Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1894-03-29
FARMER AND PLANTER,
THE CARE OF BEES.

THE CARE OF BEES.
Few Spring Hints To Those Who Keep
The Busy Insects.
Bees need but little care in the win.
ter, but rs soon as spring opens they
should have proper attention given
them II one expects TO secure the best
results the coming season. Every hive
needs to be carefully examined, and
all dirt and dead bees should be re-
moved. Some bees are sure to die in
the hive during the winter, and there
will be more or less accumulation of
dirt on the bottom of every hive. If
the dirt is left there It will furnish
breeding place for the moth miller,
and as soon as the warm weather sets
in they will be sure to take advantage
of it. Before one is aware of it he will
have hives with the combs filled with
moth larvae instead of young bees.
If the bottom of the hive is movable,
the process of cleaning up is ve"y
simple one. All one has to do is TO
loosen the bottom and remove it, set
ting the hive on the lid until he is
ready to put 1t in place again. After
the bottom Is removed all dead bees
should be brushed off, and the bottom
thoroughly cleaned by scraping off all
dirt, propolis, etc, with an old knife
or something of that kind. When the
bottom has been replaced, then all of
the combs should be removed or suf-
flcient number of them to enable the
operator to know the exact condition
of the colony, The idea is to see that
they have plenty of honey and good
queen. lie can judge of the latter by
the quantity of brood he finds in the
hive.
The hives, however. should not be
opened unless it is warm enough for
the bees to fly, and then they should
not be kept open any longer than is
absolutely necessary to accomplish the
work in hand. The young brood is
very easily chilled, so that the warmer
1t can be lSeptdurng the spring
months the better it will be for the
colony. Another reason for not leav-
ing the combs exposed any longer than
is necessary is that the bees can be
very easily started to robbing this time
of year, when there is no honey to be
gathered and they are anxious to get
all they can in order rear brood an
build up the colony. If they once get
started to robbing, they are almost
sure to destroy some of the weak
colonies before they can be stopped.
All combs are to be put back
| into the hive in the same order
in which they were before the
hive was opened; for, if they
are not, the brood nest must be spread
out so that the bees can not keep all OF
the brood warm, and the result will be
that some of it will perish. As young
bees are very valuable in the spring II
is important that none of the brood be
permitted to die from carelessness.
All colonies found short of stores
should be fed so that they may have
plenty of food in the hive to carry them
along safely to fruit bloom. They need
not only enough to keep them alive
but surplus on which to feed the
young brood For, if there is not plenty
of food in the hive to feed the young
larvae, the queen will not lay many
eggs; and as the value of \ colony de.
ponds on the quantity of bees in the
hive when the main honey flow begins
it is very important that they be kept
rearing brood as fast as possible unit
that time arrives.
To return now to the cleaning out
process, | will say if the hives uset
have the bottoms nailed fast, goot
way to proceed is as follows: Take al
extra hive and remove all of the
frames, and clean it out thoroughly
Then remove from the stand on which
it is sitting the first hive TO be over
hauled, and put the empty hive on tn,
stand, placing the other hive by tn,
side of it. Carefully transfer all of tn,
frames in the hive containing the bee
to the one upon the stand, being care
full to replace them in the new hive il
the same order in which they came on
Of the old. The operator will have al
opportunity to examine the condition
of the colony while making the trans
fer.
After the combs are all removed tn
bees remaining in the old hive can b.
gently Jared out in front of the new
one, and then after thoroughly clean
ing the hive from which you have takel
the bees, it can be utilized for the mex
colony, and so on until all hives hav
been cleaned and the colonies CAREFUL
examined. BY working in this wa
one can overhaul a large number O
colonies in short space of time. Som
may think this going to good deal Q
trouble "just for q few bees" but
want to say that just very it'll
trouble" makes all the difference be
tween success and failure in bee GU
ture. There may be ''juSt few bees,
but that few bees means dollars in tn
owners pocket if the season proves t
be good one, and he gives them prope
care.
TNcH II Jllt ScuSOn Is ID Dlu one, III WI
pay to look after them at the RICH
time, rs only those who do this get an
honey during such seasons, when tn
honey is sure to bring good price
placed on the market.
II any colonies have died during tn
winter, the combs should all be take
out and the dead bees brushed off frol
them, and then returned to the hiv,
which should be fastened up closcl
all around and set in cool dark plac
away from the moth miller. 1t pay
to look after these combs as they al
valuable to hive swarms on. The
will save the swarm a great deal {
time and labor, and largely increas
the quantity of surplus honey.
Let me say, in conclusion, that it
not good idea TO fool with you
bees after You have given them I'll