El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-11-17
Beehives on HOusetOps
City Men Get Their Own Honey by
Having APIarics on Roofs and
by Feeding the Bees.
-By FrcGeric }. HaSkin--

I
'--By FreGeric J. HaSSin---
CONTINUED from page l. this secuOnJ
tor is provided for each county An
apiarist recently shipped three car
loads of bees into Tulare county with
out notifying the inspector and pro-
ceeded 10 set up his hives IN some or
ange groves. He was promptly fined
$500, as bees are not allowed to be
brought into county until they have
been inspected and pronounced free
from disease. These bee diseases now
are to be found in every state and RI
gid measures are being taken to over
come them. It is claimed that the
loss due TO them amounted to at least
a million dollars last year.
CareIessness Costs Much.
Another heavy loss to bee keepers
has been caused by carelesSness in the
spraying of frdit trees to get rid of
insects pests Laws have been enacted
in several states prohibiting spraying
while the trees are In blossom Last
year Vermont bee keepers suffered
the loss of enough bees from spray
poisoning to fill a peck measure, and
working toward securing legislation
upon this subject. It is claimed that
another million dollars of loss this
season is due to spraying fruit bios
sons
Until two year ago. Massachusetts
was the only state maintaining a de-
partment of agriculture in connection
with its agricultural college. Now
number of such departments have been
opened. the latest being that of Min
nesota for which a special apDrOpria-
ton was made by the last legislature
A feature of the auiIT=- connected with
the Massachusetts college is a gar
den of nectar-prOducing plants. The
different flavOrs of honey due to the
varieties Of plants from which 1t is
taken have been recognized for cen
turtles. Modern bee keepers are trying
to separate the honey from the differ
ent plants in rotation throughout the
season and special study for this
purpose is being conducted in Massa-
chusetts.
Preacher RevOIutIOnizes Industry.
A clergyman named Langstroth rev.
olutionized bee keeping. about
half century ago, by the invention Of a
hive with movable trays from which
the honey could be taken at intervals
without disturbing the bees. Before
that bee owners killed the bes in the
fall bv sulphur smoke in order to Sc
cure the honey. The new style frames
are filled with small wooden section
which the bees fill with honey Nearly
100000, 900 of these sections are used
Ia this country each year. The patient,
telling bee Obeys mans behest with
slave-like dOcility- Lately wax toun-
dations have been provided which have
the markings of the cells. These are
inserted between the trays supported
them as they do the sections and
build upon them as industriOusly Is II
they were of their own manufacture.
The honey extractor is the machine
which has done most for modern bee
keeping. This has been improved I'M
til 1t 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
q warm Gaping knife. They are
then placed in the baskets of the ex-
tractor and revolved rapidly so that the
honey is drawn from one side by cen
trifugal motion. The comb is reversed
and capped and the honey removed
the machine work that the delicate
waxen combs are unbroken. They are
returned to the hive and, in obedience
to the unspoken order, the bees fill
them with fresh honey and recap each
cell. This method is a great improve
ment over the old one of crushing the
comb and straining out the honey.
Bees Must BE Fed.
The modern bee keeper feeds his
bees in return for the honey he takes
The artificial food consists of syrup
and sugar candy, the latter being es-
pecially supplied for the queens Sew
eral patent bee feeders are upon the
market but a pan filled with excelsior
over which the syruD is poured and
placed in an empty frame at the top
of the hive is a popular method. The
excelsior makes it impossible for the
bees to drown in the syrup. About a
quart Of syrup may be fed to a colony
OF bees in a day and in four or five
days sufficient nourishment may be
absorbed to last through the winter.
This syrup is made of the purest gran
ulated sugar. Attempts to overcome
disease by feeding indicated syrups
have as yet proved Intellectual.
II -
certain seasons, need also to be sup
piled with substitute for pollen, es-
pecially in the spring before the bios
SONS are out to supply natural pollen.
Pollen furnishes the nitrogen required
by the young bees. A healthy queen
may refuse TO lay eggs because of a
lack of pollen in the hives. Rye flour
and cotton seed meal are the two sub
stances most used for pollen substi-
tute- An Iowa bee keeper last spring
used IS pounds of flour in three days
to feed colonies of bees. The colonies
were brOOdless but Immediately after
the taking OF the flour a plentiful
supply of eggs was forthcoming. The
bees also require water when the sup
ply of dew is insufficient and means
must be taken to supply them Tt is
this need which causes the bees to
mover about wells and springs greatly
to the annoyance of human beings.
APiaries on City Roofs.
Bees are associated with rural life
in the minds of most people but they
can be raised equally we'll in the cftv
Several New York skyscrapers have
good sized apiaries upon their roofs
4 man in Buffalo has done a thriving
honey business for years from bees
located IN an attic. In Philadelphia
several colonies of bees located in
building near Independence Square
produced excellent honey from the
flowers and trees of that historic park.
In ashlngton. number of aDiaries
4re located upon the tons OF buildings.
High grade honey is taken from these
bcc9use Of the number of linden or
bass wood trees which shade the