Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-07-20
About Keeping Bees.

kinds of flowers from which to gather
the nectar and pollen which furnish
them food. The most attractive flow
ers are not the ones from which the
bees gather most of their honey. In
the East. white clover, sweet clover,
linden, buckwheat, Spanish needle, To-
Gusts. goldenrod and asters are among
the best honey plants; while, in the
West. the vast fields of alfalfa and the
countless square miles of sage on the
hills AFFORD forage that is unsur-
passed.
1t is not necessary that bees have
close access to vast areas Of forage;
they may even be kept in the middle
of city. In Washington. there are
many small apiaries in back yards, on
house!ops and in vacant lots. where
the surplus honey obtained compares
favorably in quantity and quality with
that from apiares more favOrably To-
Gated. The same is true Of all our
cities.
Bee keepers are a kindly lot of men
and usually are glad to render any
possible assistance to, the tyro. If
possible. then, go to some man of ex-
perience and watch him at work-it
will wei! repay the beginner.
When bees are purchased, they
should be in simple hive of standard
size. There are many different hives
on the market, but the beginner can
not be supposed to go into the pros and
cons of the various kinds, and it is
best in every way to get a ten-frame
standard hive. simple in construction
nd hn
bees arrive. put the colony in as Sc
cluded a place as possible. so that the
bees will not interfere with the peace
of mind Of passersby-nOt to mention
their physical comfort. The hive must
be SO placed that it can be manipulate
ed freely. After dusk, remove the wire
cloth from the entrance, and when
morning comes the bees will come out,
| orient themselves in their new lOca-
| ton and soon take up the work of the
day as ii nothing had happened. Prob
ably the frames have been fastened in
| places by wedges or other means to
keep them from swinging together and
crushing the bees; these may be re-
moved at any time.
The beginner should provide himself
with a veil of black netting, preferably
| silk, and n "smOker' or a furnace with
a bellows attachment for directing Il
cloud Of smoke on any part of the col
ony whore it is necessary to subdue the
bees. Gloves of material thick enough
to keep the stings from reaching tho
hands may be a dasideratum for the be-
| ginner; but these are usually discarded
In short time, for they are awkward
and, as a whole, make the movements
in manipulation more Objectionable to
the bees.
When the neophyte has finally
| rerved himself to the ordeal, he shonld
arm himself in all the regalia which
has been gathered together, light his
smoker and proceed to find out few
things for himself. Unless consider
able time has been spent with an eX-
pcrienced bee-keeper, and some ex-
perience gained by handling bees in
Ianother apiary, this first look inside a
hive is usually attended with some
fear and trembling. Blow a little
smoke in at the entrance and carefully
lift the cover Of the hive-with a little
more smoke directed at the tops of TIL
frames. Every movement around 4
beehives should be cautious, and jars
should be avoided. for quick move
ments are actively resented by the
myriad occupants of the new posses
sion.
The frames may now be removed Iii
fastened in for moving. the wedge.
must be taken out first. TIL" bees, af-
ter being smoked and becoming accus
TONED to the light from new quarter
will require Il it'll additional smoke
| it1h
er puff will work wonders. If tn;
queen is in the hive, her presence can
be fairly well assured If eggs, small
| white specks in the bottoms of thu
cells, are present 1t IS not neces
! sary to find her every time the hiv'
is opened, for as long as eggs are pres
ent the owner is sure that she has beef
in the hive within three days, unles
the workers are laying; but that is :
: complication which can not be takel
up here. If the brood is regular am
eggs are present, it is enough. ShOul'
the owner wish actually to see tn
queen, she must be hunted for. Their
is no rule for that. She will be foun'
somewhere on the combs. SURROUNDED
by numerous workers who form he
"court''
To tell Just what to do under all cir
cumstanccs has proved task to
great for the authors of the multitude
of books on bees; but experience will b
a good teacher. and the only possibl
one in this case.
one Of the first questions which mus
be faced is the race of bees which is {
be kept. Italian bees may be calie
; the standard for this country, and ar
preferred by the majority of the hes
bee men. They may be obtained i
their purity in any part of the Unite
States. ard are probably best for a.
PURPOSES Other races have their ad
vocates. but any experimenting wit
. different races may we'll be put off 70
a future time. The Italians are no
, quite SO gentle as Carniolans or eau
casians perhaps. but gentle strait
may be purchased.
few more points need only b
mentioned: Keep only one kind Of hiv
and that one simple in construction
Do not buy more than two or thre
colonies at the start. Do not try I
? | ;ncreoSe the number of colonies to