Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-05-16
HONEY IMPORTANT
FOR OUR SOLDIERS
Matter of Supplying Soldiers With
Honey Discussed at Audubon
Meeting Friday

Meeting Friday
THE United States Government is
shipping honey to the boys in France
at the rate of one hundred thousand
pounds daily to one million pounds
every ten days" said Eric F. Nc
Millen, State Apiarist, at a meeting
of Bee Keepers held in the County
Agents office last Friday evening.
Honey is such an excellent sugar
substitute and of sufficient import
ance in relieving the shortage stu
alton that $50.O00.000 has been APP
propriated by the government for
bee production for each year during
the period of the war"
F.. Eric McMillen, State Apiarist.
and ID. A. Davis of the Bureau of En-
tomology, U. S. Department of Agri-
culture. were in Audubon county to
work with bee keepers and to slim
ulate interest in bee keeping. Dur
ing the day they were able to meet
several men here who have small ap-
iaries, through the kindness of E.
M Cole, local bee enthusiast.
About a dozen interested men met
at the court house to listen to these
experts who discussed the Spring
Management, Swarm Control and
Diseases of Bees.
| Both Mr. Millen and Mr. Davis
were quite enthusiastic over the OPP
| pOrtunities Audubon county offers
for bee keeping for profit and for
patriotic service in honey prouction
at a tine when this country is call
ing for the conservation of every
food commodity in the land. With
the sugar shortage right around two
million tons the honey bee with
proper care and management in the
hands of bee keepers will conserve
tons and tons of nectar that go to
waste during the season of honey
flow.
'The average surplus of the un-
cared for colony in Iowa is pounds
per year; while that of well cared
for colony is Go pounds. In some
oases of extreme care and manipula-
ton colonies of bees have produced
as much as 100 pounds surplus" re-
marked Mr.. Davis, in speaking of
the profit in bee keeping. Iowa has
about 100000 colonies, though there
are flowers enough to support $780,
900 colonies. The possibilities for
the honey bees to help win the war
through conservation of honey are
unlimited if bee keepers do their
] part"
In speaking of Spring Management
Mr.. Davis brought out the fact that
hive manipulation is closely associ-
ated with bee behavior. The success
of the spring management depends
upon the work done in August in
preparation for the wintering of the
bees. The fundamental facts, &C
cording to Mr.. Davis, are abundant
stores, breeding space and protection
for the winter. Food room and
warmth are indispensable if the best
results are to be obtained.
Weak colonies may be built up in
Spring by placing them on top of the
strong colonies, and by adding
broods from the strong colonies to
the weaker ones. With uniformly
strong colonies the bee keeper is able
to manipulate his frames for econ
omy of time and to an advantage to
the bees. An increase in the total
number of bees is possible in strong
colonies where the queens can lay
from 5000 to 1000 eggs daily, thus
building the hive up to about So
600 bees.
Mr.. Millen's remarks were prin-
cipally on Swarm Control and Dis
eases of Bees. The fundamental
requisite for controlling swarms is
the movable frame. By providing
room in hive bodies for brood cells
crowding is prevented. Placing a
hive body over lower one tends to
prevent swarming This may be left
until main honey flow. The full
foundation sheets reduces the num-
Der of drone cells that usually re-
suits when small pieces of starter
comb are used. Sometimes from
one-third to two-thirds of the cells
are drone cells when full sheet is
not used A common dry cell bat
terry may be used advantageously in
fastening foundation sheets on the
wires of the frames.
The principal diseases of bees are
American Foul Brood, European Foul
Brood and Sac Brood. The first is
the most fatal and will eventually
kill out colony. The treatment
recommended is to shake bees from
infected frame into a clean empty
hive fitted up with frames filled with
| full sheets of wired foundation.
Burn old comb and frames at once,
not next day, and bury the ashes.
European TOul BROOD is easily
treated by the use of Italian queens
to head colony after killing the com
mon black or hybrid queens. The
last named disease, Sac Brood, is
not important because it usually dis
appears when the main honey flow
comes on.
| Mr.. Millen spoke of the CORES
| pondence course in bee keeping put
out by the Iowa State college. The
! fee for the course is $500 which
pays for two good books and SER
les of lesson sheets on the care and
management of bees. He announc-
ed the bee keepers snort course to be
held at Ames during the week of
May Is to IS.
The meeting was exceedingly in
teresting, the following men being
present: Hans Madsen and Mis- HUI
Ter of Kimballton, +. NJ. Cole, Joe
Alice. Albert Feltner, Ralph Stan
| ley, VIM. Reese, NJ. II. Foley, Rev
VIM. Mack. John Horning and Paul
NJ Wolf.
A big meeting is planned for June
or July and il is hoped that more
bee keepers will be out TO the meet
ing