Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-01-24
BEES MAKE BIGGER
 AND BETTER CROPS
Arkansas Would Benefit From More
 of the Honey Producers.
By J. V. Ormand, Special Field Agent
 in Bee Culture, Extension Division, University of Arkansas.

in Bee Culture, Extension Division,
 University of Arkansas
 Recent investigations show that bees increase the fruit and cotton crop by carrying the pollen from one tree to another in the orchards and cross pollenating the flowers of the cotton plant. This makes full fruit ing more possible, according to w. J. Bearg, State Entomologist, with the College of Agriculture of the Univer. sity of Arkansas.
 People throughout the state can we'll afford to keep bees for the work they do in the orchards and fields, but they should also realize that bee keeping is the only business in the world in which the raw material for the manu- factured product can be obtained with. out cost. Bees collect the Nectar from i-owers and make honey, and if given proper care and attention they will yield nice cash income. The outlay necessary for supplying the proper equipment and protection is small.
 Winter Protection Necessary,
 Winter protection among other things is absolutely necessary for the best results. With the ordinary meth ods of wintering bees, the colonies are very much reduced. and the early spring is spent in strengthening them. At the same time, the bees use up the nectar from the flowers which would make white honey, and conse- Quently the surplus which most of the Arkansas bee keepers get, comes from the later flowers, and this usually pro- duces dark honey. White honey could easily be produced if the bees were given proper protection during the winter. It is true that in Arkansas bees must have winter protection, and as general rule they should be pack ed before Thanksgiving, but if they are not already packed it will pay to do. so before freezing weather In packing, the usual method is to place four hives back to back on a small platform, upon which sides and a wa ter proof top can be fastened. Good dry sawdust four inches underneath, six inches on the sides and eight inches on the top of the hives will fur nish ample protection.
 In order to permit the bees to get in and out of the hives, two boards nail- ed close together, but giving ample room for the passage of a bee, are placed from the entrance of the hive in such way as to come in contact with the inside of the protecting box, thus forming a sort of tunnel. This gives the bees passageway through the sawdust which is beneath and above the tunnel e.5: .r-.A -. the outside of. the box covering the hives enable the bees to pass from the tunnel to the outside. A number of holes are thus bored, and as the weather becomes colder, pegs are used to fill the holes not needed, thus elim- mating. the danger of cold air drafts circulating in the hives.
 The kind of protection just describ- ed, if made at home. will not cost much, and will more than pay for the time and trouble. in the increased amount of surplus honey available next year. 95 20" :" Write for Bulletins on Bee Keeping.
 Farmers Bulletin 1915 will give full directions concerning the best meth ods for packing bees Farmers Bull. letin No. 5O3 will tell how to build up strong colonies, and Farmers Bulletin No. AZ will give directions for trans ferring bees from the old time boxes and logs into movable frame hives, which are necessary if the bees are to be properly handled.
 People interested, in bees should feel free to get in touch with the writ CT at the Extension Office. University Of Arkansas at Eavottevilla