of nectar that there should be a certain amount of humidity in the ground ; and it follows that a gravelly or sandy land, being naturally dry, is unfavorable. Along the streams and rivers is a better place than the upland, partly because the bottom lands do not dry as fast as the highlands, partly because there are in such places quite an amount of nectar-bearing wild flowers, and also because the soil is richer, for, remember that, the richer the ground is, the more nectar the flowers will produce. The European writers claim that more nectar will be produced on limestone grounds than on other kinds,
The distance between the apiaries should be two or three miles, or they should be that distance from the apiary of somebody else, should there be any in that neighborhood--that is, apiaries of some size, not half a dozen box hives kept by a farmer. Such do not count.
To work to advantage there should be enough colonies in an apiary to give the operator a full day of work when he goes there, even if that would be somewhat too many for the best yield per colony. That number is usually given at one hundred. I think it is rather too much than too little.
We will now consider what might be called the situation--that is, the particular place in the location selected, in which you will plant your apiary. In the first place you must select good people as far as possible--those who own the land that they cultivate. Renters are, as a rule, not a very desirable class of people to deal with. Besides that, they move often, and the next one might not care to have your bees.
How much should be paid for the land occupied? I do not know. All the people with whom I have had bees, or those to whom I have spoken on the subject, have positively refused any pay. Needless to say, that, if you don't pay any cash, you must see that they should be compensated in honey or otherwise. Even if you pay, don't be too stingy, and be sure to be on good terms with the people who have your bees, and also with the neighbors. You don't know when your bees will sting somebody or somebody's horse; and should it happen, the good will of the people will go a long way toward fixing up the matter.
Put the apiary as close to the house as possible without interfering with the people and the stock. This is to prevent too much stealing. If too far from the house, you may find some of the honey gone and some of the bees destroyed. But they should be where they can not give trouble or be in the way.
I prefer a grove of trees to any other place. The shade is a considerable help to the bees and to the apiarist during the day; and, what is usually overlooked, they are a protection against the cold and the dampness of the night--at least in the early spring and in the fall.
Water should be close by. A running creek or spring is not exactly what is wanted. The bees slip the water from the mud or damp earth, and preferably in a warm place well exposed to the sun. Even in the hottest days they will go where the sun shines if they have the choice.
In the early spring the bees need a considerable amount of water, and they will go out in quite cold weather to get it; and if the water is not warmed up by the sun, the bees may get chilled and perish.
I put my hives on benches about eighteen inches high, with the legs driven into the ground to some depth. The bottoms and hives are fastened to the benches so that they will hold well, and yet can be unfastened when desirable, which with my method of management very rarely happens. This enables me to work standing instead of stooping down. It helps against the depredations of ants, toads, lizards, etc. But the greatest advantage is that the hives can not be upset. I have not yet obtained a location where the owner did not want to turn in occasionally some hogs, or calves at least, and sometimes even the cows. With the hives thus placed, there is no danger of a disaster--only an occasional sting. It is the upsetting of a hive loosely placed on the ground that causes serious trouble.
As to the management, there is no difference between the home apiary and the out-apiaries except in regard to swarming. To pay somebody to watch the swarms and catch them would cost too much; besides that it would often be difficult to find somebody who could be depended on to do it carefully.