Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-07-29
CARE OF BEES N SUMNER.

IL Is buT l'oiicy ~ tdhe atFaHia1' VI iHtst
impulses Though honey may be very
abundant in the season Of fcuit-blo
they DO not store much of it the more
abundant it is, the faster they rear brood
and il is not uncommon to open hives
wherein not days supply Of honey for
the colony IS found, bu, most Of the cells
filed with brood in all stages, from the
egg to the developed bees, emerging from
tie cell. 1t Is our policy to foster this
brood -rearing, in order that the hives
inay be full Of workers to gather the hon
ey vi ich is abundant in June ard July,
When that time arrives, ample room
must be given them Many colonies of
bees are crampcd for room in which to
store honey, and hang idly about the
hive, when, if they had boxes sufficient,
they would be bustly filing them. Ifycu
use any form Of movable comb-hives, put
/ on the whole complement of boxes when
J white clover begins to bloom, and watch
the boxes carefully, removing every one
as soon as it is full, replacing it by Al
empty one. II your honey is for market,
Your boxes should be s.naller-of the ca
pacify of six or eight pounds, with glass
in ole or two7sides. Honey stored thus
sells more readily than any other. If,
! however, you wish it FOR your own use,
larger boxes, entirely of wood, are jus; a
as good, and we think more honey will
be stored Ill them. other things being
equal,
1t is we'll to have all hives arranged SO
that when 4 box is half full Of honey it
may be raised, and another with holes in
top and bottom put bereath it. The
/ bees, in their eagern8ss 10 connect the
honey thus raised with the main hive, at
once occupy and build comb in the lower
box, and, at the same time, finish up the
enc on top, which, when full. can he re-
moved without serious disturbance of the
Five. If your bees are still III box-hives,
you may give them ample room for stor-
age. If there are no holes in the top,
these can easily be bored with an inch
auger. Make several such holes and put
on any boxes You preter-only, # She
boxes are partly Of glass, cover thctn With
a wooden cap.
The idea of boring holes in a hive fill
/ cd with bees may seem formidable, but il
is easily done. Blow little smoke into
| they will soon ell their honey-sacs and
! become peaceable Then bore your holes
/ in the top. letting the bit or aucer &c
down into the honey Cut out, with a
/ knife, a little comb under the hole, that
! there may be an entrance from the passa-
/ ges betwe n the combs into the box
! Have holes in the bottom of the box to
correspond with those you make in the
/ hive, or use box without any bottom
| IF YOU have pieces of clean, empty comb,
fasten them, by the use of 4 little melted
resin, to the top of the boxes. This gives
/ the bees what they. as well as men, Ike,
"a start in life" Some hives are arraug-
cd with boxes on the sides for surplus
honey. This is not as well as to place
them on the top
Bees instructive store their honey abors
tie place where the brood is. All who
have ever cut a "bee tree" have noticed
that in the top of the cavity the choicest
honey is always found. There are tw'
reasons, I think, why they should do this.
Il is an instinct with them to place it as
far from the entrance az possible to have
it secure from their enemies, the wasps,
yellow jackets, etc, and when II is stored
oIore the cluster Of bees, the heat from
the colony ascends among it and keeps
the combs warmer and free from frost i'll
cold weather. 1t will be seen, then, why
all SURPLUS boxes should be arranged at
the top. instead of at the sides If hives.
I often have strong colonies occupying
and busily filling sixteen sixpound box
es at one time on the top of hives, in the
height Of the honev-storlng season. The
American hive, which l now prefer to all
others. has boxes for surplus honey Of the
car acity OF fifty pounds. | often have
two sets Of these boxes we'll filled by 1tal-
ian colonies in the course Of the season,
and have repeatedly known colonies to
Ell, three sets each, in an extra yield of
honey.
Besides the attention g. the honey box
es which is required at this season, vigl-
lance is necessary to guard against the
depredations Of the moth miller with its
progeny of worms Weak or queeness
colonies, if you allow such to remain, are
very certain to be infested, and breed
hosts to trouble other hives. 1t is posi-
bic to be entirely rid of this pest by the
use of hives that YOU can open and exam
inc if you have the Italian bees. | know
this. for | have not seen either miller
or worm about my hives this season :
Where only common hives are used, il IS
necessary to be on the watch.
The miller is small. uuchbackcd,
gray fy, the male much larger than the
female You will fnd it hiding about
the hives in the daytime, and at night
lowering about the ENTRANCES, seeking to
get in and deposit the eggs which pro-
duce the worms in the empty comb lett
uncovered by the bees. Strong colonies
so cover the combs that they are little
exposed but the miller will often depos-
it her eggs on the loose scraps Of comb
on the bottom board. while the hives that
have few bees are exposed on all Sides
Saurers or shallow dishes. filled with