Imperial Valley press., 1913-11-22

study for this purpose is being con-
Quoted in Massachusetts.
A clergyman. named Langstroth
revolutionized bee keeping about a
half century ago, by the invention of
hive with movable trays from
which the honey could be taken at
intervals without disturbing the bees.
Before that bee owners killed the bees
in the fall by sulphur smoke in order
to secure the honey. The new style
frames are filled with, small wooden
sections which the bees fill with honey.
Nearly 100,000,000 of these sections
are used in this country each year
The patient, toiling bee obeys mans
behest with a slave-like docility. Late
~ wax foundations have been pro-
vided which have the markings of the
cells. These are inserted between the
trays supported by wire netting and
the bees accept them as they do the
sections and build upon them as in
dustriously as if they were of their
avn manufacture.
The honey extractor is the machine
which has done most for modern bee
keeping. This has been improved un-
til it now seems almost perfect and
can be seen driven by electric power
in the large apiaries, while small hand
power eXtractors are provided for the
amateur. The frames containing the
honey are removed from the hive and
the Gaping cut off one side with
warm Gaping knife. They are then
placed in the baskets of the extractor
and revolved rapidly so that the
honey is drawn from one side by cen
rifugal motion. The comb is reversed
and capped and the honey removed
from the other side. So perfectly does
the machine work that the delicate
waXen combs are unbroken. They
cre returned to the hive and, in obe-
dience to the unspoken order, the bees
I'll them with fresh honey and re
cap each cell. This method is a
great improvement over the old one of
the comb and straining out
The honey.
The modern bee keeper feeds his
bees in return for the honey he takes.
The artificial food consists of syrup
and sugar candy, bee feeders are up
en- the market, but pan filled with
excelsior over which syrup is poured
and placed in an empty frame at the
top of the hive is popular method,
for the bees do drown in the syrup
About quart of syrup may be fed
to a colony of bees in day and in
cour days sufficient nourishment may
be absorbed to last through the win
ter. The syrup is made of the pur
est granulated sugar. Attempts to
overcome disease by feeding medica-
ted syrups have as yet proved ineffect
Ual.
In addition to the sweets, bees at
certain seasons, need also to be sup
1lied with a substitute for pollen,
especially in the spring before the
flowers are out to supply natural pol
len. Pollen furnishes the nitrogen re-
CURED by the young bees. A healthy
queen may refuse to lay eggs because
cf lack of pollen in the hives Rye
-four and cotton seed meal are the
two substances most suited for pollen
1ubstitute. An Iowa bee keeper last
spring used thirty-fve pounds of flour
IN three days to feed colonies of bees.
The colonies were broodless but i'm
mediately after the taking of the -four
plentiful supply Of eggs was forth
coming. The bees also require wa
ter when the supply of dew is INSULT
cient, and means must be taken to
supply them. 1t is this need which
causes the bees to hover about wells
and springs greatly to the annoyance
Of human beings.
Bees are associated with rural life
N the minds of most people, but they
can be raised equally well in the city.
Several New York skyscrapers have
5ood sized apiaries upon their roofs.
\ man in Buffalo has done a thriving
honey business for years from bees
located in an attic. In Philadelphia
.everal colonies of bees located in a
building near Independence Square
produced excellent honey from the
flowers and trees Of that historic park.
in Washington a number of apiaries
re located upon the tops of buildings.
High grade honey is taken from these
because of the number of linden or
bass wood trees which shade the
streets of the national capital, linden
honey being considered by many the
finest in the world The increase in
city parking which is spreading over
the country makes city bee keeping
more feasible each year.
McHarP's Retirement