First-rate Stocks Recommended To Begin With
Categories: PURCHASING STOCKS AND TRANSPORTING BEES.Bee Keeping: Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained
For a beginning then, I would recommend purchasing none but first-rate
stocks; it will make but little difference in the risk, whether you
obtain them in the spring, or fall, if you have read my remarks on
winter management with attention; I have already said the requisites
for a good stock for winter, were a numerous family and plenty of
honey, and that the cluster of bees should extend through nearly all
the combs, &c. To avoid as far as possible diseased brood, find an
apiary where it has never made its appearance, to make purchases. There
are some who have lost bees by it, and yet are totally ignorant of the
cause. It would be well, therefore, to inquire if any stocks have been
lost, and then for the cause--be careful that secondary are not
mistaken for primary causes.
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Drones Destroyed When Honey Is Scarce
When an occurrence like the above happens, the drones next fall victims to the failure of honey. A brief existence only is theirs; such as are perfect, are destroyed without mercy; those in the chrysalis state are often dragged out, and sacrificed t... Economy
If we keep bees for ornament, it would be well to build a bee-house, paint the hives, &c.; but as I expect the majority of readers will be interested in the profit of the thing, I will say that the bees will not pay a cent towards extra expenses; th... Effect Of Keeping Second-rate Stocks Out Of The Sun
It has been strongly urged, without regard to the strength of the stock, to keep them all out of the sun; because an occasional warm day would call out the bees, when they get on the snow, and perish; this is a loss, to be sure, but there is such a ... Effect Of Tobacco Smoke
We can now subdue these combative propensities, or render them harmless; turn their anger to submission, and make them yield their treasures to the hands of the spoiler without an effort of resistance! When once overpowered, they seem to lose all kn... Effects Of Snow Considered
As for bees getting on the snow, I apprehend that not many more are lost there, than on the frozen earth; that is, in the same kind of weather. I have seen them chilled, and lost on the ground by hundreds, when a casual observer would not have notic... Empty Hives To Be Ready
We will now suppose that some of your stocks are ready to cast their swarms: we will also presume that your empty hives for the reception of swarms are ready before this period; to prepare a hive after the swarm has issued is bad management; neglige... Enemies Of Bees
Among the enemies of bees, there are included rats, mice, birds, toads, and insects. ... Evidence Of The Old Queen's Leaving
That the old queen does leave with the first swarm is indicated by several things: one is, eggs may often be found on the board the next morning; another, when the first swarm has left, and before any of these royal cells hatch, the bees may be driv... Evils Of Winterings In The Open Air Considered
As a great many bee-keepers will find it inconvenient, or be unable to avail themselves of my method of wintering, it will be well enough to see how far the evils of the open air, which we have already glanced at, may be successfully avoided. I am t... Expense In Constructing Changeable Hives
It is as much work to construct each separate section, as a common hive; consequently, it is three times the expense to begin with. It is objectionable for wintering bees, on the same principle as the dividing hive. I object to it on another point: ... Expense Of Renewing Combs
One important item should be considered in this matter, by those who are so eager for new combs. It is doubtful whether one in 500 ever thought of the expense of renewing comb. I find it estimated by one writer,[2] that twenty-five lbs. of honey was... Experiments Of The Author To Get Rid Of The Frost
I wished to keep them warm, and save the bees as well as honey, and at the same time, get rid of the moisture. I found that a large family expelled it much better than small ones; and if all were put together in a close room, the animal heat from a ... Families May Be Equalized
By taking advantage of this immediately, or before the scent has again changed, and each hive has something peculiar to _itself_, you can change the stands of very weak and very strong families. To prevent, as far as possible, some of these bad ef... Feeding To Induce Early Swarms
If the object in feeding is to induce early swarms, of course the best stocks should be chosen for the purpose; but some care is necessary not to give too much, and fill the combs with honey, that ought to be filled with brood, and thereby defeat yo... First Care
When the flowers fail at the end of the season, the first thing necessary is to ascertain which are the weakest stocks, and all that cannot defend themselves should either be removed or reinforced. The strength of all stocks is pretty thoroughly tes... First Delusion
Probably the first delusion in the patent line originated with the idea, that to obtain surplus honey, it was absolutely necessary to have a chamber hive. To get rid of the depredations of mice, the suspended hive was contrived. The inclined bottom-... First Indications
The first indications of such an accident will be, the bees outside in clusters, when the hive is perhaps only half or two-thirds full, and the honey running out from the bottom, (this is when part has fallen.) ... First Issues Generally Choose Fair Weather
First swarms are commonly more particular as to weather than after swarms. They have several days from which to choose, after these royal cells are ready, and before the queens are matured; and they usually take a fair one. But here again are except... First Objection Cost Of Construction
The first obstacle in the way (after the right is obtained) is the construction. Let's see; we want inch boards to make the shell, three-quarter inch boards for the tops and bottoms of drawers, half inch for sides, hinges to hang a door, glass for b... First-rate Stocks Recommended To Begin With
For a beginning then, I would recommend purchasing none but first-rate stocks; it will make but little difference in the risk, whether you obtain them in the spring, or fall, if you have read my remarks on winter management with attention; I have al... Freezing Destroys Them
Boxes taken off at the end of warm weather, and exposed in a freezing situation through the winter, appear to have all the worms as well as eggs for them destroyed by the cold; consequently, all boxes so exposed, may be kept any length of time; the ... Freezing Destroys Worms Cocoon And Moth
It is pretty well demonstrated that the moth, its eggs, larvae and chrysalis cannot pass the winter without warmth of some kind to prevent their freezing to death. The following facts indicate this. I have taken all the bees out of a hive in the fal... Frost And Ice In A Hive Accounted For
Physiologists tell us "that innumerable pores in the cuticle of the human body are continually throwing off waste or worn out matter; that every exhalation of air carries with it a portion of water from the system, in warm weather unperceived, but w... Frost And Ice Sometimes Smother Bees
Besides freezing, there are other facts to be observed in stocks which stand in the cold. If we examine the interior of a hive containing a medium-sized swarm, on the first severely cold morning, except in the immediate vicinity of the bees, we shal... Frost May Cause Starvation
This frost is frequently the cause of medium or small families starving in cold weather, even when there is plenty of honey in the hive. Suppose all the honey in the immediate vicinity of the cluster of bees is exhausted, and, the combs in every dir... Fruit Flowers Important In Good Weather
In good weather, sometimes a gain of twenty lbs. is added to their stores, during this period of apple-tree blossoms. But we are seldom fortunate enough to have good weather all through this period, it being rainy, cloudy, cool, or windy, which is v... Further Illustrations
A neighbor who wished to purchase some stock hives in the fall, requested my assistance in selecting them. We applied to a perfect stranger; his bees had passed the previous winter in the open air. I found on looking among them that he had lost some... Further Objections To A Sectional Hive
I can see no other way but to break the box, look her up, and help the helpless thing home, (the chances of being stung may be here too.) Now, for a time at least, they must use the other drawer for breeding, where most of the cells are unfit. There... Garden Flowers Unimportant
In passing along I have not mentioned garden flowers, because the amount obtained here is a small item, compared to the forest and fields--especially ornamental flowers. It is true that the Hollyhock, (_Altha Rosea_,) Mallows, (_Malva Rotundifolia_)... Getting Out Wax Different Methods
Several methods have been adopted for separating the wax. I never found any means of getting out the _whole_. Yet I suppose I came as near it as any one. Some recommend heating it in an oven, similar to the method of straining honey through the cola... Gillmore's System Doubted
Now this fact is not known by a recent patentee from the State of Maine, (else he supposes others do not,) as he recommends placing bees in a house, and empty hives in connection with the one containing bees, and in a few years all will be full. He ... Glass Boxes How To Make
_Directions for making._--Select half-inch boards of pine or other soft light wood, cut the length twelve and three-quarters inches, width six and three-eighths inches, dress down the thickness to three-eighths or less, two pieces for a box, top and... Glass Boxes Preferred
Having told how I make a hive, I will now give some reasons for preferring a particular kind of boxes. I have taken great quantities of honey to market, put up in every style, such as tumblers, glass jars, glass boxes, wooden boxes with glass ends, ... Good Stock Seldom Without Brood
I once removed the bees from a hive on the tenth of January, and found brood amounting to about five hundred, sealed over, and others in every stage of growth down to the egg. This hive had been in the house, and kept warm; it will doubtless be s... Great Disadvantage Of Killing The Bees
Those rustic bee-keepers who are in the habit of making their hives very large, such as will hold from 100 to 140 lbs., and killing the bees in the fall, and sending the honey to market, will probably continue the use of sulphur, unless we can convi... Guess Work
The time before it is ready to leave the hive for honey, I might guess would be two or three days. Others have said "it would leave _the day it left the cell_;" but I guess they guess at this point. They tell us, too, that after the bees seal over t... Guide-combs Necessary
It will be found a great advantage, previous to nailing on the top, to stick fast to it some pieces of guide-combs in the direction you wish the bees to work. They are also an inducement for them to commence several days sooner, than if they had to ... Hall's Patent
Mr. Hall has added a lower section to his hive, about four inches deep, with two boards inside, like the roof of a house, to discharge the worms, &c.; but as these boards would interfere with close inspection, they are objectionable. Several other v...