PLEASURABLE
BEE. KEEPING

CoN, Wrire

ALBERT R. MANN
LIBRARY

New York STATE COLLEGES
OF
AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS

AT

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

EVERETT FRANKLIN PHILLIPS

BEEKEEPING LIBRARY

Cornell University

Library

The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003258161

PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

PLEASURABLE

BEE-KEEPING

BY

CHARLES NETTLESHIP WHITE

First-class Certificated Expert of the British Bee-keepers' Association ;
Author of ‘' Bee-keeping for Cottagers,” etc.; and Lecturer under,
the Technical Education Schemes of the Hunts, Cambs, Isle of

Ely, and other County Councils ,

}

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

\

LONDON
EDWARD ARNOLD
37, BEDFORD STREET, STRAND, W.C.

ig

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION

CHAP
I.

II.

III.

IV.

Vs

VI.

VII.

VIII.

BEES AND FLOWERS a
WHY KEEP BEES?

THE CONTENTS OF THE HIVE
NATURAL INCREASE

RACES OF BEES .

SUBDUING AND HANDLING BEES
HIVES

AIDS TO SUCCESS

COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING .

HONEY PRODUCTION

PAGE

112

6 CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE
XI. BEE-ESCAPES AND SUPER-CLEARING . 129
XII. QUEEN RAISING AND INTRODUCING . 135
XIII]. DISEASES . : ‘ : . 145
XIV. ENEMIES OF BEES . 153
XV. WINTERING. . . : . 155
XVI. DRIVING, TRANSFERRING, UNITING . 161
XVII. MARKETING HONEY . . 168

XVIII. WAX EXTRACTING . 176

INTRODUCTION.

THE PROGRESS OF BEE-CULTURE.

In writings dating from the earliest times of which
we have any record, frequent allusion is made to bees
and honey. As a food honey stands unrivalled for its
delicate aroma, and it is also recognised as a valuable
force producer. Early British History abounds in
references to the keeping of bees, and to the value of
the honey and wax they produce; and it may be
inferred that even in those times bee-culture had
assumed sufficient importance to rank as a rural
industry.

The seventeenth century was very prolific in writers
on bee-culture, and from that time onwards great
attention has been paid to the culture of the honey-
bee in rural districts. Very little real progress, how-
ever, in the art was made until the movable-comb
hive was invented nearly fifty years ago. To the

Rev. L. L. Langstroth in America, and Baron Von
7

8 INTRODUCTION.

Berlepsch in Germany, belongs the credit for this
remarkable invention, which proved the beginning of
a new era in bee-keeping.

Bee-culture was henceforth a subject of absorbing
interest, and, apart from the pecuniary benefit that
followed its introduction, the invention has doubtless
had the greatest possible influence on the develop-
ment of the science as well as the art of Bee-
keeping. Movable combs render the modification of
the brood-nest possible to suit varying circumstances,
and though in the hands of the novice, who pulls his
stocks to pieces to satisfy his curiosity, they are no
boon, to the great majority of bee-keepers they have
been of immense advantage.

By the invention of the smoker, of which there
are various forms, due to the inventive genius of
American bee-keepers, another step was taken to-
wards bringing bees under that complete control
without which the bee-keeper could hardly be styled
‘“‘a bee-master.”’

Step by step advances were made in designing and
improving appliances, by means of which the bee-
keeper is enabled to reap the large harvests so often
recorded, until there now appears little room for
further exercise of the inventive faculty. The
“Little Wonder” extractor, invented by the late
C. N. Abbott, was, in its day, considered a marvellous
machine, in that the combs were emptied of their
contents by centrifugal force, in order to be returned
to the hives for refilling. A cylinder extractor next
came into favour, and, though many excellent
machines are now produced, the ‘‘ Cowan,” as im-

INTRODUCTION. 9

proved in America, may be said to most nearly
approach perfection.

Then noting the loss of honey to the bee-keeper
when comb-building took place, inventive genius gave
the foundation mill, and sheets of wax with impres-
sions of worker cells to be rapidly converted by the
bees into perfect combs.

For many years disease has, in England and in
other countries, decimated apiaries and made the
dread of infection a powerful deterrent to the spread
of apiculture. But scientific research has resulted
in bee-keepers becoming conversant with the origin,
propagation, prevention, and cure of the only disease
that need be feared.

The strides that have been made in apicultural
knowledge have in great measure been due to those
who, by their writings and advocacy through the
British and affiliated Associations, have assisted in
making ‘‘ Bee-keeping” what it now is, one of the
most important and not the least valuable of the
minor rural industries. In 1874 the late Mr. C. N.
Abbott started the first Bee-Journal, and plain and
earnest advocacy helped forward the work very
materially. With the establishment of the British
Bee-keepers’ Association a very powerful means was
provided for doing good work,.which, with the co-
operation of the affiliated Associations, has been
energetically carried forward by all, from the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts, who presides over the central Associa-
tion, to the cottager who pays his 1s. subscription.

By means of its great exhibitions, held annually in
connection with the Royal Agricultural and other

10 INTRODUCTION.

shows, the British Bee-keepers’ Association brings
prominently before thousands of visitors the capa-
bilities of an industry that is comparatively speaking
neglected by the agriculturist, who is directly as well
as indirectly calculated to benefit by its extension.
To the various shows judges and examiners are sent
by the British Bee-keepers’ Association, and now it
is possible for any one who takes sufficient interest
in the work to pass the three examinations, and at
least earn a certificate testifying to the ability of its
possessor, not only to assist in, or direct the opera-
tions of an apiary, but to fill the position of lecturer
under the Technical Education Schemes of the
various County Councils.

PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

CHAPTER I.
BEES AND FLOWERS.

No one who has watched the busy bee flitting from
flower to flower can fail to have been struck with
the idea that it has some special duty to perform
while gathering from the nectaries of flowers the
sweetness that is to be used as a food for itself and
for the myriads of other bees in the colony from
which it has flown. In the economy of nature it is
not too much to say that there is not a busier
insect, or one which is directly as well as indirectly
of more value to the agriculturist.

Bees and flowers are inseparable. Flowers are
fertilised almost wholly by wind and insect agency,
but by far the greater number require the visits of
insects for the proper fertilisation of bloom. Man’s
efforts to improve nature by cross-fertilisation would

be of little avail without the bee. That it was
1

12 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

intended for the bee to play an important part in
the fertilisation of bloom, is evident from the arrange-
ment of the flowers. The bees must rub against the
pollen, and so carry it away to the other flowers, while
they are searching for nectar secreted at the bottom of
the flower. The nectaries are usually placed so as
to secure fertilisation, while the stigma is protected
in order that the rain shall not wash away the sweet
secretion covering it. To prevent self-fertilisation the
stamens and pistils are on different flowers, or, when
both are on the same flower, the former are not in
a receptive condition at a time when the latter are
ripe, and scatter their pollen. When a bee enters a
flower in search of nectar, if the anthers are ripe, the
pollen is scattered over its body, and adheres to it.
Subsequently some of this pollen is left adhering to
the stigmata of other flowers, thus effecting proper
fertilisation while the bulk is taken to the hive where
it is used as a food.

The colour of the flower as well as the nectar is
in itself a provision for attracting insects. Sir John
Lubbock has at much pains tested the preference of
bees for coloured flowers. Again, the odour of certain
crops is most powerful and certainly attractive. In
passing along a road the traveller recognises the
presence of bean or clover fields long before he reaches
them, by the scent borne upon the breeze, and this is
undoubtedly detected by bees much more readily than
by human beings.

The influence of bees in the production of fruit is
sometimes very great. In California there are exten-
sive cherry orchards, and the crops have recently been

,

BEES AND FLOWERS. 13

far from satisfactory, though years ago abundance of
fruit was gathered. The failure of the crops was
attributed by some to winds and rains, but the Messrs.
Bassford, of Cherry Glen, Vaca Valley, Solano County,
attributed it to the absence of bees, for they had re-
marked that when wild bees were plentiful in the
valley the crops were good. To test the matter they
placed several colonies of bees in their orchards in
1890. The result was striking; their crop was good
while others were entire or partial failures. In 1891
they had sixty-five colonies of bees, and Mr. H. Bass-
ford, writing to the Entomologist, said, ‘‘ Our crop was
good this season, and we attribute it to the bees. Since
we have been keeping bees our crop has been much
larger than formerly; while those nearest us, five
miles away, where no bees are kept, have produced
light crops.”

Mr. Cheshire, in ‘‘ Bees: and Bee-keeping,” draws
attention very forcibly to the necessity for bees in the
fertilisation of apple bloom. ‘The apple,’ he says,
“as its blossom indicates, is strictly a fusion of five
fruits into one—hence called pseudosyncarpous—and
demands for its production in perfection no less than
five independent fertilisations. If none are effected,
the calyx, which really forms the flesh of the fruit,
instead of swelling, dries and soon drops. An apple
often develops, however, though imperfectly, if four
only of the stigmas have been pollen dusted; but
it rarely hangs long enough to ripen. The first severe
storm sends it to the pigs as a wind-fall. I had two
hundred apples, that had dropped during a gale,
gathered promiscuously for a lecture illustration ; and

14 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

the cause of falling in every case but eight was trace-
able to imperfect fertilisation. These fruits may be
generally known by a deformity—one part has failed to
grow because there has been no diversion of nutrition
towards it. Cutting it across with a knife, we find its
hollow cheek lies opposite the unfertilised dissepiment.”’

The American poet Bryant, who was a keen ob-
server of Nature and her work, says in ‘‘ The Planting
of the Apple Tree”’:

“What plant we in this apple tree?
Sweets for a hundred flowery springs,
To load the May-winds? restless wings ;
When from the orchard now he pours
Its fragrance at our open doors
A world of blossom for the bee.”

The effect of the introduction of the bumble-bee
into New Zealand forms the most convincing proof of
the importance of insects as fertilisers of bloom.
Previous to 1881, when the first attempt to introduce
these bees to the colony was made, though crops of red-
clover were grown, no seed was produced. In Decem-
ber, 1883, and January, 1884, 55 bumble-bees packed in
dry moss were sent to New Zealand, but all died. In
the autumn of 1884 special precautions were taken in
the packing of 282 shipped in November and 260 in
December, and they were liberated near Christchurch
in January and February, 1885. The following year
Mr. 8. C. Farr, Hon. Sec. of the Acclimatisation
Society of Christchurch, writing of these bees, says
their number is legion, and they abound over a radius
of one hundred miles from Christchurch. In several

BEES AND FLOWERS. 15

cases the farmers, who previously had been unable to
produce red-clover seed reported their crops to be full
of seed.

Professor Cooke, a noted American apiarian, is re-
sponsible for the following: ‘‘ Inasmuch as red-clover
can only be fertilised by the bumble-bee, a gentleman
has made this statement: the safety of England
depends upon the number of cats she keeps. He
proves his proposition thus: without the aid of the
bumble-bees the red-clover cannot be fertilised.
Bumble-bees make their nests on the ground, where
they are the prey of mice. Cats destroy the mice and
give the bees a chance to live. Hence he reasons,
no cats, many mice; many mice, no bumble-bees; no
bees, no clover; no clover, no cattle; no cattle, no
beef; and without beef where would the Englishman
be?”

With regard to the value of the bee as a fertiliser,
Darwin says, when speaking of their visits to clover
and heartsease, ‘‘ No bees, no seed; no seed, no in-
crease of flower. The more visits from the bees the
more seeds from the flower; the more seeds from the
flower the more flowers from the seed.” He also gives
the following result of an experiment: ‘‘ Twenty heads
of white clover, visited by the bees, produced 2,990
seeds; while twenty heads so protected that bees could
not visit them produced not one seed.”’

CHAPTER II.
WHY KEEP BEES?

AmpLeE reasons for the extension of bee-culture are
adduced in the chapter on ‘‘ Bees and Flowers,” but
the direct financial results in a well-managed apiary
furnish probably a much greater inducement to many
persons to take up and prosecute successfully such a
well-paying hobby. In many industries the products
are of a perishable nature. Not so, however, with
bee-products, honey and wax. They may, when
properly packed, be transported to all parts, and at the
same time, should the state of the market render it
advisable, they may, without detriment to quality, be
stored away for sale at a future date.

While no industry connected with rural occupations
is so interesting, from an intellectual standpoint, as
bee-culture, there is none which approaches it in the
profits on the outlay, when the time spent on the work
in the apiary is taken into consideration. The bee-
keeper has only to provide a home for his bees, and
receptacles in which they may store their surplus, and
they will roam afield, gathering honey in abundance

from morning till night. In most districts some honey-
16

WHY KEEP BUES? 17

producing crops are grown, and in many localities, in
addition to acres of orchards and a sprinkling of white
clover in the pastures, crops of white and alsike clover
are regularly grown for seed, while sainfoin, mustard,
turnip, cabbage, and other profusely-flowering crops are
abundant. Then, again, in the neighbourhood of moors
where heather is abundant, there is another excellent
source of late honey.

The late Mr. H. M. Jenkins, secretary to the Royal
Agricultural Society of England, some years ago gave
an address in the Lecture Hall, Dublin, on ‘Some of
the duties of a farmer’s wife,’’ and referred to the
keeping of bees as advisable, and instanced the suc-
cess of a lady well known among practical bee-
keepers, Miss Gayton, of Much Hadham, Herts, who
wrote, saying, ‘‘ From my own experience I am sure
that almost every cottager might make his bees pay
his rent and more; and with five or six hives the
trouble of attending to them is not more than he and
his wife could find time for. One thing, however, is
absolutely necessary for success in bee-keeping, namely,
to thoroughly study and understand the habits and
requirements of bees, and to bestow on them as much
care and attention as would be required for any other
pursuit or occupation in order to be successful.
‘Having but small means I began bee-keeping with
the hope of making it a profitable business. I have
kept a strict account of every expense, and as my
statement shows I have found bee-keeping profitable.’’
Miss Gayton, who resides in a good honey district,
commenced bee-keeping with one stock in 1876, and
her initial expense was £1 12s. 6d. She increased her

2

18 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

stock to twenty-eight hives, and her average profit at
the end of eight years was £20 per year.

we In the British Bee Jowrnal for 1885 a cottager
wrote: ‘I am only a cottager, I have taken nearly
900 lbs. of honey, all from supers without touching
the stock hives.” Another, whose daily work occupies
him from six to six, said he had taken over 400 lbs.,
nearly all in sections, and sold it for the nice sum of
£22 10s.
“During the last few years the prices of all kinds
of agricultural produce have fallen below what was
formerly realised, but from bee-keeping equally good
results in comparison with other industries are still
obtained. A young man, the son of a farmer at
Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, who has been favoured of
late years with crops that have bloomed in splendid
weather, took an average of 109 lbs. of honey from
each of his three stocks in 1892, and an average of
156 Ibs. per hive in 1893. Near him another bee-
keeper had an average of over 90 lbs. per hive.
Results in other parts of the same neighbourhood
were disheartening. But evidently this was due to
lack of attention, without which success cannot be
expected.

These are only fair specimens from hundreds of
examples that might be quoted; and they may be
taken as evidence that, given a good district and
favourable climatic influences, it must be the fault
of the bee-keeper himself if his enterprise does not
prove to be of an exceedingly profitable character.

CHAPTER III.
THE CONTENTS OF THE HIVE.

In order that bee-keeping may give the greatest
amount of enjoyment and pleasure, and, at the same
time, the largest profit, it is necessary to study care-
fully the natural history of the honey-bee so far as
it is applicable to the practical work of the apiary.

In commencing this study we should naturally first
make an examination of the hive to learn about the
structure of the combs and their varied contents.

THE ComBs.

The combs are found in all hives or other cavities
where bees have built according to their own devices,
at an almost uniform thickness, viz., a trifle under
an inch from face to face, when containing sealed
“‘worker brood.’’ The space between the combs is
about half an inch, consequently the distance from
centre to centre of the combs is just under 14 inches,
or, to be exact, 1,3, inch.

Combs are made of wax, a secretion resulting from
the consumption of honey or an equivalent food.

The wax oozes out from beneath the scales of the
19

20 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

abdomen, on the underside of the body of the bee,
and assuming a solid form, is drawn away in very
thin flakes by the bee, and used for the making of the
comb, the cell walls of which are ;4, inch in thick-
ness. The work of comb-building is very trying to
the bee. The amount of honey consumed in the
elaboration of one pound of wax is variously estimated,

WORKER
CELLS

QUEEN CELLS

Fic. 1.

some authorities putting it as high as twenty pounds,
while others say not more than ten pounds are used.
It is, however, certain that the weight must be several
times that of the wax produced, so that if a substitute
be given, a great deal of honey may be saved to the
bee-keeper.

The combs are composed of Worker cells and Drone
cells, built horizontally on each side of a mid-rib.

THE CONTENTS OF THE IVE. 21

Worker cells are small, measuring five to the inch
across the mouths of the cells, and drone cells four
to the inch. The thickness of the comb when con-
taining worker-brood is 3 inch; and when containing
drone brood 1} inch. By cutting through a comb from
top to bottom, and dividing the cells, it will be noticed
that in building the combs the bees give a slight up-
ward pitch to the cells. This peculiarity it is necessary
to bear in mind, when combs in a box or skep are
being transferred and fitted into frames.

Queen cells are found in a hive, as a rule, only at
swarming time. They are acorn-shaped, and are
usually built on the bottom edges of the comb. If the
bees lose their queen during the summer, queen-cells
are built on the face of the comb in any part where
the cells contain worker eggs.

Honey.

Honey is found in the combs in quantity varying
according to surrounding circumstances. This, the
most delicious of sweets, forms the natural food of the
insects that produce it. The substance of which it is
composed, as originally secreted by the flowers, is
termed nectar, and not until it has undergone chemical
change within the body of the bee, and been stored
in the combs, is it known by the familiar name of
honey.

Having already passed through certain digestive
processes it is, as food for man, of great value, inas-
much as it is at once taken directly into the system
as a force-producer, without passing through the stages

22 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

necessary in the case of many other foods. Honeys
vary greatly according to the source from which the
fectar is gathered, some kinds having a delicate
aroma, which causes them to be particularly sought
after. Clover honey in England is considered the
standard quality, but even this honey exhibits con-
siderable variation according to the soil upon which
the clover is grown and the surrounding climatic con-
ditions. For instance, at a large show in the West
of England, where I acted as judge of the honey ex-
hibits in the autumn of 1893, it was noted as a
remarkable fact that in nearly every instance, though
some classes were open, the prizes were awarded to
samples of honey taken from apiaries on or near the
tops of the neighbouring hills. To the Scotsman,
and many English bee-keepers resident near the
moors, there is nothing to equal heather honey.

PoLLEN.

Pollen, which is the fertilising dust of the flowers,
is carried by the bee, in its search for nectar, to those
blooms where its presence is required to cause the
production of fruit and seeds. Nature provides this
fertiliser in a most lavish manner on certain flowers,
and the bees, therefore, becoming dusted with more
than is needed for the fructification of bloom, cleanse
their bodies of the surplus, pack it away in the
‘‘pollen-baskets’ formed by projecting hairs on the
hindmost pair of legs, and carry it to the hive. Here
it is stored in the cells to furnish, in conjunction with
honey, a perfect bee-food, whether required. by the

THE CONTENTS OF THE HIVE. 23

workers, the grubs that are their special care, or the
queen. Pollen is also used in the formation of the
cappings to the cells containing the grubs, and plays
an important part in the making of wax.

M. de Layens, a French bee-keeper and author of
note, was the first to notice that the colour of wax
varied with the source of the pollen; and it is not
the light-coloured honey that is responsible for the
wax of a light shade. Very often the contrary is the
case, for, though heather honey is dark, the wax made
from it is light yellow. In 1886, Dr. A. Von Planta,
a famous Swiss chemist, proved the colour of the
wax to be due to the presence of various coloured
pollen grains.

Propolis is also gathered by the bee, but at present
it has been put to no commercial use by the bee-
keeper. It is of a resinous nature, and exudes from
certain trees. The bees use it as a cement for filling
cracks and crevices, and for covering intruders, such
as the snail, that they are unable to remove. In
the building of the combs propolis is employed to
increase the tenacity of the wax, but it is used to the
greatest extent at the close of the honey-flow, in
daubing the sections and the crates, which, if left
on the hive too long, become firmly fixed, and difficult
to remove.

Tur BEEs.

Every colony of bees in a normal condition will,
during the summer months, contain three kinds of
bees which are easily distinguished one from the
other. They are the Queen, Drones, and Workers

24 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

The queen (Fig. 2) is the mother of all the bees in the
hive, and she has really only one duty to perform, viz.,
that of egg-laying. From early in the season to some
time after the close of the honey-flow, a good queen
will be busy depositing eggs in the various cells, out
of which will proceed in due course a Queen, a Drone,
or a Worker. A very large amount of work is thus of
necessity the share of the queen bee, but the bee-
keeper, with a view to large returns, will endeavour,
by careful and systematic management, to regulate
the egg-laying of the queen in such a manner that the

QUEEN
Fic. 2.

hive shall be full of bees at the commencement of the
honey-flow, and that, instead of ceasing to lay at the
close of the honey-flow, she shall continue her work
until about the middle of September, thus ensuring
the presence of a large proportion of young bees when
the stock is closed for the winter about the lst of
October.

The queen is produced in sixteen days from an egg
exactly similar to that from which a worker issues. In
order that a queen and not a worker may be produced,
the egg is deposited in an acorn-shaped cell, usually
built, on account of its size, on the bottom edges of

THE CONTENTS OF THE HIVE. 25

the combs. Sometimes, however, they are found on
the face of the comb among the worker cells.

The queen may live three or four years, but it is
generally admitted that she is in her prime, and con-
sequently of most value to the bee-keeper, in her
second season. It is for this reason that some bee-
keepers make it a rule not to allow a queen to remain
more than two years at the head of a colony, except in
rare cases. When it is considered what an enormously
increased number of eggs above the natural average
the queen may be induced to lay each season, by the
management of the bee-keeper, her removal at the
close of her second season appears to be a matter of
necessity, if the colony is to be kept up to a proper
standard of strength.

During manipulations in the summer, a bee-keeper
may have the misfortune to crush or drop a queen
outside the hive. Deprived of its queen the colony
will naturally diminish in numbers, and would ulti-
mately die out were it not for the fact that at such
times there are eggs-in the worker cells. From these
eggs, as has already been stated, if they are deposited
in queen cells, queens will be produced. It is, there-
fore, only necessary for the bees, upon the loss of a
queen, to produce another from an egg in a worker
cell. As the grub will require more space for full
development than a worker cell provides, the cell
walls, around the egg, or grub, are cut down, and then
over the larger space thus given a queen cell is built.
The grub then receiving exactly similar treatment to
that of a grub in an ordinary queen cell, will be con-
verted into a perfect queen in from twelve to sixteen

26 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

days. The difference in the time of issue from- the
cell is regulated mainly by the age of the egg or grub
on the loss of the queen. Queens should be raised
from a newly-hatched egg, or a grub not more than a
day old, in order that it can have full and proper treat-
ment. Unless the queen accompanies the swarm, she
only leaves the hive once during her life, and that is
four or five days after she issues from the cell, for the
purpose of mating with a drone or male bee. If suc-
cessful in her wedding flight she will in about forty-
eight hours be found depositing eggs in worker cells.

DRonzEs.

Drones (Fig. 3) are the male bees, and they are easily
distinguished from the workers by their large size, and,
when flying, by their loud hum. They are produced
in twenty-five days from an unfertilised egg deposited
by the queen in the larger horizontal or drone cells.
Drones appear early or late according to the season
and the strength of the colony, usually about April.
They are particularly numerous in cottagers’ apiaries,
where thousands are to be found, although as many
hundreds would be ample. They are often known as
the lazy bees and great consumers of honey, conse-
quently their production should in all well-managed
apiaries be limited. This is an easy task to the bee-
keeper who uses ‘‘ foundation,” for with that valuable
aid to success he can in a day or two ensure combs of
worker cells only. The drones are only allowed to
exist during the summer months; and as soon as the
honey-flow is over the bees turn them out of the hive
to die.

THE CONTENTS OF THE GIVE. 27

Very frequently » massacre of drones takes place
earlier in the season, but this is a sign that food is
running short owing to unfavourable weather ; and if
in addition to the turning out of the drones white
grubs are found outside the hive, that circumstance
may be taken as a sign that food is absolutely neces-
sary to save the stock, if not from actual starvation, at
any rate from being rendered practically useless for
the season. The weight of a stock at such times is
not a safe guide to the amount of stores, as the hive
may be weighty in consequence of the presence of a
large quantity of brood in various stages.

WoRKERS OR NEUTERS.

Workers (Fig. 4), or as they are sometimes termed
neuters, are really undeveloped females. As such they
have not the power normally of egg-laying. The worker
is produced in twenty-one days from an egg deposited
in one of the small horizontal cells. Upon bees of this
class devolves the work of the hive. For the first fort-
night or thereabouts of their existence, they remain at
home, preparing, in their capacity of nurses, the food
for the grubs and queen. When this duty ceases, a
work commences that, comparatively speaking, soon
terminates their existence. Henceforward the worker
bees labour unceasingly from morning to night, weather
permitting, in gathering nectar and pollen from honey-
producing flowers. The life of a worker bee is in the
summer time at the most only seven or eight weeks,
the average length of life being forty-six days. Those
bees which are hatched in the autumn, say, in Sep-

28 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

tember, and having little work to do, will, as a rule,
pass through the winter and come out strong and
vigorous in the spring.

FERTILE WORKERS.

It occasionally happens that when a queen dies
or is killed, and the bees have not the power, for want
of worker eggs, to replace her with another queen of
their own raising, a worker is found to have the power
of egg-laying. This is thought to result from the bees
hatched near queen cells having, when in their larval
state, received a share of the queen jelly, as the food
administered to the queen is termed; but whatever
may be the cause of so extraordinary a change in their
functions, they are useless for the reproduction of
species, as the eggs they lay only produce drones.

The presence of a fertile worker in a hive may be
detected by the irregular manner in which she deposits
her eggs in the cells, and also by the fact that the cap-
pings of the worker cells will be found to project when
the bees begin sealing over the grubs which will pro-
duce drones.

A stock may be freed from a fertile worker by taking
the hive some distance away from the site it occupies,
and then shaking all the bees from the combs. Ina
queenless hive all bees, except the fertile workers, fly
daily. Therefore, when they are shaken from the
frames, they will return to their old site, while the
fertile worker will be rendered homeless and meet with
her fate if she attempts to enter any other hive.

CHAPTER IV.
NATURAL INCREASE.
Eaa-PRoDucTION.

Ir a strong colony be examined early in the new year
the centre combs will be found to contain small patches
of brood. These are extended as the season advances,
provided there is an ample supply of food, until by the
time of the honey-flow the queen is laying over two
thousand eggs daily.

The first eggs of the season are deposited in the
small horizontal cells, and, after being exposed to the
heat of the hive, they hatch in three days, a small
white grub appearing. The grubs are then fed by the
nurse bees, with a food composed of honey and pollen,
for five days, by which time they will have increased
in size to such an extent that they almost fill the cells.
The bees then cover the mouths of the cells with a
capping, differing from that placed over honey in that
it is not air-tight. Behind the capping the grub is
gradually transformed into the perfect insect, which
eats its way out of the cell in about thirteen days, or
twenty-one days in all from the laying of the egg. The
queen continues to deposit eggs in the worker cells
until the hive is becoming crowded with worker bees,

29

30 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

then eggs — unfertilised —are placed in the larger
horizontal or drone cells from which issue drones in
twenty-five days.

Later on, as the population of the hive gradually
increases, and there is no more room for workers or
drones, cells shaped somewhat like an acorn are built
on the lower edges of the combs, and in these the
queen deposits eggs exactly like those placed in the
worker cells; but in consequence of the grub being
supplied with a food richer in the nitrogenous element
contained in pollen, and greater in quantity than that
supplied to the worker grubs, and also because the
cell gives more space for full development of the
organs, in sixteen days a perfect queen issues.

SWARMING.

When, for want of room, the bees form queen cells
it will not be many days before a part of the population
of the hive leaves for a new home. This exodus is
known as swarming, and it usually takes place as soon
as the new queen cells are sealed over. When the bees
leave the hive they are accompanied by the queen, and
they fly about in the air until some begin to settle on
the branch of a tree or elsewhere. In a very short
time a large cluster is formed, which should be dis-
lodged and placed where it is to stand for the rest of
the season.

Hiving the swarm is not a difficult operation, unless
the bees, instead of forming, as they usually do, a
large pear-shaped cluster hanging from the branch of
a tree, spread themselves round the trunk, or choose
some other place from which they cannot easily be

NATURAL INCREASE. 31

transferred into the skep. Presuming that the swarm
is hanging from the branch of a tree, a skep should be
held in the left hand under the cluster, while the right
hand is used to shake the branch sharply and thus
cause all or the bulk of the bees to fall into the skep.
Many bees will doubtless fly about in the air, but the
skep must at once be turned over gently, and placed
either on the ground, if the bees clustered on a low
branch, or on a table, if higher on the tree. Under
one side of the skep must then be placed a stone or
brick to give access for the bees flying about, and also
for ventilation, which will be much needed, as the
temperature of the cluster is very high during the com-
motion which ensues. The queen must be secured in
the skep, otherwise the bees will return to the branch.
When the bees cluster round the hive and some form
themselves into lines at the entrance fanning with
their wings we may conclude that the queen is safe
inside.

Should the bees desert the skep and return to the
tree the operation must be repeated. There may still
be several bees flying about the spot and settling on
the branch. This is because of the scent left behind.
As soon, therefore, as the swarm is hived, that part of
the tree upon which the bees settled should be well
syringed with water ; or a few handfuls of soil should
be thrown over it to destroy the scent. As soon as
the swarm has been safely hived the skep should be
moved carefully to its stand, there to remain unless it
is to tenant an ‘‘Ivo” or movable-comb hive. In
either case re-hiving had better be deferred until
evening, as swarms when much disturbed during a

32 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

hot day occasionally take flight and may be lost to
the bee-keeper.

In hiving swarms it is of the utmost importance
that the skep should not be left in the rays of the
sun, or the great heat may cause the bees to leave
their temporary home. If the swarm must remain
for some time where it has been hived, and cannot
be placed in the shade, a white sheet should be thrown
over the skep, except on the shady side where the bees
enter.

It is also advisable, supposing the swarm to settle
half a mile, more or less, away from the apiary, to
bring it home as soon as the bees have become settled
in the skep; for as soon as clustering is completed
the bees will be busy for the rest of the day, going to
and fro in search of nectar, and the following morning
after their first journey to the fields they will return
to the spot they had become accustomed to the
previous day. If, however, the hive had been taken
home the previous night many bees would be lost;
and the loss might be great, in case a storm came on
while they were clustering on the ground, where the
skep had been placed the day before.

Casts.

“ A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay :
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon ;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.”

The above familiar rhyme will be admitted by most

NATURAL INCREASE. 83

bee-keepers to be near the truth, so far as the first
two lines are concerned; but the other lines convey
information that is far from correct, for casts or after-
swarms may be and often are of great value. In the
first place they are headed by a young queen, which
is a matter of prime importance, and, if the bees are
fairly numerous, a fair amount of surplus may be
gathered during the honey-flow.

After a swarm has issued from a stock the latter is
queenless for eight days, at the end of which period
the young queens commence to issue from their cells.
The first to appear will endeavour to reach the cells
containing the other queens for the purpose of killing
them ; if prevented she makes a peculiar noise, which
may often be heard by the bee-keeper. This ‘‘ peep,
peep,” heard on the evening of the eighth day, has long
been taken as an almost sure sign that on the morrow
a second swarm or cast will issue.

The issue of a cast may be confidently expected from
a strong stock that has lost with the swarm a vigorous
laying queen, for during the eight days following the
issue of the swarm, two thousand or more bees will
have been hatching daily, and therefore only bad
weather would stop a cast. Though only one queen
is found in a swarm, casts frequently contain several
that have escaped during the excitement of swarming.
In the evening only one queen will be left as the result
of several battles.

CoNTROLLING SWARMING.

To a bee-keeper swarming is a charming sight,
3

34 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

though the issue of a swarm from a particular stock
may cause annoyance. It is safe to say that, as a
rule, swarming means the loss of much honey, for the
bees are lazy for some days previous to the issue of a
swarm. This is not their fault, for they only prepare
for swarming when they are in want of room, and all
this laziness comes at a time when the work of every
bee is required in the storing of surplus.

Swarming may be controlled, but not entirely pre-
vented. Seeing that want of room is invariably the
cause of swarms issuing, space for the storing of
surplus in advance of requirements must be given.
Occasionally, in spite of supers, swarms issue; but
why seems to be a decided puzzle to the novice.
After supers are placed on the hives, and the bees
have commenced work therein, it will, in the majority
of cases, be continued unless there is, owing to
drought, a seriously diminished income, or dull, cold,
and wet weather has driven the bees from the supers
to the brood chamber. In both cases, but more
particularly the latter, the crowding of the bees in the
brood chamber causes the formation of queen cells,
and, though a change may take place in the weather
favourable to the secretion of nectar, a swarm is
almost sure to issue as soon as the queen cells are
sealed over. .

Cutting out all queen cells but one is a means of
preventing swarming often advocated; but it is much
better to give that attention to the brood nest which
will tend to prevent the formation of queen cells.

As soon as the bees are driven from the supers to
the brood chamber by a change of weather, more room

NATURAL INCREASE. 35

in the shape of empty cells must be given by removing
the outside combs and placing frames containing full
sheets of foundation in the centre of the hive. The
supers may be returned, as they will have the effect
of keeping down the temperature, and will also be
accessible to the bees immediately the gathering of
surplus again takes place.

Nadiring, that is, placing the extra chamber below
the brood chamber, will invariably prevent the pre-
parations for swarming, but the brood combs will
then be used as receptacles for the surplus honey to
a greater extent than is advisable. During the honey-
flow, providing there is a continuance of fine weather,
storing will go on uninterruptedly, consequently addi-
tional supers after the first must be given. Each
extra super should be placed between that or those
already on and the brood chamber, so that the honey
may be ripened in the new combs and then carried
above to complete the upper super or supers.

CHAPTER V.

RACES OF BEES.

As the development of bee-culture progressed, the
most advanced or the most expert bee-masters looked
around for a means of improving the native English
black, or, as it is commonly called, the German brown
bee. To this end stocks, swarms, and queens have
for a great number of years been imported from
various parts of the European continent and the
shores of the Mediterranean Sea. That in and in
breeding causes the deterioration of stock is well
known, and it is equally true that unless fresh blood
be introduced from districts beyond bee-flight, so as
to avoid the evils of consanguineous intercourse, an
enfeebled race of bees is inevitable.

Imported bees may be divided into two kinds, the
yellow-banded (Ligurian, Cyprian, Syrian, and Holy-
land), and the szlver-banded (Carniolans).

THe Ligurian.

The first foreign bees to attract the notice of English

bee-keepers were the Ligurian (Apis Ligustica), or
86

RACES OF BEES. 37

Italian Alp bees, which show the three upper bands
of the abdomen a bright yellow. This peculiarity,
though generally found to exist, is subject to variation,
and occasionally Ligurians are inclined to be leather-
coloured. This may be, and most probably is, due
to crossing with bees that do not show the yellow
bands.

The first Ligurians to reach these shores were two
queens sent by Mr. Hermann, a Swiss bee-keeper, one
to Mr. T. W. Woodbury, and the other to Mr. A.
Neighbour, on August 3rd, 1859. From that time
queens and swarms, particularly the former, have
been imported annually.

Whether the object, improvement of the native hee,
has, by the introduction of these bees, thereby been
attained, is a point upon which opinions vary,
many deciding in the affirmative, though some bee-
keepers maintain that the only effect perceptible. has
been to increase the irritability of the native bees.
This is a charge that in varying degree may be laid
upon any race introduced, as the crossing of races may,
and undoubtedly does, result in many instances in the
stinging capability of the bee being increased, though
at the same time it has frequently been noted that the
worst stingers have almost invariably been the best
workers.

The testimony of many famous bee-keepers, among
whom may be mentioned the late Rev. G. Raynor and
Mr. T. W. Cowan, is decidedly in favour of this race,
not only on account of the advantages resulting from
crossing with the native bee, but chiefly on account of
its ability to gather honey from flowers from which the

38 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

native bee, owing to its having a shorter tongue than
the Ligurian, cannot extract the coveted nectar.

Ligurians are very prolific and have had a great
influence on the native bee wherever introduced.
They are superior to the natives when stocks are
being worked for extracted honey, but when storing in
sections the capping is too close upon the honey, and
consequently the comb has a dark and damp appear-
ance.

CYPRIANS.

These handsome bees were first introduced into
this country, and the continent of Europe generally,
in 1880 by Mr. Frank Benton, who wrote of them as
follows :—‘‘ They are smaller and more active than the
Ligurians, and exceedingly prolific, and excellent
honey-gatherers. A stock of Cyprians belonging to
Mr. B. F. Carroll, Dresden, Texas, in 1885 is said to
have gathered that season 1,000 lbs. of honey.” Mr.
Benton afterwards wrote, ‘‘ Cyprians are the bees for
the skilled specialist.”

My experience of this race is sufficient to enable me
to warn hbee-keepers against introducing into their
apiaries the. most beautiful but at the same time the
most irritable of all races of bees. At times, when
bee-keepers have visited my apiary, I have exhibited
pure Cyprians without veil or intimidant, but on other
occasions it was apparently sufficient to show one’s
self in the garden to have a warm reception from
the Cyprian or Cyprian hybrids. This, therefore, is
a race that bee-keepers will do well to let severely
alone.

RACES OF BEES. 389

The Holylands are found in the Holy Land—hence
their name; while the home of the Syrians is further
north. Of these bees it may be said that they are
somewhat like the Cyprians, and equally to he
avoided.

At the time of their introduction to the Western
parts of the continent, much was said in regard to
their wonderful powers, and much was proved both
for and against them. The late Mr. C. N. Abbott,
soon after the introduction of these races, recorded a
profit from a cross-bred colony of Syrians of £20 in
one season. Their bad qualities, however, showed up
so abundantly that the Messrs. Abbott Brothers
announced subsequently that they had swept their
apiary clear of such truculent pests. It is very rarely
that these races from the extreme east of the Mediter-
ranean are now met with, or even heard of, bee-keepers
of experience being satisfied with the native bee, the
Ligurian, or the Carniolan.

CARNIOLANS.

These have been called the ladies’ bees from the fact
that compared with other bees they are much less dis-
posed to sting during manipulations. Mr. E. Cori, of
Bruz, Bohemia, first made known the desirable quali-
ties of these bees to Europeans. Mr. F. Benton, who
has perhaps had as much experience of this race as
any bee-keeper in Europe, remarks that they may be
considered a variety of our own black or German bee.
Its home is in Carniola, a province in South Illyria,
S.W. Austria. Mr, A. Neighbour was the pioneer

40 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

in their introduction to this country; but, though the
queens are extremely prolific, and the bees good honey-
gatherers, they exhibit a most undesirable quality in
being prone to excessive swarming.

As desirable qualities may with care be propagated,
the undesirable can, of course, in time be eliminated.
In filling and sealing sections the Carniolans have no _
rivals. Judicious crossing with these bees cannot but
be productive of good results, though stocks showing
the least inclination to swarm, and possessing other
desirable qualities, should always be selected for
breeding.

CHAPTER VI.
SUBDUING AND HANDLING BEES.

Bess have a means of defence which they bring into
instantaneous use when provoked, and it is therefore
wise that a bee-keeper should become acquainted with
the peculiarities of bees, their likes and dislikes, and
thus be able to manage them with ease while reducing
stinging to a minimum. There are frequently indi-
vidual stocks that show a great propensity for stinging
at all times when they are approached; but if such be
the case the remedy is clear. The queen must be
removed and another introduced, bred in a colony the
bees of which are amiable while showing other desir-
able characteristics. In country districts many an old
bee-keeper is looked upon by his neighbours as a great
wonder, inasmuch as he goes uncovered amongst his
bees and hives swarms without being stung.

The ease with which bees are handled at such times
is due to the fact that they are bent upon the object of
clustering, preparatory to moving off with their queen
to anew home. If hiving takes place as soon as the
bees have clustered, or hang in a pear-shaped mass

from the branch of a tree, or elsewhere, it is seldom
41

42 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

that a bee will sting, particularly if they are not
roughly handled or crushed. When bees leave the
hive as a swarm, they have a two or three days’
supply of food on which to exist, and also to use in
the formation of wax with which to build combs in
their new home.

As it is known that bees are most easily managed
at swarming time, and during the honey-flow, it
follows that we must endeavour to put them into a
similar quiet and apparently contented condition
whenever the examination of a colony is deemed
necessary. The first step to this end is frightening
the bees. This no doubt sounds odd, but it is none
the less true; and we find that when bees are
frightened they rush to the honey cells and commence
gorging themselves with honey. It is when the bees
are thus engaged that the examination of the combs
may take place. An occasional puff of smoke along
the tops of the frames will quiet any bees that show
signs of attacking the manipulator. In all operations
carried on in the apiary, confidence is essential to
success. Without it, jerky movements and clumsy
manipulations must occur to irritate the bees.

INTIMIDANTS.

The commonest method adopted to frighten the bees
is by introducing into the hive smoke, produced by
burning brown paper, fustian, touchwood, or anything
that will smoulder. The bee-keeper who indulges in
the fragrant weed has at all times a powerful intimi-
dant. Those who cannot, or do not, use a pipe, must

SUBDUING AND HANDLING BEES. 48

invest in a smoker, the price of which ranges from
Qs. 6d. to 10s. 6d.

The Bingham pattern smoker, as shown in use above,
is convenient and very generally used. It consists of
a barrel, open at the top to receive fuel, and has a
small hole near the bottom, into which a draught is
blown by the bellows to which this barrel is attached.
A piece of coarse brown paper loosely rolled, and occa-

Fie, 5.

sionally doubled back in the rolling, will furnish a
capital fuel. The lighted end of the paper or other
fuel must be put first into the barrel, otherwise the
draught will put out the fire, as has often occurred
when the lighted end has been put in last. To keep
the smoker alight stand it in a vertical position with
the funnel acting as a chimney, and when no longer
required in a horizontal position.

44 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

The ‘‘ Hill” smoker lately invented is thus described :
“The fire-box is three inches in diameter, and when
full of good hard chips or bark affords as much fire
and smoke as any one can desire. The bottom of the
fire-box is solid, not perforated like a grate. The vent
is through holes in the side, consequently the bottom
holds the ashes, which aid in keeping the smoker
alight for a long time when notin use. Its greatest
convenience is the ease and readiness with which one
can build a fire in it, on account of the ample vent at
the bottom. Light a match, stand it up inside the

Fie. 6.

fire-box, drop in a few shavings, making them coarse
as the fire increases, and finally top with hardwood.
Work the bellows and you have a fire before you can
read these directions.”

In some apiaries it has been found possible to dis-
card smoke altogether since Mr. Webster introduced a
means, always at hand, of producing an effective inti-
midant. The barrel of a smoker (Fig. 6) is made the
receptacle for a sponge that has been saturated in a
carbolic solution, the recipe for which has not been
divulged; but a bottle of the preparation can be
purchased for a few pence and lasts some months,

SUBDUING AND HANDLING BEES. 45

The carbolic spray, as first used and advised by
Mr. Howard, is produced by a special atomiser (Fig. 7)
which throws a very fine spray of dilute carbolic acid.
By a special arrangement it is continuous in action,
and the spray subdues the bees instantly. The solu-
tion is prepared by mixing one part of Calvert’s No. 5
carbolic acid with twenty parts of water.

Carbolic cloth. The use of carbolic acid as an
intimidant was introduced by the late Rev. G. Raynor,

Fie. 7.

who, for a number of years, used in his apiary only
carbolic acid and the carbolic solution during manipula-
tions. He was one of the gentlest of bee-masters, and
in this respect his example might be more generally
copied. His invariable practice, when opening &
hive, was to dip a feather into the acid and smear the
tops of the frames as he removed the quilts. The
bees at once retreated and manipulations were pro-
ceeded with.

46 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

For removing supers a solution prepared according
to the following recipe was placed in a basin. A cloth
saturated with the solution, and then wrung tightly,
was placed upon the frames as the quilts were removed.
In a few minutes most of the bees would have gone
below, leaving the super ready for removal. If, on
being removed, any bees are found among the combs,
they will quickly leave, provided that the super is
placed on end, and the cloth is so hung that the
breeze can blow through and carry the fumes among
the frames. Recipe:—1} oz. glycerine, 14 oz.
Calvert’s No. 5 carbolic acid, 1 quart of warm water.
The glycerine and acid must first be mixed and then
the water added.

The above quantities of glycerine and acid placed in
a three-gill (ordinary wine or spirit) bottle, will, with
water added to fill the bottle, make a most effective
solution. The glycerine may be omitted, but in that
case the bottle must be well shaken, or a solution will
not be formed.

Brg-VEIL.

The novice in bee-culture will in all probability
commence active operations in fear and trembling,
and may feel inclined to protect himself with veil and
gloves. Though gloves of various materials are some
times recommended, and often used, the practice of
covering the hands is strongly deprecated, for as soon
as clumsy handling and the consequent jarring of the
combs in replacing them in the hive, irritate the bees,
stinging commences. The odour then arising from the

SUBDUING AND HANDLING BEES. 47

poison ejected by the sting has a most exasperating
effect on the colony, and scores or even hundreds of
stings may be sheathed in the gloves or other parts
of the clothing not capable of being withdrawn by the
bees, thus causing a needless loss of bee life. The
timid bee-keeper may, however, rub his hands with
Grimshaw’s apifuge, which, according to the testi-
mony of many who have tried it, has a wonderful
effect on irritated bees, in that they decline to sting
the part over which this charm has
been rubbed.

While there is a strong objection
to the use of gloves, there can be
none to the use of a bee-veil made
of light material, to protect the face.
Some bee-keepers neglect even this
precaution, the time and manner of
their manipulations rendering such
protection unnecessary. Asa rule
a veil should be worn. In fact, the
work, whatever it may be, to be per-
formed with an open hive, will
generally proceed in a more satis-
factory manner from the consciousness that the
face is protected. Cumbersome dresses should be
avoided ; a veil of white mosquito net with black silk
net front being all that is necessary. Such a veil
with an elastic band running through a slot at the
top, fits easily round the hat, while the lower part is
tucked under the coat, the projecting rim of the hat
keeping the veil at a convenient distance from the
face, as in Fig. 8.

48 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

Hanpuine BEzs.

Frequenters at agricultural and other shows, where
the bee-tent is erected, in which to exhibit and give
an explanation of the best methods of bee-manage-
ment, will know how simple a matter it is literally to
handle the driven bees and scoop them up with the
hands, like so many currants. It is seldom, however,
that the actual handling of bees will be needful, while
the moving of frames of one hive or another may be
of frequent occurrence. In approaching a hive,
attention must first be directed to those bees on
guard at the entrance, which a slight puff of smoke
will drive into the hive, and also have the effect of
preparing the colony for manipulation. The roof and
lift must next be removed, the latter in order that the
frames may be moved with greater ease. The operator
should stand on one side of the hive, with the entrance
at his left hand, or at the back, if the frames run
parallel with the front of the hive.

When the quilts are rolled back a puff of smoke
should be driven across the tops of the frames, but it
is not advisable to expose all the frames unless a
thorough examination is to be made. When the quilts
are removed there will be, as a matter of course, a
draught through the brood nest. This may be pre-
vented by turning the ‘‘ Ivo” entrance block, so as to
close the entrance, or otherwise block it up. The bees
returning from the fields will crowd at the place of
ingress, but, as the hive should be open for a very
short time, they may remain there until the quilts
are replaced, and the entrance is again opened.

SUBDUING AND HANDLING BEES. 49

The judicious use of smoke or other intimidant, for
manipulations at a well-chosen time, and the quick
but gentle handling of combs will usually ensure the
operator escaping without a sting. The proper time
for opening a hive, is when the bees are returning
home from the fields with a merry contented hum ;
and never, if it can be avoided, in cold, stormy
weather, or immediately after a storm.

Whenever the hand is stung draw it gently away,
at the same time giving the bees and the hand stung
a puff of smoke. Then push out
the sting with the finger-nail, or
rub it out by passing the hand
across the clothes, and give a little
more smoke to destroy the scent
of the poison. <A bee-keeper must
get used to a few stings, and in
time the removal of the sting will
be performed so that work is
hardly interfered with. Any one
who dreads the effect of a sting
will do well to follow the advice
given above for its removal, and then eject the poison
from the wound by pressing the barrel of a small key
over the place. If this be done before the poison has
had time to spread, after effects and much swelling
will thereby be avoided.

GAUNTLETS,

During manipulations bees are apt to get up the
manipulator’s sleeves, when a slight pressure of the
4

50 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

clothes upon them will cause their presence to be felt.
A pair of simple gauntlets (Fig. 9) fastened around the

wrists, or the use of sleeve hooks will effectually
prevent annoyance from this cause.

CHAPTER VII.
HIVES.

CotTaGER HIvEs.

THE results obtained by systematic management are,
as may be readily imagined, such ag recompense the
bee-keeper for expenditure of time and money, and
prove the absurdity of the let-alone system that has
been so much in vogue. More depends upon the
style of hive adopted than is generally supposed, for,
whereas a swarm weighing, say 4 lbs., if put into a
straw skep, may give a surplus the first season of
20 or 80 lbs., and the second season 40 lbs. or more,
if put into a bar-frame hive, and treated as yet to be
explained, under equally favourable circumstances, it
might be expected to give 40 or 50 lbs. the first season,
and 50 to 100 or more the second year. Many cases
might be quoted to prove that when bee-keeping is
taken up with a view to profit, the style of hive to
adopt requires very careful consideration.

To many cottagers and labourers, whose ideal hive
is the straw skep, advice on the more advanced

systems of bee-culture will be, at any rate for a time,
61

52 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

of little use, and therefore, in order that each class of
bee-keeper may receive benefit by the perusal of this
work, three styles of hives on the different systems of
bee-culture will be described. All hives are kept on
the fixed or movable-comb principles.

Frxep-comsp Hives.

The straw skep. The original dome or conical-
shaped skep is fast going out of fashion, as the manu-
facturers of straw hives find the demand now wholly
for those of a more modern pattern, upon which
supers may be used. In such receptacles the surplus
honey may be stored in its purity, and remain free
from any contamination. Fig. 10 shows the parts
required to manage bees properly on the skep system.

The floor-board should be made of stout boards
and clamped to prevent warping. If the alighting-
board, which should project at least four inches and
be slightly bevelled, be fixed under the floor-board, the
entrance may be cut in the latter, as shown. This is
preferable to cutting away a part of the lower rim of the
hive, in order to form the entrance. The hive (a) is
termed the brood-chamber, because it is the hive in
which brood-rearing is to be solely carried on. The
queen does frequently enter the super and spoil the
combs by depositing in them eggs, but that is
generally due to bad management. The dimensions
of the brood-chamber and supers here given will be
found to produce a hive suitable for any ordinary
district.

If this system of bee-keeping is adopted, one brood-

HIVES. 58

chamber and two supers must be provided for every
colony of the dimensions given below, each having a
hole in the middle of the crown about three inches in

diameter. The brood-chamber is sixteen inches in
diameter and ten inches deep, the supers (0) and (d)

being fourteen inches in diameter and six inches in
depth. All dimensions are outside measure. If all
stock hives and supers are respectively of exactly the
same size throughout the apiary, any super may be
placed upon any stock hive, or above or below any
other super. A coat or two of paint on the stock

54 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING

hive, particularly on the bottom ring of straw, will
considerably lengthen the period of usefulness.

Management. The floor-board, placed upon .four
bricks, should first be set perfectly level both ways,
and then, to secure the combs being built from front
to back, the floor-board must be raised slightly behind,
as the direction of the combs depends upon the pitch
of the floor-board, and not according to the preference
of the bees.

Some bee-keepers who have found numerous cases
of combs in skeps, running from side to side, state
that the system of hanging frames in bar-frame hives
parallel with the front is to be preferred, because bees
choose that method of building their combs, and there-
fore the preference of the bees should guide the bee-
keeper in fixing the direction in which the frames
should hang in a movable-comh hive.

If wooden tops are provided for the skeps, four holes
3 inch wide, 8 inches long, and 14 inches apart, should
be made in the middle. By placing the brood-chamber
so that the openings in the crown-board run from side
to side, the bees will be compelled to build their combs
across the openings and from front to back, thus in-
creasing the ease of access from the brood-chamber to
the super, while to some extent doing away with the
inducement for the queen to enter the super, which a
large central hole affords.

Hiving the swarm. When the floor-board has been
set as directed, the skep may be removed and the
swarm hived into it. As soon as the bees have settled
the skep must be moved on to the floor-board with great
care so as not to disturb the cluster. As the bees carry

AIVES. 55

with them a plentiful supply of honey with which to
start in their new home, food should be given sparingly
unless untoward weather prevents their leaving the
hive. In that case a liberal, but not too rapid, supply
is needed. Should food be deemed necessary a supply
of Porto Rico sugar will furnish the best means of
saving the lives of the bees, and assisting them in the
building of new combs.

When to super. Too often stocks and swarms are
allowed to remain days and even weeks without supers,
a practice that should be abandoned, for, not only is
there a loss, and sometimes a great one, but, by the
storing of surplus in the brood-chamber, the queen is
“ crowded out’’—that is, the cells in which the queen
should be depositing eggs are used by the bees for
the storage of honey. The consequence is that, at the
end of the season, such a stock will contain a very
large amount of honey, but a very small number of
bees, mostly old ones. Thus the progress of the colony
the following spring will usually be unsatisfactory. As
goon as a swarm is hived into an empty skep the bees
cluster, and having obtained a sufficiently high tem-
perature commence secreting wax with which to
build their combs. The combs should, in the main,
be composed of worker cells, otherwise a superabun-
dance of drones each summer while the hive is in use
will be inevitable.

Building combs of worker cells alone by the swarm
will continue if the income of food is only moderate,
but if the honey-flow is on, and there is a large inflow
of honey, the bees will build combs mostly of drone
cells for storing purposes. The necessity for a means

56 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

of compelling the bees to build combs composed of
worker cells only is manifest, and must be accom-
plished by the use of foundation, for which a provision
is made in the hives next to be described.

In about a week or ten days after hiving, a strong
swarm will have filled three-fourths or more of the
brood-chamber with combs. If a super is then placed
on the hive with the needful precaution to prevent the
escape of heat, the bulk of the daily income will be
carried above and deposited in combs mainly composed
of drone cells. The building of drone comb in the
super for the storage of surplus is economical to the
bees, and immaterial to the bee-keeper. Below, in the
brood-chamber, the combs will be kept for breeding
purposes, and they will be completed with worker cells
asarule. The advantage of this method of procedure
will be seen in the full supers and the crowded brood-
chamber at the close of the honey-flow.

In supering, swarms and stocks are similarly treated,
and when strong colonies are supered early in the
honey-flow the second super, supposing there be a
continuance of fine weather, will be required in a very
few days after the first has been given. In the case of a
stock a second super will generally be necessary to pre-
vent swarming, inasmuch as the bees when crowded
commence building queen cells, with a view to swarm-
ing, as soon as the ordinary cells in the hive are occupied,
whether it is with bees, grubs, honey, or pollen.

This moving out of the worker bees in search of a
new home may be avoided by supplying a second super
under the first. Give a gentle puff of smoke at the
entrance to the hive, and then gently separate the

AIVES, 57

super from the brood-chamber. To keep the bees
quiet puff a little smoke in between the super and the
brood-chamber as the former is raised. Lift up the
super and place between it and the brood-chamber
another super. More room having been given the bees
will concentrate their energies upon furnishing the
lower super with combs. In the new combs much of
the freshly-gathered nectar will be stored for ripening
previous to being carried above to complete the upper
super.

Removing supers. As soon as the upper super is
completed it should be removed and placed on the
super clearer, and, when emptied first of the bees and
subsequently of the honey, it may be returned to the
hive for placing below the remaining super or on any
hive where more super room is required. Should the
honey-flow be on the wane, when the top super is re-
moved the lower super should not be interfered with,
unless it is to give a little extra covering with sacks or
other heat-retaining material adding to the protecting
power of the straw. The bees are then more likely to
complete work in the super instead of being driven
down into the brood-chamber by the lowering of the
night temperature.

Tue “Ivo” CorracerR Bar Hive.

The second style of hive which may be adopted is
still on the fixed-comb principle, but greatly ahead of
the skep, in that the results obtained by its use may,
by the use of foundation, be increased to a very great
extent. What maybe done by a stock in a straw skep
is well known by bee-keepers of experience. In order

58 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

to show the superior results of working with this style of
hive, a record of a late swarm may not be out of place.

A strong swarm was put into a hive, properly prepared
with foundation, on June 23, 1892. On June 26th the
foundation in the brood-chamber, and also that in the
super, was found worked out by the bees into perfect

Fie. 11.

combs; and in the super there was even then a fair
quantity of honey stored. At the end of the honey-
flow the net weight of honey taken from the supers was
387 lbs. 4 oz., and an ample supply for winter use was
left in the brood-chamber. In 1893 the stock sent out
a 5-lb. swarm, and as the hive was standing in a

HIVES. 59

garden two miles away, another hive had been placed
ready for a swarm in case one issued. The lady, in
whose apiary the hive stood, sent for a shoemaker to
hive the swarm. Being one of the old school who
cannot bear the ‘‘new-fangled notions,” he took the
foundation out of the bars, made a ball of it, and
threw it into a pan as useless. He then hived the
swarm, giving the bees access to super as well as
brood-chamber ; in fact the hive from floor-board to
roof was at their service. When examined a few days
later crooked combs were found in the brood-chamber
far too advanced in building to be disturbed. The bees
were, therefore, driven out of the super, so that they
might first complete the combs below. This they did,
and at the end of the season the honey-return from the
supers was as follows: from the stock hive 51 Ibs. 14
oz., and from the swarm 27 lbs. 1 oz,

Here is a most significant fact. While the stock
hive, after sending out a large swarm, stored in supers
nearly 52 lbs., the swarm gave about half the quantity,
though combs in the brood-chamber had to be produced
in the ordinary way from wax which the bees secreted.
Had the hiver of the swarm allowed the sheets of
foundation to remain in the bars of brood-chamber and
super, the bees would have had honey representing
more than a week’s work to carry into the super, pro-
ducing a total surplus that must have equalled if it did
not considerably exceed that stored by the stock.

The ‘‘Ivo,”’ which has been designed by the writer,
is intended to take the place between the straw skep
and the bar-frame hive. It is an undoubted fact that
many bee-keepers who have been induced to adopt the

60 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

bar-frame hive have managed their bees so unsuccess-
fully that they have given up bee-keeping in disgust.
Their want of success was not, however, due to the
system of bee-keeping which they adopted, but rather
to the want of acquaintance with the methods of
working such hives successfully. Although, taking
one season with another, a fair profit may be obtained
by managing bees properly in skeps, the full benefit of
the work of the bees can only be obtained by the use
of foundation; and it is with that one object primarily
in view that this hive has been designed.

The hive consists of. floor-board, brood-chamber,
supers, lift, and roof. Two supers will at all times be
necessary, but three may be needed in good districts.
The brood-chamber consists simply of four walls, the
front and back being 3 inch in thickness, and the sides
the same or # inch. The tops of the front and back
walls are rabbeted inside to admit the ends of the bars,
and allow the tops to lie level with the tops of the
walls. In other words, when the bars are in position
the top of the hive should present a flat surface being
broken only by the }-inch openings between the bars.
The depth of the walls is eight inches.

Supers. The supers are in all respects, except depth,
similar to the brood-chamber. The depth is only 43
inches for the following reasons: (1) Shallow supers
are more readily entered by the bees; (2) when full
they are more easily moved by the bee-keeper; and
(8) because, though the hive is to be worked for run
honey only, the supers will be of a size to be con-
verted into crates for sections in a few minutes.

Lift. This is an absolute necessity with all wooden

HIVES. 61

hives in which the tops of the frames are level with
the tops of the hive sides. It allows of quick and
secure packing of quilts, and it also raises a shallow
roof sufficiently to allow of a feeder being placed
above the frames. The lift for this hive is simply a
super without the bars, which may be used whenever
required.

Bars. As the combs in both brood-chamber and

Fie, 12.

supers are, when built, to be attached to the front and
back walls, bars, not frames, as in the movable-comb
hive, are provided.

The bars are 143 inches long, 1,3, inches wide, and
2 inch thick. In the centre of the bar, and running
nearly from end to end, is a saw-cut to receive the
sheet of foundation. The ends of the bars only are
1,2, inch wide, and they fit close together so that the
combs when built will be the correct distance apart,

62 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

viz., 18, inch from centre to centre. On each side of
the bar a piece 9 inches by } inch is taken out, so that
when the bars are in position there will be access to
the supers through holes 9 inches long and } inch wide.

After the hive is stocked with bees and the combs
are built, the brood-chamber should never again be
interfered with except to renew old combs. If any
examination of the interior of the brood-chamber
should be deemed advisable, it must be inverted and
treated as are the fixed combs in a straw skep. To
remove combs, each end alternately of the hive should
be raised to an angle of about 45° to allow of a knife
being passed from side to side to sever the comb
attachments. On returning the hive to the horizontal
position, the bars with the combs attached are easily
removed, and others prepared with foundation may
at the same manipulation be placed in the vacant
spaces.

The bars as described above are for use in the brood
chamber alone; those for use in the supers are 1%
inches in width. Wider bars are provided in the
supers because when storing surplus, bees invariably
build combs much thicker than those used for breeding
purposes. The width of the brood-chamber and supers
is 18 inches full, to accommodate in the former nine
narrow bars and in the latter seven wide bars.

Preparing the hive. The first thing to be done after
making or purchasing, with the necessary parts, a hive
of good sound material well and accurately put to-
gether, is to give two or three coats of white or a light-
coloured paint. It isan error to think that any coloured
paint is suitable for bee-hives. Probably any coloured

HIVES. 63

paint of good quality will be equally effective for the
purpose of protecting the wood from the effect of
weather, but whether the paint shall be coloured
or white is a very important matter to the bee-keeper.
Black is the worst of all, because that colour is known
to absorb the heat rays of the sun. Hence the lighter
the colour the less influence will the sun have upon the
hive and its contents. This question may be tested by
any one placing in the rays of the sun, on a hot
summer day, a board, half of which is painted white
and half black. After being exposed for some time it
will be found, by applying the palm of the hand first
to one half, then to the other, that the black part has
absorbed more of the heat rays than the white, and is
therefore hotter. Mr. A. I. Root, one of the foremost
of American bee-keepers, some years ago, in reply to.
a correspondent who complained of the heat melting
the combs in his hives, said that he had met with the
same trouble, but that since he had painted his hives
white he had not had a single break-down from that
cause.

The next step in preparing the hive for the swarm is
to fit sheets of foundation into the bars. The sheets
of foundation, as received from the manufacturers for
fitting into the frames for the movable-comb hive,
measure, or should measure, 134 inches wide by 72
inches deep. If each sheet be cut into two pieces 42
and 32 in depth, the former, when fitted into the
narrow bars for use in the brood-chamber, will hang
down 4 inches, and the latter, placed in the wide bars
for the supers, will hang down 3 inches. In the
brood-chamber there will then be a space below the

64 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

foundation of over 3 inches. The building of drone
comb in this space from the bottom edges of the foun-
dation will be prevented, should the honey-flow be at
its height, first by the giving of a super, but in
addition and effectually by a board, or two inch-boards
clamped together, to cover the bottom of the hive
except for about half an inch in thefront. This block,
or false bottom, will have the effect of crowding the
bees upon the sheets of foundation thus accelerating
the work of comb-building so much that the first super
might be given on the evening following that on which
the swarm was hived. The queen will by that time be
busy depositing eggs in the newly worked-out combs,
and be less likely to go into the super with the rush of
worker bees. But all fear of the queen leaving her
own compartment may be avoided by using a sheet of
queen-excluding zine (Fig. 34) upon the bars of the
brood-chamber.

As soon as the super becomes warm, by the heat
ascending from the brood-nest, the bees will commence
work in it, and in a few days, when they are working
well, the hive might be lifted gently off the floor-board
to allow of the false bottom being removed. As the
bees will then be busily carrying their surplus stores
into the super, brood-rearing will be continued below,
and combs of worker cells will be extended downwards
nearly to the floor-board. This may be confidently
expected if the queen is a young one. A second super
will, in all probability, be required even with a swarm,
and if strong and hived early in the season, there is no
reason why, with fine weather and abundant forage
close at hand, it should not give three supers or 75 lbs.

HIVES. 65

The first super must never be quite completed before
the second is placed between it and the brood-chamber,
otherwise preparations for swarming will be com-
menced.

Removing supers. These supers may be cleared of
bees by placing them on the box-clearer or by raising
the super to be removed and placing under it a cloth
to sever the connection between it and the lower super
or the brood-chamber, if only one super is on the
hive. See Chapter XI.

When the super is raised, one or two of the combs
may occasionally be found attached to the bars below ;
and the force exerted in raising the super will cause a
piece of comb to be broken off. Should this happen,
puff a little smoke under the super or place it over a
board that has been slightly sprinkled with dilute
carbolic acid. The fumes of the acid will keep the
bees in the super while the pieces of comb are being
removed from the bars of the brood-chamber with a
knife or spatula. The dripping honey and comb should
be put along with the knife into a can provided with a
lid, so that robbing is not induced while the cloth is
being spread and the super returned. The bees in the
super, finding themselves cut off from the brood-
chamber, will be in great commotion, and glad to
escape by the perforated zinc cone placed in the
roof.

When free of bees the super may be removed to the
house and then tilted up to allow of the comb attach-
ments being severed with a knife. The bars may be
lifted out with the combs attached, then holding a bar
by one end pass a sharp knife downwards close te the

5

66 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

bar to cut off the comb, which allow to fall into a pan.
The combs should then be sliced with a knife and put
into a sieve or strainer in order that the honey may be
drained therefrom. The broken combs when melted

Fie, 13.

will produce more wax than will pay for the foundation
which must be inserted in the bars each time a super
is used.

Amateur Hives.
The movable-comb system. The bee-keeper who

HIVES. 67

decides to keep bees on this, the most improved of
all systems of bee-culture, will be puzzled as to which
pattern hive to select, out of a multiplicity of styles
shown by various manufacturers. He will do well to
insist on having his hives made of well-seasoned wood,
and accurately put together ; at the same time aiming
at simplicity of construction. The cheapest hives are
by no means the best; very often such wares prove to
be ‘cheap and nasty.’”’ The movable-comb hive is

attributed to the inventive genius of the Rev. L. L.
Langstroth, the pioneer of bee-culture in America.

In England, the first frame hive that came into
general use was the ‘‘ Woodbury,” named after the
designer, Mr. T. W. Woodbury, who was not slow to
recognise the importance of the movable-comb system.
This hive was 144 inches square and 9 inches deep,
and the frames were 18 inches long and 7} deep.

Frames. Up to 1882, when the British Bee-keepers’
Association, through their Committee, gave the dimen-
sions of what has since been known as the British

68 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

Standard, frames of various sizes were in use. The
inconvenience of so many different sized frames in-
duced the Committee of the British Bee-keepers’
Association, in the interest of bee-culture, to consider
and resolve upon the most convenient sized frame for
general use.

The following Committee was appointed: Messrs.
C. N. Abbott, T. W. Cowan, F. Cheshire, J. G.
Desborough, J. M. Hooker, A. Neighbour, Revs. G.
Raynor and F. T. Scott, and the result of their
deliberations was that the frame should be 14 x 84
outside measure, the top bar being 17 inches, thus
extending beyond the sides at each end and affording,
by the projection, an easy means of lifting the frame.
The width, 3 inch, and the thickness of the wood as
follows: top bar 2, side-bars + inch, and bottom bar
3 inch. The advantage of a standard frame cannot
well be over-estimated, for by its use stocks may be
quickly changed without trouble or inconvenience into
new or clean hives, frames of honey or brood may be
given to stocks requiring such help, and, above all,
stocks on frames, particularly if the foundation has
been wired, may be sent from one apiary to another or
to any part of the country.

Shallow frames. In addition to the standard frame,
which should be used exclusively as a brood frame,
a shallow frame, 54 inches deep, really the standard
frame 3 inches less in depth, as recommended and first
used by Mr. W. Broughton Carr, is now extensively
used in most apiaries on stocks that are worked for
extracted honey. Mr. Carr first advised that two sets
of shallow frames should constitute the brood-chamber,

HIVES. 69

but some years’ experience resulted in a return to a
brood-chamber furnished with standard frames which
would give a compact brood-nest.

Distance-keepers. As the combs are built in frames
3 inch thick, various devices are adopted to keep the
combs the proper distance apart. Mr. C. N. Abbott,
in connection with his well-known combination hive,
introduced the wide-shouldered frame, with which the
hives still sent out by Abbott Bros. are fitted. The
top bar is cut in such a manner that a shoulder to act
as a distance-keeper is left on alternate sides.

In addition to this provision for keeping the frames
at the correct distance apart there is also, by reducing
the thickness of the bar, at each end on the underside,

what may be termed a shoulder, fitting exactly inside
the inner walls which stand 144 inches apart. There
is then the necessary + inch space between the ends
and the hive walls. These frames are all that can be
desired in the hands of a careful bee-keeper. Propolis,
with which the bees busy themselves in cementing all
cracks and crevices, becomes a nuisance when by care-
less fitting it finds a lodgment between the frame and
the shoulder of the next frame.

The next contrivance as a distance-keeper, which
attracted much attention, was the metal end designed
by Mr. F. Lyon. Of metal ends there are now many
varieties, though in their main features they are very
similar. The end is made to slide over the end of the

70 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

top bar, and is kept in position either by a slight top
bar, as in Fig. 14, or by projections on the inner sides
which press into the side of the top bar (Fig. 16).

The above metal ends have very generally given way
before the tin ends known as the ‘“ W. B.C.” (Fig. 14),
Mr. W. Broughton Carr having designed these ends
so that they could be made out of one piece of tin,
and be easily shpped on the end of the frame. If
pushed close up to the side bars
the frames are kept 1,3, inch apart.

For various reasons it is thought
desirable by some bee-keepers to
be able to space frames + inch

Fre. 16. apart. To do this the alternate

ends of this pattern are pushed

back a little towards the end of the bar, and when the

frames are pushed together the metal ends overlap each

other, and a distance of + inch only between the frames
is obtained.

THe Howarp [ENp.

The Howard metal end, which differs somewhat from
the ‘‘ W. B. C.,” was introduced to meet the following
requirements: ‘‘1. To reduce the brood-chamber sur-
face so that an ordinary section rack may be used
between the walls of an extra body when storified, as
a lift, so that the escape of heat and bees is rendered
impossible. 2. That every frame shall be kept dis-
tanced strictly within the inside of the hive, thus
entirely preventing propolisation on the resting surface
of the underside of the frame, and—3. That the bars
may be kept at right angles to the top bar.”

HIVES. 71

BELL-STAPLEs.

A very effective and at the same time economical
distance-keeper is the bell-staple. This is the only
kind now found in ‘“‘Ivo”’ apiary. It should be made
of fine wire, and driven into alternate sides of the top
bar, horizontally, just above the side bars. By using
a gauge the frames are quickly prepared with these
distance-keepers. Beginners adopting the movable-
comb system of bee-keeping should certainly use some
kind of distance-keeper, for if hives are moved about,
or the frames are spaced carelessly with the eye,
complications are almost certain to arise.

Tue “Ivo” Smpuicity Frame Hive.

Hives of accurate workmanship and in every way
satisfactory may be obtained from well-known manu-
facturers of bee appliances, but there are many bee-
keepers who, through the interest they have in the
work, or with a view to lessen the expense, wish to
wake their own hives.

This will be found to be a type of hive suitable for gene-
ral use. The inside dimensions only are given, so that
the thickness of the wood may be left to the bee-keeper.
At the same time it is well to point out that only pine
or red deal, not less than inch thick, should be used.
In its complete form the hive will consist of floor-board,
brood-chamber, supers, lift, roof, and entrance block.
The brood-chamber is 15 inches from side to side and
144 inches from back to front between the inner walls.
The distance between the outer walls is 17 inches full,

72 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

to allow the top bar to fall in, and, not having much
play, keep the distance of 4 inch between the frame
ends and the hive sides. The inner walls are 84 inches
deep, including the metal runners, which are } inch in
depth. The outer walls are 83 inches deep: the frame
ends then rest on the runners of the inner walls, and
the tops of the frames are level with the tops of the
hive sides. Between the bottom bars of the frames
and the floor-board there will be a space of inch. A
full entrance is given from side to side by cutting off
the front outer wall 2 inch, and off the inner front wall
% inch. Between the two walls there will be a space
to be filled with a plain piece of wood, but that used
between the front walls at the bottom must be cut so
as to be level with the bottom of the inner wall, and in
the front leave a space 2 inch square. This space is to
receive an entrance block, in which holes of 2 inches
and 6 inches in length, by % inch deep, are cut on
alternate sides. The 2-inch entrance is for use in the
spring and autumn; the 6-inch entrance for winter,
if a wider entrance for efficient ventilation is thought
desirable, and also for summer, while by removing the
block the full entrance may be given during the honey-
flow. Porches are dispensed with, as they are no more
required on a movable-comb hive than they are on a
skep. The illustration (Fig. 13) will assist the amateur in
carrying out the instructions for making a typical tier-
ing hive, that is, a hive so arranged that the surplus
chambers are placed above the brood-chamber, and
may be fitted above or below each other as required.
Supers. For this hive the supers are in all respects,
except depth, and in being without entrances, exactly

HIVES. 73

the same as the brood-chambers. They are made
to accommodate frames 54 inches in depth, and as
there must always be a space of 3 inch below the
frames, the depth of the super will be 53 inches.

The lift is 6. inches deep; but if sectional supers
are to be used instead of shallow frames, another lift
9 inches in depth will also be required in order that
sufficient accommodation for an adapting board, three
crates of sections, and quilts may be provided.

Mertat RUNNERS.

Metal runners are strongly recommended, for if the
inner walls upon which the frame ends rest are simply
bevelled, the top bars will be fastened to them with an
abundant supply of propolis, and then jarring the hive
and disturbing the bees during manipulations cannot
well be avoided. On the other hand, by the use of
metal runners, frames are moved with the greatest
ease, either singly or in numbers, and the irritation of
the bees is thus avoided.

CHAPTER VIII.
AIDS TO SUCCESS.

I. FounpDATION.

Next to the invention of the movable-comb hive
nothing has tended more to the development of the
bee-keeping industry than the invention of comb-fown-
dation. When it became known that the production
of wax meant the consumption of a large quantity of

praia
tte iz Ay SEPETEeey
2% BeriaEs NCE leke

Fie. 17.

honey, as well as a large expenditure of time and energy
on the part of the bees, bee-keepers cast about for a
more economical method of comb production. Wax
guides were first devised—more, however, as a means
of guiding the bees in the building of combs from bars
in a regular manner than to save the honey needed for
the secretion of wax.
74

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 75

The next step was the production of casts or moulds
with which the first sheets of foundation were pro-
duced. The late Frank Cheshire in his great work
records that a swarm, hived upon ten of these sheets
of foundation, in sixty-two hours from the time of
hiving converted them into perfect combs. This
method of producing foundation was tedious and slow
work, and it was before long superseded by elaborate
machinery.

The first foundation machine was invented by a

. Fie. 18.

German in 1857, but it was left to Mr. A. I. Root in
America to make the manufacture of these machines a
commercial success. The first foundation mill used in
America was in 1861, and two years later saw their
introduction into Great Britain, Messrs. Raitt in Scot-
-land and Neighbour in England being the first to manu-
facture foundation for the market. There was, and still
is, much complaint respecting the difficulty of obtain-
ing uniformly successful results, both by producing

76 PLEASURABLE BEE-KIEPING.

evenly filled frames and preventing breakdowns. To
remedy this, and secure the building of regular and
perfect combs, Captain Hetherington, in America,
the owner of the largest apiary in the world, in-
vented flat-bottomed wired foundation. Wired foun-
dation, known as the Van Deusen, because patented
by Van Deusen and Son, of New York, has been
extensively used in America, but not to any great
extent in this country, owing to the cost, about 3s.
per lb. There are in “ Ivo” apiary, now in use, several

ety i

‘ i ; © i
: ‘
Pet ie i

Fic. 19.

frames of comb worked from this foundation more than
ten years ago; and though combs may be found in
many apiaries that have been several years in use, it
is best to renew them as soon as, by continual use,
they become overloaded with pollen, or have in the
cells too great an accumulation of cocoons left by the
young bees.

Supposing the cells to be used only three times in a
season for the raising of brood, the number of cocoons
left behind will in course of time very greatly diminish

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 77

the size of the cells. It may therefore safely be said
that five or six years is a sufficient length of time to
allow combs to be in regular use.

Tn advising the use of foundation, full sheets must
be insisted upon as the most economical, for if
starters, that is, sheets only an inch or two in depth,
be given, drone cells in abundance will be produced,
particularly if the hiving of the swarm takes place in
the middle of the honey-flow. In an apiary several
stocks were examined by an expert in 1893. Two or
three in movable-comb hives had for several years
done literally nothing; while from one close by, a
very satisfactory quantity of honey each year had
been taken. The owner, a lady, could not account
for this difference, as she took little interest in the
apiary ; it was, therefore, left to the expert to explain
matters. His task was an easy one, for visiting the
apiary on a fine summer day he saw, before opening
the hives, the bees freely on the wing. From the
hives that had such a bad record issued hundreds of
drones, while matters were exactly reversed when the
hive with the good record was examined. On opening
the former hives nearly the whole of every comb—that
is, excepting about two inches from the top made from
the starter of foundation—was composed of drone
cells. In such hives good returns could not be
expected, for there always was a superabundance of
drones instead of the desirable workers. In the
other hive the swarm had been provided with full
sheets of foundation, simply because the preparations
were made by a friend, a clergyman living near by,
who was a successful bee-keeper.

78 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

Foundation, as supplied by dealers, is usually made
about six sheets to the pound, though for wiring
sometimes nine are used. Thin or super foundation
is rolled out until one pound of wax will give sufficient
surface to be cut into from 100 to 110 squares,
each fitting into the 1-lb. sections, and 41 inches
square.

Fizing foundation securely in frames was first
accomplished by simply attaching the top sheet to
the underside of the top bar with melted wax. This
slow and insecure method gave place to a saw-cut
run along and through the top bar nearly from end
to end, as advised by Mr. Cowan, and this plan
was quickly and generally adopted. Various methods
have of late years been devised for holding the
foundation securely in the top bar, while doing away
with the opening above the foundation, in which the
wax grub is frequently found; but no method, save
wiring, is as reliable as that by fixing in the saw-cut.

To fix the foundation proceed as «follows :—Place
the sheet on a board, cut off the corners, and take
a small triangular piece out of the middle of the top.
Then press with the flat part of a knife about two
inches of the top of the sheet near the ends. Next
take a small screw-driver, not more than + inch in
width, fix it in the centre of the top bar, and turn it
at right angles to the saw-cut, or about a quarter
round. It will then remain holding the sides of the
bar apart, and the sheet of foundation as prepared
may, with ease, be lifted up into the saw-cut. As
soon as the top of the sheet of foundation is level
with the top of the bar, withdraw the screw-driver,

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 79

and then the sides of the bar attempting to return
to their former position will hold the foundation
securely.

Another method is to drive two wire nails into the
centre of a board, } inch or so apart, and then file
off the heads. If the frame be then held bottom
upwards, and placed on the board so that the nails
pass through the saw-cut about the middle of the
bar, a slight turn either way will cause the saw-cut
to open, and then the sheet of foundation, held upside
down, may be gently dropped into the saw-cut till it is
stopped by touching the board. On turning the frame
back again the sides of the bar will press upon the
foundation and hold it securely.

In order to do away with the saw-cut while at the
same time providing a means of holding the founda-
tion securely in the middle
of the top bar, Messrs.
Abbott Bros. devised and
patented the following
method as shown in Fig. 20. A saw-cut is run in
the middle of the underside of the top bar, nearly
through ; and by the side of that groove, another but
wider is cut. The edge of the sheet of foundation is
then placed in the former, and to hold it securely a
wedge is driven into the latter, which forces the thin
wall between the two grooves upon the foundation
and holds it as in a vice.

Mr. Howard provides in one frame saw-cuts or
grooves in the side bars and one in the top bar
(Fig. 21). While the frame is being held in the frame-
block, complete, except for the bottom bar, the founda-

Fie. 20,

80 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

tion is inserted; the bottom bar is then adjusted and
a little melted wax is run
along the top bar, while
the frame is inverted, to
secure the sheet to the
bar. By fixing the founda-
tion in the side grooves it is
held in the middle of the
bar until the bees secure it firmly, which is an advan-
tage if the hive does not stand perfectly level.

Mr. Meadows nearly severs the top bar by a saw-
cut running the full length of the bar. In putting
the frame together only one side of the top bar is
nailed to the side walls. The foundation is then
inserted, and the sides of the bar are brought together
by placing on the ends a ‘“ W.B.C.” or other metal-

Fic, 21.

Fic, 22.

end. Any carelessness on the part of the bee-keeper
in fixing the sheets by this method must result in

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 81

the falling of the foundation, and a muddle in
the brood-chamber, one that only an expert can put
right.

Wiriny foundation. All the difficulties that are
possible when plain sheets of foundation are fixed
in the frames, or when the hives do not stand level,
may be avoided by using wired foundation, or by
wiring the sheets into the frames. For the latter
purpose a plain top bar will, of course, be used, and
then it is a matter of opinion as to the way in which
the wires shall run. The method described below

will be found perfectly satisfactory. Before putting
the frame together, two French nails are driven
through each side bar near the top and bottom,
and turned round at the ends to form hooks. The
frame is then put together with or without the assis-
tance of a frame-block. The wire, No. 30 tinned, is
hooked to No. 1 (Fig. 23), then passed through hooks 2,
-8, and 4, and returned to No. 8, which thus leaves two
wires under the top bar. The wire is now drawn
tight and passed under the first length from 1 to 2.
It is again tightened and passed over No. 4, carried
next through No. 1, and then between the wires
6

82 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

running from 3 to 4. By passing it finally to No. 2,
and there fixing, a diamond is formed in the centre.
More wire is used by this, than by other methods, but
as the combs, when the foundation has been properly
fixed, are absolutely secure, and the wires no detri-
ment, I strongly recommend it.

The wiring of frames not only makes the combs,
when built upon the wires, more secure, but it allows
the bee-keeper to use less foundation, as he may then
use two or three more sheets to the pound. As the
sheets are thin the bees will not have to expend as
much labour upon them as when thicker, and at the
same time in lengthening the cell walls they will be
able to draw upon the wax that is naturally secreted
in large quantities during the honey-flow. To give
some idea of the extent to which wired frames are
used in America, Mr. A. I. Root states in ‘ Glean-
ings,” an American bee-paper which he edits, that
from his depét over two tons of No. 30 tinned wire
had been sold during 1892. As it takes 6 to 10 oz.
of wire to 100 frames there must have been 700,000
to 1,000,000 frames wired. But this only represents
the output of one large manufacturing firm.

Wiring the foundation. To properly fix the wires
into the foundation a board must be used half the
thickness of the frame, and of a size to just fit inside
the frame. By nailing laths 18 inches long under-
neath the board, the wired frame, when placed upon the
board, will rest with the wires resting upon it (Fig. 22).
The frame is then slightly raised so that the sheet of
foundation is laid upon the board. On returning the
frame the wires will rest on the foundation to be

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 83

embedded by means of a ‘‘ Woiblet spur embedder,”
as shown in Fig. 22. This instrument is heated
either in the tlame of a candle or in hot water, and
then the wheel is run along the wires, which sink
into the foundation up to the mid-rib. The teeth

Fic. 24.

of the wheel should not be too near, otherwise the
foundation is cut through as it is run along.

PREPARING SECTIONS.

Starters. After the sections have been properly
folded they must, before being placed in the rack or
crate, each receive a starter or guide, in the centre of
the top, otherwise the comb will be irregularly built

Bd PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

and attached to the separators. An objection to the
use of full sheets of foundation in sections is raised
by some consumers, for they desire that as little of
the comb as possible shall be made from wax that
has passed through the operations necessary to con-
vert it into foundation. A small triangular piece of
thin foundation is therefore attached to the middle of
the upper part of the section by means of melted wax
or one of the contrivances termed foundation fixers.
The Messrs. Abbott Bros. roller fixer (Fig. 24) was one
of the first devices of this kind to become popular,

and is still much used. As will be understood from
the illustration the piece of foundation, of whatever
size and shape preferred, is laid upon that quarter of
the section which, when folded, will be at the top,
just a trifle beyond the centre. The guide is then
placed upon the foundation, so that when the roller,
previously dipped in starch to ensure easy running,
is run along, the pressure exerted causes the wax
to adhere to the wood. The foundation is then bent
upwards and the section is folded ready for use.
Another and expeditious method of fixing the founda-

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 85

tion is by using the “ Parker” fixer (Fig. 25). The
guide is laid wpon that part of the folded section to
which it is to be fixed, and then by a lever arrange-
ment the flat surface is pressed upon the foundation,
thus fixing it as before. At the same time the guide
is drawn into an upright position.

Full sheets, though taking up a little more time in
fixing, and adding to the outlay, render the section

Fie. 26.

more secure for transit when full, as the bees build
cells and attach them all round to the wood. At
the same time the work of the bees is accelerated at
a time when every saving of time means a great
addition to the amount of honey stored.

If the Abbott or Parker fixer is used to fix the top
of the sheet, a little melted wax at the sides will be an
advantage in keeping the sheet in the centre of the

86 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

section; or being cut to the exact size with a die,
the foundation may be secured all round with melted
wax.

Messrs. Abbott Bros. devised a means of fixing the
foundation in the section without the aid of melted
wax, which they have patented. The section is folded,
except half of the top which has been divided (Fig. 26).
When the edge of the foundation has been laid on the

bevel, the loose half of the section top is put into posi-
tion, and firmly fixed by a slight tap with a hammer.
Messrs. T. B. Blow and J. H. Howard introduced
the all-round groove into which the square of founda-
tion, accurately cut with the die, is slid, as in the
illustration. When the top is closed the foundation is
held loosely, and therefore a little melted wax run
along the top is advisable. Mr. Lee some years ago
introduced dove-tailed frames and sections, and as the

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 87

top and bottom were in halves, the foundation was
fixed by pressing it between the two edges (Fig. 28).
Mr. Howard's section (Fig. 29) block holds the section

so that the groove is level with the top of the block.
Then, by laying the foundation on the latter, it may be
pushed gently into the groove. Theedge is bent down
on the bevel of the lower half of the section top, and
on completing the section, as in the Abbott patent,
the foundation is not only secure in the all-round
groove, but the top of the sheet is held tightly between

Fie, 29,

the halves of the top of the section. By using the
split top bar full sheets or starters are quickly and
securely fixed.

88 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

II. Feepine.

Why feed and when. Feeding has been truly
described as “the bee-keeper’s lever to success,” for
unless bees receive attention in this respect the fullest
profit cannot be secured. There are doubtless many
cases where feeding has not been necessary either to
encourage brood-rearing or to ensure a sufficient
supply of food for the use of the bees during the
winter. This can only occur, as a rule, in those
districts where there are early and late crops of honey-
producing flowers.

As a case in point, feeding during the autumn of
1893 was not necessary in ‘‘Ivo”’ apiary, as a late
crop of mustard, and another of brank or buckwheat,
provided the bees with ample food, which not only
kept up the breeding until late in September, thus
ensuring strong colonies of young bees, but enabled
the bees to store in the brood-chamber an amount of
surplus sufficient to carry them safely through the
winter.

Feeding is needed first to prevent starvation during
the winter, and, secondly, to induce the queen to lay
eggs early and late in the season. As the amount of
food gathered and stored by the bees is dependent
upon the weather, there are, of course, times when
only a moderate quantity of food is stored, as was the
case particularly in 1888, and the result is, that only
in those apiaries where a liberal supply of food is
given, will the bees live through the winter.

The loss of stocks in the spring, after an unfavour-
able season, is simply astounding, due in some cases
to want of knowledge, but more frequently to neglect.

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 89

In early spring a colony of bees should be as strong
in numbers as it was when closed up in the previous
October for the winter. This satisfactory state of
things can only be brought about by a late supply of
food, either from natural sources or through the
feeder, which will have the effect of continuing the
breeding until, say, about the middle of September.
Such a colony when opened in the spring will be
found to contain a satisfactory quantity of brood, and
a large number of young bees, without which progress
must of necessity be slow.

As the greater the number of worker bees, at the
commencement of the honey-flow, the greater will be
the amount of honey stored, the efforts of the bee-
keeper must be directed to getting the hive as full of
bees as possible by the time the honey-flow commences.
By feeding this object may be attained.

In many districts the last source of honey of any
importance is white clover, and as this crop ceases
blooming, as a rule, by about the middle of July, egg-
laying gradually ceases, the consequence being that
very few young bees will be found in the hive on
October Ist. The bees then in the hive, compared
with young ones, will be of little service the following
spring, and rapidly die off in consequence of the hard
work that they have to perform, and then the cry is,
«« My stocks are becoming weaker and weaker instead
of stronger in numbers.” The first step towards pre-
venting spring dwindling is to feed from the close of
the honey-flow, and thus ensure that the bulk of the
bees going into winter quarters are young ones.

Again, when the surplus honey, gathered during the

90 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

honey-flow, has been almost wholly taken into supers
which the bee-keeper removes, the small amount of
food given after the honey-flow, to induce further egg-
laying, will not enable the bees to store sufficient for
winter use, and therefore whatever further supply is
needed must be given in September.

WHat To FEED.

This is a very important matter, and requires much
more attention than is generally supposed. Old-
fashioned bee-keepers have thought a mixture of sugar
and beer a useful compound, but the feeding of hees
upon such stuff, and during winter, is calculated,
by causing dysentery, to do them more harm than
good.

The natural food of bees is composed of honey and
pollen, which may be termed heat and force producers.
Honey is the carbonaceous, heat-giving and fat-forming,
and pollen is the nitrogenous element necessary as
a force producer and tissue former. The former is the
food upon which the bees exist during the winter, when
they are in a semi-dormant or inactive state. But as
soon as spring work commences pollen is needed, as it
is an essential part of the food given to the grubs, and
required by the bees themselves when their arduous
work is being performed. When, for any reason,
either of these foods, or both, run short, the assistance
of the bee-keeper is required, and not just as it were
at the last gasp, when it is a matter of life and death
with the bees, for if a stock is allowed to get into that
condition, it is more than probable that though kind

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 91

treatment may save it, it will be of little use during
the summer.

Honey, Nature’s food for the bees, must take the first
place among the supplies given to bees, but before
being given it should, if candied, be liquefied and
supplied as a syrup. The best substitute for honey
is sugar converted into syrup, or given in its raw state
according to directions following. Only the best cane
sugar in the loaf or crystallised form should be used.
Beet sugar must be avoided on account of the
chemicals used in its manufacture.

Pollen, the fertilising dust gathered by the bees when
they visit flowers in search of nectar, may occasionally
run short in the hive, owing to stress of weather or a
lack of pollen-producing flowers. When this food is
scarce, pea-flour will be found a good substitute. It
may be scattered on some fine shavings in an inverted
skep, or mixed with the candy placed above the brood-
nest. If the bees are to obtain a supply of this
artificial pollen from a skep or other receptacle in the
apiary, a little syrup or honey must be sprinkled upon
whatever is used. Once the bees are thus enticed to
the supply prepared for them, they will not desert it,
as long as they are unable to obtain pollen from
natural sources, and in sufficient quantities for their
requirements.

Dry sugar feeding. To distinguish this from the
method of feeding with syrup, the name dry sugar
feeding has been given. The term is, however, not
quite correct, otherwise white crystallised, which is
wholly unsuitable, might be used. This method of
feeding was introduced by Mr. 8. Simmins in 1884, and

92 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

it has since been proved a boon to many bee-keepers.
During the autumn of the same year it was my
privilege, representing the British Bee-keepers’ Asso-
ciation, to visit the bee-keepers in Pembrokeshire and
Cumberland. In the former county I learnt that
sugar-feeding had been in vogue as long as my in-
formants could remember. When spoken to about
the system, they told me that having taken the honey
away in the supers, it was as little as they could do in
return to give the bees a small quantity of food.
Their plan was to fill a basin with brown sugar, press
it down, cover it with thick brown paper, push a hole
or two through the centre, and then invert the basin,
placing it over the feed-hole in the top of the skep.
The results, where this practice was properly carried
out, were uniformly high, when compared with others
kept on the let-alone system.

How to FEEp.

The manner in which food is given must depend
upon whether it is to be used as a stimulant to brood-
rearing, or simply for the bees to store in the cells for
future use.

If it is required for stimulating purposes, there must
be a slow but continuous supply. This has been
assured, with syrup, by using a graduated feeder (Fig.
30). The metal cap, perforated with nine holes, extend-
ing half-way round, is, when covering a full bottle,
placed on a stage in which is cut a long narrow semi-
circular hole. Through this, when the bottle is properly
placed, the holes in the metal cap are visible, To the

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 93

metal cap is attached an index, and as it is pointed to
the figures 1, 2, 3, &c., marked on the stage, that
number of holes remains uncovered, and thus the
rate at which the food is taken down by the bees is
regulated.

There is one great objection to this method of feed-
ing, viz., that all the food taken by the bees after the
first few hours, when the food is given warm, must
be cold, On the giving of cold syrup Mr. Cheshire
remarks, ‘‘ Syrup holding 3 lbs. of water, and given at
the temperature of the external air, will abstract more
heat from the cluster of bees than 4+ cwt. of zine placed
cold in their midst.” Coming from such an authority,
this pronouncement against
the giving of cold syrup should
emphasise the necessity for
giving warm syrup.

There is no reason why, if
we conclude that a stock of
bees requires a pint of food,
it must be four days taking it si
down. Far better is it to
turn on the full number of holes and allow the pint to
be taken down in a few hours while warm. It is then
placed where the bees require it for immediate use, and
will remain at the temperature of the inside instead of
the outside of the hive.

A very simple method of feeding is by a bottle and
stage. The stage is about 5 inches’ square, the sides
being raised and grooved to allow a piece of glass to
slide along the top of the stage. The raised sides and
grooves may be dispensed with, and the glass laid flat

Fic. 30.

94 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

upon the surface of the stage, which will then consist
of a piece of wood 5 inches square, with a hole in the
centre 14 inches across, and a rim underneath to raise
it 4 inch. This stage may be used on any hive by
simply placing it over the feed-hole. When placing it
on askep it is advisable to set it on a slight ring of
barley meal or other paste. The bottle selected should
be a narrow-mouthed honey-jar or pickle bottle. Full

it with warm syrup, and then tie tightly over the
mouth one or two thicknesses of muslin or canvas.
Now a caution must be given. Very frequently the
syrup is found to run from the bottle into the hive,
and thence out of the entrance to the ground. If the
syrup is of the proper consistency this leakage results
from slowly turning over the full bottle, and allowing
the air to reach the top of the bottle above the syrup

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 95

where there should be a vacuum. To avoid this loss
and incentive to robbing, place a piece of paper over
the mouth above the canvas when the bottle is ready for
inverting. If, then, the hand is pressed tightly upon
the paper, while the bottle is quickly inverted no syrup
will escape. The bottle must then be placed upon the
glass, which then withdraw. When the bottle requires
refilling it must be slightly raised while the glass is
pushed underneath, so as to prevent the escape of
bees.

SuGAR-FEEDING.

The preparation and giving of syrup every three or
four days entails a certain amount of trouble; but
this may be considerably reduced, without diminish-
ing the benefit of feeding, by adopting sugar-feeding.
The most suitable sugar for this purpose is Porto
Rico, a fine-grained, pure cane, moist sugar.

To feed stocks in skeps, fill a basin or jar with the
sugar, press it down, and then place upon it a thin
piece of wood, in the centre of which two or three
holes have been made with an auger or a red-hot
poker. Next invert the basin, and set the wood so
that the holes are just above the feed-hole. The wood
should be set level upon a ring of paste or mortar.
The moisture arising from the cluster will pass through
the holes in the wood and be absorbed by the sugar,
which, being converted slowly into syrup, will afford
the bees the gradual but continuous supply of food
they need.

In the place of a basin or jar, a box 5 inches by 4
inches, inside measurement, and 42 inches deep, may

96 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

be used. The hole in the bottom should be 3 inches
by 4 inch, running towards two grooves $ inch apart,
3 inch wide, and 3 inch deep, cut in the middle of the
5-inch sides. Into the grooves slide two pieces of an
old section, pushing them down to within } inch of
the bottom. There will then be left a space of } inch
above. Into the compartments thus cut off from the
hole in the centre of the bottom, the Porto Rico sugar
must be placed. The moisture arising from the brood
nest will have access to the sugar above and below
the section slides. The cover to the box may be a
sheet of glass, which will act as a condenser of the
moisture ; but a piece of cloth should be placed upon
it to keep the feeder dark.

A simpler box, made 4 inches square and 4 inches
deep, might be used in the following manner. In
the bottom make a square or circular hole 14 inches
across, and over that place a false bottom kept by
nails or any other contrivance 3 inch from the bottom
and the same from the sides. When the sugar is put
into the feeder the bees will have access to it all
round the false bottom, which will be 34 inches
square.

The above sugar-feeders may be used on any hive,
but a dummy feeder will be found of great service for
use in a movable-comb hive.

Dummy FEEDER.

As originally devised by Mr. Simmins, the feeder is
faulty, inasmuch as the syrup, formed by the sugar
absorbing the moisture that enters at the top, falls to

AIDS TO SUCCESS. 97

the bottom, thus making a sticky mess on the floor-
board, unless the dummy is made } or ? inch short
of the bottom. An excellent pattern (Fig. 32), first
illustrated in the British Bee Journal, by Mr. T. B.
Blow on his return from a tour among beekeepers
in the East, is the only style that ought to be used.
The parallel openings in the side turned towards
the bees, expose the sugar to the influence of the

moist atmosphere, and allow the bees to feed at the
top or bottom, or wherever syrup is being formed.

Rarip FEEDERS.

The feeders hitherto described have been for use
chiefly when food was required for stimulating the
queen to brood-rearing, but when an examination of
each colony is made in the middle of September,
there may be found a satisfactory state of things from
every point of view but one, viz.,an insufficient supply
of food to carry the stock through the winter. What-
ever quantity of food is then required should be given
in the form of syrup containing six pounds (3 for spring
food) of sugar to the quart of water. The amount of

syrup required may be given in one or two doses warm
7

98 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

at night, in a rapid feeder of the Canadian pattern (Fig.
33). By morning a strong stock will have emptied the
feeder and stored the food in the combs below. At this
time, supposing the stock to contain a good popula-
tion, sufficient heat would be generated to evaporate

Fie. 33.

the superfluous moisture contained in the syrup, and
then it would be sealed over for future use.

If syrup is given later in the season the bees may
be thin in numbers and the weather cold, and then
it will be impossible for them to ripen it and seal it
over.

CHAPTER IX.
COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING.

To many would-be bee-keepers the cost of starting
acts as a deterrent, often, it may be, because they
hear of the great outlay of some bee-keepers who have
not made their venture pay. For the guidance of
beginners I will give a list of the necessary appliances
for properly commencing on the three systems de-
scribed in this Guide, and the cost of each article.
The price given must in each case be taken as ap-
proximate, for prices vary according to the quality and
workmanship of the articles in question.

No hive should be considered complete without at
least two supers; it is, therefore, wise to procure at
starting whatever is likely to be required for properly
working each stock. At the same time I strongly
advise all who commence hee-keeping to ‘‘ make haste
slowly,” and only add to their apiary as they become
more expert in the management of the bees, and feel
that they can with equal success look after a greater
number of hives.

THE Skep System.

On this system the outfit per stock will be as
9

100 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

follows, at the lowest estimate: brood-chamber,
1s. 6d.; 2 supers, 1s. 3d. each; floor-board, 1s. 3d. ;
pan for cover, 1s. 3d.; swarm, 10s. 6d. Total cost,
17s. The cost of a swarm will depend upon
whether it can be purchased from a neighbour or a
dealer some distance away. In the former case a
good ordinary swarm may be obtained for the price
named ; but if supplied by a dealer, who guarantees a
young queen and a certain weight of bees, the price
will be about 3s. 6d. per lb. It is then good policy to
procure a 4-lb. swarm. The extra cost and carriage
will require adding to the estimate above.

Tue “Ivo” Bar-Hive.

The cost of any hive, as of other articles, depends
very materially upon the demand for it. Now, by
the increased demand for this hive it is made by
machinery instead of by hand, and the cost has been
greatly reduced. Those who can use tools will find
the hive simple in construction, and therefore easily
copied. The floor-board costing 1s. 4d.; brood-
chamber, 2s.; two supers with bars, window, and door,
Ys. 2d. each, and roof, Is. 9d., will cost about 9s. 6d. ;
paint, 6d.; foundation, 2s. 6d.; and swarm, 10s. 6d.
Total, 23s.

MovaBie-Coms Hive.

Hives of this description with single walls may be
obtained from about 10s., but with the extras needed
for a complete outfit a much larger sum must be
expended. As a matter of economy, double-walled

COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING. 101

hives are strongly recommended, the extra cost being
very little when the greater protection to the bees
both winter and summer is considered, as a means
towards obtaining full supers. Stocks in double-
walled hives are warmer in winter and cooler in
summer than those in single-walled hives. In favour
of single-walled hives, it has been remarked that the
rays of the sun in the early spring, penetrating the
thin walls, warm the brood-nest, but such walls afford
only moderate protection against the low temperature
of the nights in spring. The best progress is made

Fic. 34.

by a stock that is kept as nearly as possible at a
uniform temperature. Hence the supreme impor-
tance of good non-conducting walls around the brood-
nest.

For a well-made hive with double-walls front and
back, the use of dummies being equivalent to double
walls at the sides, the cost will be about as follows:
floor-board, 2s. ; brood-chamber, with standard frames
and distance-keepers, 5s.; two shallow-frame supers,
with frames and distance-keepers, 4s. each; lift, 1s. ;
roof, 2s. 6d.; square of excluder zinc, 1s. (Fig. 34);
foundation, 5s. 6d.; swarm not less than 4 lbs., 14s.

102 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

Total cost, 39s. Full sheets of foundation for the
brood-nest will take 14 Ibs., and a like amount at least
must be allowed for the two supers, full sheets not
being necessary there. In the lower parts of the
shallow frames not filled with foundation, the bees
will build drone comb, but this is of little conse-
quence, and rather an advantage, for the bees will
use the wax they are secreting during the height of
the honey-flow in completing the combs to the bottom
bar. The use of a queen-excluder between the brood-
chamber and the supers (Fig. 13) is desirable at all
times, in order to keep the queen confined to the
brood-chamber ; but it is imperative if the frames in
the supers: contain drone comb.

If sectional. supers are used instead of bodies of
shallow frames the cost will vary very little, as extra
lifts and an adapting board will be required, also super
foundation instead of brood, except for the brood-
frames.

The following appliances may be considered extras to
be obtained as the apiary is extended, and honey, both
sectional and extracted, are produced: Smoker, from
2s. 6d.; honey-cistern (Fig. 40), with treacle tap
and strainers, 15s.; honey knives (Fig. 39), each,
Qs. 3d.; spatula or scraper, 1s. 3d.; wax extractor
(Fig. 60), 10s. 6d.; feeders, from 1s. each. A
stock of honey jars tie-over or screw-capped, labels
and parchment, brood and super foundation, sections
in the flat, 14-lb. or 28-Ib. cans for extracted honey to
be sold in bulk, and travelling crates for sections
should be obtained in advance of requirements, so
that no delay occurs when further super room or other

COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING. 103

attention is required by any of the stocks in the apiary.
To the above list of stores should be added a packet of
Naphthol Beta, 1s., and a box of Naphthaline, 1s., foul
brood remedies, which should be at hand in every
aplary.

Location oF THE APIARY,

Most unsuitable places are often given to the apiary,
whereas considering its importance more thought
should be given to the selection of the site. While a
nice open spot not too sheltered from the sun, though
as much as possible from the north and east, is best,
it should not be where there is constant traffic. A
rather low position on rising ground should be chosen
if we are to render the return of heavily-laden bees
easy. The ground upon which the hives stand must
be kept free of weeds, and a few feet in the front
should be kept clean and clear of crops. A lady who
recently commenced bee-keeping by buying five stocks
placed them at the middle of one side of the tennis
lawn, fully believing that play would go on uninter-
ruptedly, but a move of the stocks to another part of
the garden had to take place before much tennis was
indulged in.

The entrances of the hive should face the south or
south-east, and the hives should be placed so that a
path is immediately behind them. In many gardens
hives are so placed all round without annoyance to
any one, unless it be the gardener who works in the
front of the hives at times the bees consider unsuit-
able.

104 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

Distance APART.

The hives may be placed as near together as three
feet, but in that case some variation in the shape of
the hive at intervals or some mark should be used to
break the monotony. Six feet apart in the row where
the space can be given, and twelve feet from row to
row, is a more convenient arrangement.

Bre-Fuicar.

In selecting the position of the apiary some con-
sideration should be given to the location or probable
location of honey-producing crops around. If the
site chosen is surrounded by scanty crops, but with
abundant forage two miles away, a grave mistake is
made, as partly filled supers will prove. Very great
ignorance prevails on the subject of bee-flight. That
drones fly some miles is a well-known fact, but not so
the workers. In my own district during recent years
crops of mustard within two miles in direct line of
flight have been neglected, and similar crops much
nearer home have proved of less benefit than one could
wish.

When writing on the subject of bee-flight in 1890
the late Rev. G. Raynor said that his Ligurians were
working on crops three miles away, while his blacks
were idling at home. This shows the former to be
stronger on the wing and better foragers than the
natives. Mr. Cheshire also stated that some stocks
were moved four miles at night to the moors, and the
next morning a cluster of drones was found on the old
stands, but no workers, Mr. Baldwin moved a stock

COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING. 105

of bees in 1877 to St. Mary Cray, a distance of three
to four miles, and in the morning he noticed that a
number of bees had returned.

Taking the lesser distance—three miles—as the
correct measurement in a direct line, it is evident
that the radius of flight of those bees on their pre-
vious stands was at least one and a half miles.
Most bee-keepers of experience, however, agree
that crops one and a half to two miles away are
practically valueless, while the nearer they are the
greater the prospect of full supers. It is, therefore, a
question worth considering as to whether stocks should
not, as on the Nile and in other parts of the world, be
moved to those spots where they are likely to do the
greatest amount of work. By following the crops in
this way, each move being not less than two miles
away in a direct line, the honey returns are enor-
mously increased, thus proving not only the practic-
ability, but the advisability of moving bees ‘‘ to
pastures new.”

Movine BEzs.

The ordinary removal of stocks to fresh sites in the
same apiary should invariably take place in the depth
of winter, preferably in the midst of frosty weather,
when the bees have for some days been confined to
their hives. The old position should be changed in
appearance as much as possible, and to draw the
attention of the bees, when they leave the hives for
the first cleansing flight, to their new position a small
branch should be placed in the ground and made to
stand in the front of the entrance, The bees must

106 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

then take note of their surroundings on leaving the
hive. This means of drawing attention to a change
of position is more essential when, for any reason,
stocks are moved a short distance, say twenty or
thirty yards, at a time of the year when the bees are
daily on the wing. At such times a move of a yard
or two every day, or alternate day, when the bees are
flying freely, is a better plan, as they become accus-
tomed to a change of position by degrees.

In moving stocks from one apiary to another beyond
bee-flight, that is, at least two miles away, the early
part of the year, or at the end of February, should be
chosen, for then there will not be much brood, and
the move will act to some extent as a stimulant to
breeding. Later on, say in March or April, a better
idea of the value of stocks could be ascertained, and
no harm would result from the moving if it took place
before much work had been done on the orchard
bloom.

Packinc Stocks AND SWARMS.

Swarms are easy to transport, but the following
directions may be followed. Hive the swarm in a
straw skep, and let it remain until the evening.
Weigh the swarm box, examine the perforated zinc
to see that it is securely nailed on the bottom and
also on the lid, mark one side of the box and the side
of the lid near to it; then set the box close by the
swarm. Lift off the lid and place it down by the side
of the box so that it can be picked up and placed
upon the box as soon as the swarm isin. Now lift
up the skep gently without moving the cluster, and

COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING. 107

when it is turned mouth upwards give it a sharp
bump on the lower side of the skep, and before the
bees recover, roll them into the box, give the skep a
sharp clap on the sides with the palms of the hands,
and then lift up the lid and place it on the box, carry-
ing it a little distance away to put in the screws. If
this operation is performed as directed in the evening,
just when the bees have begun to settle down, say
about seven o'clock, all but perhaps a dozen or two
will in less then half a minute have been safely
fastened in the swarm box. If any bees drop over
the side of the box, leave them, but look carefully
round to see if the queen is among them ; if she is, at
once carry her on a piece of paper or something else
along with a few bees to the swarm box. To get her
in without allowing the bees to escape unscrew the
lid, give the box a shake to throw the bees to the
bottom, draw the lid a little to one side, and drop in
the queen.

Swarms may also be sent in good-sized skeps with
a square of canvas at the top and another at the
bottom for ventilation. Two or three wisps of straw
or balls of paper should be tied underneath the skep
to keep the bottom off the ground and thus ensure a
current of air passing through the skep.

To pack stocks in skeps proceed as follows: Pro-
cure a cheese box if of sufficient diameter ; if not, any
light square box will do, and with a piece of thick
string make a handle on each side near the top; put
into the bottom a good layer of straw, or roll pieces
of newspaper into balls and cover the bottom with
them, as a buffer must be provided to protect the

108 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

stock from the effects which rough handling of such
packages would produce. The box is now ready to
receive the stock. Take a square of canvas and pro-
ceed to the stock, which should have previously been
raised off the stand, and the front left an inch or two off
the floor-board so that the cool evening air will drive the
bees up amongst the combs. Puff a little smoke into
the entrance, then take a corner of the canvas between
the thumb and forefinger of each hand, place the palms
of the hands on the sides of the stock, which turn
quickly over, letting the canvas fall over the mouth of
the hive. Before the bees rise tie a string round the
canvas. The hive may then be placed in the box,
and if the space around the sides be padded with
straw or paper, it will travel safely. To ensure extra
care in handling while in transit the following words
in large type should be written on the label:

LIVE BEES ON COMBS—WITH CARE.

It must be borne in mind that only stocks on fairly
tough combs can be expected to travel safely. Sticks
which are put through the hive in such a manner that
they may be easily withdrawn are a great help to the
safe transit of stocks, for the combs will be built to
them, and so held securely.

Supposing the stock to be particularly strong in
bees, the canvas will not be placed over the mouth
of the hive with the ease it will over a moderately
strong colony; but in that case the hive should first
be lifted off the stand, the bees brushed off the latter,
and then the canvas spread upon it. Now return the
stock, leaving the front raised, and most of the bees

COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING. 109

will be secured later in the evening by raising the
canvas and tying it round the skep before the latter
is inverted.

How to Srart BEE-KEEPING.

Whether by swarms or stocks is a matter to be
settled mainly by the buyer, who will start with the
latter if he can procure good healthy stocks at a
reasonable price in the spring. Stocks in skeps may
be bought from cottagers when ‘taking up” time
comes in the autumn, or in the early spring, for
about the price of a good swarm later on in May or
June, and with careful management each lot may be
expected to give a swarm, and probably a cast or two,
with which to stock new hives.

The most satisfactory start would be with new, well-
painted hives and strong swarms; and, presuming this
mode of commencing to be adopted, the swarm will be
hived in the following manner :—

Swarms sent by rail should always travel in boxes
with holes in the top and bottom, covered with per-
forated zinc, and the lid screwed on. If the swarm
has come a long distance and arrives at night, a little
syrup may be given over the perforated zinc in such a
manner that no bees are drowned. The zinc smeared
occasionally with honey or syrup will afford just that
taste of food which will render the bees quiet on being
turned out of the box.

The hive properly prepared should be placed on a
spot cleared of weeds and made perfectly hard and
level, then a piece of wood should be placed so that

110 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

the upper edge, previously bevelled, will lean against
the front edge of the alighting board, the bottom
resting on the ground. This board is to afford the
heavily-laden bees that fall short of the alighting
board an easy means of reaching the hive.

The entrance to the hive, when introducing a
swarm, should be as wide as possible, and, in addi-
tion to giving the full entrance, it may be raised
slightly from the floor-board, and kept in that position
by placing wedges at either end. The swarm box
must be placed near the hive. First, remove the
screws without allowing any bees to escape. Then
take hold of the box with a hand on each side, the
lid being held down by the thumbs, raise the box, and
then set it down sharply. This will have the effect of
throwing the bees into a heap on the bottom. Quickly
throw off the lid, and, holding the box mouth down-
wards, shake a few bees out on to the alighting board
as near as possible to the entrance.

As soon as they commence running in throw down
more until all are in the front of the hive. If the
queen is seen she should be lifted with a feather to
the entrance, to ensure that the swarm will enter,
which it will not do if the queen should get lodged
beneath the alighting board or remain elsewhere out-
side the hive.

When the bees have become settled inside the hive,
the entrance should be lessened during the time that
the bees will be busy working the foundation into
combs. In a few days the brood-chamber of the
“‘Ivo”’ will be in a sufficiently forward state for
supering operations to be commenced ; but the swarm

COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING. 111

in a bar-frame hive will require additional frames of
foundation every few days, until the hive is full of
combs, unless the brood-nest is limited, for supering
with divisional sectional supers, until after the honey-
flow.

CHAPTER X.
HONEY PRODUCTION.

THE aim of improved methods of bee-keeping is to
augment profit by an increased output of honey per
hive. Consequently the bee-keeper must direct his
efforts towards the preparation of those receptacles in
which the surplus honey is to be stored. This is, of
course, after care and attention have been bestowed
upon the brood chamber, which at the commencement
of the honey-flow should contain a large quantity of
worker bees.

The first question naturally arising is: ‘Shall I
produce run or drained, extracted or sectional honey?”
This question must be answered by each bee-keeper
according to the facility with which he can dispose
of his produce, always bearing in mind, first, that
sectional honey should only be produced largely in
those districts where crops producing honey that
quickly granulates are scarce; and, secondly, whether
the non-sectional honey shall be obtained by extracting
honey from the combs, or by simply slicing them and
draining the honey therefrom, must be determined by
the size of the apiary, and the interest a bee-keeper

re

HONEY PRODUCTION. 118

takes in his hobby. Returns in both drained and
extracted honey are generally allowed to be consider-
ably in excess of the amount taken in sections, and,
unless there is for the latter a quick sale at remunera-
tive prices, it is preferable to confine our efforts entirely
to producing either drained or extracted honey.

When to super ? is a query put very frequently to
the editors of Bee Journals, and others who are re-
sponsible for replies to queries on bee-culture in news-
papers. A definite date cannot possibly be given, as
seasons and crops vary so much. To insure good
results there must be a strong stock of bees, ample
crops of honey-producing flowers in bloom near the
apiary, and atmospheric conditions favourable to the
secretion of nectar by the flowers. With strong
stocks, and the above conditions fulfilled, surplus
will be gathered and stored in large quantities, if
only proper super accommodation is given.

Some idea as to when the time for supering has
arrived may be formed by noticing the district around,
and the manner of the bees, but more particularly by
a glance at the upper cells of the combs, for, as soon
as honey is being brought into the hive in quantities
much beyond the daily requirements of the colony,
the upper cell walls will be lengthened with newly-
made wax, as the cells are being filled with the surplus
honey. The earlier crops, such as fruit bloom, are
found before the majority of colonies have made much
headway, therefore little beyond what is required by
a daily-increasing brood-nest is stored. Still, by con-
fining the stock to a smaller number of frames than
it is usual to allow a full stock, a very fair amount of

8

114 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

surplus may be stored in small-sized supers. On the
removal of these supers the stock may be stimulated,
and converted into one of very satisfactory dimensions
by the time the next honey-flow commences.

The lack of surplus, when favourable conditions for
the secretion and gathering of nectar are present, is
due to the fact that stocks, for want of proper manage-
ment, are not sufficiently strong at the commencement
of the honey-flow, and that supering is too long .de-
layed, sometimes to such an extent that the putting on
of supers is too late for any advantage to be derived
from the honey-flow. In order to emphasise the
necessity for timely supering, I may state that of
three swarms in one apiary, about the same weight,
and treated in an exactly similar manner as far as
the brood-nest was concerned, two gave over 40 lbs.
of surplus each ; while another, not supered, gave, of
course, nothing. The supers were intentionally left
off the last-mentioned swarm to prove to visitors the
inevitable result of procrastination when the time for
supering had arrived.

DRAINED Honey.

Upon the brood-chamber of stocks in skeps, and
the “Ivo” bar-hive, the surplus honey will be stored
in a manner that renders it necessary to remove and
slice the combs in order to obtain the honey. To this
process of obtaining honey from the combs there
cannot be any reasonable objection, for, during the
honey-flow, sheets of foundation are very rapidly con-
verted into combs, and therefore little, if any, time
is lost by this method of procedure.

HONEY PRODUCTION. 115

The late Mr. C. N, Abbott, when editor of the British
Bee Journal, advised, in 1888, the cutting up of combs
made from foundation when they were filled with
honey, instead of resorting to the extractor. Again,
very recently a well-known manufacturer of appliances,
who owns a large apiary, sold his own extractor because
it would, as he said, be quicker work to cut out the
full combs, slice and drain from them the honey, and
return the frames refilled with foundation.

The supers on movable-comb hives need not of
necessity be shallow frames or sectional supers, and
therefore any other kind of super in which foundation
can be fixed may be chosen. Among such supers is
the ‘‘ Ivo,’ which is exactly as prepared for the ‘‘ Ivo”
hive, except that the plinths are omitted. Before such
a super is placed upon the frames of a movable-comb
hive, a sheet of queen-excluding zine (Fig. 34) must
be laid upon them. The perforations, $ inch in width,
allow only the workers to pass through, as the drones
are altogether too bulky ; and the queen, unless young,
is stopped by the breadth of the thorax. The sheet of
queen-excluding zinc is an absolute necessity, if brace-
combs are not to be built by the bees to unite the
combs of the brood-chamber with those in the super.
Bees build brace or joining combs, because they
apparently prefer to travel from one part of the hive
to another on comb; and it may also be, though in
a lesser degree, owing to a desire to ensure firmness
of the connection between the two stories. The
sheet of excluder zinc remains on the frames for
the whole of the season, or, at any rate, until the
close of the honey-flow ; and by its use not only will

116 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

the queen and drones be kept below, but the bees will
finish off their combs, so that in removing the super
there will, as a rule, be no attachments to the work
below.

Among other supers under this heading may be
mentioned bell-glasses, but they are not recommended,

Fie. 35.

as it is with great trouble that foundation is fixed in
them, and when filled they are not much sought after.
Abbott’s cottager super with glass sides is a very
pretty little super, holding, when full, about 7 lbs.
of comb honey. It possesses an advantage over the
bell-glass in a provision for receiving foundation guides.

A most charming and at the same time effective

HONEY PRODUCTION. 117

super is the ‘Castle Douglas Super” (Fig. 35),
holding about 26 lbs. of honey, and designed by
Mr. W. Hogg, of Castle Douglas, N.B. Foundation
guides are fixed with fish glue to the glass top, by
inverting the super and placing it upon a board, the
same size as the top of the super, marked where the

sheets of foundation should run. The lines are shown

Fic. 36.

through the glass, and while the foundation is held
over the line the glue is run along, and when dry
holds it securely. The ‘Castle Douglas Super,
No. 2” (Fig. 36), was also designed by Mr. Hogg as a
divisional super, the idea being that combs may be
cut away with that part of the super to which they are
attached.

118 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

EXXTRACTORS AND EXTRACTING.

By giving supers of clean comb during the honey-
flow the labours of the bees are saved in one direction,
and utilized in another. The time they would spend
in producing wax and building combs is more profit-
ably spent in gathering, storing, and ripening honey ;
and the quantity thus obtained is amazingly increased,
and to an extent that is impossible under any other
system. The advantage of such a system cannot be
called in question; and, further, it is the surest
means of preventing swarming, aS more room may,

without disadvantage, be given to stocks worked for
extracted honey. The honey is ejected from the combs
by centrifugal force, and then the empty combs are
returned for refilling.

One of the simplest and cheapest of extractors is the
“ Little Wonder” (Fig. 87), designed by Mr. C. N.
Abbott nearly twenty years ago. As will be clear from
our illustration, the comb when uncapped is placed
against the wire backing; then the iron point at the
bottom of the shaft is placed in a hole in the floor or
a heavy piece of wood. The top of the shaft, through
which an iron bolt passes, is then held firmly while

HONEY PRODUCTION. 119

the cage is made to revolve until the honey is thrown
out. To those who do not mind hard work this form
of extractor will be acceptable, but as the holding
capacity below the cage is small, the can requires
frequent emptying, otherwise clothes are spoilt and
honey wasted.

About the same period a cylinder extractor was

Tic. 38.

designed by Mr. T. W. Cowan, and is still, with
various alterations, a well-known machine. It con-
sists of a cylinder in which are fixed two cages
revolving round a central spindle turned with or
without multiplying gear. Beneath the cages there is
space for a large quantity of honey, which allows of
several combs being extracted before the honey is
run off.

120 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

Mr. Meadows, who has earned fame as a manufac-
turer of these useful machines, introduced into the
cylinder pattern a special backing which prevents the
bulging and consequent breaking of the combs. This
has now been fitted to the latest pattern ‘‘ Cowan”’
extractor, as manufactured and sold by Mr. A. I.
Root in America, and forms a machine which, com-
_pared with its predecessors, is perfection. The cages
are moved by gearing fixed at the side of the extractor,
a much more convenient arrangement than if at the
top. In some extractors of the ‘‘ Cowan’ pattern
the cages are fixed on pivots, so that when one side
of the comb is emptied, a move of the cage places it
against the next side of the square of ironwork, with
the other side towards the wall of the extractor, thus
doing away with the necessity for removing the combs
for reversal. The speed at which the cages must
revolve to effectively drive out the honey, without at
the same time breaking the tender combs, can only be
learnt by practice.

Honey should be extracted from sealed combs only,
and in warm weather. It is a great mistake to leave
this work until late in the season, for then the bees
quickly decrease in numbers, and the internal heat of
the hive being thereby lessened, as well as the external
temperature, the honey becomes thick and difficult to
eject from the combs, even by turning the cages at
great speed. This is especially the case with honeys
that quickly candy. Therefore, though it is advisable
to leave the honey on the hive to allow of proper
ripening, it must not remain during cold weather.

HONEY PRODUCTION. 121

EXTRACTING.

Having cleared the frame super of bees, remove it

[ while the combs are warm to the room in which the
operation of extracting is to be carried on. Now lift
out a frame, stand it on end, and, commencing at the
bottom, shave off the cappings with a long, sharp,
uncapping knife (Fig. 39) that has been heated in a
can of hot water or special knife-heater. The knife
should be drawn along with an up-and-down saw-like
movement, and by holding the upper end of the frame
forward the cappings will hang in a sheet from the
comb and fall into a dish below, or into the can of

the comb-holder, if such a useful article is used.
Both sides of the comb must be uncapped and then
the frame placed in one of the cages of the extractor.
To balance it, and make the running easy, another
comb similarly prepared is put into the opposite cage.

It will be recollected that in a previous chapter the
upward pitch of the cells was referred to, and this
peculiarity must not now be ignored ; in fact, if it is,
the work of extracting will not be satisfactory. When
putting a frame into the cage of the extractor it
should be so placed that the bottom bar moves round
first, when the cages are set in motion. The honey
will then be thrown out in the direction in which the
cells are built. The wheel, or handle, attached to the
spindle round which the cages revolve, must then be

122 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

turned round slowly, and the speed gradually in-
creased. The effect is that the honey will be thrown
out upon the tin walls of the cage, or the inner wall
of the extractor, and run down to the bottom, to be
afterwards drawn through a treacle-tap. When one
side of the comb is emptied it must be reversed, that
is, simply turned over, not round.
Then the bottom bar of the frame
will again move round first. The
combs, as emptied, may be re-
placed in the super, and allowed
to remain until some of the drip-
ping honey has fallen. The super
may then be placed upon any
stock requiring additional super
room, or returned to the stock
from which it has been taken,
either for additional super room
or for clearing of the dripping
honey.

A honey cistern (Fig. 40) is a
necessity, even though only a
few stocks are kept for the pro-
duction of drained or extracted

honey. The price need not deter any bee-keeper from
investing in such a useful article, for one fair colony
will produce surplus sufficient to pay the cost the first
season. A convenient size is 24 feet deep and 12
inches in diameter, holding over one hundredweight.
The name first given to these cisterns—honey ripeners
—is being dropped, and rightly so, as it is found that
extracting honey before it is properly ripened in the

HONEY PRODUCTION. 128

hive does not pay either in quantity or quality. The
sliced combs, or the honey from below the cages of the
extractor, is put into the upper compartment, and the
honey is drained through perforated tin or woven wire.
It then passes through a piece of fine canvas tied over
the neck as shown, so that all pieces of comb, however
small, must be left behind.

There is still a further strainer required, as the first
is apt to get choked with pieces of comb. One with a
little larger mesh, strengthened with bars and mov-
able, if arranged to rest half-way down the upper com-
partment, would prove of great service. Effective
straining also necessitates early removal of supers, as
thick honey refuses to pass through any but coarse
strainers, and the result must be unsatisfactory.

Sectionat Honey.

Sectional honey of prime quality is much sought
after, and usually commands a very remunerative
price. Therefore it must be obtained in the largest
quantity possible per stock, and presented for sale in
an attractive form. Two crates will at all times be
needful if a stock is to have a fair amount of surplus
room available, but very often three or even more will
be required on a strong stock, so fast does the honey
come in during a good honey-flow. The sections must
be perfectly white and smooth, and provided with
either two or four bee-ways, so that passage ways for
the bees are allowed above and below or on all sides.
The size most generally used when evenly filled holds
1 Ib. of honey, and is 44 inches square by 13 inch wide.

124 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

When received from America they are in the flat
(Fig. 41), grooves being cut at proper intervals nearly
through, so that when folded a square of 41 inches is
produced. The wood left at the bottom of the groove

Fic. 41.

is so thin that carelessness in folding will cause the
section to fall to pieces, though the wood is fairly
tough, but by damping the section at the back of the
grooves it may be quickly folded, and then a slight tap
at the corners will fasten the tenon and leave the
section ready for the foundation. Hither a small
triangular piece as a starter or a full sheet of founda-
tion will then be fixed according to instructions already
given.

The next step is to arrange the sections, three in a

i

row, end to end, in a crate (Fig. 42) holding twenty-
one sections. Between the rows must be placed
separators to keep the work of comb-building confined
to each section. Separators are made of metal or

HONEY PRODUCTION. 125

wood (Fig. 43). The former are of thin tin, cut with
or without the two perpendicular holes by means of
which, when four-way sections are used, the bees are
able to pass from end to end of each row of sections.

Fic. 43.

If two-way sections are used, the grooves in the
separators are only cut in the top and bottom, making
each 58, inch short of the top and the bottom of the
section. Without these grooves being cut in the
separators the bees would be unable to enter the
sections at all.

The latest introduced separator (Fig. 44), the
‘‘ Sheppard Divider,’ is of perforated zinc, and per-
fect sections are said to be guaranteed by its use.

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o000c0000000 9000000

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900006000000 °
co0000 9
0000000 °
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000000000000 °
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000000000000 °
00000000000
000000000006 °

Fie. 44.

Most bee-keepers prefer two-way sections, and plain
thin wood separators, also of American manufacture.
Whatever kind is used must be placed close up to the
sections. Between the last separator and the end of

126 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

the crate a spring is inserted to keep the sections in
position. This is very necessary, for if held loosely
and vacant spaces are left, the bees will find a place
for propolis, to the subsequent annoyance of the bee-
keeper.

The crate being now ready, the quilts are removed
from the frames in the brood-chamber, and itis placed
in position. The sections rest upon 4}-inch laths
running from end to end of the crate, but between
the top bars of the frames in the brood-chamber there

Fic. 45.

isa space of }inch. In the extra space thus given
the bees invariably build combs to the bottoms of the
sections, already alluded to as brace-combs, which,
when the crate is removed, are difficult to break, and
the bees are consequently greatly irritated by the
unavoidable jar. There is, however, a much more
important drawback. The sections to which the
brace-combs are attached will almost certainly be
damaged, and often thereby rendered unfit for sale.
All this trouble may be avoided by using a wider

HONEY PRODUCTION. 127

top bar to the brood-frames, leaving a space of + inch
only, or by using an adapting board (Fig. 45). This
board is 14 inches x 163 inches. On the underside
there is a rim } inch in depth, which raises the board
that distance above the frames. Running nearly from
end to end are six holes 3 inch wide, two beneath
each row of sections. There is then only a space of
2 inch under the sections which the bees respect, and
brace-combs are avoided. The adapting board is
placed upon the frames in the brood-chamber at the
beginning of the honey-flow, when the first crate is
given, and need not be removed until all supering
operations are at an end. Under the board will then
be found the brace-combs that would otherwise have
been attached to the sections.

The boon such a device is to the producer of sec-
tions cannot be fully appreciated until it is seen
with what ease crates are raised or removed without
irritation to the colony. It is not too much to say
that the prising off of crates with chisels, &c., has
had much to do with the apparent natural irritability
of many a stock of bees. Gentleness in every opera-
tion is much to be desired, and the use of this board
will be one means to that end.

Queen-excluders are not required when sectional
supers are used. This is the case, particularly when
the brood-chamber has been properly manipulated,
and the combs are not allowed to become clogged
with honey before the super is in place. Full sheets
of worker foundation also act as a deterrent to the
queen entering the sections. If starters only are
given above a badly arranged brood-chamber, drone

128 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

comb is built in sections, and the queen will frequently
leave her own domain to deposit eggs therein.
Sections are also placed in wide frames instead of
crates, and were used and recommended many years
ago by Messrs. Abbott and Cheshire, but of late they
have been heard little of. Quite recently a crate of

:

ma

wide frames or section hangers, introduced by Mr. W.
Broughton Carr, has sprung into favour. These
hangers are cut to receive three sections. Separators
are then fixed to one side, and the whole set is then
held tightly by a spring, forced between the last
hanger and the crate end.

:

CHAPTER XI.
BEE-ESCAPES AND SUPER-CLEARING.

It is generally remarked that one difficulty is no
sooner overcome than another is presented for solu-
tion. If we take the preparation and filling of supers
as a difficulty overcome, we are soon brought face to
face with another, viz., how to take from supers their
contents when full, seeing that the stores are so safely
guarded by the bees. An old practice, when the
super happened to be a skep, was to shake out the
bees while walking round the garden, but frequently
the tender combs gave way and followed the bees.
At other times a favoured plan was to place the full
super in an out-house, and leave the door slightly
ajar. As long as the place remained perfectly dark,
except for this slight opening the bees would leave
without difficulty. At the present time these and
other difficult and troublesome methods of ridding
supers of bees have already been, or shortly will be,
superseded by simpler and more satisfactory methods.

Some years ago, on his return from a visit to bee-
keepers in the East, Mr. T. B. Blow illustrated and
described in the British Bee Journal a box, on the top

9 129

130 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

of which was fixed, over a small hole, a perforated
zine or wire tube. The super to be cleared was
placed in the box from which the bees left by the
tube and did not return. In 1890 a modified forin of
this device was advised by Mr. Harbordt for fixing
over the ventilation hole in the roof, as a means of
exit for the bees, and now the cone is greatly valued
as ameans of ridding supers of bees. It is equally
effective whether used on a box or over the ventilating
hole in the roof of the hive.

When a box is used a hole is needed in the lid about

2%
i 7

6 inches in diameter, and another in the side about
1 inch in diameter. Over the latter the cone is tacked
with small nails. This cone, made of finely perforated
zinc, is 34 inches long, 2 inches wide at one end, and
4 inch at the other. The super to be cleared of bees
is then placed over the hole in the lid, and if the bee-
keeper will see that no bees can leave except by
passing down into the box, and thence out by the
cone, no anxiety need be felt as to the result. In a
very short time all the bees will have left by the exit
provided, and have returned to their own hive.

ee

Mil i my

Fig. =

BEE-ESCAPES AND SUPER-CLEARING. 181

An ‘‘ Ivo,” or other super, may be cleared in the
following manner. First, fix over one of the ventilat-
ing holes in the roof of the hive, a cone, and then
after administering a little smoke to the bees, raise
the super with as little disturbance as possible, and
place under it a cloth, or sheet of paper; anything in
fact that will cut off the communication between the
brood-chamber and the super, or between the topmost
and next lower super, if more than one are on the
hive. Draw back the quilts that remain upon the
super and replace the roof. As soon as the bees find
that they are cut off from the brood-chamber, they
will leave the super, attracted by light which will
then be coming in through the perforated zine cone.
This is a quick and thoroughly satisfactory method of
clearing supers of bees, but as all roofs are not bee-
proof, they must be made so, otherwise the bees will
leave by other exits than the cone, and, if they do, so
surely, if the super is left on long enough, will they
return and carry off the honey.

Pin Trap.

One of the earliest mechanical contrivances to act
as a super clearer was the Cheshire pin trap, the holes
in which may be made either on a separate piece of
wood to fix on a box side, as made by Mr. Clutten, or
they may be made in one side of a box, if it is fixed at
a small angle. The trap may be constructed accord-
ing to the following directions given by Mr. Cheshire
in his work ‘‘ Bees and Bee-keeping.” Over a large
opening in the box is placed a thin piece, slanting at an
angle of about 45° to the horizon; in this are made

132 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

clean holes 4+ inch in diameter. Four rather small
pins are driven in, two above and two below each
opening, each pair so close together that a fifth pin
can lie between the two pairs, exactly across the
centre of the hole, while its head cannot slip between
the other two. Instead of using two pins above the
hole I prefer a pin deprived of its head and driven in
somewhat like a bell-hanger’s staple, to suspend the
centre pin running across the opening. Three or four
of these will be sufficient. The bees coming to the
light, press up the pin which crosses the hole; it
freely rises, and gives the exit, while entry, as it falls
back into position, is effectually barred.

Hither of these methods can be used with supers
containing combs from which the honey is to be
drained or extracted; but sectional supers require
more care in removal, because the bees, after being
disturbed and before leaving the super, will perforate
the cappings of the cells in order to obtain honey, as
they invariably do, when disturbed. Sections or
other comb honey for exhibition would thus be spoilt.
A more satisfactory appliance for this purpose is the
Webster clearer, designed by Mr. W. B. Webster. It
also is a cone clearer, but the cones of wire cloth are
fixed beneath a board exactly underneath a hole
through which the bees must pass to get to the lower
compartments. The board is raised + inch by a ledge
running round on the under side. The clearer should
be placed under the super without in the least disturb-
ing the bees in their work, if possible, then they will
pass down through the cones leaving the cappings of
the combs in the super untouched.

BEE-ESCAPES AND SUPER-CLEARING. 183

The Porter escape (Fig. 48) is very ingenious
and perfect in action. It is an oblong tin case
open at one end. Above this is fixed a tin cover,
with a hole in the end away from the opening in

Fie. 48.

the case below, and being extended beyond the sides
of the case forms a flange all round, resting upon
the sides of a hole cut in the board to receive
the oblong case. When this board (Fig. 49) is
placed below the super, which it is made to fit, the
bees leave by the circular hole shown in the illustra-
tion, but they can only leave the small case below by
pressing against two fine brass springs. As soon as

a bee has passed through, the springs return to their
former position and prevent bees passing upwards.
It is best to move supers bodily, but when long hives
are used the back frames will be used as honey recep-

134 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

tacles. Hach frame from which the honey is to be
extracted must in such cases be lifted out separately,
so that the adhering bees may be returned by a sharp
jerk of the frame. Any bees not detached may then
be dislodged by a wing or feather, or the Yucca brush.

REMovING SECTIONS.

From a section crate the honey must, as has already
been pointed out, be removed carefully to avoid damag-
ing the comb. If the crates have been placed upon an
adapting board, and removed before much propolis has
been used, there will not be much difficulty in getting
the sections out without damage. Their removal will
be rendered easier if the laths, upon which they rest,
have been slightly rubbed over with a little vaseline
before putting in the sections. Itis certain that there
will, at times, be some sections not properly finished.
These ought to be placed together and given to a stock
requiring more super room, or to any other stock likely
to complete the work.

CHAPTER XII.

QUEEN RAISING AND INTRODUCING.

THE heading of colonies with young, and consequently
vigorous laying queens, is of great importance, hence
the necessity for rules to guide in the rearing and
introducing of queens to stocks that have lost their
queens, or have queens of inferior quality. It does
not follow that, though queens are of little use to an
advanced bee-keeper after their second season, they
must be removed from every stock which has not sent
out a swarm for two successive seasons, because bees
undoubtedly raise queens to supersede those failing
in their power of egg-laying.

A few years ago a bee-keeper, owning a large apiary,
noticed during the manipulations of a particular colony
that there were newly-formed queen cells in the hive,
though at the same time the queen was laying. This
circumstance would have received little notice, but for
the fact that it was not near swarming time, and the
colony was evidently not preparing for swarming.
The progress of events was carefully watched, and
during a subsequent examination a young queen was
found on the combs, whilst the old queen was also

135

136 PLEASURABLE BHE-KEHEPING.

still laying. In afew days the virgin queen left the
hive on her wedding trip, and, the object of her visit
having been obtained, she entered the hive and killed
the old queen. This instance proving, if proof were
necessary, that stocks do requeen themselves, is given
to show the necessity for removing any queen known
to be of inferior quality. A young queen may be
easily recognised by her downy appearance, but the
appearance of a queen must not alone be the guide as
to whether or not she is to be superseded.

Work in the form of egg-laying is what we require
in a queen ; therefore it is the manner in which she
lays that must decide her fate. It is impossible to
say what quantity of brood should be in a hive at
any particular date, for seasons vary. The earlier
the season the more forward will be a good stock.
It is, therefore, chiefly by comparison that the merits
of queens must be decided. When a stock, apparently
equal to others in the apiary in point of numbers and
amount of stored food, shows a small amount of brood
while others are in this respect fairly equal, the con-
clusion we may fairly come to is that the queen in
question is not worth keeping, and consequently must
be replaced by one of better quality. In some well-
managed apiaries it is rarely that a queen is allowed
to remain at the head of a colony beyond her second
season, as she is, from a bee-keeper’s standpoint,
worn out or has reached that stage in her existence
when to keep her means a lowering of the profit
obtainable from that particular stock.

These remarks will doubtless be sufficient to
emphasise the necessity for keeping a strict account

QUEEN RAISING AND INTRODUCING, 187

of the age of every queen. It is not a difficult matter
for a cottager to know the ages of his queens, for
a stock out of which a swarm issued, say in 1894,
will have a queen of good quality in 1895, one that
may be expected to do good work that season and
probably equally so in 1896, because, being provided
with brood-chambers of limited capacity, queens
heading stocks in skeps do remain profitable longer
than those whose energies are directed to filling with
eggs, the combs of an extensive brood-nest such as is
found in a bar-frame hive.

In case the idea should be entertained that no
harm can result from stocks requeening themselves,
it is well to state that every effort should be directed
to obtaining and keeping in each colony only queens
exhibiting the most desirable qualities. This cannot
always result if requeening is left to the bees, for
when the necessity for superseding a queen arises the
stock will, in all probability, be thin in numbers; and
as the nurse bees play an important part in the
rearing of bees, it is best to ensure the raising of
queens in full colonies.

QuEEN RalsiIne.

Movable combs render the operations of queen
raising and introducing comparatively easy.

Having selected the stock from which it is desired
to raise queens, remove the queen about noon on a
warm day, when most of the old bees are out foraging.
By giving very little smoke the bees will not be dis-
turbed, and the queen will most likely be found at

138 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

work on one of the centre combs. If a queen of
good quality she must not be sacrificed, but given
to another stock known to possess a poor queen.
When the bees in the queenless stock find out their
loss, they commence the formation of queen cells
around some of the cells containing worker eggs or
grubs that have just emerged from such eggs.

To ensure the best results queen raisers prevent
queen cells being formed over grubs a few days old,
ag queens so produced are not of the best quality.
Ten days after the removal of the queen the queen
cells will be sealed over and ready for removal to
other colonies from which we take the inferior queens.
The day before it is decided to remove the queen cells
all hives to which queen cells are to be given should
be deprived of their queens; but in order to ensure
that no stocks are left queenless at the close of the
season, these queens, or the best of them, should be
placed in nuclei until the stocks from which they are
taken have fertile queens. There should be as many
queenless colonies as there are well-shaped queen cells
to spare.

The day following each queen cell should be cut out
carefully with a little comb attached, and one placed
between the centre combs in each queenless hive.
The comb attached to the cell will prevent it falling
down, and a gentle pressure on the comb will fix it to
the bar. Lay the quilts lightly over the frames and
make no further examination until the sixteenth day
from the removal of the first queen. Then examine
all the queen cells, and if a well-shaped hole has been
made at the mouth of the cell the queen has hatched

QUEEN RAISING AND INTRODUCING. 139

out properly, and an examination of the combs need
not, in fact, should not, take place for another week,
by which time some, if not all, the queens may have
been on their wedding flight and be found laying.

As soon as it is ascertained that a queen cell has
failed or been destroyed, one of the queens reserved
must be introduced, and the others not required may
be destroyed. Instead of killing the queens two or
three nuclei may be united to form one colony, the
queens being allowed to settle the question as to
which shall remain alive. If more stocks are not
required by the uniting of nuclei, a nucleus colony
may be united to each hive near which it has been
standing.

REQUEENING SKEPS.

Swarming will be the best method of requeening
stocks in skeps or other fixed-comb hives, as the old
queen always leaves with the first swarm. The queen
that, later on in the season, is found laying will
therefore be a young one, and of the same age and
quality as queens accompany after-swarms or casts.
It is not an unusual occurrence for three or more
swarms to issue from a good stock. The hives into
which all but the first are placed should be marked
with the figure 1, to show that the queen is in her
first season. The hive into which the first swarm
is placed must be marked 2 or 3, according as to
whether or not she issued with a swarm the previous
year.

At the end of the season bees taken from condemned
stocks should be used for strengthening weak ones

140 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

and giving new queens. When bees are added for
the purpose of requeening, the bees of the stock must
first be driven and the queen captured. The two lots
can then be united according to the directions given
for uniting.

QUEEN INTRODUCTION.

If for any reason it is desirable to introduce a queen
to a colony of bees, certain precautions are necessary,
otherwise the stranger will be at once killed by the
bees of the stock to which she is introduced. Bees
apparently distinguish one another to some extent, if
not entirely, by scent, and it is very amusing to see
how a well-dusted bee flying home from the artificial
pollen box is received by the guards. It is not an
unusual occurrence for such a bee to be refused
admission to the home from which she so recently
issued to find and bring home food for the colony.

Each colony has a distinctive odour, but how it
emanates is not clear. Any bee-keeper of experience
will know that after handling a queen the bees of that
colony will cluster upon the spot where she has been,
and behave in a manner that appears to betoken
pleasure on scenting the queen. In order, therefore,
to introduce an alien queen successfully, we must
adopt a means of giving the queen an opportunity to
form an acquaintance with the bees, and acquire the
scent peculiar to the hive before being liberated ; or
steps must be taken to deprive her of the scent, to
some extent, peculiar to the stock from which she has
been taken.

The first object is attained by imprisoning the

QUEEN RAISING AND INTRODUCING. 141

queen on or between the combs of a colony that
has lost its queen, or by her removal has been
rendered queenless. The simplest form of cage is
known as the pipe-cover cage (Fig. 50), a small
cylinder of tin covered with fine-woven
wire. The queen should be taken alone
and placed in the cage, which should be
standing upon a piece of thin wood or
cardboard. It should then be laid upon
a part of the comb where the cells contain unsealed
honey. After withdrawing the cardboard the cage
is pressed down into the comb, and there the queen
remains confined for twenty-four hours or more, when
an examination of the hive should be made. Very
little smoke should be administered to the colony, as
the cage is to be raised and the behaviour of the bees
to the liberated queen noticed. Sometimes they will
seize and ball her, that is, so surround her that they
form a ball of bees. If she is not at once liberated
by gently smoking the cluster, she will be crippled or

killed. After such a reception the queen must be
re-caged until the bees receive her kindly.

Queens received from queen raisers at home or
abroad are usually sent in a small travelling cage
(Fig. 51), accompanied by a few workers to prevent the

142 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

lowering of the temperature, which would impair, if
not destroy, the value of the queen. To liberate the
queen take the cage into a room and remove the lid.
The bees will at once commence a general buzz and
creep over the sides of the cage. The queen must
be looked for and allowed to run into a small match-
box. This receptacle is suggested because it is always
at hand, and in it the queen may remain for a few
minutes without harm. The box may
then be put into the trousers or waist-
coat pocket for warmth until introduction
takes place. Other cages to let down
between the combs are also used. The
queen is put into this—the Raynor pattern
cage (Fig. 52)—at the top, and when
liberated, by pressing a wire which opens
the lower part of the cage, it is without
disturbing the colony. The Abbott cage
is very similar, but the queen is liberated
by withdrawing a wire from the side of
the cage.
Fic, 52. Mr. Howard, in using a cage of this
pattern, recommends discarding wires and
spring doors. The lower end of the cage is open, and
closed after introducing the queen by filling the lower
part with Good’s candy. The queen would then be
liberated as soon as the candy had been consumed
between the bees and the queen. This method is
said to be uniformly successful.

Direct Intropvuction.
Several years ago Mr. 8. Simmins promulgated a

QUEEN RAISING AND INTRODUCING. 148

system of direct introduction, which he had proved in
practice to be not only safe but speedy. So confident
was he of the success of this method that in supplying
queens to customers he guaranteed successful intro-
duction, if the rules he laid down were faithfully
carried out. In ‘‘Ivo”’ apiary, since the system was
first made public, scores of queens have been intro-
duced according to the following instructions, and up
to the present time not one failure has been recorded.

The stock amongst which it is intended to introduce
an alien queen, if not already queenless, must be
rendered so by removing the queen on a fine day at
noon—in fact, the same day that the queen arrives,
if received from another apiary. The hive is then
closed and not touched again until evening, when all
the bees are in the hive. Just before dusk the queen
to be introduced must be taken alone, and placed in
a match-box or other receptacle, where she will be
free from a chill, and kept there for about half an
hour. Then go to the queenless hive, taking a light
if necessary, gently draw back the corner of the quilts,
give a slight puff of smoke between the combs, and
let the queen run into the hive. Return the quilts,
replace the roof, and make no examination of the hive
for twenty-four hours or more.

The Howard queen cage for transmitting queens
by post and introducing them on arrival, is really the
well-known ‘‘ Benton” cage (Fig. 51), with an arrange-
ment for liberating the queen. On the arrival of the
queen by post, the lid must be removed from the
cage, when its place is taken by a piece of perforated
zinc. The cage is then placed over the space between

144 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

two combs, and allowed to remain so for some hours.
The box is then moved along the zine until the hole
containing the Good candy is over a circular hole in
the zinc. The bees of the stock then commence to
eat the candy, and thus in a short time a union
with the strangers is effected.

CHAPTER XIII.
DISEASES.

Begs, like animals, are subject to disease, but fortu-
nately for bee-keepers there is only one, foul brood, of
a serious nature and highly contagious. By careful
attention to the symptoms characteristic of bee diseases,
it is easy to detect their presence, and by applying
known remedies, cure the affected stocks.
Occasionally it is said, ‘‘ If bees have such a dreadful
disease that works such havoc, I will let the hobby
alone.” Such faint-hearted persons may like to know
that in the midst of infected areas there are many
apiaries in which foul brood has never shown itself,
not because the germs of the disease are absent, for
that seems an impossibility, but because they have no
means of development, in consequence of the care and
attention the bee-keeper bestows on his apiary to ward
off an attack. Nearly every bee-keeper of note has
had his apiary affected with foul brood. The late
Rev. G. Raynor once expressed the opinion that his
apiary had remained free from disease, while many
bad cases were known to exist around him, simply
10 145

146 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

because in using carbolic acid as a bee quieter he had
at the same time used a powerful antiseptic.

Of the diseases to which bees are subject we need
only notice here two, dysentery and foul brood.

DYSENTERY.

This is a disease due chiefly to the carelessness of the
bee-keeper, and is much too frequently met with in the
winter and spring. Its presence is known by the bees
voiding the excrement on the combs, which may result
from confinement in a damp or badly ventilated hive,
but is more frequently the result of bees being fed upon
unsuitable food and at the wrong time of the year.
On fine warm days early in the year it will frequently
be noticed that the bees soil their hives and everything
about the apiary. This is often from a cleansing flight
which the bees need when breeding has commenced,
and they have been confined to their hives for several
days.

Bee-keepers who ignore the directions for feeding
up their stocks with syrup of a proper consistency,
while they are in numbers sufficient to maintain the
heat needed to evaporate the superfluous moisture,
must expect this disease to break out, for thin syrup
which the bees cannot seal over is almost certain to
ferment during the winter. By carefully carrying out
the instructions given under the heading ‘‘ Wintering,”
this disease may be almost entirely avoided.

The remedy, when the disease exists, is to remove
the bees and combs into a clean hive, and give them
fresh food. This may be effected in a warm room.

DISEASES, 147

At the same time a little warm syrup and a cake of
soft candy should be given. If the weather be mild
the changing of quarters might be quickly performed
in the open air, the warm syrup would then have the
effect of sending the bees out for the cleansing flight
they so much need.

Fount Broop (Bacillus alvei).

This is indeed a disease that bee-keepers may well
dread, when they read of the sad havoc it has played
in apiaries at home and abroad; but thanks to the
untiring energy of scientists who love the hobby, the
ravages of the bacillus may be stopped. It is only
within recent years that this disease has become so
widespread, but this cannot be surprising seeing to
what extent stocks, swarms, and queens have been
conveyed from one part of the country to the other,
and to this country from various parts of the con-
tinent, where the disease has long been known to
exist. There appears to be no definite record of the
disease being in existence in Britain until foreign bees
were introduced. Before the traffic in bees became so
general, if the disease existed it remained in a confined
area and the stocks died out. Mr. Woodbury and
other bee-keepers attributed the advent of the disease
in their apiaries to feeding with foreign honey supposed
to contain germs of the disease. On this point it is
satisfactory to learn that Mr. Cowan, a very eminent
authority, has not discovered germs of the disease in
any sample of honey when examining it under micro-
scopes of very high power. But at the same time it

148 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

is now very generally believed to be a medium by
which the disease is carried. Bee-keepers cannot,
therefore, be too careful when introducing low-priced
honey into their apiaries for feeding purposes.

The disease is due to the presence and propagation
of a particular microscopic germ, to the bacillus of
which the name ailvei has been given by Mr. Cheshire.
The presence of the germ is absolutely necessary to
account for the outbreak of the disease. It has
frequently been stated that chilled brood will cause
foul brood, but this is an error. It will, however,
afford a resting-place for the germs, should they be
in a district, and therefore we must avoid, as far as
possible, providing the germs with a propagating
medium. The germ has great vitality and is most
difficult to destroy. When it enters a proper medium
it develops into a bacillus, which multiplies at a
remarkably rapid rate, until the nourishing matter
upon which the bacilli feed is exhausted, and then
spores or germs are produced, which, when the oppor-
tunity occurs, germinate and produce the disease.

Being of a microscopic character the germs are
easily transmitted from one district to another, or
from a diseased to a healthy hive. When examining
hives supposed to be infected every precaution against
spreading the disease must be taken. A cake of
Calvert’s carbolic soap should always be within
reach, so that the hands may be washed after each
manipulation. Asa further precaution the manipulator
should stand with his back to the wind.

Symptoms of foul brood. The first symptom usually
noticed by the novice is a very unpleasant odour arising

DISEASES. 149

from the hive, and perceptible even before it has been
opened. The disease is then in a bad form, and the
combs will be found in a state that will necessitate the
burning of combs and in fact everything movable in
the hive. When the disease is in such an advanced
stage it is true economy to destroy bees, combs, quilts,
dummies, and even the hive, if it is not of much value.

The name foul brood was given to the disease, as it
was found that in a diseased stock the brood quickly
exhibited a putrid appearance. Instead of being pearly
white, the grubs, when attacked by the bacillus, turn
yellow, and ultimately become a coffee-coloured, sticky
mass at the bottom of the cells. The cappings of the
brood combs are sunken and pierced with numerous
small and irregularly shaped holes.

In spring, by inexperienced bee-keepers spreading
the brood during fine weather, and at an unsettled
period of the year, much of the brood becomes chilled
and dies. This is sometimes taken for foul brood, but
chilled brood is not like foul brood, a dark putrid mass.
When there is the slightest suspicion of foul brood,
any stocks that have been doing good work and become
listless should be examined without delay, particularly
if the bees are noticed fanning at the entrance.

Remedies. The remedies proposed to deal effectively
with the disease are various, and the results after
treatment by them the same. In many instances it
is not the remedy that is at fault, but the bee-keeper,
who uses it in a half-hearted manner and carelessly
carries out the directions given.

Salicylic acid is a well-known remedy, and when
properly administered effective. It is most effective

150 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

when administered by means of a fumigator according
tothe directions given by the inventor, M. Ed. Bertrand,
but few bee-keepers go to the trouble of fumigating.
As the bacilli are found in the alimentary canal of the
bee all food given should be medicated. The salicylic
acid solution for this purpose is made, according to
Mr. Cowan’s directions, as follows :—Salicylic acid, 1
oz.; soda borax, 1 oz.; water, 4 pints. Half an ounce
will be about the correct amount of the solution to six
pounds of sugar.

Phenol. Mr. Cheshire, in a paper read at an im-
portant meeting of bee-keepers in 1884, gave a means
of cure by phenol; but as bees have a reluctance to
take food medicated with this remedy the syrup must
be poured into the empty cells around the brood, in
order that the bees may be compelled to take and use
this cure. In the hands of the painstaking bee-keeper
success by this method is certain.

Fornvc acid was first advocated by Mr. R. Sproule,
of Dublin, who also used phenol with success previous
to the reading of Mr. Cheshire’s paper. The chief
merit of this means of dealing with the disease is
its simplicity. The acid penetrates all parts of the
hive, and in a short time, by its use, apiaries have been
rid of the pest. The following directions are by Messrs.
Bewdley & Draper, Dublin, who prepare the remedy.
“Select a frame of clean empty comb and pour about
four ounces of formic acid into it by placing it on a
table and dropping the acid on it from a height of a
few inches. Contract the hive to as many frames as
the bees can cover, and hang the frames containing
the acid at the rear of the hive, cover up warmly, and

DISEASES. 151

put a sheet of paper between the layers of the quilt so
as to prevent the escape of the fumes of the acid as it
evaporates. If the weather is warm it will be found
in the course of a week that the odour of the foul brood
has disappeared, and that the bees (if not too weak in
numbers) have cleared the putrid matter out of the
cells. It is seldom necessary to refill the comb more
than once unless the disease has been re-introduced by
infected combs, &c. If foul brood is prevalent in the
district it may be well to keep some of the acid always
in the hive as a prophylactic. In case of an ordinary
ten or eleven-frame hive this can be done while honey
is being stored, by putting the acid into a section of
empty comb and placing the section at the end of the
crate farthest from the hive entrance, so that the acid
has to pass over all the combs before the bees fan it
out. ‘Storified’ hives can be treated by filling a comb
and hanging it in the upper storey. For spring and
autumn feeding add a spoonful of acid to each quart
of syrup. As formic acid does not affect the flavour
of the honey, it can be used with perfect safety while
honey is being stored, and as a remedy it will be found
superior to either phenol or salicylic acid.’’

Naphthol Beta, for which, as an antiseptic, we are
indebted to Dr. Lortet, is the most recently introduced,
and, being simple in application and inexpensive, it is
now the most generally used remedy. To facilitate
the use of Naphthol Beta the Editors of the British
Bee Journal have prepared packets containing suffi-
cient for a given quantity of food. The directions on
each packet are as follows :—‘‘ For every pound of
sugar used in making syrup or candy dissolve three

152 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

grains of Naphthol Beta in alcohol or rectified spirits
of wine. Naphthol dissolves freely in alcohol, but is
insoluble in cold water. Pour just sufficient spirits on
the Naphthol to dissolve it and make it a clear liquid.
Pour the solution of Naphthol into the syrup when
sufficiently boiled and while still hot. In making
candy, pour in the Naphthol solution when the
syrup is of the proper consistence, and just before
taking it off the fire.”

The difficulty of taking the required number of grains
for the amount of sugar to be used may be overcome
by the contents of the packet (sufficient to medicate
145 lbs. of sugar) being put into a small long bottle
along with the necessary spirit, then pasting a slip of
paper on the side of the bottle as high as the top of
the solution. It would then be a very simple matter
to divide the paper proportionately to the amount of
food to be medicated at a time. This any chemist
would do when putting into the bottle the small
amount of spirit needed.

Naphthaline is used in conjunction with Naphthol
Beta, though not in syrup. It is to be obtained in
balls about the size of marbles, two being split and
dropped to the bottom of the hive as a dose. The
fumes circulate through the hive and destroy the
bacilli. As a precaution against the introduction of
the disease Naphthaline and Naphthol Beta should
be used in every apiary.

CHAPTER XIV.
ENEMIES OF BEES.

Bess, like other creatures, have enemies to contend
with. Among birds, the most persistent in carrying
off bees is the blue-tit, which may be seen to fly down
to the apiary and carry off bee after bee. It is sur-
prising what a number of bees a single pair of
these birds will take in a very short time. Means
should, therefore, be resorted to in order to keep down
these birds near the apiary.

The wax moth, which effects an entrance more
particularly into weak hives, lays its eggs on the
combs or in the débris. From these eggs issue grubs,
which burrow in the combs and consume the wax
until they build their cocoons, from which again issue
moths. If allowed to gain headway the ravages of
the grub will soon destroy a colony. By keeping
stocks strong we are more likely to keep out the wax
moth, because the bees on guard drive it away. On
the quilts should be laid pieces of naphthaline, which
will keep away moths and other insects. During the
spring and autumn examinations, all débris should be

removed, and the combs searched for grubs or cocoons.
153

154 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

Wasps in some apiaries do much harm, but as they
generally direct their attention to weak stocks, which
they effectually clear out, the oft-repeated advice,
“Keep all stocks strong,” is applicable to this case.
Narrow entrances will enable moderately strong
colonies to more effectually guard their home from
these persistent robbers. Now and again wasps may
be seen to seize heavily-laden bees that fall short of
the alighting board, and frequently they sever the
abdomen from the thorax, and fly away with the
former, which contains the honey-sac. ‘ Prevention
is better than cure,’ and in order to limit the produc-
tion of wasps, queens seen in the early spring should
be killed, otherwise they will be the means of bringing
into existence multitudes of wasps. They have un-
doubtedly their place in the economy of nature, but
bee-keepers cannot afford to look on complacently
while the enemies of the bees are multiplying at such
a rate as to endanger the existence of all but the
strongest stocks.

Ants’ nests are sometimes found near hives, and if
they are the ants become a great nuisance. To
prevent their getting into the hive, the legs should
stand in small pans of water, or be daubed with
something objectionable to the ants, and over which,
therefore, they will not pass.

Mice are partial to both wax and honey, and they
may be found not only among old combs, but also in
hives tenanted with bees. By keeping an entrance
only ¢ inch in depth, mice will be kept on the right
side of the hive.

CHAPTER XV.
WINTERING.

How to winter bees successfully is a problem ap-
parently difficult to solve, when we consider the losses
that are recorded in the spring, and the complaints
made of slow progress made by so many colonies early
in the year. That successful wintering depends upon
the manner in which bees are prepared for their long
season of inactivity, no one will deny. Still it is
astounding that, having a desire for profit, bee-
keepers will be so neglectful of their bees just at the
very time when attention, with a view to ultimate
success, is really needed.

By observing the progress of work around us we
see most unmistakably that there cannot well be a
period of real inactivity in any branch of industry.
The farmer, for instance, immediately one harvest is
over commences preparations for the next, and how
frequently do we notice that he who is well ahead
with his work achieves the greatest success! With
bee-keeping, though the amount of work that must be
bestowed upon the hobby is exceedingly small, yet it
is of vast importance that what ought to be done

155

156 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

should be done well and at the right time. In fact
we may take it as a rule that at the close of one honey-
flow, or the last of the season, preparations should be
made for the following year.

The requirements for successful wintering are,
briefly: a young queen, a large quantity of young
worker bees, ample sealed stores to last the stock
well into the spring, quilts, the upper ones of woollen
material, and ventilation without draught.

Tue BEzEs.

It was years ago remarked by an able bee-master,
the late W. Raitt, that the best packing for bees was
bees, and of course this truism will be generally
admitted. The stronger the stock is in bees, the
better is the prospect of its wintering well, and making
a good start the following spring. A well-stocked hive
will show a much larger amount of brood than one
containing only a moderate quantity of bees, for, in
the latter case, there is not a temperature sufficiently
high to warrant any great extension of the brood-nest.

Bees are thought by many to be in a state of hyber-
nation during the winter. This is not exactly so, for,
though bees should be inactive during the winter, and
they do well if the temperature does not fall below
45°, they are quickly roused to activity, and may leave
the hive for a cleansing flight when the temperature
rises to 50° or over. While the bees are in a quiescent
state there will be no wasting of energy; hence the
necessity for a style of hive with arrangements which
to the greatest possible extent prevent the cluster

WINTERING. 157

being affected by outside changes of temperature. Of
the quality of the queen enough has already been said
to show the necessity for each stock being headed by
one not more than two years of age.

THE STORES.

To prevent unnecessary activity during the winter,
we must ensure that the food upon which the bees
are to exist is not only of good quality but sealed.
Stocks in skeps should weigh at least 25 lbs., or 20 lbs.
if the combs are new; but it is best not to limit a
stock to the exact amount of food that will be required
to carry it safely through the winter. Twelve to fifteen
pounds, according to the strength of the colony, will
suffice for this, but the latter would serve better as the
minimum amount of stores.

As stores are drawn upon largely by a weak stock
when a low temperature prevails, it is good policy to
unite weak stocks in the autumn, and thus ensure a
higher temperature being maintained, without a con-
tinual consumption of the stores. A colony properly
prepared for winter will seldom consume on an average
more than 1% oz. of food per day until breeding com-
mences, when the amount is at once considerably
increased.

Stocks in bar-frame hives should be much larger
than those in skeps, and a larger amount of stores
must be allowed. The minimum weight should be
20 lbs., and this may be calculated without difficulty
by considering an evenly filled standard frame to con-
tain 44 to 5 lbs. Four or five frames would thus supply

158 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

all the food needed, but a good stock will well cover
six to eight frames. Though it is advisable to allow
not less than 20 lbs. of stores, they must be judiciously
distributed. If full combs are left on the outside, the
food may candy when cold weather compels the bees
to cluster in the middle of the hive. Another reason
for carefully distributing the food is that empty cells
are preferable to slabs of honey for the bees to cluster
upon, provided that above the cluster food is within
reach. The best arrangement is to allow the centre
frames to be about half filled with sealed stores, while
the remaining frames on either side contain in in-
creasing proportion the remaining quantity of food
allowed.

WINTER PASSAGES.

When stocks are wintered in thin single-walled
hives, it may occasionally be noticed, more particularly
than in double-walled hives, that the spring exami-
nation brings to light seams of dead bees—bees that
have perished from want, though in other frames
ample stores still remain. The cause is not far to
seek. Having consumed the food above them, the
bees must travel round or under the frames to reach
further supplies. This they cannot do during very
severe weather, for as soon as they leave the cluster
with this object, they are numbed by the cold and die.
Consequently the whole cluster or clusters die. To
prevent this loss passages over the tops of the frames
must be provided.

A very simple contrivance, the ‘ Hill Device,” placed
upon the frames raises the quilts and allows the bees

WINTERING. 159

to travel to all parts of the hive over the top bars of
the frames. Three or four pieces of wood, 4 inch
square, laid across the top bars, 4 inch apart, before
putting on the quilts, will be equally effective in pro-
viding passages from comb to comb.

QUILTS.

The first of the quilts or cloths that are placed
above the frames should be of good stout calico, or,
better still, ticking, which the bees will not quickly
bite through. The others should be of some woolly
material, such as felt or carpet. The number required
will depend upon the thickness and non-conductivity
of the material. There should be sufficient covering
to ensure the heat of the cluster being preserved. In
the place of the upper quilts, trays filled with chaff,
or chaff-cushions, may be given.

Impervious quilts of American oilcloth, smooth side
downwards, are used in many apiaries in place of the
first quilt. They are clean, and prevent the escape of
moisture from the brood-nest. No objection can be
raised to their use on strong stocks, if other quilts or
chaff-cushions are given above. During the spring
such a quilt may be a distinct advantage, as a moist
atmosphere is needed during the breeding season, and
also when a dummy feeder, filled with Porto Rico
sugar, is placed at the side of the brood-nest.

Ventilation without draught is needed for successful
wintering, and may be provided, after the quilts, &c.,
have been given, by allowing an entrance of about
6 inches in width, until breeding commences and

160 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

flights are frequent. In the place of a wide entrance
the object will be attained by raising the hive a couple
of inches, and placing under the brood-chamber what
is termed a raiser.

CHAPTER XVI.
DRIVING, TRANSFERRING, UNITING.

Ar the close of the season a plan very generally
pursued by cottagers in taking their honey, is to
select those stocks by weight which are to be “taken
up.’”” At the end of the day each marked hive is lifted
off its stand and placed over a hole dug in the ground,
in which a piece of sulphur is burning in a cleft stick.
In a few minutes the busy workers are stifled, some
falling to the bottom of the pit, others dying in the
combs, where many remain during the whole process
of slicing and draining and the making of mead. No
wonder that the fluid, resulting from such a method
of procedure, should fail to find ready purchasers.
Happily, this distasteful system is giving way gradually
to more satisfactory methods of taking the honey in
its purest form, without destroying the bees, which
latter prove of great service if properly disposed of.
First, they may be united to weak stocks, and thus
ensure their passing safely through the winter, as the
greater the number of bees, the less the consumption
of stores for the purpose of keeping up the normal
11 161

162 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

temperature of the hive; or they may be united, two
or three lots together, to start a new colony.

DRIVING.

If it is decided to remove the bees from a con-
demned stock, that is, one marked for taking up, and
utilise them in one or other of the ways mentioned
above, we must proceed on a fine evening to the stock,
drive a puff of smoke into the entrance, and then, in
a minute or two, move the hive bodily to another part
of the garden away from the hives, so that the opera-
tion may be conducted without disturbance from other
bees. Before the hive is moved throw over it a piece
of canvas, and on the stand place an empty skep to
keep the flying bees from entering adjoining stocks.

On returning to the full stock remove the canvas and
drive down the bees among the combs by a slight puff
of smoke, while an empty skep is placed above the full
stock. Now tie round the junction of the two hives a
cloth to prevent the escape of bees. This preparation
is for what is termed close driving, and will be adopted
by timid bee-keepers, or when a sight of the queens
is not necessary, and there is a fear of robbing. The
empty hive must be of the same size, with regard to
its diameter, as the stock hive, in order to facilitate
the escape of bees from the lower to the upper hive.
The bees will at once commence to ascend if the
combs below are jarred by gently beating the sides
of the stock hive with a stick, or with the palms of
the hands. In a few minutes all the bees will have
left the stock, and will be found clustering in the skep
above.

DRIVING, TRANSFERRING, UNITING. 163

Open driving is a more interesting operation, and
should be practised, when the presence of the queen
among the bees driven must be noted. When placing
the empty skep above the stock hive, driving irons (Fig.
53) are used to fix it at an angle of 45° or more to the
latter. The junction of the two hives should be at a
point to which the combs run, so that the bees may
leave their hive without the labour of climbing over
the combs. The driving irons are fixed one on each
side, and the ends are driven lower into the side of
the stock hive, and the upper into the side of the
empty hive, a skewer being used to hold the hives
together at the junction.

When the hives are thus }
fixed the jarring of the combs
will take place as for close
driving ; but gently at first, l j
or many bees will leave the
combs, and, flying about,
become a source of annoyance to the operator. A
few bees flying about will do no harm, unless they
are robbers from other stocks in search of exposed
sweets. If there is a danger of robbing, the entrances
to other stocks should be closed before driving opera-
tions commence, in such a manner that the bees are
not harmed by the confinement.

After a few strokes on the side of the stock hive, the
bees will commence to run along the combs towards
the junction of the hives, and there enter the upper
one. They may move in great numbers when once
started, and, if so, must be prevented by cloths from
congregating at the back of the hive. Moving the

Fie, 53,

164 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

cluster with the finger, and giving a slight puff of
smoke to those congregating at the junction of the
hives, will hurry them up into the empty one. A
sharp look-out must be kept for the queen, in order
that she may be removed, if the bees are only required
for uniting to other stocks. In case no queen of two
or three lots is of particular merit, the bees may be
allowed to settle the question as to which shall remain
at the head of the united colony.

Open driving is adopted in the making of artificial
swarms, a proceeding not recommended, unless in-
crease of stocks is desired ; but even then it is a risky
operation in the hands of the novice, who had better
trust to natural swarming for increase of stocks.
Artificial swarms never work with the same vigour
as those that issue naturally.

In making an artificial swarm care must be taken
to imitate nature as far as possible, and see that
sufficient bees are left in the hive to attend to the
brood-nest, and keep up a temperature that will pre-
vent the brood being chilled. Unlike a natural swarm
which may be placed in any new position, an artificial
swarm must be placed on the stand occupied by the
stock, which may be moved to another part of the
garden.

Presuming that the operation is performed in the
middle of the day, account must be taken of the flying
bees, that is, those flying to and from the fields, in
estimating the quantity to be driven out of the stock,
for all those not in the hive will, of course, join the
swarm on returning home.

Bumping is an expeditious method of taking the

DRIVING, TRANSFERRING, UNITING. 165

combs from the skep while the bees are in, but it ig a
method that should only be resorted to when the hive
contains old combs; or, if the combs are new, the
hive should only be bumped in cool weather, when
the honey will be stiff and the combs rather brittle.
Bumping should certainly never be attempted in warm
weather, or when much thin or unsealed honey is in
the combs. The bees are first intimidated by smoke,
and directly afterwards the skep is turned mouth
upwards. It is then taken hold of by the hands in
such a manner that the combs run from hand to hand
or side to side, and gradually turned away from the
operator. If it is then set down or bumped sharply
on the lower edge of the bottom of the skep, the shock
will be sufficient to break the combs away from the
hive sides, and cause them to fall, by their own weight,
one upon the other on the far side of the hive. The
combs are then taken out one at a time by letting
them rest on the palm of the hand, and the bees are
brushed back into the skep or into an empty hive
standing close by. The whole operation should not
last more than a minute, and then the hive containing
the bees may be returned to its former position till the
bees have cleared up the dripping honey. With care
small supers may be bumped to empty them of their
surplus after they have been cleared of bees.
Transferring is an operation usually understood to
refer to the removal of bees and combs from a straw
skep to a movable-comb hive; but to use a common
expression, it is ‘‘a game not worth the candle.” Asa
rule the skep will contain few combs of a size to fit
into the frame from top to bottom, and if not, pieces

166 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

as regular as possible must be cut out of the best
combs and arranged to fit the frames. It will seldom
occur that more than two, or at the most three, frames
can be filled by the cutting up and fitting of the combs
in the skep. Again, one lot of bees in a straw skep to
start a bar-frame hive is ridiculous. Two or three lots
making a weight of 4 or 5 lbs. would produce a lot
likely with proper attention to be converted into a
good colony for the spring, particularly if new combs
or full sheets of foundation are given. It is much
more satisfactory to proceed in the manner indicated,
and do away with the old combs, cutting out all
worker comb containing brood. These pieces of comb,
joined together by a skewer or two, a space of half an
inch being left between them, should be placed over
the feed-hole of any hive, and securely covered first
with a small wooden box, and above that with quilts.
The bees will hatch out the brood, and thus no great
loss of bees will accrue.

Umiting has been referred to as a means of strength-
ening stocks in the autumn, and thus ensuring more
satisfactory wintering; or, in the spring, to ensure
rapid progress and hence more surplus. This will, of
course, also be the natural result of uniting in the
autumn, for the increased strength of the colony will,
by assisting to winter a colony successtully, also be a
means towards obtaining a good working population
at the commencement of the honey-flow.

Bees of different colonies, having an odour peculiar
to their respective lots, have a natural antipathy one
to the other, and though a comb taken out of a stock
without disturbing the bees during the honey-flow,

DRIVING, TRANSFERRING, UNITING. 167

may without detriment be placed directly into the
midst of another colony, no uniting of bees on combs
or bees alone with other bees on combs should take
place without steps being taken to deprive the bees of
the inclination to fight. By sprinkling both lots with
thin syrup scented with peppermint, their peculiar
scent is destroyed and they unite peaceably. Uniting
usually takes place at a time of the year when bees
are prone to rob, and the least use of syrup is almost
certain to cause bees that are on the alert to start
robbing.

It is often said that there is nothing new under the
sun, and when, a few years ago, uniting by the aid of
flour was advised, it was quickly stated to be an old
method revived. It is, nevertheless, though only
recently brought into favour, a more satisfactory
means of uniting than is sprinkling the bees with
scented syrup, as no inducement to robbing is made.
By gently sprinkling both lots with flour from a
dredger, uniting becomes easy, and no one who has
tried this method will ever think of again resorting to
the use of scented syrup. Flour being a substitute for
natural pollen, there is a danger of overloading the
combs, hence the necessity for a thin but at the same
time effective sprinkling.

CHAPTER XVII.
MARKETING HONEY.

‘‘Wuat is the use of keeping bees if we cannot sell
our honey?” is a remark made only by those who
lack that amount of energy and business ability neces-
sary to achieve success in any undertaking. Honey,
though one of the most delicious of foods, and of great
nutritive value, is rarely found in the houses of those
who can well afford to purchase what to many is a
real luxury. Honey should not be considered a
luxury, but a necessary food, and as such it should
appear on the table of every householder in the land.
It is the work of the bee-keeper to create a demand
for that which it is his especial aim to produce.

Low prices are complained of by some bee-keepers,
but to a very great extent they have only themselves
to blame. The bulk of the honey, being produced
nearly at the same time throughout the country, is no
sooner obtained than it is put upon the market. No
wonder, considering this glut, that the price falls. The
great importation of foreign and colonial honey does
to some extent affect the price of home produce. Still,

as none, unless it is that which comes from New Zea-
168

MARKETING HONEY. 169

land, can compare with English clover honey, bee-
keepers have only to adopt the most improved
methods of production to increase the amount of
surplus per hive. And, if of excellent quality, it must
realise a sum per colony which will leave no doubt as
to the profitableness of bee-keeping.

From one class of bee-keepers, and they are the
most successful in a large as well as a small way,
complaints are seldom heard, and the reason is not
far to seek. They work up a good local retail trade,
and thus dispose of the bulk of their surplus near
home, at very remunerative prices. A more general
complaint from such bee-keepers is of their inability
to supply the demand when their produce has become
known and appreciated.

If bee-keepers cannot, or do not feel disposed to,
create their own retail trade, they had better offer
their surplus first to other bee-keepers who have this
means of disposing of their produce, and failing a sale
in that direction, they might apply to wholesale
dealers, but from them only a moderate price can be
expected except for honeys of the finest brand. Very
much depends upon the time of putting the surplus
upon the market, the first gathered honey being the
most likely to realise the best price. And, it may be,
an equally good price will be forthcoming for that
which has been properly stored to meet a demand
when the supply is scarce.

Bee-keepers’ Associations are recognising slowly,
led by the example of the Berkshire Association, the
necessity for extending a helping hand to their
members in the sale of their produce. Years ago I

170 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

advocated this course, but without effect, and it is
gratifying to find that the only Association which has
really made strenuous efforts to assist members in the
sale of their produce has been remarkably successful.
In Ireland the Irish Bee-keepers’ Association has, on
a larger scale, and by means of central depéts, dis-
posed annually of a very large amount of honey sent
in by its members.

The Berkshire Association arranges with shop-
keepers throughout the county to dispose of the
honey, bearing distinctive labels supplied to members.
As these labels are numbered and the secretary keeps
an account of those issued, any complaint or abuse
of the privilege would quickly bring down punishment
on the wrong-doer. Until the question as to the best
means of assisting members in the disposal of their
produce is taken up by the Associations, there is no
reason why there should not be formed, in each
village, a little club. The members could arrange not
only for the sale of their honey, which, when graded,
would be of similar quality, but they could procure
hives, frames, foundation, bottles, and, in fact, all
necessary appliances at a reduced rate for quantities
and save on the carriage.

GRADING.

Honey varies in quality and aroma according to the
source from which it is obtained by the bees, but this
fact is often lost sight of or ignored, and all kinds are
mingled together, thus producing a sample of moderate
quality. All honey, therefore, should be graded

MARKETING HONEY. 171

whether it is in comb or extracted. The selection can
be made by the colour of the capping, which is a
pretty safe guide as to the similarity of the contents of
the combs, particularly if they are from hives in the
same apiary.

Sections most evenly filled and sealed will be classed
as of first quality. There can be no question as to
what style of filling is best. For exhibition purposes
the tastes of the judges have to be considered, some
preferring sections from which the comb can be cut all

Fie. 54.

round without spilling much honey. But, however
nice this may appear, such sections do not travel well,
and therefore a well-filled section should be aimed at,
with the cells built up to the wood all round, as well
as filled and sealed. When so completed, they will,
if properly packed, travel with safety. Thin sealing
is preferred by the consumer, but the liability to weep-
ing must be considered. A slight jar may crack a
thin surface of comb and cause the honey to ooze out
or ‘‘ weep,” and thus spoil the appearance and attrac-
tiveness of the section. A fairly thick and even

172 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

capping is decidedly to be preferred, in order to ensure
with the all-round sealing a perfect because the most
marketable section of honey. Badly filled sections
that are unfit for sale should be cut up and put into
the honey cistern when the grading takes place.
Before sections leave the producer they must be
scraped free of propolis, and placed in cases with glass
on one or both sides. These cases are either made of
enamelled tin or cardboard. Instead of using these
boxes the faces of the section may be glazed and the

glass fixed on bya slip of paper being pasted round
the section # inch of which ornamented is fixed on the
glass, thus not only holding it securely to the section,
but making a most attractive article of commerce.
For safe transit to and from shows, and at the same
time proving a means of effective display, show cases
may be used, which fit into or are attached to spring
travelling crates (Fig. 55).

These and other travelling crates add so much to
the cost of the outfic that other means must be devised
for the safe carriage of sections to the dealer or

MARKETING HONEY. 178

consumer, For this trade, unless otherwise ordered,
glazing should be omitted, and the sections placed
side by side, six ina row. At each end place a square
of wood the size of the section, then a lath above and
another below the row. A parcel may then be made
of the half-dozen, and if well and tightly packed in
newspaper, they may afterwards be packed on straw
in a box, and breakages will be the exception and not
the rule. A firm which to my knowledge bought twenty-
two tons of English honey in one season, positively

refuse to deal in sectional honey, for they say that the
packing is so bad that they rarely receive a parcel in
good condition. By adopting the above method of
packing much loss and expense may be avoided, and
more satisfaction given to the purchasers.

Drained or extracted honey is easier to deal with
than comb honey, and being of a less perishable nature
is more generally produced. Small quantities such as
whatever amount is required for home consumption,
and what is sold in the neighbourhood of the apiary,
should be put up in neat 1-lb. glass jars, either to be

174 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

covered with parchment (Fig. 56) or with a metal cap
(Fig. 57), and have affixed to them an attractive label.

BottLe Covers AND LABELS.

Upon the label it is an advantage to draw attention
to the fact that it is the nature of honey to candy or
set, and that this change will take place early or late
according to the crops from which it is gathered, the

—

= ui

_—S
2 A,

nature of the soil, and the character of the season. It
might also be stated that candying is a sign of purity,
and that the honey may be re-liquefied by standing
the jar in hot water.

Bottling and the filling of cans should take place a
day or two after extracting, and before the honey
begins to candy : 28-lb. cans, square with patent lids,
are sold at very reasonable prices, and may be packed
two in a box.

Candying may he deferred, if not altogether pre-

MARKETING HONEY. 175

vented, by subjecting the honey to heat, but there is a
liability in thus treating it to drive off the delicate
aroma, and therefore heating honey should be

avoided as much as possible. Jars may be despatched
to customers in boxes (Fig. 58) after being separately
surrounded by a sheet of corrugated paper (Fig. 59).

CHAPTER XVIII.
WAX EXTRACTING.

THE wax resulting from the sliced combs, or the
cappings taken from combs that are passed through
the extractor, is of very good quality. There is no
difficulty in dealing with such scraps of comb, but it
is not every apiary where such combs are dealt with.
Until wired foundation, or wired frames, become
more general there will always be some frames
containing combs that, through falling, buckling, or
stretching, are unsuitable for breeding purposes.
These should be removed, when not occupied with
brood, and melted.

The methods now employed to separate wax from
the cocoons, &c., render the operation simple, and
not, as was once the case, the most distasteful,
because the most messy of all the operations in the
apiary. Wax melts at a temperature of 146°, conse-
quently any arrangement that will hold the refuse
from which the wax will, as melted, run away, may
be adopted.

A very simple plan, devised by Mr. Cowan in 1888,

is to place the combs upon a sieve over a pan of
176

WAX EXTRACTING. 177

water. When placed in a moderately hot oven the
wax will fall down as it melts into the water below,
and unless subjected to too great heat will not be
harmed by this method of extracting. An extractor
on this principle was designed by Mr. Killick in 1887.
A bowl with a perforated bottom is placed upon a pan
of water, and the action of the heat upon the combs
is as stated above when a sieve is used.

Refuse scraps of comb are by some bee-keepers
stored away for a general melting operation, but this
plan may cause loss, for should the wax moth gain
access to the store much, if not all, will be rendered
useless. When a small quantity has accumulated it
should be put, without further delay, into some kind
of wax extractor, for the wax will keep indefinitely
though the combs may be quickly spoilt. The solar
wax extractor, which has recently been recommended,
consists of a case with a glass front, placed at an
angle to collect the direct rays of the sun. A box
with a front wall of 2 inches, and back wall 6 inches,
will prove effective in dealing with small quantities
of comb. Upon the slanting front is placed a sheet
of glass. Inside the case is fixed a pan covered with
a sheet of perforated zinc. Upon the zinc is placed
the scraps of comb to be operated upon. If the
extractor is now placed in the direct rays of the sun -
on a hot day the wax will be quickly melted and run
through the zinc into the pan below. This method
may be used at any time when the rays of the sun are
sufficiently powerful to melt the wax.

The most popular extractor is the ‘ Gerster”
(Fig. 56), in the form of a saucepan and steamer.

12

178 PLEASURABLE BEE-KEEPING.

The lower compartment is simply to hold water for
the purpose of producing steam. In the bottom of
the upper section is fixed a tin plate communicating
with the outside by a small tube. Upon the plate,
slightly raised by legs, stands a cylinder of perforated
zinc, into which are placed the scraps of comb.
When the apparatus is placed over the fire the steam

from the lower passes to the upper compartment, and
melts the wax, which runs through the zine, falls
upon the plate and runs thence through the tube,
finally dropping into a basin placed beneath. A little
water should always be placed in the basin.

The following is a simple means of extracting the
wax from old combs when neither of the above

WAX EXTRACTING. 179

methods are employed. Tie the scraps of comb in
a piece of muslin or canvas, with a stone, or some-
thing weighty, and drop it into a pan of water. The
stone is used to keep the bag below the surface of
the water. The wax will then melt and rise to the
surface of the water. If the bag is occasionally
pressed with a stick, lodgings of the wax among the
refuse will be prevented. When it is thought that
all the wax has been melted the pan should be re-
moved from the fire and placed on one side until the
water is cold. The wax will then be found in a cake
at the top, and it then can be removed for remelting
and refining if necessary.

INDEX.

PAGE
Apiary, location of... 103
>» aspect of 103
» moving of ... 104
Amateur hives... 66
Aids to success 74
Artificial swarms 164
Apifuge = 47
Alighting board, a an 2
Adapting board... 102, 126, 127
Ants ... i 154
Brszs, Natural History of 23
» Yaces of... 36
», to subdue 42
», to handle 42,47
», temper of 41
»» condemned ... 139
»> flight of 104
» to unite 166
Bee-veil 46
Bee-escapes : 129
British Standard —— 68
British Bee-keepers’ Asso-
ciation ... baie dees 9
Bee Associations 9, 169
Berkshire Association 170
British Bee Journal 9

180

PAGE
Bees and flowers 11, 15
Bees and fruit production 12

Bumblebeesandredclover 14
Bell-staples oe EL
Brace combs 115, 126
% removal of... 65
Brood chamber 52
Bumping... 164
Bee-keeping, early ... 7
o a rural in-
dustry 9
5 value to agri-
culturist
and fruit
grower 12,15
“5 profit of 17
i how to com-
mence 109
Couss, production of 19
» how built 20
x» direction of... 54
» toslice... 65, 115
» to melt 66
» full, to uncap 121
», to remove from
Ivo supers 65

INDEX.

PAGE
Combs, renewal of... ... 76
Cells, sizeof ... ... ... 20
» Worker, necessary 55
» queen ony 21, 56
» Ppitchof... ... 21,121
» Cappingsof... ... 29
Condemned bees... 139
a », disposal of 161
Colony of bees, a good ... 89
Cone escape 65, 130
Castsin ae am ae ae —B2
», Signofissue ... ... 33
Cyprian bees ... ... ... 38
Carniolan bees wea ax, 39)
Carbolic spray... ... ... 45
Carbolic cloth... ... ... 45
Carbolic solution ... ... 46
Crowding bees, advantage
Obs, ine ek ae em, | OE
Clubbing, advantage of ... 170

Commencing bee-keeping 99

Cleansing flight 156
Drones... .. .. «26
», When produced... 26
» massacre of... ... 26
Drone comb, disadvantage
Ofek. debe aie. chee tase, UL
Distance-keepers ... ... 69
Dysentery ; 90, 146
Dry sugar feeding .. ... 91
Diseases ... ... «- 9, 145
Exrractor (honey)... 118

5 Little Wonder 118

#5 Cowan... 8,119
a Meadows 120
+ how used 121

181

PAGE

Extractor (wax), Gerster 178
. Killick ... 177

a Cowan ... 176

‘6 Cost of ... 102

Be Bole aa. + 177

Eges, quantity laid daily 29
Egg-laying, sole work of

queen 24, 90
3 when com-
menced ... 29

oy when stopped 29,89
Excluder zinc 64, 102, 115, 127

Enemies of bees 153
FounpaTIon .. 9, 56, 63
% advantage of 74, 85
4 castsfor ... 75
4 wired ... ... 76
ss wiring ... 81, 82
- brood ... ... 75
‘a super 75, 102
= fixing 78
55 why use full
sheets 75, 85,
102, 127
Foundation fixer, Abbott’s 83
4 Parker. 84
Foundation mill ... ... 75
Flowers, how fertilised... 12
» nectariesof .,. 12
ss colours of, at-
tractive... ... 12
me odours of... ... 12
Fruit production, value of
beesin... ... ... ... 18
Fumigator, Webster’s ... 44
as Bertrand 150
Fixed-comb hives ... ... 52

Frames, British standard 67

182
PAGE
Frames, shallow ... ... 68
» Howard ... ... 79
Feeding, necessity for ... 88
5 stimulative ... 92
i rapid... ... ... 97
a dry sugar... 91, 95

Feeders, bottle and stage 94
caution in filling 94

na sugar... ... ... 96
a graduated... ... 92
Fr dummy .. ... 96
Food, what to use ... 90, 91
», how prepared ... 97
Flowers, honey-producing 12
Fertile workers ie cee 28
of to detect 28

si how got
rid of... 28
Foul brood... ... ... 145
an symptoms of 148
. how propagated 148
9 remedies for... 149
Formic acid 150
GaUNTLETS... ... ... 49
Gloves, objectionable ... 47
Honey, a food 7, 21, 91, 168
» gatheringof ... 21
» aromaof ... ... 22
» Clover... .. 1. 22
» heather ... ... 22

», run or drained 114, 173
», candied, to liquefy

91, 175
» marketing ... 168
» local market for... 169
» to retail 169
» grading 170

INDEX.

PAGE

Honey, to pack 175

Honey-flow ... ... ... 89

Honey-cistern ... 102, 122

Honey-knife 121

Honey-jars 173

Honey-labels ... . 174

Hives, cottager mie ane ODI

» amateur int ane. OB

», distance apart 104

» single-walled 101

», double-walled 101

Holyland bees... ... ... 39

Handling bees... ... 42, 45, 48

INTIMIDANTS ... ... ... 42
i moderate use

of sa a» 48

Ivo bar hive ... ... 57, 100

es partsof ... 60

si supers for... 60

" lifts for ... 60

i barsfor ... 61

1 to prepare... 62

KnireE, uncapping ... 102

Littte Wonver Extractor

8, 118
Ligurian bees... ... ... 36
i » bomeof... 37

is » When intro-
duced ... 37

5 » peculiarities
OF sv ws BT

5 », advantages
Of ses cee BT
Lift for hive ... ... ...59, 73
MarkeETrne honey ... 168

INDEX. 183
PAGE PAGE
Movable-comb hive...7, 67, 100 | Queen, when to remove 25, 136
” »» advan. », When fertilised 26, 139
tageof 8 », young, importance
es » entrance of 135
to... 72 3 young, torecognise 136
, » supers », introduction of 140
for... 72 », direct introduction
” » costof 100 of 142
ee » tomake 7) | Queen jelly .. «28
Manipulations... 48 | Quilts 48, 159
i proper fans Queen cages, pipe cover 141
for,. 49 ‘3 Howard 142, 143
Metal ends, Lyon .. 69 e Rayner Pat-
$8 W. B.C. 70 tern 142
, Howard 70
Metal runners. 73 | REQurENING 135
Meadows’ board and cleaver 133
Mice ... 154 | Swarmine... i 30
33 cause of... ... 34
NapDInine . as ae ee «BS 5 to control 34, 118
Naphthol Beta... . 103, 151 | Swarms, to hive 31, 54, 110
Naphthaline . 103, 152 a to shade ... 32
o3 removal of 32
PoueNn a 22, 91 3 to feed 55
» colours wax 28 % work of 58
» artificial ... 91, 167 i when to super... 55
» baskets 1 «=.22 55 artificial ... 164
Propolis 23 3 sold by weight... 100
Painting hives... 53, 63 59 packing 106
Pin trap ... ti 131 | Supers ... ... 53, 72
Porter bee-escape ... 133 » howgiven35, 64,110,113
Phenol...’ ... . 150 :» when given... 55
Packages for hone 174 », additional 56
Porto Rico sugar 95 », filling of . 85
» removal of ... 57, 65
Queen, sole duty of... 24, 136 ., toempty 63, 129
;, how produced 24, 137 », Abbott’s cottager 116
>» ageof.,. 24, 137 Castle Douglas .... 117
» wWheninprime ... 25 Sting, to remove 48

184 INDEX.
PAGE PAGE
Straw skep system... ... 52 | Section crate, placing on
5 35 cost of 99 stock ... 0... 0. une 126
a? ” manage-
mentof 54 | TRANSFERRING... ... ... 165
Smoker, invention of .., 8 | Travelling crates... .... 172
oe fuelfor ... ... 42
>» howcharged ... 42 | Unitina ... ... w.. 2. 166
» Bingham... ... 43
gp HD se ee we AE VET cee ee ke ee es, 46
Starvation, sign of... ... 27 | Ventilation .. ... .., 159
Subduing bees... ... ... 41
Saw-cut for isannaba., 78 | Wipe-sHoULDERED frames 69
Syrian bees... ........ 39 | Webster’s super clearer... 132
Shallow frames... .... 68 | Woodbury hive... ... 67
Stocks, keep strong... ... 88 | Wintering... ... w =155
», how strengthened 89 ” young eee for 156, 24
» Weightof ... ... 26 4 stores for xia EDT
» torequeen... 25, 139 re arrangement of
» tomove.., 104,106 stores in combs
» to pack we gay 2D fOF' sie gee ae «58
» ‘takingup” ... 161 | Winter passages ... ... 158
Sections, in flat ... ... 124 | Wax, production of wae “AD.
- to fold ... ... 124 » involuntary secre-
$5 preparing . 83, 124 tion of... ... ... 82
“3 grooved ... ... 86 », honey consumed in
5 Lee’s ae a, 86 elaboration of ... 20
is erate for... ... 124 » Meltingof ... ... 176
a removal of ... 134 | Wax extracting . 176
4 perfect ....... 171 | Wax moth eile Hen 153
to glaze .... .... 171 | Woiblet spur énibodlens 83
Section hanger os igs 128 | Wasps gic 2 154
Section block ... ... ... 87 “s destrauion “of, a
Separators... ... ... 125 spring ... ... 154
Sectional honey ....... 123 | Worker bees ... ... ... 27
Sectional supers, to remove 132 re their work... 27
Sugar, to use for food ... 91 - length of life
Spring dwindling ... ... 89 Of iam xe 27

UNWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, CHILWORTH AND LONDON,

Manufacturer of the [VO HIVE as approved and
authorised by Mr. C. N. White.

THOMAS B. BLOW

Begs to call special attention to the following seasonable articles, which for high
quality have never been excelled :—

Lewis & Go.’s SNOW-WHITE POLISHED SEGTIONS.—These
Sections are snow-white, and nothing like them has ever before been seen in this country.
They can be had in both 2-way and 4-way, also in the form called Blow’s Patent Grooved
and Split-top Sections.

BLOW’S SOFT GANDY (Pore Cane Sugar with Honey).
prepared in One-Pound Boxes. 6d. per Box ; 58, per Dozen.

SUPER AND BROOD FOUNDATION OF PURE BEESWAX.
New Remedy for FOUL BROOD.—Hal/-pint Bottles
28, 6d.; Pint Bottles, 43. Numerous UNSODICITED TESTIMONIALS.
Emamelled Metal Section Cases. — Exhibitors at
Shows, and those who have large quantities of Comb Honey for public sale, have become
keenly alive to the fact that one of the greatest inducements to Shopkeepers to consent to
stock Honey, and to the Public to buy it, is the appearance and neatness of the get-up of
the package containing the Honey in Comb. They can be had with or without fastenings.
Fioney Bottles.—Special attention is called to the Metal Screw-top
Honey Bottle for use at Shows, these beivg of very fine quality.
_Perfection and Rapid Tin Feeders.—Now is the
time for Feeding-up Stocks that are short of supplies. For quick feeding, the RAPID

TIN FEEDER is all that can be desired. My Feeders have stood the test of many years,
and are still the best in the market. In the Catalogue mentioned below full descriptions
and illustrations will be found.

Specially

Honey Extractors, Honey Ripeners and Honey Presses with all the latest improvements. Also
Smokers, Tinware of every description. Best Sheffield Knives and Cutlery of all approved patterns.

Special Terms offered to the Trade. Send for 74-page Catalogue,
with 120 Illustrations. Also my New Horticultural Catalogue.

Tr. B. BLOW, Welwyn, England.

NON-POISONOUS. NON-POISONOUS.
NON-CORROSIVE. i 7 A i NON-CORROSIVE.
NON-VOLATILE, NON-VOLATILE.

DISINFECTANT.

AN ENTIRELY NEW DISCOVERY. INO/’T A COAL-TAR PRODUCT.
THE SUREST PROTECTOR AGAINST
FEVERS, SMALL-POX, CHOLERA, DIPHTHERIA, & INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

To BEE-KEEPERS.

IZAL 38 2cknowledged by experts to be THE LATEST AND BEST CURE
for FOUL BROOD.

DIRECTIONS FOR USE.—To medicate food mix joz. (ZAL with 15lbs. of honey or
syrup. For cleansing hives use loz. of IZAL (tablespoonful) to 10 pints of water.

Sold by Chemists, Grocers, Stores, &c., in Bottles 1s., 28. 6d., 4s. 6d. Gallon Tins,
10s. The 2s. 6d. Bottle makes 30 Gallons of strong reliable DISINFEOTANT,

SOLE MANUFACTURERS—
NEWTON, CHAMBERS & CO., Ltd.,

THORNCLIFFE, neaR SHEFFIELD.

J. H. HOWARD,
MANUFACTURER, THE “MODEL APIARY,”
HOLME, PETERBOROUGH,
LECTURER AND CERTIFIED EXPERT,
SOLICITS APPLICATION FOR HIS

CATALOGUE (POST FREE),

IN WHICH FIRST PRIZE APPLIANCES AND ALL IMPLEMENTS PERTAINING
TO SUCCESS IN BEE CULTURE ARE SHOWN.

THE “IYO” HIVWE is manufactured by J. H. H., under special directions and
permit from Mr. C. N. WHITE.

Now Ready at all Booksellers and Libraries.

Ina Gloucestershire Garden.

BY

HENRY N. ELLACOMBE, M.A,,

VICAR OF BITTON, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, AND HONORARY CANON OF BRISTOL 5
AUTHOR OF ‘‘PLANT LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE,”

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS,

Crown Bro, elegantly bound, 6s.

CONTENTS.

A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN, BRAMBLES AND THISTLES.
JANUARY TO DECEMBER, CLIMBING PLANTS.
MONTH BY MONTH. | GARDEN WALLS.

SPRING FLOWERS. | TREES IN THE GARDEN.

SHRUBS. : AUTUMN LEAVES.

PALMS AND BAMBOOS. BIRDS IN THE GARDEN.

LILIES. | PARSONAGE GARDENS.

ROSES. |

GARDEN ASSOCIATIONS,

Lonpox: ;EDWARD ARNOLD, 37, Beprorp Srreet, Stranp, W.C.
Publisher to the India Office.

WORKS BY

THE DEAN of ROCHESTER

(THE VERY REV. 8. REYNOLDS HOLE).

MORE MEMORIES: Being thoughts about England
spoken in America. With Frontispiece. Demy 8vo, 16s.

‘‘ There is not a page in this volume without its good thing, its touch
of wit or wisdom, quaint drollery, apt illustration, or quick association,
kind counsel, grave truth, or happy anecdote.”’—Jorld.

THE MEMORIES OF DEAN HOLE. With the

original Illustrations from sketches by LerecH and Tuackeray.
Twelfth Thousand. One vol., crown 8vo, 6s.

“One of the most delightful collections of reminiscences that this
generation has seen.”—Daily Chronicle.

A LITTLE TOUR IN IRELAND. By An Oxonin
(the Very Rev. 8. R. Horz, Dean of Rochester). With nearly forty
Illustrations by JoHNn Leecg, including the famous steel Frontispiece
of the “‘Claddagh.”’ Large imperial 16mo, handsomely bound, gilt
top, 10s. 6d.

*,* Only a few copies of this edition now remain.

A BOOK ABOUT THE GARDEN AND THE
GARDENER. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s.

“A delightful volume, full not merely of information, but of humour
and entertainment.”—World.

A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. Twentieth Thousand.

Crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d.

‘*A perfectly charming book.”—Daily Telegraph.
» A well-known and delightful book.” —Guardian.

ADDRESSES TO WORKING MEN FROM
PULPIT AND PLATFORM. One vol., crown 8vo, 6s.

Loxpon: EDWARD ARNOLD, 37, Beprorp Street, Stranp, W.C.
Publisher to the India Office.

COLONEL KENNEY HERBERT’S

POPULAR WORKS ON COOKERY

COMMON-SENSE COOKERY FOR ENGLISH
HOUSEHOLDS. Based upon Modern English and Continental
Principles, with Twenty Menus worked out in detail. By A. Kenney
Herserr (‘‘ Wyvern”), Don of the Order of the Cordon-Rouge,
Author of ‘Culinary Jottings,” &c. Large crown 8vo, cloth, price
7s. 6d.

‘*A book which is sure to have a large circulation, since the author, the well-known
‘Wyvern,’ has been for some time generally accepted as perhaps the chief English
authority on the art of cookery.”"—The Times.

“An elaborate treatise on the culinary art. The rules are laid down simply and clearly,
and the recipes are given with such precision as to quantities that mistakes can scarcely
occur if proper attention is paid to the instructions.”—Morning Post.

“Colonel Herbert has already proved his fitness for the task he has undertaken in the
present volume, and the work will confirm his reputation as one of the most lucid and
practical writers upon the culinary art. Alike to learners and adepts the book will be
found useful and suggestive.”—Manchester Courier.

FIFTY BREAKFASTS. By A. Kenney Herpert
(“Wyvern”). Crown 8vo, cloth, price 2s. 6d.

“All who know the culinary works of ‘Wyvern’ are aware that they combine a remark-
able conviction and (on the whole) excellent taste with an exceptional practicalness and
preeeion, in detail. His ‘ Fifty Breakfasts’ will well sustain this reputation.”— Saturday

eview.

“ An admirable collection of menus for the opening meal of the day. The majority of
the dishes described in these pages are not merely dainty and appetising, but are hardly
of a kind seriously to tax either the resources of an ordinary kitchen or the aptitude of an
ordinary cook. Colonel Herbert’s book is one of the best of its kind, for it is thoroughly
practical from beginning to end.”—Speaker.

“ Autolycus,” in a review of a column, says: “ Distinctly it is a book to be read and
studied.”—Pall Mall Gazette.

TWO NEW VOLUMES by COLONEL KENNEY HERBERT

will be published very shortly, in uniform style with ‘ Fifty
Breakfasts.” Price 2s, 6d, each.

FIFTY LUNCHES. FIFTY DINNERS.

Loxpon: EDWARD ARNOLD, 37, Beprorp Street, Srranp, W.C.
Publisher to the India Office.

MR. EDWARD BROWN’S
POPULAR WORKS ON POULTRY.

PLEASURABLE POULTRY KEEPING.

By EDWARD BROWN,

Lecturer to the County Councils of Northumberland, Cumberland, Hampshire, Kent, &c.,
Author of “ Industrial Poultry Keeping,” €c.

One vol., crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d.

“This handbook is as useful as it is comprehensive.”—Scotsman.

“Mr. Brown has established for himself a unique position in regard to this subject, and
what he has to say is not only sound counsel, but is presented in a very readable form.”—
Nottingham Daily Guardian.

POULTRY KEEPING AS AN INDUSTRY

FOR FARMERS AND COTTAGERS.
By EDWARD BROWN, F.L.S.

With Fourteen full-page Plates by Luptow, and nearly Fifty other
Illustrations.

One vol., demy 4to, cloth, 6s.

“One of the most complete manuals on the keeping of poultry.".—County Council
Times.

“The most useful book of the kind ever published.”—Farming World.

INDUSTRIAL POULTRY KEEPING.
By EDWARD BROWN, F.L.S.
A small handbook chiefly intended for cottagers and allotment holders.
Paper boards, 1s.

“The book is one of very easy reference, and ought to be in the hands of not only every
farmer, but also of all cottagers throughout the country.” —Newcastle Journal.

Lonpon: EDWARD ARNOLD, 37, Beprorp Street, Srranp, W.C.
Publisher to the India Office.

Mr. Edward Arnold’s List.

Volumes of Biography and Reminiscence.

THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF MARIA
EDGEWORTH. Edited by Avcustus J, C. Hare, Author of
“The Story of Two Noble Lives,” &c¢. Two vols., crown 8vo,
with Portraits, 16s. net.

“ As we read the two charming volumes of ‘ The Life and Letters of Maria Edgeworth,’
we cannot but wonder why the publication of such excellent material was delayed so long.

A book which will not only be widely read in its season of first freshness, but which will
probably rank high in future years among the standard memoirs of our language.""—Timea.

THE RECOLLECTIONS OF THE DEAN OF
SALISBURY. By the Very Rev. G. D. Boxyzz, Dean of Salisbury.
With Photogravure Portrait. Demy 8vo, 16s.

“One of the most delightful volumes of its kind published for many months past.”—
Atheneum.

“ A very delightful book. He has something to tell us which is worth hearing pf most
cf the great men of his time, and his pages teem with telling anecdote and shrewd but
always kindly observation.” —Times.

THE MEMOIRS OF THE LATE SIR JOHN
A. MACDONALD, G.C.B., first Prime Minister of Canada. Edited
by Joseru Pops, his Private Secretary, With Portraits. Two vols.,
demy 8vo, 32s.

ALPHONSE DAUDET. A Biography and Critical
easy ae R. H. SHerarp, Editor of ‘The Memoirs of Baron
éneval.”

“An excellent piece of journalism, the kind of personal journalism which is both cnter-
taining and useful.”—Saturday Review,

SEVENTY YEARS OF IRISH LIFE. Being
the Recollections of W. R. Le Fanv. Third Edition. One vol.,

demy 8vo, 16s. With Portraits of the Author and J. Sheridan
Le Fanu.

“Tt will delight all readers—English and Scotch no less than Irish, Nationalists no less
than Unionists, Roman Catholics no less than Orangemen.”—Times.

RIDING RECOLLECTIONS AND TURF
STORIES. By Henry Cusrance, three times winner of the Derby.
One vol., crown 8vo, cloth 2s, 6d.

“An admirable sketch of turf history during a very interesting period, well and
humorously written.”—Sporting Life.

ECHOES OF OLD COUNTY LIFE. Recollec-
tions of Sport, Society, Politics, and Farming in the Good Old
Times. By J. K. Fowngr, of Aylesbury. Second Edition, with
numerous Illustrations. 8vo, 10s. 6d. Also a large-paper edition,
of 200 copies only, 21s. net. .

“A very entertaining volume of reminiscences, full of good stories.”—Truth.

Loypon: EDWARD ARNOLD, 37, Beprorp Street, Stranp, W.C.
Publisher to the India Office.

Mr. Edward Arnold’s List.

ENGLAND IN EGYPT. By Atrrep Mixer, CB.

Popular Edition, with an Additional Prefatory Chapter on Egypt in 1894. Large
crown 8vo, with Map, cloth, 7s. 6d.
“No journalist or public man ought to be permitted to write or speak about Egypt for
the next five years unless he can solemnly declare that he had read it from cover to
cover.”—Daily Chronicle.

THE BRITISH MISSION TO UGANDA IN 1893.

By the late Sir GERALD PokTaL, K.C.M.G. Edited by RenneLL Ropp, C.M.G.
With an Introduction by the Right Honourable Lord Cromer, G.C.M.G. Illustrated
from Photos taken during the Expedition by Colonel RuopEs. Demy 8vo, 21s.

SELECT ESSAYS OF SAINTE-BEUVE. Chiefly

bearing on English Literature. Translated by A. J. BurLur, Translator of ‘The
Memoirs of Baron Marbot.” Crown 8vo, cloth, 5s. net.

GREAT PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Eron—Harrow—

WINCHESTER—RUGBY—WESTMINSTER—MARLBOROUGH — CHELTENHAM — HAjLEY-
BURY—CLIFTON—CHARTERHOUSE. With nearly a hundred Illustrations by the best
artists. One vol., large imperial 16mo, handsomely bound, 6s.

WILD FLOWERS IN ART AND NATURE. By

J. C. L. SparKes, Principal of the National Art Training School, South Kensington,
and F. W. Bursrper, Curator of the University Botanical Gardens, Dublin. With 21
Full-page Coloured Plates by H. G. Moon. Royal 4to, handsomely bound, gilt

pu FICTION.
ORMISDAL: a Novel. By the Hart or Dunmore,

F.R.G.S , Author of ‘‘ The Pamirs.” One vol., crown 8vo, cloth, 6s.
“In this breezy and entertaining novel Lord Dunmore has given us a very readable and
racy story of the life that centres in a Highland shooting about the end of August.”—
Glasgow Herald.

STEPHEN REMARX. The Story of a Venture in

Ethics. By the Hon. and Rev. JAMES ADDERLEY. Twenty-second Thousand.
Small 8vo, elegantly bound, 8s. 6d.; also in paper cover, ls.
“Let us express our thankfulness at encountering for once in a way an author who can
amuse us.”— Saturday Review.

LOVE-LETTERS OF A WORLDLY WOMAN.

By Mrs. W. K. CiirForp, Author of “Aunt Anne,” “ Mrs, Keith’s Crime,” &c. One
yol., crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d.
“ One of the cleverest books that ever a woman wrote.”—Queen.

DAVE’S SWEETHEART. By Mary Gaunt. One
yol., 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.

“In every respect one of the most powerful and impressive novels of the year.”—Daily
Telegraph.

THE MYSTERY OF THE RUE SOLLY. Trans-

lated by Lady Knutsrorp from the French of H. DE BaLzac. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
“Lady Knutsford’s translation of Balzac's famous story is excellent.” —Scotsman.

MISTHER O’RYAN. An Incident in the History of

a Nation. By EpwarpD McNurry. Small 8vo, elegantly bound, 3s. 6d.
“ An extremely well-written satire of the possibilities of blarney and brag.”—Pall Mall
Gazette.

THE TUTOR’S SECRET. (Le Secret du Précepteur.)

Translated from the French by VICTOR CHERBULIEZ. One vol., crown 8yo, cloth, 6s.

Lonpon: EDWARD ARNOLD, 37, Breprorp Srreer, Srranp, W.C.
Publisher to the India Office.

one = = = ———
LECHORNS: = GLACK MINOREAS

Reared from Shell to Show Pen

SPRATTS PATENT
CHICKEN

POULTRY
MEALS.

Samples of Foods Post Free.

Pamphlet on Poultry Rearing Pa Post t free for One Stamp.

SPRATT’S PATENT Ltd, Bermondsey, London, §.E.

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