Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1868-03-27
AGRICULTURE Al.
From the Tama County Union.
Improvement in Bee Keeping.
Published bv Request.

Published by Request.
| Z When the field does not furnish enough pas
| turc for tho bees, sow mustard, sweet clover
and buckwhcat, say an acre or more OF each,
according to the number of colonies; the mus
tard will be ready in time for raising brood
md the clover and buckwhcat in time for
surplus honey. lfe,ery bee keeper in the
country would adopt this plan ana use the
best hives, the market would be fully ssp>
piled with tho best honey. have been max
ing it my business for long time to raise
bees. and trying various kinds OF hives In
order to get the best and cheapest hive, and
managing ithem with the least labor and
trouble, which confidently believe have l
now use a hive with shallow air-chamher
and ventilation in top of hive, so as to allow
perspiration Of the bees TO pass out at the top
and prevent il from settling on the honey and
Pressing into ice in the winter, so that the
bees would staryc when plenty ofhoney in The
hive; or cause dampness or disease among
them. Six surplus honey boxes are placed on
the honey boards over the shallow air cham
Der, each h. lding five pounds of honey, which
placed as fast as they are filed and may be
shipped in these boxes or stored away, the
honey retaining its natural color for II year
or more; The body Of the hive is in two secs
tons, fitting over doubly inclined movable
bottom, the bees entering at both ends, so
that that the two sections may be easily drawn
far enough apart to place two empty sections
between forming two colonies from one with
out transferring or moving them out of their
course. Queens can be raised to furnish each
hive with two queens before strong cnoughto
one section and placing partition Of paste-
board or thin wood between the two sections,
as soon as they have sealed quccn,cclls, blow
Il little smoke from rotton wood or cotton rags
into the hive TO drive the bees off the lower
edge Of the combs; turn up the hive and break
of the queen cells and place one in each Of the
queenless parts Of The other hives by cutting
Il notch in the edge of q comb 10 insert the
cells the bees will soon fasten it firmly
Before inserting the queen cells slip paste
board between the two scctiuns, in abou.
half an hour it can be asccrtaincd which Sec
ton is quccnlcss. As soon as they are well
flied with bees they may be divided and will
soon fill the empty half Of the hive and be
ready TO fill the honey boxes. If each hive is
left to raise their own queens they must be
divided before the queens hatch. Moths may
be successfully destroyed in this hive as it is
constructed SO they may be easily removed,
for where bees enter moths can also enter
Swarming is also prevented by turning up the
hive and destroying all the soung queens be-
fore they hatch. Would be pleased to hear
my criticisms upon the above plan, or answer
my inquiries regarding it, through the col
aims OF the UNION, if not trespassing too much
upon them, which may tend to improve the
culture of the Bee, and be of interest to apia. |
'ians throughout the county.
DANIEL S. BEAR.
Toledo, Iowa, March u, 1868.