But Little Risk With Good Stocks
Categories: WINTERING BEES.Bee Keeping: Mysteries Of Bee-keeping Explained
All _good stocks_ may be wintered in this way, with but little risk in
most situations. Whether in the bleak north-wind, buried in a
snow-bank, or situated warm and pleasant, it will make no great
difference. The mice cannot enter; the holes give them air, and carry
off moisture, &c. But second-rate stocks are not equally safe in cold
situations.
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Bee Pasturage
In some seasons the earth is covered with snow much later than others. When this occurs, a greater number of warm days are necessary to melt it, and start the flowers, than otherwise. ... Bees Changeable
Bees are so changeable, especially in the summer and swarming season, that we can seldom be certain what they are, by what they have been. It is safest, therefore, _to know what they are now_. ... Bees Disposed To Carry Away Honey
When boxes are taken off at the end of the honey season, a different method of getting rid of the bees must be adopted, or we lose our honey. Unless the combs are all finished, we lose some then any way, as most of the bees fill themselves before le... Bees Do Not Increase If Full After The First Year In Same Hive
I only will notice the fact, that the bees somehow disappear, and there is no more at the end of five years than at the end of one. A stock of bees may contain 6,000 the first of May, and raise 20,000 in the course of the year; by the first of the n... Bees Mark Their Location On Leaving The Hive
They rise on the wing, but do not leave in a direct line, but immediately turn their heads towards the entrance of their tenement, describing a circle of only a few inches at first, but enlarge as they recede, until an area of several rods have been... Bees When In The House Should Be Kept Perfectly Dark
When not kept perfectly dark, a few would leave the hives in either case. I have found it much better to make the room dark to keep the bees in the hive, than to tie over them a thin muslin cloth, as that prevents a free passage of the vapor, and a ... Best Conveyance
Probably the best conveyance is a wagon with elliptic springs. But a wagon without springs is bad, especially for young stocks. Yet I have known them moved safely in this way, but it required some care in packing with hay, or straw, under and around... Best Time To Witness Comb-making
The only time when I have witnessed the process with any degree of satisfaction is when the combs approach the glass, and but few bees in the way; then, by watching patiently a few minutes, some part of the process may be seen. ... Best To Use Old Combs As Long As They Will Answer
I am satisfied of this much, from actual experience, that every time the bees have to renew their brood-combs in a hive, they would make from ten to twenty-five lbs. in boxes, hence I infer that their time can be more profitably employed than in con... Both Old And Young Leave With Swarms
It is probable that no rule governs the issue of workers. Old and young come out promiscuously. That old bees come out may be known sometimes, by so many leaving, that not a quarter as many will be left, as commenced work in the spring. That young b... Bottom-boards For Hiving
You will want also a number of bottom-boards, expressly for hiving; get a board a little larger than the bottom of the hive, nail strips across the ends on the under side to prevent warping; in the middle cut out a space five or six inches square, a... Box For Wren
If you would take the trouble to put up a cage or two for the wren to nest in, he would be a valuable assistant in this department of your labor. He would be on the lookout when you were away, and many worms, while looking up a hiding-place in some ... Boxes For Double Swarms Immediately
It should then be taken out, and boxes immediately put on, which should be changed for empty ones, as fast as they are filled. Yet, this extra honey is not quite as much advantage as increase of stocks; when that is an object, I will recommend anoth... Burying Bees
Burying bees in the earth below the frost, has been recommended as a superior method of wintering, for small families. I have known it confidently asserted, that they would lose nothing in weight, and no bees would die. I found, in testing it, that ... But Little Risk With Good Stocks
All _good stocks_ may be wintered in this way, with but little risk in most situations. Whether in the bleak north-wind, buried in a snow-bank, or situated warm and pleasant, it will make no great difference. The mice cannot enter; the holes give th... By Gaining One Point Produce Another Evil
I think it will be an easy matter to show that every departure from simplicity to gain _one_ point, is attended in another by a correspondent evil, that often exceeds the advantage gained. That we have made vast improvements in art and science, and ... Can Be Taken Some Distance
When bees are taken beyond their knowledge of country, some two miles or more, the case seems to be somewhat different, but not always without loss, especially if many hives are set too close. They leave the hive of course without knowing that the s... Can Often Be Prevented
"Prevention is better than cure." We can, if we keep a good lookout, often prevent more than one issuing at a time. This depends on our knowledge of indications, in a great measure. I have said that before starting to fly off, they were about the en... Canal Bottom-board Discarded
I used what is termed a canal bottom-board, until I found out it did not pay expense, and have now discarded it, and succeed just as well. It is generally recommended as a preventive of robberies, and keeping out the moth. It may prevent one hive in... Care In Selecting Stock Hives For Winter
Again, after the breeding season is over, in the fall, _every stock should be thoroughly inspected, and all diseased ones condemned for stock hives_. It is better to do it, even if it should take the last one. It would pay much better to procure oth... Care In Turning Over Hives
When a hive is full of combs, the edges are usually attached sufficient to steady them, and it is of less consequence which way it is turned, yet in very warm weather the honey will run out of drone cells if perpendicular. In _very_ small swarms,... Care Needed
Considerable care is requisite, and but few know how to manage it properly. Honey fed to bees, is almost certain to get up quarrels among them. Sometimes strong stocks scent the honey given to weak ones, and carry it off as fast as supplied. ... Cat-bird Acquitted
The cat-bird also comes in for a share of censure. It is said "they will get right down by the hive, and pick up bees by the hundred." Yet, right in the face of this charge, I am disposed to acquit him. With the closest observation, I find him about... Catnip Mother-wort And Hoarhound Are Sought After
Catnip, (_Nepeta Cataria_,) Mother-wort, (_Leonurus Cardiaca_,) and Hoarhound, (_Marrubium Vulgare_,) about the middle of June, put forth their flowers, rich in sweetness, and like the Raspberry, the bees visit them at all hours and in nearly all ki... Cause Of Its Spreading
Suppose one stock has caught the infection, but a small portion of the brood is dead. In the heat of the hive, it soon becomes putrid; other cells adjoining with larvae of the right age are soon in the same condition. All the breeding combs in the h... Cause Of Starving In Such Hives
I said one apartment would be filled with brood-combs; this will be occupied, at least partially, with brood as long as the yield of honey lasts; consequently, there will be but little room for storing here, but the other side may be full throughout... Cause Of The Queen's Inability To Fly Suggested
The old queen often gets down in the same way; but I would assign another cause for her inability to fly; that is, I would suggest it to be her burden of eggs. ... Cause Of Their Superior Thrift
One cause of superior thrift may be found in the circumstance, that all moth eggs and worms are frozen to death, and the bees are not troubled with a single worm before June. No young bees have to be removed to work them out. Nearly every young bee ...