Part 3

14. Handling the frame: First position 21

15. Handling the frame: Second position 21

16. Handling the frame : Third position 22

17. Division-board feeder to be hung in hive in place of frame 27

18. Feeder set in collar under hive body 27

19. "Pepper-box" feeder for use on top of frames 28

20. Pan in super arranged for feeding 28

21. Knives for uncapping honey 34

22. Honey extractor 35

23. Perforated zinc queen excluder 38

24. Shipping cases for comb honey 38

25. Queen mailing cage 45

BEES.

=INTRODUCTION.=

Beekeeping for pleasure and profit is carried on by many thousands of people in all parts of the United States. As a rule, it is not the sole occupation. There are, however, many places where an experienced bee keeper can make a good living by devoting his entire time and attention to this line of work. It is usually unwise to undertake extensive beekeeping without considerable previous experience on a small scale, since there are so many minor details which go to make up success in the work. It is a good plan to begin on a small scale, make the bees pay for themselves and for all additional apparatus, as well as some profit, and gradually to increase as far as the local conditions or the desires of the individual permit.

Bee culture is the means of obtaining for human use a natural product which is abundant in almost all parts of the country, and which would be lost to us were it not for the honey bee. The annual production of honey and wax in the United States makes apiculture a profitable minor industry of the country. From its very nature it can never become one of the leading agricultural pursuits, but that there is abundant opportunity for its growth can not be doubted. Not only is the honey bee valuable as a producer, but it is also one of the most beneficial of insects in cross-pollinating the flowers of various economic plants.

Beekeeping is also extremely fascinating to the majority of people as a pastime, furnishing outdoor exercise as well as intimacy with an insect whose activity has been a subject of absorbing study from the earliest times. It has the advantage of being a recreation which pays its own way and often produces no mean profit.

It is a mistake, however, to paint only the bright side of the picture and leave it to the new bee keeper to discover that there is often another side. Where any financial profit is derived, beekeeping requires hard work and work at just the proper time, otherwise the surplus of honey may be diminished or lost. Few lines of work require more study to insure success. In years when the available nectar is limited, surplus honey is secured only by judicious manipulations, and it is only through considerable experience and often by expensive reverses that the bee keeper is able to manipulate properly to save his crop. Anyone can produce honey in seasons of plenty, but these do not come every year in most locations, and it takes a good bee keeper to make the most of poor years. When, even with the best of manipulations, the crop is a failure through lack of nectar, the bees must be fed to keep them from starvation.

The average annual honey yield per colony for the entire country, under good management, will probably be 25 to 30 pounds of comb honey or 40 to 50 pounds of extracted honey. The money return to be obtained from the crop depends entirely on the market and the method of selling the honey. If sold direct to the consumer, extracted honey brings from 10 to 20 cents per pound, and comb honey from 15 to 25 cents per section. If sold to dealers, the price varies from 6 to 10 cents for extracted honey and from 10 to 15 cents for comb honey. All of these estimates depend largely on the quality and neatness of the product. From the gross return must be deducted from 50 cents to $1 per colony for expenses other than labor, including foundation, sections, occasional new frames and hives, and other incidentals. This estimate of expense does not include the cost of new hives and other apparatus needed in providing for increase in the size of the apiary.

Above all it should be emphasized that the only way to make beekeeping a profitable business is to produce only a first-class article. We can not control what the bees bring to the hive to any great extent, but by proper manipulations we can get them to produce fancy comb honey, or if extracted honey is produced it can be carefully cared for and neatly packed to appeal to the fancy trade. Too many bee keepers, in fact, the majority, pay too little attention to making their goods attractive. They should recognize the fact that of two jars of honey, one in an ordinary fruit jar or tin can with a poorly printed label, and the other in a neat glass jar of artistic design with a pleasing, attractive label, the latter will bring double or more the extra cost of the better package. It is perhaps unfortunate, but nevertheless a fact, that honey sells largely on appearance, and a progressive bee keeper will appeal as strongly as possible to the eye of his customer.

=LOCATION OF THE APIARY.=

In choosing a section in which to keep bees on an extensive scale it is essential that the resources of the country be known. Beekeeping is more or less profitable in almost all parts of the United States, but it is not profitable to practice extensive beekeeping in localities where the plants do not yield nectar in large quantities. A man who desires to make honey production his business may find that it does not pay to increase the apiaries in his present location. It may be better to move to another part of the country where nectar is more abundant.

The location of the hives is a matter of considerable importance. As a rule it is better for hives to face away from the prevailing wind and to be protected from high winds. In the North, a south slope is desirable. It is advisable for hives to be so placed that the sun will strike them early in the morning, so that the bees become active early in the day, and thus gain an advantage by getting the first supply of nectar. It is also advantageous to have the hives shaded during the hottest part of the day, so that the bees will not hang out in front of the hive instead of working. They should be so placed that the bees will not prove a nuisance to passers-by or disturb live stock. This latter precaution may save the bee keeper considerable trouble, for bees sometimes prove dangerous, especially to horses. Bees are also sometimes annoying in the early spring, for on their first flights they sometimes spot clothes hung out to dry. This may be remedied by having the apiary some distance from the clothes-drying yard, or by removing the bees from the cellars on days when no clothes are to be hung out.

The plot on which the hives are placed should be kept free from weeds, especially in front of the entrances. The grass may be cut with a lawn mower, but it will often be found more convenient and as efficient to pasture one or more head of sheep in the apiary inclosure.

The hives should be far enough apart to permit of free manipulation. If hives are too close together there is danger of bees entering the wrong hive on returning, especially in the spring.

These conditions, which may be considered as ideal, need not all be followed. When necessary, bees may be kept on housetops, in the back part of city lots, in the woods, or in many other places where the ideal conditions are not found. As a matter of fact, few apiaries are perfectly located; nevertheless, the location should be carefully planned, especially when a large number of colonies are kept primarily for profit.

As a rule, it is not considered best to keep more than 100 colonies in one apiary, and apiaries should be at least 2 miles apart. There are so many factors to be considered, however, that no general rule can be laid down. The only way to learn how many colonies any given locality will sustain is to study the honey flora and the record of that place until the bee keeper can decide for himself the best number to be kept and where they shall be placed.

The experience of a relatively small number of good bee keepers in keeping unusually large apiaries indicates that the capabilities of the average locality are usually underestimated. The determination of the size of extensive apiaries is worthy of considerable study, for it is obviously desirable to keep bees in as few places as possible, to save time in going to them and also expense in duplicated apparatus. To the majority of bee keepers this problem is not important, for most persons keep but a small number of colonies. This is perhaps a misfortune to the industry as a whole, for with fewer apiaries of larger size under the management of careful, trained bee keepers the honev production of the country would be marvelously increased. For this reason, professional bee keepers are not favorably inclined to the making of thousands of amateurs, who often spoil the location for the honey producer and more often spoil his market by the injudicious selling of honey for less than it is worth or by putting an inferior article on the market.