the old-fashioned hive was so inconvenient and wasteful that many people who date their knowledge of bee-keeping from the old homestead will find it difficult to believe that apiculture has developed into a practical, money-making industry during the last twenty years, until now the average amount of honey put on the market each year is upward of a hundred million pounds, representing a money value of from eight to ten million dollars.
in a favourable locality one hive, with its average colony of thirty-five thousand workers and a queen, will turn out from thirty to forty pounds, besides the fifteen or twenty necessary to feed the hive through the winter.
the vicious temper of the old-time black bee has much to do with the neglect of this profitable industry. the italian bees are, however, so much better as honey-gatherers that they are almost universally kept now, and are so gentle in disposition that even a nervous person can easily learn to manipulate them without fear of stings.
the principal honey-producing plants in our eastern states are fruit bloom of all kinds, locust, white clover, crimson clover, basswood, sumac, goldenrod, 180 buckwheat, sunflowers, grapes and asters. of these, clover, basswood and buckwheat provide the bulk of our honey crop in most localities, although large yields are often obtained from others. fruit bloom, though yielding much honey, comes so early in the season that it is mostly consumed by the bees in brood-rearing. clover commences the last of may, lasts several weeks, and yields a light-coloured honey of fine flavour. basswood blooms the first part of july, lasts about ten days, and produces a very white honey. buckwheat blooms in august and the first part of september. it gives a dark-red honey with a strong flavour.
my apiary started with three hives, bought for two dollars at a farm auction. i knew nothing about bees or hives at the time; the owner was not there to be questioned, so it was a truly risky proceeding, not to be recommended. but if chance makes it possible to pick up one or two good hives of the box, movable-frame style, and bees of any sort for a few dollars, take them and improve the stock by introducing good italian queens, which can be bought for two dollars and fifty cents each from any bee-supply house. they can be shipped through the mail in small cages.
when an italian queen is introduced into a hive of common bees in may or june there will be no sign of the original occupants in the fall. for the working bees are such indefatigable toilers that during blossom-time they usually wear themselves out in about six weeks, and most certainly never survive more than twelve. the drones are driven from the hive to die 181 whenever any of the different blossom crops which supply honey are on the decline. queens live for years, but as perpetuators of their race are only to be relied upon for three years.
if your immediate neighbourhood cannot furnish stock to start with, the best plan is to send for frames of nuclei and a queen. one frame would cost three dollars, and hardly contains sufficient bees to build up a strong colony, therefore it is better to send for three frames, which will make a splendid start, and only cost an additional one dollar and fifty cents. if purchased in june or july they will have multiplied so considerably by the time buckwheat is in blossom that you will be able to build up a second colony. of course, a hive filled with a full complement of bees can be bought, but would cost at least ten dollars. express charges would be very expensive, as bees come under the head of live creatures, and double rates must be paid. the frames of nuclei are packed in light cases which cost less than half.
a hive must be ready to receive the little travellers on their arrival, and here again it is advisable to consider express charges. one hive ready for use will cost two dollars and sixty cents, and almost as much expressage as five hives “in the flat,” as dealers call it, and the five hives can be had for nine dollars and twenty-five cents. nails of the correct size and full instructions are sent with the hive, so even a feminine amateur will find it quite easy to put them together. i use two-story, dovetailed hives, which consist of a 182 cover, bottom, brood-chamber and two supers. bees are best kept in a quiet corner of the garden, or under the trees in the orchard, where they are protected from the noon-day sun and east winds. when we had only two or three hives they stood on a shelf in an open-fronted shelter, which was made from a large packing-case bought from the general store for twenty cents. in the winter we packed straw or leaves around the hives, and set up boards in front, which leaned against the top of the case, and sloped out a few inches at the ground. this was to keep out the snow and rain and yet allow plenty of ventilation. now that hives are scattered through the orchard, we simply slip each into a case a little larger than itself, and set up a board in front. further south no protection will be required, but in the north it would be advisable to carry the hives into a dry, well-ventilated cellar for the winter. the only drawback to the latter plan is that the bees may become restless quite early in the spring, so the condition of hives should be watched.
a small hand-mirror held at the opening of the hive, and a light held in the other hand so that it will shine into the hive, will enable you to see what is going on inside. if the bees appear restless, it is a sure sign that they need more air. opening the cellar windows after dark on a moderate night will usually supply all the ventilation that is necessary, until the middle or end of march, when it is best to let the bees have a cleansing flight if they still appear restless. it is not very much trouble, when only a few hives are 183 kept, to carry them out on a warm day and place them where they stood last fall. it should be done early in the morning and as carefully as possible, so as not to disturb the inmates, who will gradually arouse as the sun gains strength, and take flight. this will relieve the intestines of the waste matter which has caused their restlessness. after the sun has gone down in the evening, carry the hives back into the cellar, and the bees will be quiet until spring is sufficiently advanced to warrant putting them out for the season, which is usually when soft maples and willows commence to furnish pollen.
as soon as the days are warm in spring we go through the hives and give them a general clean-up. if a hive appears to be short of honey, a comb from a hive that is well supplied is removed and given to it, and as some bees are sure to have died during the winter, some colonies will be stronger than others, so things must be evened up. when a hive has more than five frames filled with brood, one or two are taken out and placed in hives having less than five frames filled with brood. a great advantage of the modern frame-hive is this being able to take out and put in brood, and later add supers and empty sections as the original ones are filled with honey.
a bee’s life is apparently a most accurately prearranged existence, filled with allotted duties, which are intuitively understood and unerringly performed. there is only one queen allowed in each colony, and she lays all the eggs, the workers being imperfectly-developed 184 females. drones are the masculine members of the population, lazy fellows, whom the workers have to feed, hence the reason for their being expelled from the hive whenever food is scarce.
the queen is truly a royal personage, who only leaves the hive to take what is called the nuptial flight, when she meets some drone in midair, and returns to become the sole mother of the hive. she is always guarded by a small retinue of attendants, who feed and care for her as she wanders from cell to cell, depositing an egg in each with untiring zeal. the egg develops into a tiny grub-like worm, which is fed for seven days by young workers; then the cell is capped over by another set of workers, the grub being left undisturbed for eleven or twelve days, by which time it has developed into a full-fledged bee, which gnaws its way out of the cell, and at once takes up the duties of life. for six or seven days its time is devoted to feeding the newly-hatched eggs, then, for about the same length of time, building combs and cleaning the hives, after which it is evidently considered strong enough to leave the hive and commence the arduous task of gathering honey. the queen is exempt from all work.
within a week or two after a virgin queen has taken her nuptial flight, the hive should be opened and the frames removed, one by one, and examined until the queen is found. she can be distinguished from the others by the length of her body and the way the other bees cluster around her. pick her up very gently by the back, being careful not to squeeze her abdomen, 185 and with a pair of sharp scissors clip both wings on one side of her body. this insures a short flight at swarming-time. when she again issues from the hive, usually the excited condition of the bees will indicate when this is going to take place, and as the queen cannot fly with her cut wings, you will have little trouble, for she will be found on the ground near the hive, with a group of bees around her, and the full swarm not far away. approach very quietly, and place a small wire trap over the queen. the traps are sold by all the bee-supply firms, and cost twenty-five cents. place the trap in the opening of the hive you desire the swarm to occupy, cautiously approach the full swarm, and with a soft broom sweep the bees into the hive if the position they occupy makes it possible; if not, use a box or pan, and carry them to the hive and empty them in front. they will soon commence to occupy the new home. the slide of the queen trap can be opened, and the bees inside will settle down to business.
after the first swarm, early in the season, it is advisable to take every possible means to prevent after-swarms. want of room is the main cause for old bees leaving a hive, so a great deal may be accomplished by careful manipulation of the frames. the lower part of the hive is devoted to brood-rearing; the other part is composed of the frames which hold the section-boxes. section-boxes are the small square cases in which comb-honey is marketed.
among the modern inventions in apiculture is the 186 comb foundation, or starter, as it is sometimes called. in the old days bees had to supply all the wax to build the combs. now it is bought with the cells ready started, and the bees have only to draw them out and finish off the work, which of course saves the little workers much time, and enables them to store more honey. what is termed medium foundation is used in the brood-frames, and thin or extra thin in the section-boxes. bees will sometimes ignore extra space when added above the frames where they have been working, so it is advisable to raise the top super, and insert another one below it. this supplying empty sections materially mitigates swarming, but does not always prevent it. it is the after-swarms that it is so important to check, as they are of little use, seldom being able to gather sufficient stores to keep them through the winter. in september all hives should be examined, and if any have less than twenty-five pounds of honey, artificial feeding must be resorted to. make a syrup of equal quantities of sugar and water; heat slowly, stirring all the time, being very careful not to let it scorch, for burnt syrup means destruction to the bees. allow it to cool, and then fill what is known as a miller feeder, which costs thirty-five cents, and fits into any of the movable-frame hives.
