BEE-spoke-data/bees-v0 huggingface dataset:
With this I have been equally successful in having queens mated from these apartments, the same as I was where the dummies were used, and I believe the same will overcome nearly all of the difficulty which I experienced during the forepart of the season, altho I cannot say positively at this date, as I have not had a chance to try it, except during the basswood bloom, and later. If it should not, my next plan would be to make the division, which forms the queen-apartment, or wire-cloth, except say three or four rows of perforated metal at the top, so that all bees entering this apartment would be quite a distance from the reigning queen below, when entering this apartment, which I think would make the plan successful in localities where all else failed.
Now, as there seems to be a chance that a failure may possibly result in some localities, and at some seasons of the year, I would advise all to try only one or two colonies at first, to see if the plan will work in their locality; so that, should it not work, they will be but little labor and time out, in trying to experiment.
I still believe that there is a great future before us, along this plan of having queens fertilized from an upper story, and as I have intimated in other parts of this work, it is my desire that the plans which I have here given may be so improved upon that there shall not be a doubt about this matter, and we as bee-keepers be led out to a wider plain than any heretofore enjoyed.
Already some are branching out along different lines, notably among which is Dr. Tinker, with his "queen-rearing chamber." There is little doubt but what his plan will work, but that "chamber" seems to be more suitable to the large queen-breeder than to the rank-and-file of bee-keepers; while my design was to bring out a plan that would be of benefit to all, from the person having but two colonies up to one who numbered his colonies by thousands.
Some seem to feel (or act as if they so felt) that I was trying to crowd my plans upon them, for some irritation has been shown by a few since this work was publish; but such is not the case. All are free to use, or refuse, these plans which I have outlined, as they please. No, dear reader, I have not the least desire to crowd anything upon you. All I have done has been done with the hope that I might be of benefit to the world--benefiting some one by smoothing over the rough places a little, the same as some of the writers of the past smoothed the way before my tender feet, when they were still youthful in the pursuit of apiculture. As I have freely received of the good things in the bele-literature of the past, so I as freely give of the little I know, that I may, in a measure, pay the large debt I owe to those who have preceded me in the way of our delightful pursuit. Onondaga Co., N. Y., Oct. 1, 1889.
LATEST FEATS IN QUREN-REARING.*
" Scientific Queen-Rearing " cost me five of the best years of my life, as that number of years were given up almost wholly to that work, as far as deep study and experimenting and planning were concerned; and ten years of work since along that line, without a single failure, with one single batch of cells, has proved the soundness of what I dug out. Letters have come to me from all over the world, and are still coming, fully equal to those of the first two or three years, telling of the great success obtained by the plans given in the book. This summer I have excelled anything I ever did before. I prepared just ONE colony for cell-rearing the latter part of May; and this one colony, having a laying queen below all of the time, has reared me a batch of 18 queen-cells every three days ever since, up to the 10th of this month, at which time I started the last batch of cups for this year. I find by my tally-sheet that the average number of cups given each three days was 21, and the average number of queens obtained was 18. So you can see how successful it has been with me during nearly four months in succession. And there are many others who say they do nearly or quite as well. The beauty of the whole thing is, every queen-cell and queen is perfect, and fully equal in every way to those reared during natural swarming, where Nature does her level best. No cells were ever moved from this one colony, from the time the cups were given till the ripe cells were taken away. Onondaga Co., N. Y., Sept. 28, 1898.
Turn over your comb and fill the other side, and after hanging in your tin comb basket (wash-boller, or some convenient tin thing which is almost always at hand) a little while to drain, it is ready to be used in any spotor place, the same as a frame of honey. I prefer this way of feeding to any feeder in existence.
If you wish to make quick work of filling these combs, have an assistant to hand you the empty combs and take the filled ones; roll up your sleeves and hold the combs near the bottom of the can, or low enough down so the falling syrup will force the air out of the cells so they will be filled; turn your faucet so the required amount of syrup will be in the pan all the time, and you can fill them (the combs) almost as fast as he (the assistant) can hand them to you. The sides of the can keep the syrup from spattering about the room, and what is caught therein can be turned into the upper can again.
The next time I go over the yard I generally reverse the brood as at first, as well as to put a frame of honey in the center. By this time the bees will have hatch out of the combs which were placed on the outside, and as the queen does not lay as readily on the outside of the cluster, these combs will not be as well filled as the center ones.
After about a week more, the yard is gone over again in like manner, and if but nine frames are used to the hive, this time will conclude the stimulating process, for at the end of about five days more, or about June 10, all our frames are full of brood, and our colonies in good condition for receiving the surplus boxes.
MANAGEMENT OF WEAK colonies.
Several years ago, when I wisht to unite weak colonies in the spring, I did so early in the season, for the "books " said that the time to unite was when it was discovered that two colonies were too weak to be of use alone, which generally happened in April. That uniting two weak colonies to make one strong one is profitable to the apariist, no one will deny (unless, perchance, we are obliged to use everything in the shape of bees, as we were in 1882, in order to get our former number back again after a heavy loss); still, that uniting must make the one better than each of the two, would have been when the honey harvest arrives, or our labor of uniting is worse than useless. After practicing the plan given in the "books " for a year or two, I became convinced that colonies thus formed were no better, at the end of two or three weeks, than each one would have been had they been left separate. I have put as high as seven remnants of colonies together, in April, the seven making a good, large colony at the time, and
## Chapter 12 Measurement of BECs
In a month all were dead. After coming to the conclusion that I could not unite bees with profit in the early spring, I adopted the following plan which has proved successful so far:
About the middle of April, some cool evening, I look over all my bees by removing the cap and raising the quilt a little, so that I can see how strong in bees the colonies are, and all that do not occupy five spaces between the combs are market, and the first warm day are shut on as many combs as they have brood in, and a division-board placed in the hive, so as to contract the hive to suit the size of the colony. Honey enough is provided to keep them amply for two weeks, and the rest of the combs I store away for safe keeping, unless some of the strongest of them are able to protect them from robbers, in which case I leave them outside of the division-board, so that the bees can carry honey from them as they wish. The entrances are contracted so as to let but one bee pass at a time, for the smallest colonies, while the larger ones do not have more than an inch in length of the entrance given them.
The next work is to increase the brood as fast as possible in these small colonies. I keep them shut on the combs first given them till they are filled with brood clear down to the bottom, before they are given more room. As soon as this is accomplish I give them a comb of honey prepared as before described, placing it between two full combs of brood. In about a week this comb will be filled with brood as full as the others. I go over them once a week in this way till I have five frames of brood in the strongest, when I take a frame of brood just hatching out from those having five full frames, and give it to the next strongest, say, one that has four frames, putting a frame of honey in the place where it came from. Thus, I keep working till all of them contain five frames of brood, which should occur from June 10 to 15 in this locality. I now go to No. 1 and open it, looking the frames over till I find the one the queen is on, when it is set outside, and the four remaining frames and all the adhering bees are taken to No. 2 ; I then spread the five frames in No. 2 apart, so as to set the four frames brought from No. 1 in each alternate space made by spreading the frames in No. 2 ; No. 2 is now closed up, and in a few days it is ready for the boxes. It will eventually make as good a colony for storing in boxes as the best of the stronger ones; at least such has been my experience so far. I have never known bees to quarrel, nor a queen to be harmed by this plan of uniting, as the bees are so completely mixt up that they do not know what to fight about.
But to return to No. 1, where the queen and frame of brood were left standing outside of the hive. I now place this frame of brood back in the hive and put an empty frame beside it, adjusting the division-board, and I have a nice nucleus from which to get a queen to be used in swarming, as given further on. Many of the old bees carried to No. 2 will return, thus making a strong nucleus, which will fill the empty frame with nice, straight, worker comb in a few days, and still another, if the queen is left long enough. Now, if I wish no increase of colonies during the season, I serve my whole aplary as I did Nos. 1 and 2, beginning early enough to be sure that none have brood in more than five frames : by putting boxes on the strongest just before apple blossoms, and a few boxes are often filled from this source, as the bees must work in boxes if at all, when shut on five frames. It will be seen that I use nine frames to the hive, but the plan is the same with any number of frames. This having every frame in a hive crowded to the fullest capacity with brood two weeks before the height of the honey harvest, has much to do with a good yield of honey, I assure you. This is the condition I aim to have all my bees in, and I have tried to tell you how, so you can do the same, if you wish to adopt the plan I folFlow.
GETING THE boxes READY AND FUTING THEM ON.
The getting-ready part I generally work at by odd spells, during the winter and early spring, so as to have all in readiness when they are wanted ; but as this is the time they are wanted, I will give the way I prefer them, and advise that none wait about this getting-ready part till just as the boxes are wanted, because I gave my mode of doing so at the time the bees were ready to receive them. During the leisure hours of winter and early spring is the time to have all in readiness, and they who are not thus ready are often the losers of a good portion of the honey which might be secured.
We have, to-day, two sizes that are generally adopted--the prize box, which is 6x5x3x2 inches, outside measure, and the 4x4x4x2, known as the 4x4x4 section, the one holding about 2 pounds, and the other about 1 pound. The market seems to favor the 1-pound section, not only as to price, but it sells much more readily, and while the prize section goes begging a market, the 4x4 is all sold, and more is called for; therefore, it is easy to see which way the future points as to style of section; but it is not so easy to see how to change all our equipage adapted to the prize section, and start with the 4x4 style without a loss greater than the compensation gained for the first few years at least.
After deciding on the style of section we will use, they are to be filled with comb foundation, if such is thought to be profitable, and if not, put a starter of nice white comb in the top of each box. I prefer to cut these starters in a triangular shape, about 1% inches long on each side. Now turn your sections top side down, hold a hot iron close to the box, and after holding the starter immediately above and touching the iron, draw the iron out quickly and press the starter gently on to the wood, when it is a fixture. I then fill the cases with sections, putting sections filled with comb left over from the previous season in the center case, if I have them. If I have enough such to fill two cases, I place the two apart so as to set a case having boxes with only starters in them between. When I have enough to do this, I think I am sure of a good crop of honey if such is attainable from the fields, for these combs are more profitable to an apilarst than cash in the bank.
With the brood-chamber filled with brood, as I have shown you it should be, and honey coming in from the fields, these combs are at once occupied, and those sections between and immediately surrounding them, that have starters in, are soon filled with beautiful white comb, and a good yield of comb honey is a certain thing, if the flowers continue to secrete nectar.
Having all prepared, and bees all in readiness, the next thing is to put on the boxes. I generally put on but five cases at first, and if prepared as above, it will be seen that two of these contain sections full of comb, which are ready for the bees to commence work in at once. In about a week all are gone over with again, and if those first put on are being workt in, more are added by spreading those apart, and two more cases are inserted near the center, and by placing a tier at one side. The next time I go over them, probably some will be ready to come off, and in any event as many sections are now given as can be workt in to advantage by the colony, which generally takes the full capacity of the hive.
SWarming.
After trying all the plans of non-swarming hives given, with no success, I settled down to the conclusion that such a thing did not exist when working for comb honey, and even if it did, I doubt if as large a yield of honey could be obtained, as by the use of swarming hives. Then if we are to use swarming hives, the question coming next is, shall we make our swarms by dividing, or by letting them swarm naturally? Lately I have used both ways with what seemed to me the best results. It will be seen that our bees are all in readiness 15 days before the height of the white clover harvest, and
### 124 Management of Bird.
Previous to this, nuclei have been started, so that I hay plenty of laying queens to use as I need them.
I next take all the combs of brood from which the bees were brusht, except one, arranging them in the hive the bees were shaken out of, and carry them to the stand of another colony which has not swarmed. Next I take the comb of brood which was left out, and go to one of the nuclei, taking out the frame having the laying queen on it, and place the comb of brood in its place. Take the frame, bees, queen, and all, and set it in the place left vacant for it when arranging the combs of brood. Now put on the boxes, and, having all complete, I move the colony to a new stand, and set the prepared hive in its place. Thus I have a laying queen and enough of her own bees to protect her, together with a hive filled with combs of brood and all the field-bees from the removed colony. In a very few days the colonies are ready for the boxes, and generally make the best colonies I have for storing honey. The loss of bees to the removed colony stops the swarming impulse, and in about a week they have so regained their loss that they are ready for the boxes again.
It will be seen my aim has been, in using these several plans, to get all my colonies strong enough to work in the boxes (during the best harvest) to advantage, and still have none of them desire to swarm during the height of the best flow of honey. By adopting a plan called "nucleus swarming," I once had my bees (after an early division) nearly all swarming in the height of the honey-harvest, by which I lost at least $500; for swarm they would in spite of all I could do, and, while the swarming fever is on, but little work will be done in the sections, as all apiarists know. This taught me a lesson; I hope to profit by all such lessons, else why the use of learning them?
How to get the largest yield of honey.
Having the bees all in, and swarming all done np, the next work is to manipulate the bees and boxes so as to get the largest possible yield from them. Now do not understand that I never have a swarm issue after I have all swarming done (as it should be when the the honey harvest is at its best), for such is not the case. Some of the first swarms will frequently swarm again, or some of those which were moved so as to draw off the old bees, getting populous again, may swarm; but in such instances they are put back where they came from, after extracting every particle of honey from the brood-nest, and cutting out all the queen-cells. Still, as a rule, not many swarms issue after all are prepared as I have described. If a colony is determined to swarm, after this treatment, I generally take off the boxes and put on a second story, filled with empty combs, in which case they will generally go to \(w\eta^{n\gamma}\) with a will. If I cannot make one plan work, I try another until I strike one that will; and if a colony is bent on swarranging, and will not work in a hlive where the lower combs are filled with brood, I take all the brood away. Colonies having the swarming-fever will not do much but swarm, unless some material change is made with the interior of the hive, more than the cutting out of queen-cells; and the sooner this fever is broken up (when it comes during a yield of honey) the better the results. However, but few bother in this way, as most of them settle down to business and stick to it after the swarming proper is over.
After the colonies are all made up, I see that all nuclei have the means of getting a laying queen as speedily as possible; then I am ready to go over the yard for comb honey. In doing this, I remove the cap and unkey the cases, when they are piled apart a little in the center, blowing in a little smoke to make the bees run out of the way. As the bees clear aside I can see down the flat side of the sections, and, if any are capt down to the bottom, they are ready to come off. If ready, I pry the opposite side of the case loose, when the cases are spread apart a little, and the one having the finish sections in it is lifted out. I now smoke the bees, to get them off of the brood-combs. They can be nearly all shaken off, except a few behind the separator.
I then take the sections out of the case and place them in boxes which will hold 18 prize sections, or 24 of the 1\(\chi\) found sections. These boxes have nails driven in the bottom so as to project one-fourth inch above the bottom of the bov, and are so arranged that, by beginning at either side, the nails strike close to the edge of the bottom of the sections, so their weight will keep them prest close to that side, and then they will not be liable to tip over. The object of these boxes are, first, to prevent killing bees, should there be a few not shaken off; secondly, to prevent the sections getting daubed, should any of the combs get bruised, so as to leak honey; and, thirdly, they can be packt nicely on a wheel-barrow so as to be wheeled to and from the honey-house, as well as being handy to carry from the wheel-barrow into the honey-room. Before going to the bee-yard, these boxes are filled with empty sections, having starters all ready for use.
When the full sections are all out of the case, it is filled with empty ones, and put down at the side of the hive, when more are taken in the same way, if any more are ready to come off. After taking all those finish, the rest are placed close together, and enough partly-filled sections from the sides
**NOTE.--**This book adopts the Orthography of the following Rule, rec. commended by the joint action of the American Philological Association and the Philological Society of England :--Change "d" or "ed" final t.3 "t" when so pronounced, except when the "e" affects a preceding sound. Also, changing the spelling of "though " to "tho," and "although" to "altho,"
Agiculture and Home Economics
Concell University
**Apiary Inspection Bulletin No. 5**
**The Communustit of Massachusetts**
**STATE board of agriculture**
**SOME of the ESSENTIALs**
\(\stackrel{{ ext{or}}}{{ ext{ iny{or}}}}\)
**B E R E P IN G**
**From the Fifth-Ninet Annual Report of the State Board of Agriculture.**
**BOSTON:**
**WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS,**
**18 Post Office Square.**
**1912.**
## Appendix B The State Board of Publication.
some of the essentials of bekeeping.1
Footnote 1: Crop Report for September, 1011.
BY BURTON N. GATES, PH.D., INSPECTOR OF APIARIES, STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, AMIERST, MASS.
This bulletin is not intended to be comprehensive of all bekeeping, but rather a guide to some essentials, adapted to the beginner, the avocational or the family bekeeper. Since Massachusetts already has an extremely large number of apiarists who keep only a few colonies, the special demands of the industry suggest the need of greater expertness, efficiency and larger bekeeping. There is also opportunity for a better distribution of apiaries. For instance, some localities are entirely destitute.of bees, while others possess a considerable number. To be sure, some localities -- Woreester County and the Berkshires -- are more profitable than others, but greater earnestness and general effieiency will result in a greater and general productivity.
The Outlook.
The opportunity for bekeeping and the prospect for profit are encouraging. With the suppression and control of infectious bee diseases, which in recent years have caused inestimable loss and discouragement, a new life for the industry is inevitable. Moreover, the Commonwealth is small and markets are especially accessible. There is a dense and growing population, and the fact that it is composed partially of Europeans improves the demand for honey. The utilization of bees in hortieulture, oreharding, market gardening and cranberry culture is fast becoming more thoroughly understood and practiced. Encouragement, organization of the beekeepers for the exchange of ideas, demonstrations and protection, -- all these promise to further a wholesome and fundamentally important industry.
To the majority, bekeeping is mysteriously fascinating, so that "one a bekeeper, always a bekeeper," is almost proverbial. It affords recreation, a pastime for those in confining professions. But it cannot be too strongly emphasized that bees _require attention_, and this at precisely the proper time. They respond in proportion to judicious manipulation. Thus, neglect means failure and disappointment. In contemplating beekeeping, unless willing to properly and promptly care for the colonies, the prospective beekeeper had better not undertake the venture. Perhaps the best qualities which a beekeeper acquires are punetuality and precision.
Massachusetts is suited to Beekeeping.