c^-^f^Vrtt,^] 
 
Qass 
 Book, 
 
 ftsr^ I mas^ — ^mI — iNi<Jl 
 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES 
 FOR PROFIT 
 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO 
 SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 
 
 LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES 
 EOR PROFIT 
 
 BY 
 D. EVERETT LYON, Ph.D. 
 
 WITH FRONTISPIECE 
 
 0* 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 1918 
 
 AJX rights reserved 
 

 OOPYKIGHT, 1910, 
 
 Bt the macmillan company. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1910. Reprinted 
 June, 1910 ; January, 1912 ; March, 1913; September, 1914; 
 April, September, 1915; March, October, 1916 ; June, 1917. 
 
 
 J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
 Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
INTEODUCTION 
 
 As far back as the dawn of history the 
 honey bee was regarded as a benefactor *to 
 man, and it is not surprising, therefore, that 
 on the ancient monuments of Egypt, in the 
 classic writings of Rome and Greece, we find 
 many references to the bee, which, with the 
 exception of the silkworm, has the distinction 
 of being the only insect kept by man in a 
 semi-domestic state for his benefit. The in- 
 terest of our forefathers in these busy little 
 people was due to the fact that honey was 
 practically the only sweet which they could 
 readily obtain. 
 
 The bees were hunted in their native habi- 
 tat in the cleft of the rocks, in the heart of the 
 trees of the forest, and such other places 
 where they were accustomed to build their 
 combs. In securing their golden stores the 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 hunters were compelled to smoke and destroy 
 the bees, thus creating in them a fear of smoke 
 that has been inbred for centuries. 
 
 So deeply ingrained is this fear that the 
 modern beekeeper has but to puff a little 
 smoke into the entrances of their hives to 
 render them tractable and permit of their 
 easy handling, and that without any serious 
 interference with their multiform labors. 
 
 We do not have to search the records of 
 the past to find evidences of the brutal and 
 needless destruction of bees to secure their 
 honey; for it is still the custom of a large 
 number of ignorant beekeepers to brimstone 
 their faithful little workers, when the adoption 
 of modern hives and methods, neither expen- 
 sive nor intricate, would render it unnecessary. 
 
 During the last few centuries there have 
 been naturalists of note who have given much 
 time to the study of the habits of the honey 
 bee, and the literature of the world has been 
 greatly enriched by the observations of Jan 
 Swammerdam, born at Amsterdam in 1637; 
 
 vi 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Huber, the blind Swiss, who was ably assisted 
 by a devoted wife and faithful manservant; 
 as well as a host of others equally well known. 
 
 No less great a personage than Pliny has 
 recorded his observations of the honey bee, 
 and Shakespeare also frequently mentions it. 
 
 Of modern writers, Dzierzon in Germany, 
 Cheshire and Cowan in England, Langstroth, 
 Quinby, and Root in America, have added to 
 the rich store of knowledge we have on Apis 
 mellifera. 
 
 The Belgian Maeterlinck is not to be taken 
 seriously in his interesting little book, "The 
 Life of the Bee"; for however attractive it 
 may be from a literary standpoint, it teaches 
 the rankest heresy concerning the habits of 
 these wonderful little people, and shows but a 
 superficial knowledge of them. 
 
 The late Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, 
 known as the Father of American Bee-keeping, 
 was the inventor of the hive which bears his 
 name, and its almost universal adoption in 
 this country has wrought a revolution in bee- 
 
 vii 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 keeping both from the commercial standpoint 
 and in the ease with which the hfe work of 
 the bees may be studied. 
 
 It is the purpose of this volume to give the 
 reader an insight into the life history of the 
 bee family, and point out the various methods 
 by which they may be made of increased 
 interest and profit. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Introduction • v 
 
 CHAPTEE 
 
 I. Bees — Fruit — Honey and Monet . • 1 
 
 n. Physiology of the Honey Bee . .11 
 
 III. Races of Bees 18 
 
 IV. The Home of the Bees . • • . 28 
 V. The Bee Family 41 
 
 VI. How to start Beekeeping — Hives and 
 
 Tools — Transferring Bees . . 55 
 
 Vn. How TO quiet and handle Bees — How 
 
 TO AVOID Stings — Remedies . . 73 
 
 Vrn. Weey Bees Swarm — Howto hive a Swarm 
 
 — How to control Swarming . . 83 
 IX. Raising Queen Bees — How to introduce 
 
 A Queen 97 
 
 X. How TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY . . .117 
 XI. How TO PRODUCE EXTRACTED HoNEY . . 133 
 
 Xn. How TO MAKE Increase .... 152 
 XIII. Location of the Apiary — Out Apiaries » 
 
 — Moving Bees 172 
 
 ix 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OHAPTEX TXVa 
 
 XrV. Diseases and Enemies of Bees . . 187 
 
 XV. Mabketing the Honey Crop . . . 202 
 
 XVI. Beeswax — Its Uses — How to render It 217 
 
 XVII. Honey as a Food and Medicine . . 230 
 
 XVni. Robber Bees — How to prevent Robbing 258 
 
 XIX. Feeding 269 
 
 XX. How TO WINTER BeES SUCCESSFULLY . 283 
 
 XXI. Sources of Honey 297 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES 
 FOR PROFIT 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 BEES FRUIT — HONEY AND MONEY 
 
 4 HIVE of bees nestling in the grass in 
 -^-^ the orchard is neither artistic nor orna- 
 mental in the eyes of most people, and the 
 sentiment it inspires may even be one of fear. 
 
 But when we consider that within its narrow 
 confines there is housed a teeming popula- 
 tion of over thirty thousand of the busiest 
 little folk in the world, the feeling changes 
 from fear to amazement at the wonderful 
 work that is there going on. 
 
 Judging from the size of the population, 
 we should naturally infer that pandemonium 
 would reign; and this belief would be strength- 
 ened by the constant bustle and hum that 
 
 B 1 
 
BEES — FRUIT — HONEY AND MONEY 
 
 engaged in sipping from the flowers the nectar 
 awaiting them. 
 
 At the entrance of each hive is a number 
 of sentinel bees, armed with their sharpened 
 spears, ready to repel robber bees from strange 
 hives, or whatever else may threaten to dis- 
 turb them. No bee returning from the field 
 can pass the vigilant sentinels without the 
 proper countersign, and that countersign is 
 the distinctive odor of the colony to which it 
 belongs, for this is the only means of identi- 
 fication the bees possess; and so powerful 
 are their organs of sense, that a strange bee 
 seldom passes by them. These sentinels are 
 relieved from time to time, but at all times, 
 during the genial days of spring, summer, 
 and early fall, the entrance to their little 
 homes is fully guarded. 
 
 With a mother queen to rule them and pro- 
 vide the offspring to take the place of the old 
 bees that are constantly dying (for the average 
 life of a worker bee is only about five weeks), 
 the work of rearing the young, the building 
 
 3 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 accompany the bees as they come and go 
 from their humble home to the fields in quest 
 of nature's sweets. 
 
 Instead of chaos being the order of things, 
 the very reverse is true; and each denizen of 
 the hive has its allotted task which it busily 
 and joyfully performs, and that with clock- 
 like precision. 
 
 The young bees for the first few days of 
 their existence spend their time in taking care 
 of their developing brothers and sisters, feed- 
 ing the larvae a food made of a mixture of 
 honey, pollen, water, and a secretion from 
 the glands of the head and chyle-stomach, 
 and only varying this task by an occasional 
 play spell of flying in front of the hive during 
 the early part of the afternoon. Other bees, 
 fully matured, are afield in quest of pollen 
 from the flowers, while others are gathering 
 propolis, or bee-glue, with which to firmly 
 fasten the lids and bottom boards of their 
 homes. Others still are carriers of water, 
 while the main force of field bees are busily 
 
 2 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 of comb, and the storing of honey against a 
 rainy day goes steadily on. 
 
 With a knowledge of these facts does not 
 the aspect of the hive change from a com- 
 monplace-looking box to a veritable kingdom, 
 presided over by royalty, which challenges our 
 interest and admiration, and at once inspires 
 in us the purpose to become the better ac- 
 quainted with it? 
 
 Another thing we should not overlook — and 
 we are liable to do so if we look at the hive 
 only from the standpoint of the number of 
 pounds of honey it is likely to produce — is, 
 that bees bear a close and vital relation to the 
 matter of fruit production in the neighbor- 
 hood. The real mission of the honey bee after 
 all is not the production of honey, for that is 
 only incidental, but rather to insure the proper 
 pollination of our fruit blossoms, and were 
 it not for their active agency in this depart- 
 ment of agricultural life, the fruit output of 
 the country would be astonishingly small. 
 
 A careful examination of the body of a 
 4 
 
BEES — FRUIT — HONEY AND MONEY 
 
 worker bee will reveal that nature has clothed 
 it in a coat of fuzzy down, and as the little 
 fellow enters the blossom in search for its 
 hidden sweets, the particles of pollen adhere 
 to the down, so that as the bee goes from 
 flower to flower, it unconsciously performs the 
 work of cross pollination. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that nature gives 
 the nectar-secreting organs only to those blos- 
 soms whose fruit demands the pollination of 
 their seeds. 
 
 There have been certain sections of the 
 country, where soil and climatic conditions 
 were in every respect favorable to fruit pro- 
 duction, yet there was a surprising lack of 
 fruit, and careful examination has shown that 
 bees were not present in the neighborhood. 
 
 Horticulturists were thus led to import 
 bees from a distance, with almost immediate 
 benefit to the orchards. So, if for no other 
 reason than that of securing a good quantity 
 and quality of fruit, bees have proved a real 
 blessing to the farmer and the suburbanite. 
 
 5 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 The phase of bee-keeping, however, that 
 most appeals to the average man or woman, 
 is that of honey production, and in this respect 
 it is an unusually safe undertaking. 
 
 It is surprising how locations, apparently 
 most unpromising, will often produce a crop 
 of honey from sources hitherto unsuspected, 
 and yet it is a fact that the bees by their mar 
 vellous industry, and long flights of as much 
 as five miles from home, will year after year 
 richly reward their owners by a substantial 
 surplus. 
 
 There are possibly not over two hundred 
 persons of all classes, including many pro- 
 fessional men and women, in the United States 
 who make bee-keeping a sole means of live- 
 lihood, and though the possibilities of profit 
 are almost infinite, the majority of people are 
 contented to keep from two to twenty-five 
 hives of bees as a side line. Some of the 
 most successful beekeepers are women, their 
 deft fingers making them particularly adapted 
 to the rapid handling of bees, especially in 
 
BEES — FRUIT — HONEY AND MONEY 
 
 commercial queen-rearing, of which we shall 
 speak later on. Smokers with which to sub- 
 due the colonies, veils for the faces, and gloves 
 for the hands will enable the most timid to 
 keep bees with perfect safety, and to go through 
 the entire season without experiencing the 
 slightest annoyance from stings. 
 
 How much honey a single hive of bees will 
 produce in a single season, and how profitable 
 bees may become, are questions that are fre- 
 quently asked by the prospective beekeeper, 
 and in answer it may be said that results will 
 depend upon the flora of the locality, the 
 amount of care given to the bees, and the con- 
 ditions under which they have been wintered. 
 
 It is an undisputed fact that bees are the 
 most profitable of stock that can be kept, as 
 their keeping involves little outlay beyond 
 the initial expense of the proper outfit, and a 
 small amount of time given them. 
 
 There is a large number of business men 
 who have suburban homes, and keep a few 
 colonies of bees, giving to their care only the 
 
 7 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 time remaining after they return home late 
 in the afternoon, or in the early morning 
 before going to business, yet who have made 
 a marked profit from the keeping of their 
 few hives. The writer has had individual 
 colonies that have given as high as one hundred 
 and twenty pounds of comb honey each, 
 which was sold to the neighbors for twenty-five 
 cents a pound, leaving a net profit of over 
 $25 a hive; this, however, was exceptional, 
 though I have known a number of people 
 who have kept a few hives of bees to average 
 this and more from every hive. 
 
 It should be remembered that when a large 
 number of hives are kept in a limited territory, 
 the output per hive will diminish in propor- 
 tion to the number of hives kept in the home 
 yard, as there will be more bees for the blos- 
 soms to support, but where not more than 
 seventy-five hives are kept in a fairly large 
 section, there should be little difficulty in reap- 
 ing a profit close on to $5 or $6 per hive. Un- 
 less one is located in the buckwheat or alfalfa 
 
 8 
 
BEES — FRUIT — HONEY AND MONEY 
 
 section of the country, the better plan would 
 be not to overstock the home yard, but rather 
 resort to a system of outyards, placing fifty 
 to sixty hives of bees in, say, three yards, one 
 at the home and the others three miles from 
 the home in opposite directions, all of them 
 being easy of access. In this way the posses- 
 sion of, say, one hundred and fifty hives of bees 
 in the hands of an experienced person should 
 provide a fair income, especially if the product 
 is sold in the neighborhood at retail prices. 
 
 There is a large number of people who keep 
 only three or four hives of bees to supply their 
 own table, and an occasional gift of honey to 
 a friend, who get great pleasure from keeping 
 them, and who like to point with pride to the 
 comb of immaculately white honey on the 
 table as the product of their busy bees. 
 
 When it comes to a production of honey 
 which runs up into tons, then the placing of the 
 product comes under the heading of How to 
 Dispose of the Crop, of which we will speak 
 in a later chapter. 
 
 9 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 By all means get some bees, and be sure 
 that you will never regret it; for the writer, 
 after fifteen years' experience in the keeping 
 of bees, is as enthusiastic as when, many years 
 ago, he became the proud possessor of an old- 
 fashioned hive, and acquired the *'Bee Fever," 
 from which he has never recovered, and never 
 expects to recover. 
 
 10 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HONEY BEE 
 
 TT would be impossible to minutely de- 
 -*- scribe the physiology of the honey bee 
 within the narrow confines of a single chapter, 
 nevertheless in the keeping of bees it is neces- 
 sary to understand the most important of 
 their physical characteristics. A more thor- 
 ough and extensive discussion of their various 
 organs can be found in works by Cheshire 
 and others, who devote whole chapters to a 
 single organ or function of Apis melijera. 
 
 The honey or hive bee belongs to the order 
 Hymenoptera, perhaps the most comprehen- 
 sive order of insects, most of which are re- 
 markable for social traits and quality of 
 instinct. 
 
 As we look into the brood nest of a colony 
 of bees, we find that they have built a number 
 
 11 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 of accurately spaced combs, in the cells of which 
 they store their honey and pollen, and rear their 
 
 young. The 
 combs are 
 made of bees- 
 wax, and are 
 composed of 
 worker and 
 drone cells, 
 hexagonal in 
 shape and as 
 thin as paper. 
 In these cells 
 the queen de- 
 posits her 
 eggs, which 
 the cluster- 
 ing bees 
 
 Honey bee dissected. After Witzgall. maintain at a 
 
 proper temperature, varying the kind of food 
 according to the cell and the kind of egg that 
 reposes in it. The eggs will hatch in from six- 
 teen to twenty-four days, a worker egg taking 
 
 1£ 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HONEY BEE 
 
 twenty-one days, a drone twenty-four, while 
 a queen cell requires but sixteen days. 
 
 The laying powers of the queen bee are 
 remarkable, as she will lay anywhere from 
 two thousand to five thousand eggs in a given 
 twenty-four hours. She does not, however, 
 lay at this rate during the entire year, but does 
 her best during the breeding season, during 
 the summer and spring months. She is the 
 only perfectly developed female in the hive, 
 whereas the workers are imperfectly devel- 
 oped females; their lack of development 
 being due to the smaller cells in which they are 
 reared and the absence of royal jelly in the 
 food that is given the egg and larvae. 
 
 The drones are perfectly developed males, 
 and their sole function is the fertilization of the 
 virgin queens, an act taking place while in 
 flight, and resulting in the immediate death 
 of the drone. 
 
 Unlike mammals, the bees have no skeleton 
 as a framework for support, but have a frame- 
 work mostly external, composed of a horny 
 
 13 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 bonelike substance called chitine. The body 
 of the bee is made up of three distinct parts, 
 the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, all 
 closely related. 
 
 Extending from the head on each side are 
 the antennae, most delicate organs, in which 
 are located the senses of hearing and smelling, 
 and an unknown sense by which they can 
 communicate their desires one to another. 
 
 There are also located in the head of the 
 honey bees two sets of eyes, five in number; 
 the three convex eyes, or ocelli, are microscopic 
 in power and are used by the bees while work- 
 ing in the dark recesses of their hives. 
 
 The two large compound eyes are com- 
 posed of thousands of little eyes or facets 
 arranged over the front and sides of the head, 
 thus enabling the bee to see in many direc- 
 tions when in flight. 
 
 Projecting from the head and mouth of 
 the honey bee is another wonderful and deli- 
 cate organ, the tongue, marvellously adapted 
 to the work for which it is intended. In the 
 
 14 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HONEY BEE 
 
 first place, it Is not round like a tube, but is in 
 reality a flexible trough, the edges of which can 
 be brought together to enable the busy worker 
 to extract the last drop of nectar from the 
 yielding blossoms. 
 
 By various experiments in breeding, the 
 tongue of some strains of bees has been 
 lengthened considerably, thus enabling them 
 to extract the nectar from the red clover, 
 whose corolla is so deep that its hidden sweets 
 are beyond the reach of the ordinary bee. 
 
 The thorax is the intermediate part of the 
 body of the bee, and in it are located the organs 
 of locomotion, consisting of six legs and four 
 wings. The posterior legs are the most inter- 
 esting, as they have on them the little recepta- 
 cles for pollen in which the bees carry the pollen 
 from the flowers to their hives; sometimes 
 they are so heavily loaded as to be seriously 
 impeded in their flight. 
 
 The honey sac is located in the abdomen, 
 and is a false or secondary stomach, and is the 
 vessel in which the bee carries the nectar from 
 
 15 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 the field to its hive. The heart of the honey 
 bee is made up of five elongated sections, re- 
 sembling in appearance a clinical thermometer; 
 beginning in the head, it extends through the 
 thorax clear to the extremity of the abdomen. 
 
 The blood of the bee is colorless, and is 
 oxygenated by the air coming in contact with 
 it through the many tracheae, or breathing- 
 holes, with which the outer shell of the bee is 
 pierced. 
 
 Extending from the lower extremity of the 
 abdomen of the bee is its sting. It is barbed 
 like a spear, so that the bee can seldom with- 
 draw it when once it is inserted, and it is the 
 tearing away of its sting that so mutilates 
 and cripples the bee that it usually dies after 
 stinging. The poison of the sting is similar to 
 that of the bite of the rattlesnake, and it is esti- 
 mated that if a person should be stung by five 
 hundred bees at a time the poison injected 
 into the system would be about the same in 
 quantity as that from the bite of a rattlesnake. 
 The drones have no stings, and the queen 
 
 16 
 
PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HONEY BEE 
 
 seldom uses hers except to aid in depositing 
 her eggs. 
 
 As we stated at the beginning of this chapter, 
 it is impossible to give more than a casual 
 glance at the physiology of the bee and 
 merely call attention to some of its organs, 
 for to do full justice to the intricate and deli- 
 cately adjusted machinery of these wonderful 
 little creatures would require a work three 
 times the size of the present one. The nature 
 student who is interested solely in the natural 
 history of the honey bee, and to whom the 
 commercial and profitable part of bee-keeping 
 does not appeal, we would refer to the excellent 
 books by Cowan, Cheshire, Cook, Langstroth, 
 Burroughs, and others who have gone into 
 a detailed and elaborate discussion of the 
 subject of bee physiology. 
 
 The organs and various functions out- 
 lined are practically the same in all varieties 
 of bees, and it is the possession and use of 
 these various powers that enables them to 
 carry on their laborious and profitable work. 
 c 17 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 RACES OF BEES 
 
 rriHERE are many races of bees, as many, 
 •^ in fact, as there are different races 
 of the human family, and each race has its 
 distinctive racial characteristics. Among them 
 are the Common Blacks, the Italians, the 
 Carniolans, the Caucasians, the Cyprians, the 
 Banats, the Holy Lands, as well as many 
 others which it would be useless to describe, 
 as the majority of beekeepers keep either 
 the Italians or the Blacks. 
 
 The Blacks are widely distributed through- 
 out the United States, having been brought 
 over by the early settlers, while the Italians 
 are of quite recent importation. The Blacks, 
 while fairly good honey gatherers, and build- 
 ers of the whitest combs, a thing much desired 
 
 18 
 
RACES OF BEES 
 
 by the producer of comb honey, are seldom 
 if ever kept by the progressive beekeeper, 
 owing to certain undesirable traits of char- 
 acter. 
 
 They are of a very nervous temperament, 
 and are apt to rush all over their combs when 
 being manipulated, which renders the finding 
 of the queen a hard task ; they will also gather 
 in great clusters on the ends of their frames 
 and fall to the ground, to the annoyance and 
 discomfort of the person handling them. 
 They are very irritable, and will often fly from 
 their hives and attack the passerby with no 
 provocation whatever. Whether they are natu- 
 rally lazy or quickly disheartened, the fact 
 remains that they do not seem able to resist 
 disease and enemies as vigorously as the Ital- 
 ians. Again and again have I seen a strong 
 colony of Blacks completely destroyed through 
 the ravages of the bee moth or from disease, 
 which a weak colony of Italians seem able 
 to resist. 
 
 One thing is certain, the Blacks become 
 19 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 discouraged and quit working upon the first 
 indication of a cessation of the honey flow, 
 and thus leave a lot of unfinished sections in 
 their supers, while other races will continue 
 working right up to the close of the flow. 
 
 These undesirable traits have induced the 
 majority of beekeepers to discard them, 
 though some beekeepers prefer a hybrid race 
 of Italians and Blacks, as they claim they 
 get in such a mixture of blood the gentleness 
 and hustling qualities of the Italians and the 
 superior comb-building qualities of the Blacks. 
 However, any one who has kept Hybrids can 
 vouch for the fact that what is gained is more 
 than offset by the viciousness of the Hybrid, 
 as they seem possessed of an incurable pro- 
 pensity to sting. 
 
 The Cyprians have been extensively kept; 
 they are natives of the Island of Cyprus, and 
 as honey -gatherers are without an equal. 
 
 They are good defenders of their hives, 
 and will repel the attacks of diseases and 
 robber bees better than any other known 
 
 20 
 
RACES OF BEES 
 
 race, and are most excellent winterers. As 
 workers they are indefatigable, gathering 
 honey from every available quarter even after 
 other races have quit, but they have the habit 
 of filling their cells completely full, so that 
 the combs have a watery appearance, which 
 renders its sale difficult, hence the few bee- 
 keepers who stick to them run them mostly 
 for extracted honey. While this race has all 
 of the desirable qualities attributed to them, 
 their dispositions are so vicious, that there is 
 hardly a beekeeper in the land who keeps 
 an absolutely pure strain of Cyprians. By 
 no means should the novice ever think of 
 keeping Cyprians, as they are extremely sensi- 
 tive, and resent the slightest jarring of their 
 hives, and when once aroused no amount of 
 smoke will subdue them, in fact, it seems to 
 infuriate them the more. 
 
 The Carniolans are large gray bees from 
 the Alpine regions of Carniola in Austria, and 
 with the exception of the Caucasians are the 
 gentlest race known. Coming originally from 
 
 21 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 a cold country, the Carniolans are the hardiest 
 race we know, and not being so sensitive to 
 cold as other races, will begin to go afield 
 earlier in the morning, and work later in the 
 day than others, and for this reason, they 
 winter unusually well. Their comb honey is 
 the best produced, as they do not, like the 
 Cyprians, fill their cells completely full, and 
 thus they produce comb honey of snowy white- 
 ness. 
 
 To handle them is a delight, as they seldom 
 sting, and I have worked with them day in 
 and day out without any protection for the 
 face or hands, and for weeks at a time have 
 gone without being stung. 
 
 But the great objection to the Carniolans, 
 and one that has led most beekeepers to dis- 
 card them, is their proneness to frequent 
 and excessive swarming, which means a loss 
 of bees and a loss of honey. The Cauca- 
 sians are in appearance not unlike the Car- 
 niolans, and certain strains of them are hardly 
 distinguishable from the Blacks, but in dis- 
 
 22 
 
RACES OF BEES 
 
 position they are in a class by themselves, 
 as their gentleness is simply marvellous. 
 Again and again I have tried to anger them 
 without success; in fact, I have kicked their 
 hives, shaken their frames, blown my breath 
 on them, and, whereas other races would have 
 attacked me at once, the Caucasians would 
 offer no retaliation. It might be inferred 
 from this that they are not good defenders of 
 their hives; but such is not the case, for there 
 have been times when I have been abusing 
 them, when they would sally forth and fight 
 to the death robber bees that tried to take 
 advantage of their hives being opened out of 
 season, to rob them of their stores. 
 
 They are good winterers, and builders of 
 choice white combs, and not given to exces- 
 sive swarming, but they have an unpleasant 
 habit of plastering balls of propolis, or bee- 
 glue, all over their frames and at the entrances 
 of their hives. 
 
 The main objection to this otherwise most 
 excellent race is the fact that they so closely 
 
 23 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 resemble the Blacks that only an expert can 
 distinguish the difference, and if one is not 
 careful, before long the entire apiary will be 
 made up of Blacks. 
 
 The Banats are a race of bees from Hun- 
 gary, in appearance similar to the Caucasians, 
 remarkably gentle, and, best of all, are great 
 breeders in the early spring, so when the 
 honey flow comes on they have a great force to 
 gather it. They build beautiful white combs 
 and gather little propolis, and are so little 
 given to swarming that some beekeepers 
 have claimed that they are a non-swarming 
 race. However, their introduction is so recent 
 that the beginner will do well to pass them by 
 until a thorough test shall have firmly estab- 
 lished their good qualities. 
 
 On the whole it may be said that fully 75 
 per cent of the professional beekeepers prefer 
 the Italians, as this race seems to have more 
 desirable traits and fewer disagreeable ones 
 than any other. These bees came originally 
 from Italy, the first successful importation of 
 
 24 
 
RACES OF BEES 
 
 queens being about 1861, and at once leaped 
 into favor, maintaining their precedence to the 
 present time. In appearance they are very 
 handsome, varying in color from a leather- 
 brown to the most lustrous gold, and, as com- 
 pared with the Blacks, are remarkable for 
 their gentleness. They rarely get nervous 
 when they are handled, and it is very easy to 
 find their queens. I have frequently opened 
 their hives after nine o'clock in the evening, 
 and have often brought a comb of bees into 
 the house and passed it around for visitors 
 to examine, and I have yet to know of an occa- 
 sion where those so examining them have been 
 stung, though they will sting if sufficiently 
 provoked. 
 
 They are energetic workers, not easily dis- 
 couraged, and, having originally come from 
 a warm climate, they are alert for enemies 
 and seem to have no trouble in repelling the 
 bee moth. 
 
 It has been said that the Italian bees are 
 more prone to rob than other races, but this 
 
 25 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 is an evidence of their honey-gathering quali- 
 ties. It may be likewise said that when pre- 
 cautionary methods are taken they soon cease 
 to rob, a thing that cannot be said of some of 
 the other races when the habit has once been 
 formed. After many years of experience 
 with almost every known race of bees, I have 
 been compelled to come back to the Italians 
 as the best general-purpose bee in existence. 
 
 Of late years there has been a tendency 
 toward golden-all-over Italians on the part of 
 some beekeepers, and this demand has led 
 some breeders in their anxiety to quickly 
 produce them to use a Cyprian cross because 
 of their bright golden color, with the result 
 that some strains of Italians are as vicious 
 as the pure Cyprians. For this reason the 
 beginner will do well to select Italians of a 
 leather color, as they are more certain to be 
 of a pure strain, and experience has proved 
 that they winter much better than the golden 
 ones. 
 
 In selecting Italian bees it would be a wise 
 26 
 
RACES OF BEES 
 
 thing to secure from some reputable breeder 
 queens of the red clover strain, as these bees 
 will visit and secure a rich harvest from red 
 clover, whereas ordinary Italian bees will 
 seldom visit it, as their tongues are not suffi- 
 ciently long to reach down into the deep corolla 
 of the blossom. 
 
 £7 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE HOME OF THE BEES 
 
 npHE natural home of the honey bee 
 -*- before it became domesticated was in 
 the heart of a forest tree, or in the cleft of a 
 rock, sheltered from the wind and rain, and 
 more or less protected from the cold. 
 
 That the remembrance of their early homes 
 still remains is shown by the fact that when a 
 swarm is not hived, and gets away before its 
 owner can care for it, they are apt to seek the 
 interior of a partially decayed tree, entering 
 and emerging through a knothole. It is not 
 uncommon to find a tree thus tenanted by 
 a vagrant swarm. I have also found many 
 swarms that have made their homes under 
 the weather boards of a house or under the 
 eaves of a garret; only a few years ago I 
 
 28 
 
THE HOME OF THE BEES 
 
 removed a swarm of bees from a bird box, 
 where the bees had driven the birds from their 
 homes and taken complete possession. 
 
 Whether a swarm finds its home in a modern 
 hive or in the heart of an old tree, the first 
 thing they proceed to do is to remove all 
 trash and render it scrupulously clean, for 
 they are the most cleanly little creatures in 
 existence. Again and again have I seen bee 
 trees where the process of decay had already 
 begun, but no sooner had a swarm of bees 
 taken possession than they at once removed 
 all decayed wood, and so completely var- 
 nished its interior with propolis, or bee-glue, 
 that future decay was impossible. 
 
 We are, however, more interested in the 
 modern home, or hive, of the bee. Lifting 
 its lid and glancing within, we find a set of 
 eight or ten frames of comb, according to the 
 size of the hive. We say "frames" of combs, 
 for no up-to-date beekeeper would think of 
 throwing a swarm of bees into an empty hive 
 and permitting them to build their combs in 
 
 £9 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 every direction, as this would render manipula- 
 tion of the hive an impossibility. The late 
 Lorenzo Langstroth was the inventor of the 
 movable frame hive with bee space, and his 
 invention has revolutionized the industry. 
 These frames fit the hive bodies and have a 
 bee space all around them so as to leave no 
 space for the bees to build bur and brace 
 combs, which would make it impossible to lift 
 them out to examine the brood, find the queen, 
 and do such other work as from time to 
 time is essential. 
 
 By the use of frames it is possible to lift 
 out a single frame of comb at a time without 
 tearing each comb from the sides of the hive, 
 as each comb is nicely built in the frame and 
 bound on all sides by wood. To insure 
 straight combs and a large proportion of worker 
 cells, all progressive beekeepers place in each 
 frame before the time of hiving the swarm a 
 large sheet of wax foundation, which nearly fits 
 the frames, and on which have been stamped 
 the rudiments of cells. These sheets of foun- 
 
 30 
 
THE HOME OF THE BEES 
 
 dation are wired in, so that when the combs 
 are built out from them each comb is held 
 securely in place and no danger of the comb 
 breaking loose from the frame is possible in 
 handling or when extracting the honey. This 
 foundation must of necessity be pure beeswax 
 melted and moulded, as the bees will not accept 
 or work on any substitute that has been found, 
 so that, the foundation being pure beeswax like 
 the comb that is built on it, the honey is in no 
 sense adulterated. 
 
 Many thousands of pounds of foundation 
 are used annually by beekeepers, and this 
 has given rise to the popular notion that it is 
 possible to make artificial combs, fill them with 
 glucose, cap them, and sell them as pure 
 honey. It might be said here that there never 
 yet has been produced a pound of artificial 
 comb honey, and so determined are the bee- 
 keepers to stop the lie that the National 
 Beekeepers' Association offers a standing re- 
 ward of $1000 for the first pound of artificial 
 comb honey that shall be produced. 
 
 31 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Looking down into the home of the bees, 
 we find a number of frames of comb running 
 from front to back of the hive and covered by 
 clustering bees. These combs constitute the 
 furniture of the bees, for in the cells of the 
 combs they rear their young and store their 
 honey. The bees usually begin at the tops 
 of their frames and build their combs down- 
 ward until every frame is nicely filled. 
 
 These combs are made of wax, which the 
 bees manufacture from the honey with which 
 they have filled their stomachs. Hanging 
 in clusters, they produce small pentagonal 
 disks of wax from the little wax scales or 
 pouches on the under side of the abdomen of 
 the worker bee. The work of wax-building, 
 like that of feeding the eggs, is done mostly 
 by the young bees, as the older bees seem to 
 have lost the wax-producing power with old 
 age. It usually takes the bees about twenty- 
 four hours to produce wax after having gorged 
 themselves with honey, and they will consume 
 from nine to ten pounds of honey to produce 
 
THE HOME OF THE BEES 
 
 a pound of wax. Sometimes, but not often, a 
 colony will use pieces of old comb in wax- 
 building, but generally they prefer the fresh 
 disks, as being more pliable. 
 
 Their cells are hexagonal in shape, thus 
 conforming to one of the main principles of 
 mathematics, in the matter of occupying all 
 available space and also of securing the 
 greatest structural strength. The cells are 
 not horizontal, but incline from their opening 
 to their bottom, so as to be filled with honey 
 the more easily by the bees and to prevent 
 their running over. 
 
 The comb is a trifle over an inch in thick- 
 ness, with cells on each side, and in their 
 natural state the bees space their combs about 
 ^ of an inch apart, so that they may travel 
 with comfort between them. These combs 
 when first built are a beautiful white, but they 
 soon become discolored, and when old will 
 be almost black, but this does not impair their 
 usefulness, as they will last for several years. 
 Being non-conductors of heat and cold, they 
 D 33 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 become a perfect medium for keeping the bees 
 warm, and likewise usually prevent the honey 
 from granulating. 
 
 The cells in which the workers are reared 
 are much smaller than those in which they 
 rear their drones. While it cannot be said that 
 all cells are mathematically correct, it can be 
 generally stated that there are about twenty- 
 five cells to a square inch. 
 
 It cannot be said that the bees act with 
 intelligence in the matter of cell-building, 
 first building worker and then drone cells, 
 for recent experiments seem to prove that they 
 are simply reflex machines, obeying without 
 violation a law of nature. 
 
 Besides the combs we will find that the bees 
 have used some propolis, or bee-glue, with 
 which they have stopped the cracks of their 
 hive and rendered it rain and wind proof. 
 For some reason the bees cannot tolerate any 
 foreign object in their homes, and should a piece 
 of wood or other movable substance be thrown 
 into their hives, they will immediately proceed 
 
 34 
 
THE HOME OF THE BEES 
 
 to tightly propolize or glue it in place. I have 
 known of instances where squirrels, snakes, 
 mice, and even toads, have invaded a hive and 
 been stung to death, and the bees, being unable 
 to remove the carcass, have covered it with a 
 thick coating of propolis until it has been 
 literally embalmed or mummified. The pro- 
 polis is secured from resinous trees, and when 
 first gathered is so sticky that the bees smear 
 it over their hives at once. Certain races of 
 bees gather more propolis than others, the 
 Caucasians particularly being generous, in 
 fact too generous, in its use. There is no 
 doubt that while propolis is troublesome when 
 prying off the lids of hives, and taking out the 
 frames, it is nevertheless a preservative to the 
 wood of the hives and adds to their life and 
 usefulness. 
 
 It was their love for propolis or glue that 
 led to the wide publication some years ago 
 of the story of the funeral of a German 
 beekeeper, whose coffin, as it was carried 
 from the house to the hearse, was covered by 
 
 35 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 the bees, who clustered upon it as a token of 
 their esteem for their departed keeper. The 
 truth was, the bees were securing some of 
 the fresh varnish with which the coffin was 
 polished, and were perfectly oblivious of the 
 fact that their owner had left them. A super- 
 stitious custom is still practised in some parts of 
 Europe on the death of a beekeeper of drap- 
 ing the hives with black ; a relative of the dead 
 man then whispers into the entrance of each 
 hive the sad intelligence that their owner is 
 no more. It is believed by many such people 
 that if this is not done the bees will leave the 
 hives and will not return. 
 
 As we examine the combs in the home of 
 the bees, we shall find some of the cells contain- 
 ing honey, others pollen, while nestling in 
 still others we find the developing brood. In 
 taking care of the brood as well as maintain- 
 ing themselves, the bees require water, pollen, 
 and honey; thus we find it present in their 
 homes at all times. 
 
 Honey is not a product of the bees in that 
 S6 
 
THE HOME OF THE BEES 
 
 they manufacture it, though it undergoes a 
 chemical change in their honey-sacs, but is a 
 nectar gathered from various blossoms, and, 
 together with pollen and water, constitutes their 
 principal food. 
 
 When first gathered, this honey or nectar 
 is very thin and may easily be shaken from 
 the combs like so much sweetened water, 
 and in fact it contains a large percentage of 
 water, but after the bees have evaporated the 
 water by fanning it after it has been stored in 
 the cells, it becomes thick and ripe. 
 
 It is generally thought also that the bees mix 
 with it a small percentage of formic acid to act 
 as a preservative, and the sour taste of some 
 honey while in process of evaporation seems 
 to prove this. 
 
 Honey, being gathered from many sources, 
 has distinctive flavors, and even a novice can 
 distinguish the difference between buckwheat, 
 basswood, and clover honey. While we may 
 have our individual preferences as to flavor, 
 yet the bees seem willing to extract nectar 
 
 S7 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 from any available source, though there are 
 times when they will hardly notice any other 
 flowers if they have access to bass wood. 
 
 Ripe honey sealed in the comb seldom 
 granulates unless exposed to extreme cold, as 
 each cell is practically air-tight. 
 
 Honey, pollen, and water are mixed with 
 chyle, a secretion of the chyle-stomach of the 
 nurse bees, and fed the worker larvae for 
 about three days, when the chyle is withdrawn 
 and more honey and pollen substituted. 
 
 During the winter months and early spring, 
 more or less water is secured from the conden- 
 sation of moisture in the hives, but as the 
 season advances the bees make frequent visits 
 to neighboring streams and pools, and at times 
 are so plentiful around the drinking-troughs 
 of stock as to become a nuisance. 
 
 The pollen is gathered from the various 
 flowers and is carried to their homes by the 
 bees in the little pollen baskets on their legs. 
 
 In the early spring, when the bees are active 
 and the pollen scarce, a good substitute can be 
 
 38 
 
THE HOME OF THE BEES 
 
 found in rye flour, and when a box containing 
 a quantity of it is placed in the bee yard, it is 
 astonishing to see how readily they will accept 
 it and carry it away to their hives. 
 
 The hardest work a bee has to perform is 
 that of pollen-gathering, and only the strongest 
 bees in the colony engage in this work, while 
 others are constantly gathering propolis, 
 water, and honey. The young or nurse bees 
 have all they can do to feed the larvae, and 
 to maintain a proper temperature of about 
 ninety-eight degrees in the hive, without which 
 the eggs will not hatch. About ten thousand 
 bees are required in the hive to keep the in- 
 cubator at work, for the hive is literally an 
 incubator. The honey-gathering force of the 
 hive is composed of all bees above this number, 
 so the advantage of having large colonies at the 
 time of the honey flow is manifest. 
 
 Thus we have seen that the things present in 
 the home of the bees are combs, honey, propo- 
 lis, pollen, with a little silk used for lining the 
 cells for the larvse, besides the bees and larvae. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 XT7HATEVER the race of bees kept, we 
 * ^ find at the beginning of the season 
 that there are but three kinds of bees present 
 in a hive, — the queen, the drones, and the 
 workers. 
 
 With very rare exceptions there is usually 
 but one queen present, a limited number of 
 drones for propagation, and about thirty 
 thousand workers, or about six quarts of bees 
 by measure. 
 
 The queen is the mother of the entire 
 colony, and under average conditions will lay 
 from three thousand to five thousand eggs in 
 twenty-four hours, doing her best during the 
 spring and early summer. She is revered 
 by the workers and tenderly cared for, not be- 
 cause of any regal traits she possesses or royal 
 
 40 
 
THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 prerogatives she exercises, but rather because 
 she is the sole reproducer of workers, and her 
 death usually means the extinction of the 
 swarm unless the workers have means of 
 replacing her. Their solicitude for her is 
 founded upon the law of self-preservation, 
 and not because she rules them as a monarch. 
 
 When hatched from a queen cell she is a 
 virgin, and of no use in the matter of repro- 
 duction until she takes her matrimonial flight, 
 which usually occurs a few days after she is 
 born, and mates with a drone. Many times 
 a virgin is lost to a colony while seeking to be 
 impregnated, as a bird may catch her in flight, 
 and during her absence the bees are greatly 
 agitated until she returns with evidences of 
 having accomplished her purpose. The mat- 
 ing occurs outside of the hive while the queen 
 is on the wing, and may take place within a 
 hundred yards of the hive or a mile or so away, 
 the distance depending upon the presence of 
 drones in the vicinity. 
 
 If it were possible to mate our queens in the 
 41 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 hive, we could in every sense control it and be 
 certain that she was purely mated to a drone 
 of the same race, but, the mating occurring 
 in the air, somewhat remote from her hive, we 
 can never be certain that she has mated 
 properly until after some of her eggs have 
 hatched, when the markings of the worker off- 
 spring will tell the tale. 
 
 This uncertainty has been the bane of queen- 
 raisers, and to overcome it they have found 
 it economy to seek out all owners of bees in a 
 radius of three miles and to Italianize their colo- 
 nies free of charge, by the introduction of pure 
 queens, so as to be reasonably certain of the 
 fact that none but pure drones are present 
 in the immediate neighborhood. Again and 
 again have I had a choice virgin queen mated to 
 the common black drones that may be near by ; 
 and as her offspring will be hybrids with more 
 or less vicious dispositions, the only remedy 
 has been to pinch off her head and try again. 
 The presence of impure races, however, need 
 not prove a serious bugbear, for in a little 
 .42 
 
THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 while the drones from our own apiaries will 
 succeed in fertilizing the virgins from any 
 common stock, until most of the neighboring 
 bees will in time be of pure blood. 
 
 When about nine days old a virgin sallies 
 forth, and high in the air is mated to a drone 
 who inserts an amount of seminal fluid into 
 her spermatheca, and the single impregnation 
 is sufficient for her lifetime, during which she 
 may lay nearly half a million eggs. 
 
 When a virgin sails forth she is usually beset 
 by a large number of drones, and with these 
 in pursuit she flies very rapidly, so that she is 
 overtaken only by the strongest, nature thus 
 insuring vigor in her offspring. 
 
 A strange fact concerning the mating of the 
 queen is that the drone usually dies immediately 
 after he has accomplished his purpose, as the 
 end of his existence has been fulfilled, and the 
 queen returns to the hive with the male organs 
 still clinging to her; these in time are either 
 pulled away by the workers or else shrivel 
 and dry up. 
 
 43 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 The queen is the only perfectly developed 
 female in the hive, as the workers are imper- 
 fectly developed females; and though the bees 
 may upon the death of the queen introduce 
 a laying worker, as the head of the hive, yet 
 the laying worker being imperfectly developed, 
 and never having mated with a drone, will lay 
 only drone eggs, so that in time the colony will 
 be made up of drones and become extinct. 
 
 Sometimes a virgin with imperfect wing 
 development is not able to accomplish a mat- 
 ing, and will lay nothing but drone eggs. 
 This phenomenon is called parthenogenesis, 
 or "generation from a virgin," and was first 
 discovered by Dzierzon of Germany; it must 
 be regarded as one of the most remarkable 
 discoveries of science. 
 
 In appearance the queen is very easily 
 distinguished by even the novice, for while 
 she is not so bulky as the drones, she has a 
 body considerably more elongated than the 
 workers, and is decidedly waspish-looking. 
 Usually she is slow in her movements, though 
 
 44 
 
THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 she can move with astonishing rapidity, espe- 
 cially when locked in a death 
 struggle with a rival. She is 
 constantly attended by a ret- 
 inue of young bees who feed 
 her from time to time, for a 
 queen will in twenty-four 
 hours lay more than her own 
 weight in eggs, and to do 
 this must be abundantly fed, 
 a function carried on by her 
 attendants. The reverence 
 the workers have for her, 
 if such it can be called, is 
 due to their knowledge 
 that without her presence 
 in the hive the colony 
 must eventually perish, as 
 there will be no brood 
 to develop into workers 
 to take the place of the 
 bees that are constantly dying off from old 
 age. 
 
 45 
 
 Worker. 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 While the average age of a worker bee is 
 about five weeks, queens have been known 
 to live for a period of as many years, though 
 as they grow older their powers of reproduc- 
 tion grow less. When the queen shows signs 
 of failing the workers will rear another to super- 
 sede her, and under these conditions we often 
 find two queens present for a limited time. 
 
 The cells in which the workers rear their 
 queens are entirely different in shape from those 
 in which they rear their workers and drones, 
 and are very similar in appearance to a peanut 
 hanging from the bottom of the brood comb. 
 
 The eggs from which the workers produce 
 their queens are identically the same in char- 
 acter as those from which they raise the workers, 
 but being deposited in the larger queen cells, 
 and being fed a more stimulative food rich in 
 royal jelly, the larva is enabled to expand to 
 its proper size and permit the full development 
 of its ovaries. In fifteen to sixteen days from 
 the time the eggs were laid the matured virgin 
 emerges, and is ready for mating in a few days. 
 
 46 
 
THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 Usually a large number of cells are started 
 by the workers at the swarming season. It 
 must be remembered that when a swarm 
 comes out seeking new quarters, the hive from 
 which it emerges is left queenless for a few 
 days, as the old queen accompanies the sw^arm, 
 and the bees and brood that are left in the hive 
 are dependent upon the hatching of one of the 
 remaining queen cells for a queen. 
 
 If but one queen cell were left and that 
 should fail to hatch, the hive would be hope- 
 lessly queenless, as at the time the cell should 
 hatch the old queen would have been away so 
 long that there would be no eggs present 
 sufficiently young from which the remaining 
 bees could rear another, as the egg must not 
 be much over three days old to start it toward 
 royalty. It is this possibility that prompts 
 the bees to leave a large number of cells be- 
 hind, often as many as fifty, so that provision is 
 made for any emergency. 
 
 Usually as soon as a good virgin comes 
 forth, the bees will proceed to tear down the re- 
 
 47 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 maining cells, though very frequently as many 
 as a half dozen queens will hatch at nearly 
 the same time, in which case the bees and the 
 virgin first hatched will destroy the surplus. 
 
 Frequently the hatching of two or more 
 queens at a time will result in the emergence 
 of after-swarms, a thing not to be desired, as 
 these swarms are at best very small and sel- 
 dom amount to much, and the best thing to do 
 in such a case is to throw them back into the 
 hive and let them fight it out until but one 
 queen is in charge. 
 
 About two days after mating, a queen will 
 begin laying, usually in the centre of the brood 
 nest, but as the season advances and the at- 
 tending nurse bees increase, she will cover a 
 much larger area of comb, until at times, in the 
 case of a very vigorous queen, every comb will 
 be more or less brooded. 
 
 The workers which constitute the main 
 population of the hive are, as we have said, 
 undeveloped females, and in size are smaller 
 than either the queens or drones. The eggs 
 
 48 
 
THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 from which they are reared are eggs that have 
 been fertilized by a drone and are deposited 
 in worker cells by the queen. These eggs 
 when first laid look like a piece of cotton thread 
 about a thirty-second of an inch long, and are 
 attached to the bottom of the cell by a bluish 
 white gelatinous secretion. 
 
 Although at the time it is deposited the egg 
 retains an upright position, on the second day 
 it inclines to an angle of about forty-five 
 degrees, and by the third day it lies perfectly 
 flat in its cell, containing in itself the vital 
 germ of life. 
 
 On its fourth day it has developed into a 
 tiny white grub, and is supplied with a suffi- 
 cient amount of food, known as pap, which 
 the nurse bees give to it as soon as it has devel- 
 oped past the egg stage. 
 
 The food fed to the larvae is produced by the 
 chyle-stomach of the nurse bees and is liberally 
 given until the third day, when less is given, 
 honey and pollen being added to the mass. 
 
 When the larva is about six days old, or 
 £ 49 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 about ten days from the time the egg was 
 deposited by the queen, the bees close up the 
 cells with a substance made of bee bread and 
 wax, which under the microscope is seen to 
 be porous so as to enable the developing bee 
 to secure the necessary air, and in twenty- 
 one days from the time the egg was laid the 
 fully developed worker bites through the cap 
 of the cell, and at once heads for a cell filled 
 with honey, from which she sips a liberal 
 supply. In about four days she is ready for 
 her duties as a nurse bee, and about two weeks 
 after birth is ready to begin her work as a 
 field bee. 
 
 It is an interesting sight to watch a lot of 
 young bees having a play spell in front of 
 their hive. They will fly back and forth in 
 front of the entrance, seldom flying more than 
 three feet away, but as they become older they 
 become self-reliant, and in a few days they 
 may be seen returning to their homes heavily 
 laden with propolis, pollen, and nectar. 
 
 Their life is short, only about five weeks, 
 50 
 
THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 as they work themselves to death, and it has 
 been estimated that a dessert-spoonful of honey 
 represents the life-work of each field bee. 
 
 The drones are reared from infertile eggs, 
 and are the male or father bees, and during the 
 early spring and breeding season are present 
 in large numbers. It takes about twenty-four 
 days for the drone egg to develop into a fully 
 matured bee, and though the cappings to their 
 cells are raised much higher than those of the 
 worker cells, they are porous and made of the 
 same material. 
 
 They are in every sense of the word gentle- 
 men of leisure, as all of the work of gathering 
 pollen, propolis, honey, nursing the larvae, as 
 well as defending the hives, devolves upon 
 the workers. As sentinels the drones would 
 be useless, as they have no stings, and can be 
 handled with ease; it is perhaps this lack of 
 defence that makes them manifest signs of 
 fright when we take them in our hands. While 
 the drones do no work and are large con- 
 sumers of honey, yet their presence in the hive 
 
 51 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 IS more or less beneficial, as they doubtless 
 help to conserve the heat of the hive and in- 
 directly aid thereby in the development of the 
 brood. When flying to and from their hives 
 the drones are big noisy fellows, and one unac- 
 quainted with their history may be frightened 
 by their buzzing, but they are perfectly harm- 
 less and can be picked up and carried about, 
 as they have no stings with which to defend 
 themselves. 
 
 It has not been definitely determined 
 whether in laying an infertile egg from which 
 springs the drone, the queen lays it through 
 choice, or is compelled to owing to the in- 
 creased size of the drone cell. The fact 
 remains, however, that in depositing the drone 
 egg, the enlarged size of the cell permits the 
 queen to spread her limbs farther apart, and 
 thus the egg slips out without coming in con- 
 tact with the fertilizing fluid as does the 
 worker egg in the case of the smaller cell, 
 which compels the queen to keep her limbs 
 closer together. 
 
 52 
 
THE BEE FAMILY 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that the drone is pro- 
 duced from an unimpregnated egg, and even 
 to this day there are many who doubt it, but 
 careful experiments have proved it to be true. 
 A microscopical examination of the eggs for 
 worker bees reveals the fact that spermatozoa 
 are always present in numbers of from one 
 to five, but in the case of the drone egg, none 
 are present. This fact is further proved when 
 we find that laying workers incapable of 
 mating will also produce drones, though such 
 drones are much smaller in size than those 
 produced by a queen. It may be that the size 
 of the drone reared from the egg of a laying 
 worker is influenced by its being laid in a 
 worker cell. 
 
 Having no stings, nor suitable proboscis 
 with which to gather honey, nor baskets on 
 their legs to gather and carry pollen, nor wax 
 scales with which to secrete wax, nature has 
 restricted them to their sole function in the 
 hive; namely, the fecundation of the virgin 
 queens. 
 
 53 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 During the breeding season the drones are 
 permitted to roam as they please through the 
 hive and are fed a pap by the workers, who 
 seem to know that the drones are needed for 
 breeding purposes, but when the honey flow 
 begins to show signs of ending, and especially 
 in the early fall, the workers withhold from 
 them the strengthening pap and drive them 
 from the hives. 
 
 It is interesting and even pathetic at this 
 time to find them clustered on the bottom 
 board of the hive after the workers have 
 driven them from the combs and life for them 
 becomes a problem. Again and again I have 
 seen a little worker tugging at a big drone to 
 hustle him out of the hive, and though he 
 plead in the language of the bees to be re- 
 admitted, the workers are inexorable in their 
 decision that out he must go, for, being a heavy 
 consumer of honey, and the days of his use- 
 fulness over, the decree for his exclusion has 
 been issued and the hand of every worker is 
 turned against him. 
 
 54 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING HIVES AND 
 
 TOOLS TRANSFERRING BEES 
 
 TT is a mistake to imagine that bee-keeping 
 -'- can be carried on successfully in the 
 remote country districts alone, for a large 
 percentage of those engaged in this profitable 
 and interesting work reside in suburban 
 towns, and in some instances dwellers in large 
 cities have successful apiaries located on the 
 roofs of office buildings. 
 
 Another popular fallacy is the idea that 
 only those sections of the country are suitable 
 where some specific honey-producing blossom 
 abounds in large numbers, such as alfalfa, 
 sweet clover, basswood, and buckwheat. 
 While it is true that those beekeepers who are 
 located in such favorable sections are reason- 
 
 55 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 ably sure of a good crop of honey, in fact, of 
 even obtaining record crops, yet the bees 
 have such wonderful abiUty to adapt them- 
 selves to almost any locality, that it is astonish- 
 ing how often they produce a goodly surplus 
 for their owners when there are few evidences 
 of large areas devoted to the cultivation of 
 those plants of which they are most fond. 
 
 Even in the suburban districts it is sur- 
 prising how much white and sweet clover are 
 accessible to them, to say nothing of fruit 
 blossoms and locust for the early flow. Again, 
 there are many localities where the fall flow 
 from goldenrod and the white and blue asters 
 yields a supply that often surprises the incred- 
 ulous. One of the most successful beekeepers 
 in the profession, and one who for forty years 
 has made bee-keeping a sole means of sup- 
 port, is Dr. C. C. Miller of Marengo, Illinois, 
 who has again and again declared that his 
 location is really below the average, show- 
 ing how a little experience will enable the 
 determined man to make good. Of course, 
 
 56 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 if one is fortunate enough to be located in the 
 buckwheat region of New York state, or the 
 basswood sections of the Middle West, or in 
 the heart of the alfalfa ranches of Colorado, 
 Utah, and California, it is an easy matter to 
 make money very rapidly ; nevertheless, no 
 one should be deterred from engaging in this 
 interesting and profitable industry because 
 he is located remote from these sources of 
 supply. 
 
 Bees are wonderfully industrious little folk, 
 and if properly cared for will extract tribute 
 from unheard-of sources. For three years I 
 owned an apiary located on the shores of Long 
 Island Sound, where the flora appeared de- 
 cidedly unfavorable, yet to my surprise and 
 joy the bees did remarkably well. This led 
 me to a more careful survey of the country by 
 which I found that there was quite an abun- 
 dance of locust trees, considerable fruit bloom, 
 while the lawns abounded with clover. 
 
 While it is true that the beekeeper in the 
 favored locations referred to has the advan- 
 
 57 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 tage of being able to keep a great many hives 
 in the home yard, yet the suburbanite can 
 overcome this by resorting to a system of out 
 apiaries, and by having two or more apiaries 
 three or four miles from home be able to 
 harvest crops. These out apiaries can be 
 located so that they are accessible by buggy, 
 trolley, or train, and the only difference in 
 their management and the home yard is that 
 their owner has to take a short trip to get to 
 them. Indeed, the majority of large bee- 
 keepers prefer a system of out apiaries, as they 
 claim they get larger crops without the danger 
 of overstocking the home yard. 
 
 Having decided to get some bees, the ques- 
 tion arises, "How and when shall I start .^" 
 
 Spring is the best season of the year to begin, 
 as such hives as will be purchased will not be 
 heavy with honey and can be the more easily 
 transported. Another advantage of starting 
 m the spring is that the season is just begin- 
 ning to open and the beginner will get experi- 
 ence in every phase of the industry, and should 
 
 58 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 he make mistakes, he will have ample time 
 in which to remedy them before the winter 
 comes on. 
 
 It is the truest economy to purchase bees 
 of a pure breed in modern hives from some 
 reputable beekeeper in the neighborhood, 
 and if none are located within a reasonable 
 distance, there is a large number who adver- 
 tise stock in the leading bee journals. 
 
 Oftentimes it will be more convenient to 
 purchase a couple of colonies in old-fashioned 
 box hives from a near-by beekeeper, though a 
 beekeeper who keeps his colonies in such 
 makeshifts is far behind the times and must 
 of necessity have to kill his faithful wards in 
 order to get their honey, — poor honey it is 
 at that, as it generally is stored in old combs 
 along with brood and even pollen from poison- 
 ous plants. These swarms can generally be 
 purchased for from $1 to $2 a swarm, and all 
 that is needed to put them in shape for ship- 
 ping home by wagon or express is to wait 
 until toward dark, when all the bees are in the 
 
 59 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 hive, and then quickly turn it upside down 
 and tack a piece of mosquito wire net over 
 the bottom, making sure that no openings are 
 left for bees to escape and make trouble. 
 
 Keep the hive upside down, and in this posi- 
 tion take them home or ship them by express. 
 Under no circumstances allow the bottom to 
 be closed up, as the bees will smother. When 
 the journey is ended, by using a little smoke, 
 to be described later on in this chapter, drive 
 all the bees away from the screen, take it off, 
 and set the hive in proper position on some 
 boards or a large box. 
 
 Do not leave the bees in the old hive, but 
 send away at once to a bee supply house and 
 purchase a complete hive with full sheets of 
 wax foundation wired in the frames, and as 
 soon as it comes transfer the bees automati- 
 cally. 
 
 The best way to transfer is to bore a large 
 hole through the top of the old hive, making 
 it no less than an inch in diameter, and over 
 this is to be placed the new hive without its 
 
 60 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 bottom board, but with its lid on and the 
 frames all in place. Sometimes the outside 
 bottom dimensions of the new hive will be 
 larger than the top of the old hive, and special 
 pains will have to be taken to keep the bees 
 from coming out of the new hive when they 
 are drummed upstairs. To prevent this it 
 w411 be necessary to nail some cleats around 
 the four edges of the top of the old box hive, 
 or better still, take two boards and tack them 
 together so that they can be set on top of the 
 old box hive and project at least an inch out- 
 side of the bottom of the new hive on all sides. 
 
 With an auger bore one or two holes about 
 an inch in diameter through the platform and 
 old hive top near the centre, and place over 
 it the new hive with its lid on, but no bottom 
 board, for it must be remembered that we want 
 no entrance to this double hive except the one 
 at the bottom of the old box hive. Of course 
 you should have your smoker going and your 
 face and hands protected by veil and gloves. 
 
 Having everything in place, puff smoke in at 
 61 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 the entrance of the old hive, and with a stick 
 begin to pound on its sides. 
 
 Renew the smoke every four or five minutes, 
 and keep up the drumming, and the bees will 
 soon begin to go up into the new hive body, 
 and in a half hour or so most of the bees will 
 be up there, with the queen. 
 
 In a few days take off the lid of the new hive, 
 and if you find that many of the bees are there 
 and the queen has laid her eggs in the new 
 combs, give the old box another smoking and 
 pounding to drive up the rest, and in about 
 a half hour you are ready to remove the new 
 hive from the top, containing as it does the 
 queen and most of the bees. To do this 
 properly and to be sure of getting all the bees, 
 lift the old hive to one side and, placing the 
 bottom board of the new hive on the stand 
 formerly occupied by the old hive, gently lift 
 the new hive, bees and all, from the top of the 
 old one and place it in position on the bottom 
 board on the old stand. The old hive can be 
 placed to one side of the new one not more 
 
 62 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 than two feet away, and in about a week put 
 it the same distance on the other side of the 
 new hive, for by doing this all the bees that 
 hatch from the brood that was left in the old 
 hive will enter the new one and in a matter of 
 three or four weeks all of the bees from the 
 old hive will have entered the new one, whose 
 work will be going on without interruption. 
 After the bees have been transferred, the old 
 combs in the old hive can be cut out without 
 angering the bees, and may be melted up for 
 beeswax. This method is certainly far su- 
 perior to the old-fashioned way of tearing the 
 old hive to pieces, and having to cut out a 
 lot of sticky old combs and piece them together 
 with strings in the new frames. It also has 
 the advantage of putting the bees on frames 
 whose combs will all be wired and making 
 them more secure in handling and extracting. 
 Where the colonies are bought in modern 
 hives there need be no transferring, and the 
 only thing necessary to do to make them ready 
 for moving will be to make a couple of frames 
 
 63 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 of wood seven-eighths of an inch thick, cover 
 them with wire netting, and nail a frame to the 
 top and bottom of the hive after the lid and 
 bottom board have been removed and the bees 
 sent to their destination ; where with the use of 
 a little smoke the net frames can be removed, 
 the hive body set in position on its bottom 
 board, and the lid put on. The methods for 
 transferring and moving bees are identically 
 the same whether one or more hives are secured. 
 
 It is a waste of time, money, and patience 
 for the beginner to attempt to make his own 
 hives, as many a beekeeper has found to his 
 sorrow, for the work as done by the hive manu- 
 facturers is so smooth and accurate, and the 
 result of so many years of experience, that 
 nothing made by the novice will equal them. 
 Modern hives as made by a number of supply 
 houses are of the best lumber planed smooth, 
 and dovetailed at the corners to prevent 
 warping. 
 
 Hives should conform to the habits of the 
 bees, and there should be no more space in 
 
 64 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 them than a bee space, or otherwise the bees 
 will build brace-combs all around the frames 
 and render their handling almost impossible. 
 
 The Root Smoker. 
 
 A. Metal projection to aid the fingers in holding bellows. 
 
 B. Coiled wire handler. — C. Hook on back of bellows. 
 D. Locked nuts. — E. Stamped metal cap. — F. Flexible 
 
 hinge. 
 
 to say nothing of the robbing that is sure to 
 result from broken combs. 
 
 Before we take up the matter of the hives 
 to be adopted, let me speak of the tools and 
 implements necessary. The first thing essen- 
 F 65 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 tial is a good smoker, one that has large fuel 
 capacity, and a good strong bellows. After a 
 thorough test of all the smokers on the market, 
 I have no hesitancy in saying I prefer the Root 
 Jumbo, a cold blast smoker, as it perfectly 
 meets all the requirements. A good smoker 
 can be purchased for $1.25 and with proper 
 care will last for years. Planer shavings, old 
 rags, dried leaves, gunny bags soaked in a solu- 
 tion of saltpetre and dried in the sun, rotten 
 wood, and dried pieces of apple branches all 
 make excellent fuel, for what we want is plenty 
 of smoke with little heat, and the beginner can 
 take his pick. 
 
 I generally use planer shavings, though 
 there are times when I want an enduring smoke 
 I start a good fire with shavings ; when I have 
 about an inch of good red embers in the smoker 
 I pile in rotten wood or apple wood, and a 
 couple of replenishings of the fuel are sufficient 
 for all day. As the fire gets low a few puffs of 
 the bellows occasionally will bring it up so 
 that it is ready whenever needed. 
 
 66 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 Another essential is a good veil, and aftei 
 trying many I find that the Rauchfauss veil, 
 a combination of muslin and wire net, is the 
 best, as the cloth net veils seldom last over a 
 season, — often not so long, — and the net may 
 be blown by the wind so close to the face that 
 the bees find no difficulty in stinging through it. 
 
 The Rauchfauss veil is made of stout muslin 
 and ties around the crown of the straw hat. 
 There is a circle of wire netting about a foot 
 wide that comes just from below the brim of the 
 hat and goes all around the head, permitting 
 a current of air to enter and at the same time 
 keeping out all the bees. From the bottom 
 edge of the wire net there is another section 
 of muslin with a drawing-string, so that all 
 bees are excluded at its lower edge, and thus 
 making a veil that is both durable and effective. 
 
 Such a veil can be bought for seventy-five 
 cents, but can be made at home at a cost of 
 about twenty-five cents. 
 
 Another essential is a hive tool for prying off 
 the hive lids, lifting out the frames, and scrap- 
 
 67 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 ing propolis from the hives and frames, more or 
 less of which is sure to be gathered by the bees. 
 
 There are a few other conveniences for the 
 apiary which, though not essential, add to the 
 comforts of working with the bees. A good 
 market basket with stout handle is a handy 
 thing for carrying the smoker, fuel, and hive 
 tool, and as soon as one thing is used and set 
 aside it can be dropped into the basket, which 
 will save hunting around in the grass for it 
 when wanted. A good wheelbarrow is also a 
 great convenience, as it saves the back when it 
 comes to carrying hives either filled or empty ; 
 the best one has removable sides. In prepar- 
 ing yourself to work among the bees, don't fail 
 to close the ends of the trouser legs by using bi- 
 cycle clips or by tying them with stout cords. 
 
 Though some of the most successful bee- 
 keepers are women, there has never yet been 
 given in a bee journal a satisfactory bee dress 
 for them. Some have advocated male attire, 
 others bloomers, things the average woman 
 detests, and yet there is available for women 
 
 68 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 one of the most satisfactory and bee-proof 
 dresses imaginable, and it is as follows. 
 
 A woman to prepare herself properly for 
 work in the bee yard should first purchase a 
 pair of men's overalls of proper length and in 
 the bottom of each leg place a drawing-string. 
 
 The overalls should be put on just over 
 the underwear, and when they are properly 
 adjusted, tie the drawing-strings tightly about 
 the ankles. Over this she may put her skirt, 
 and in this attire she will suffer no annoyance 
 whatever from the bees and yet be properly 
 dressed. The drawing-strings at the bottoms 
 of the legs of the overalls will effectively 
 exclude the bees that may be in the grass, 
 while the waist band of the skirt will keep out 
 any bees that may adhere to the overalls. 
 When the work is finished in the yard the 
 skirt can be lifted and any adhering bees 
 brushed off before entering the house. 
 
 After many years' experience I have found 
 that by wearing a suit of white cotton material 
 such as painters wear, consisting of overalls 
 
 69 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 and jumper, I am less liable to be stung than 
 when I wear dark woollen clothes. Whether 
 it is because they detect the animal scent in 
 the woollen goods, or have a natural aversion to 
 black, I am not able to say, but I do know that 
 bees are more gentle and docile when I wear 
 the light suit in preference to the dark. 
 
 I was visiting a few years ago the large api- 
 ary of Mr. Alexander at Delanson, New York, 
 
 He had a large flock of white wyandotte 
 hens, which would wander all day among 
 the hives, picking up drones. In the flock 
 was one single black minorca hen, and strange 
 to say the bees never troubled the white fowls 
 at all, but again and again they would drive the 
 black hen from their midst, which seemed to 
 prove that they have a hatred for black. 
 
 '*What hive shall I use.^" is a question that 
 is frequently asked, and its answer is the 
 question, *'What do you intend to produce, 
 comb or extracted honey .^" 
 
 If you intend to produce comb honey, by all 
 means adopt a hive having a shallow brood 
 70 
 
HOW TO START BEE-KEEPING 
 
 nest, as the shallow brood nest compels the 
 bees to put the surplus up in the supers just 
 where you want it, and not so much in the 
 frames of the brood nest, which they are sure 
 to do with the hives of regular depth. 
 
 The brood nest is the hive body proper, in 
 which the bees rear their brood, and must 
 not be confused with the super or surplus 
 chambers that are put on top of it at the be- 
 ginning of the honey flow. In the case of 
 bees in a comb-producing hive they are win- 
 tered in the brood body and the surplus supers 
 are set away for the next season, as will be 
 described later « At the beginning of the honey 
 flow, the supers containing the little section 
 boxes are set over the brood nest; each of 
 these little boxes holds about a pound of 
 honey, and there are usually twenty-four of 
 them in a super chamber. 
 
 If comb honey is desired, purchase the shal- 
 low brood nest hive such as the Danzenbaker 
 hive, or other shallow hive, of which a number 
 of different kinds are on the market. Not 
 
 71 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 less than four supers for each hive should be 
 made ready for the flow. This phase of the 
 subject will be more amply discussed in the 
 chapter on How to Produce Comb Honey. 
 
 There are a large number of beekeepers 
 who use the deep brood bodies even when 
 producing comb honey, but their numbers are 
 diminishing as the advantages of the shallow 
 brood nest for comb honey production are 
 becoming more and more manifest. The 
 ordinary hive body should be adopted if 
 extracted honey is to be the object, and a hive 
 containing ten frames is the standard, though 
 the tendency among certain producers of 
 extracted honey is toward a larger hive such 
 as the twelve-frame. In any case the standard 
 self-spacing frame known as the Hoffman 
 frame should be adopted, as it is the easiest 
 frame to handle, and is made by all manu- 
 facturers of bee supplies. A careful reading of 
 the catalogues of the leading supply houses will 
 give the beginner much light and enable him 
 to adopt the hive best suited to his purposes. 
 
 72 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 HOW TO QUIET AND HANDLE BEES HOW 
 
 TO AVOID STINGS REMEDIES 
 
 T3EES are not naturally vicious, as many 
 -■-^ suppose, but on the contrary are the 
 most docile of creatures if we will but conform 
 to their desires, and refrain from doing those 
 things that irritate them. 
 
 Judging from the rough methods used by 
 careless and ignorant beekeepers, it is sur- 
 prising that stinging is not more frequent. 
 
 I have worked with my pets day after day 
 without receiving a single sting, and this is 
 due, not to the popular notion that bees know 
 their keeper, but rather because I know there 
 are some things the bees will not tolerate, such 
 as jarring their hives, or mashing bees in tak- 
 ing out the frames, and it is these things I 
 avoid. 
 
 7S 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Bees also detest the odor of a horse or 
 stable, so that I am careful to wash my hands 
 thoroughly and change my clothing after 
 driving a horse, and such a simple matter as 
 this has wrought a remarkable change in the 
 temper of the bees. I must confess that there 
 have been times when in my eagerness to rush 
 the work I have been careless, and in every 
 instance the result has been a number of 
 stings, but it has been entirely my own fault. 
 
 The ease with which some beekeepers open 
 their hives and work among the bees has led 
 a great many people to suppose that there 
 was an acquaintance between the beekeeper 
 and his pets, but there is absolutely no truth 
 whatever in this belief. It seems strange, 
 but somehow the confident and fearless man- 
 ner in which the experienced beekeeper goes 
 among the bees seems to awe them, whereas 
 a timid person by his every move seems to 
 make the bees aware of the fact that he fears 
 them, and they are not slow to act when once 
 this notion possesses them. 
 
 74 
 
HOW TO QUIET AND HANDLE BEES 
 
 The avoidance of stings, a thing greatly 
 sought even by the veteran beekeeper, is 
 largely a matter of care and the moderate use 
 of the smoker. 
 
 The fear of smoke seems to be inbred in the 
 bees, and the most savage of them are quickly 
 subdued when given a whiff of it. It is not 
 necessary to overwhelm them with it until 
 they are completely dazed, but just enough to 
 let them know that they are mastered, a lesson 
 that they soon learn. Bees are easily fright- 
 ened, and a little smoke blown in at the en- 
 trances of their hives, supplemented with a 
 pounding on the lids, makes them panic-stricken 
 and causes them to gorge themselves with honey, 
 and it is this condition that renders them easy 
 of manipulation. It is a physical impossibil- 
 ity for a bee to sting when it is full of honey, 
 and this accounts for the easy manner in which 
 they can be handled when they have swarmed. 
 In order to sting, a bee must be able to bend its 
 abdomen, and when it is filled with honey as 
 it is at the time of swarming, and also when 
 
 75 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 alarmed with smoke, it will be readily seen 
 how easy it is even to handle them roughly 
 at such a time. 
 
 Again, bees are more easily handled about 
 the noon hour than earlier or later in the day, 
 and that is because at this time of the day 
 the old field bees are either abroad in the fields, 
 or, if present in the hive, they are so loaded 
 with the nectar they have brought in that they 
 could not sting if they would. 
 
 The young bees for some reason are not 
 given to stinging like the old ones, and can be 
 handled and even abused without showing 
 any signs of resentment. 
 
 Now that we have put on our veil and gloves 
 and have the smoker well started, let us pro- 
 ceed to open a hive in a proper manner. 
 Going to our first hive, we send in a couple of 
 whiffs of smoke at the entrance, at the same 
 time pounding a few times on the lid of the 
 hive. We next take the hive tool and gently 
 pry off the lid about one quarter of an inch and 
 puff a little smoke in at the top, and drop it 
 
 76 
 
HOW TO QUIET AND HANDLE BEES 
 
 back in place for two or three minutes to give 
 the bees time in which to fill up. I have fre- 
 quently seen beekeepers who ought to have 
 known better send a whiff of smoke in at the 
 entrance, and, jerking the lid from the hive, 
 send great volumes of smoke down over the 
 frames and drive a horde of angry bees out of 
 the hive in the proper frame of mind to sting 
 most viciously. Had they sent just a puff or 
 two of smoke in at the entrance and then a 
 little under the lid and waited a minute or so, 
 every bee would have been subdued and no 
 stinging would have resulted. There are cer- 
 tain times in the season, when honey is coming 
 in rapidly, when no smoke at all is necessary, 
 and in such a case it is foolish to use it, as too 
 much of it means a consumption of honey. 
 
 Lifting our lid we now find the bees as quiet 
 as can be, and, supposing we want to find the 
 queen, we with the aid of the hive tool pry 
 apart a frame, for in all likelihood the frames 
 are more or less glued together with propolis. 
 
 Using the hook end of the tool, we lift a 
 77 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 frame from the brood nest with all adhering 
 bees, and as the bees, if Italians, are very 
 quiet, we can take our time in looking for the 
 queen, for she is not hard to find. If she is 
 not on the first frame, place it end up on the 
 grass, letting it rest against the side of the hive 
 while we remove another and look for her on it. 
 
 It may take a little more time to be careful 
 so as not to mash any bees, and incidentally 
 we might say that careless and too rapid 
 handling not only mashes worker bees but 
 often results in crushing a valuable queen; 
 but in the end carefulness pays, as it makes 
 the bees more gentle, and the next time we 
 open their hives they seem to know that we 
 mean them no harm. 
 
 One day I was examining a colony to find 
 its queen in such a hurry that I mashed a 
 number of bees, with the result that the 
 colony was thrown into an uproar, and for 
 days afterward every time I passed the hive 
 the bees would rush out to sting me, while 
 usually it was the gentlest colony in the yard. 
 
 78 
 
HOW TO QUIET AND HANDLE BEES 
 
 There is more danger of mashing bees when 
 putting back the frames than when removing 
 them; but a little time will enable us to ac- 
 complish it perfectly, and then working among 
 our bees will be a positive delight. 
 
 If there are several colonies to be examined, 
 it is a good plan to go down the line and smoke 
 several of them before opening them, and by 
 the time we get to the last one in the line we 
 will find the first in splendid temper. 
 
 It may take the novice a couple of weeks 
 to gain confidence in himself, but after he has 
 learned the knack of the thing, as he will in an 
 incredibly short time by actual work among 
 the bees, he will be able to look through as 
 many as forty or fifty hives in a single after- 
 noon without slighting any. 
 
 As the beginner gains confidence he will 
 discard his gloves, as he will find that in cer- 
 tain kinds of work, such as queen-raising, 
 where eggs are to be grafted, etc., he can 
 work much better barehanded than otherwise. 
 He must not be surprised, however, if his 
 
 78 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 hands should receive an occasional sting, 
 and the first few stings may cause a slight 
 swelling; but, as his system becomes used to 
 the poison, in time the stings will cause no 
 swelling at all, and the only inconvenience is 
 the slight pain, which after all is no more than 
 that caused by a pin prick. 
 
 I have on rare occasions when working 
 without a veil been stung under the eye, and 
 it was quite painful for a minute or two, and 
 although the eye closed up for a matter of 
 twelve hours, the real pain was during the 
 few minutes immediately following the sting. 
 
 The poison of the bee sting is formic acid. 
 When the little bee injects its sting into our 
 flesh, it usually in its endeavor to get away 
 leaves the sting with its poison sac, and it 
 is an easy matter to scrape it out. Never 
 try to pull it out with the thumb and index 
 finger, for in so doing you are sure to squeeze 
 all of the poison out of the poison sac into the 
 flesh and cause greater pain and swelling in 
 the part stung, but take the sharp edge of the 
 
HOW TO QUIET AND HANDLE BEES 
 
 hive tool or the blade of a penknife, and if 
 these are not handy use the thumb nail and 
 scrape the sting out, and in a few minutes the 
 pain will cease. 
 
 If, however, you find at the beginning that 
 the part is swelling considerably, just pour a 
 little household ammonia over it, and when 
 your work among the bees is done soak a 
 cloth in cold water and lay it over the spot, 
 and in a short time the pain and swelling will 
 be a thing of the past. 
 
 The gloves that are used are made of heavy 
 muslin and treated with oil, having long 
 gauntlets, that come well up over the arms 
 and are described in the catalogues of the 
 various supply houses. 
 
 Sometimes a bee or two will follow the 
 beekeeper all over the yard and manifest 
 every determination to sting as soon as there 
 offers an opening. The only thing to do in 
 such a case is to get a shingle or flat piece 
 of wood and *'swat" him. I carry a paddle 
 in my basket for just such fellows. 
 o 81 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Be quiet in your movements, and manifest 
 no signs of alarm, and the bees will soon learn 
 that you are not afraid of them and will let 
 you go your way in peace. If you are stung, 
 then take my word for it that it is not nearly 
 as painful or serious as is imagined, and not 
 to be compared with the sting of the yellow 
 jacket or hornet. There may be some satis- 
 faction in the knowledge that the poor little 
 bee pays its life as the forfeit for stinging, as 
 it usually dies shortly after losing its sting. 
 It may be well, however, that they do sting, 
 as it is a guarantee that the business of bee- 
 keeping will never be overdone, and it also 
 protects our hives from meddlers, both two- 
 and four-footed ones. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 WHY BEES SWARM HOW TO HIVE A SWARM 
 
 HOW TO CONTROL SWARMING 
 
 A LL insects have some natural means of 
 -*--^ reproducing themselves, and bees are 
 no exception to the rule, their method being 
 that of swarming. While swarming may be 
 a perfectly natural act on their part, it cannot 
 be said that beekeepers generally view it with 
 any degree of pleasure, especially when they 
 consider the possibility of losing valuable 
 swarms that may emerge in their absence, 
 which means a distinct loss of the entire work- 
 ing force of the hive and a consequent loss of 
 honey. 
 
 Swarming usually occurs during the months 
 of May and June, though they will frequently 
 come out earlier and later than this, owing 
 
 83 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 to the season, and the reasons for swarming 
 are as follows. Brood is present in large 
 numbers in the hive, the blossoms in the field 
 are yielding up a heavy tribute of nectar, and 
 under these conditions the colony becomes 
 overcrowded and makes preparations to 
 decamp. An examination of the brood nest 
 just before a colony swarms shows us prac- 
 tically every cell occupied with honey, pollen, 
 and brood, and, realizing that no further work 
 can be done in such crowded quarters, the 
 colony decides that it is time to seek another 
 home. In some mysterious way this idea is 
 passed from one bee to another until all obey 
 it. 
 
 Fortunately for the beekeeper, however, 
 the colony usually gives some premonitory 
 signs of its intention to swarm, and these if 
 heeded will enable one to head them off and 
 in many cases break up the fever entirely. 
 
 Often for several days before swarming the 
 bees will cluster in large numbers on the front 
 of the hive, and an examination of the brood 
 
 84 
 
WHY BEES SWARM 
 
 nest will reveal the presence of queen cells, 
 and it is by taking advantage of these signs 
 we can often prevent swarming by giving 
 enlarged storage room. If we fail to fore- 
 stall them, then we may look for a swarm to 
 come forth some beautiful day in May or 
 June, and the way the bees will come boiling 
 out of the hive is a revelation to the tyro. Out 
 they come literally by the thousands until the 
 air is filled with them and their roar can be 
 heard at a considerable distance. 
 
 The swarm is not, as is popularly supposed, 
 made up of young bees, but is composed prin- 
 cipally of the old bees and the old queen, and 
 with the exception of the time she flies as a 
 virgin to be mated, this is the only time that 
 her majesty comes forth. 
 
 For several minutes the swarm will swirl 
 about in the air, and with rare exceptions, will 
 in a short time begin to cluster on the branch 
 of a tree, and often at an inaccessible height, 
 and will hang there probably for an extended 
 period. 
 
 85 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 The safest plan, however, is to hive the swarm 
 as quickly as possible, for in all likelihood they 
 have sent out their scouts to find a congenial 
 home in the heart of an old tree or under the 
 weatherboards of a house, and in some cases 
 they often have their objective point picked 
 out days in advance, and unless hived will 
 eventually go away. 
 
 In the majority of cases the swarm will 
 cluster on the lower limb of a tree or on a 
 bush, and in fact I have had them cluster on a 
 post, but in any case they are easily removed, 
 and that without attendant danger of one's 
 being stung, as every bee has filled its stomach 
 with honey, realizing that it will be needed 
 to build their combs within their new home, 
 and it is this condition that renders them 
 largely incapable of stinging, as they cannot 
 bend the abdomen to do so. 
 
 If you are wise, you will have had your 
 empty hive body with its frames of full foun- 
 dation all ready for just such an emergency, 
 and as soon as the swarm comes forth it will 
 
 86 
 
WHY BEES SWARM 
 
 be the easiest thing in the world to set the hive 
 in place, and if the swarm is on a tree or 
 shrub, the branch to which they cling can 
 be cut or sawed off and the swarm shaken in 
 front of the empty hive, which they will be 
 glad enough to enter. 
 
 If the swarm has clustered on a tree that 
 you consider too valuable to cut, or on a 
 fence or post, then take the new hive and place 
 it under the cluster and shake the bees in 
 front of it; or if on a post, brush them down 
 with a brush or whisk broom, both of which are 
 made for the purpose, and in a few minutes 
 all of the bees will enter the hive. 
 
 Let them remain there until toward evening, 
 when the hive can be gently lifted and placed 
 on its permanent stand; and in the morning 
 you will find that they have their sentinels 
 posted, with the field bees going and coming 
 to and from the fields. 
 
 In a few days one or more of the queen cells 
 in the old hive will bring forth a virgin who 
 in time will become mated, and thus you will 
 
 87 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 have two full colonies, each with a queen at 
 its head. 
 
 Do not fail, however, to examine the old hive 
 in about ten days and make certain that the 
 virgin has mated, which can be quickly told 
 by the presence of young eggs in the cells, 
 and if for any reason she should have become 
 lost in her matrimonial flight, give them an- 
 other that you have reared or secured from 
 some reputable breeder. The method of 
 introducing her will be treated under the 
 chapter on Queen Rearing. 
 
 It will occasionally happen that when one 
 or more virgins hatch at the same time an 
 after-swarm will also emerge, but as these are 
 very small, and incapable of doing much in the 
 way of building up for the winter, it is best 
 to throw them back into the hive from which 
 they emerged, and let the surplus virgins fight 
 it out to the survival of the fittest. 
 
 The professional beekeeper looks upon 
 natural swarming as a nuisance, especially 
 if he is running a system of outyards, for it 
 
 88 
 
WHY BEES SWARM 
 
 often happens that swarms will come out 
 when he is not there to attend to them, and it 
 seldom pays to keep a man watching for them. 
 
 This has led to a long-expressed desire for 
 a race of non-swarming bees, but no such 
 race is in sight, and beekeepers generally 
 have taken up the next best thing, namely, 
 preventive measures. 
 
 The dangers of losses from swarming have 
 led a majority of beekeepers to devote their 
 yards to the production of extracted honey, 
 as by this plan the honey can be extracted as 
 soon as the combs are nearly filled, and thus 
 additional room can be given to the bees. 
 
 When the apiary is devoted to the produc- 
 tion of comb honey, the problem becomes more 
 serious, as the combs must of necessity be left 
 on the hives until entirely sealed over, or else 
 they will not be salable, and leaving them to 
 be sealed impels the bees to swarm. To 
 overcome this, a new plan was tried out some 
 few years ago, and generally it has resulted 
 in practically a complete control of swarming, 
 
 89 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 even when the bees are kept for comb honey; 
 it is known as the "Shook Swarm Plan." 
 
 About four days before the swarm is ready 
 to come forth, — and their purpose can easily 
 be told by the presence of queen cells and the 
 actions of the bees, — the beekeeper lifts the 
 hive to one side, say two feet, and in its place 
 puts a new or empty hive in the frames of 
 which only starter strips have been placed, 
 not full sheets; and then lifting the frames 
 from the hive about to swarm, all or nearly all 
 of the bees are shaken at the entrance of the 
 new hive, being sure of course to shake the 
 queen. In some cases it may be best to put 
 a queen-excluding piece of perforated zinc 
 between the hive body of the new hive and its 
 supers to restrict the queen to the lower 
 chamber, and then the surplus bodies are 
 removed from the old hive, bees and all, and 
 placed on top of the new hive, as it would be 
 the height of folly to leave them on the original 
 hive, as the working force will be in the new hive. 
 
 T^ie question arises, What is to become of 
 90 
 
 i 
 
WHY BEES SWARM 
 
 the old hive with its brood and few remain- 
 ing bees? and the answer is that it can be left 
 beside the new hive until its brood has hatched, 
 when the bees can be shaken in with the bees 
 in the new hive, and the combs can be re- 
 moved and such honey as remains in them ex- 
 tracted, and the combs cut out and rendered 
 into beeswax. It will be well in cutting out 
 the combs to leave a strip of comb about an 
 inch wide at the top of the frames, as such 
 frames the following season will have starters 
 of comb instead of foundation for colonies 
 that may be shaken on them. By shaking 
 the bees on starters only, we compel them to 
 rush their honey up into the supers just where 
 we want it, as they have no storage room below 
 until the frames are filled with comb. Sel- 
 dom will a colony swarm after it has been 
 treated in this way, and this method has this 
 apparent advantage over all others, namely, 
 that the beekeeper swarms his bees at his own 
 convenience and does away with all possi- 
 bility of absconding swarms. 
 
 91 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Some men have said that the reason that 
 the swarm shaken into the new hive seldom 
 swarms again is because it has had the swarm- 
 ing impulse satisfied by being run into a new 
 hive like a natural swarm, but the real reason 
 is that a colony of bees will seldom desert a hive 
 until it is completely filled with combs in the 
 brood nest, and by the time the swarm will 
 have filled its combs the honey flow is usually 
 over and the cause of swarming a thing of the 
 past. 
 
 There have been advertised from time to 
 time a lot of automatic hivers, but he who 
 invests his money in them but illustrates the 
 old adage that "the fool and his money are 
 soon parted." It is a good thing to go over 
 the apiary and clip the wings of every queen 
 after she has mated and has begun to lay; 
 this will save many a swarm, as a swarm will 
 never run off without its queen. If a swarm 
 should come out with a clipped queen, it may 
 cluster on a near-by tree, while the queen in her 
 inability to fly will be found hopping about 
 
WHY BEES SWARM 
 
 in the grass in her endeavor to join the swarm, 
 and can be picked up with the bare fingers, 
 as she will not sting, and removed to the house. 
 A new hive being placed on the stand occupied 
 by the one from which the swarm emerged, and 
 the old swarm having returned and ^entered 
 the new hive, the queen can be thrown in at 
 the entrance; thus the hive swarm is hived 
 without the owner having to handle it at all. 
 
 The "shook swarm" plan insures the bee- 
 keeper an abundance of beeswax after the 
 combs have been rendered, and as this can be 
 exchanged for sheets of foundation, it is an 
 item worth considering. 
 
 The late Captain Hetherington of Cherry 
 Valley, N.Y., one of the most extensive keepers 
 of bees in his day, whose apiaries, scattered all 
 over the country, numbered as many as three 
 thousand colonies, had a plan of swarm control 
 that he found satisfactory: the removal or 
 caging of the queen during the swarming 
 season. Some beemen contended that a 
 swarm would not work as well with its queen 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 removed or caged as one whose queen was 
 present, to say nothing of the loss of brood 
 during the period that the queen was caged, 
 but the captain met this by the statement 
 that any eggs she might lay would be so long 
 in developing that the flow would be over 
 before they were field bees. 
 
 The old-fashioned practice of ringing bells 
 and banging on tin pans to cause a swarm to 
 alight is really laughable, and as a matter of 
 fact had no influence on the swarm whatever. 
 That they did soon alight was only a coin- 
 cidence, as they would sooner or later have 
 done so. It has been said that the custom 
 dates back to the days of Alfred the Great 
 of England, who, in order to stop the disputes 
 among his subjects as to the ownership of 
 swarms that came forth, decreed that when 
 a man's bees swarmed, he should ring a bell 
 or make some other noise to notify his neigh- 
 bors that the swarm was his. Another amus- 
 ing custom still in vogue in some parts is the 
 placing of empty hives in the woods as decoys 
 
 94 
 
WHY BEES SWARM 
 
 for swarms to enter, and some have even 
 resorted to the ridiculous practice of placing 
 little red flags on top of them to flag the pass- 
 ing swarm and notify them that a welcome 
 home awaits them. While it is true that a 
 swarm has on rare occasion taken possession 
 of some of these hives, yet it was a mere coin- 
 cidence, and the flag, or the sprinkling of the 
 hives with anise oil, had nothing whatever to 
 do with it. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of swarming, it 
 will be well to state that shade boards placed 
 over a hive, and an extra current of air given 
 them by elevating the entrance of the hive 
 will be important factors in swarm control, 
 but often, in spite of all that can be done, a 
 swarm will come forth when the fever pos- 
 sesses them, and the only thing to do is to 
 accept the situation philosophically and get 
 them into a modern hive as soon as possible. 
 
 The proportion of swarming in comb honey 
 production as compared with that of produc- 
 ing extracted honey is about two to one where 
 
 95 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 the "shook swarm" plan is not practised, as 
 the free use of the extractor enables the bee- 
 keeper to remove the honey from the combs 
 and give the colony additional storage room 
 before the bees feel that they are crowded. 
 
 98 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 RAISING QUEEN BEES HOW TO INTRODUCE 
 
 A QUEEN 
 
 XN the keeping of bees, there are many 
 -*- occasions when extra queens are re- 
 quired, notably when colonies from one cause 
 or another become queenless, or when in- 
 crease is made, and the general practice is to 
 send away to a queen-breeder for the same. 
 While in the majority of cases queens arrive 
 in good condition, and apparently none the 
 worse for their journey, yet some beemen have 
 contended that the queen is hurt more or less 
 from her journey and is not as good as before. 
 Again, it costs a considerable sum to buy 
 queens, especially if a large number are re- 
 quired, and, as they can be raised at home 
 at a ridiculously low figure, the matter of ex- 
 pense has induced an ever increasing number 
 H 97 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 of beekeepers to rear their own queens, as 
 they are able to breed from only their best 
 specimens, whose offspring have shown re- 
 markable qualities of gentleness, and are great 
 honey -gatherers. With the advent of a number 
 of new systems of queen-rearing, which will be 
 explained, one can easily see that this part of 
 the profession is not so mysterious as some will 
 suppose, and with a little experience the novice 
 will soon be able to raise as good queens as the 
 professional breeder, and not be compelled to 
 pay from $1 to $3 apiece for them. 
 
 If left to follow their own natural impulses, 
 the bees would build only a limited number of 
 cells at the swarming time, but by the use of 
 a few simple and inexpensive appliances, the 
 beekeeper is able to rear them in almost un- 
 limited numbers and thus always have them 
 at hand when needed. 
 
 It is a known fact that in the breeding of all 
 kinds of stock, the quality can be greatly 
 improved by selection and restriction in the 
 specimens that are to reproduce their kind, 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 and bees are no exception to the rule. By 
 breeding queens only from best mothers, the 
 beekeeper will be able in a short time to secure 
 a strain of bees in his apiaries that will be 
 marvels of gentleness, to say nothing of gather- 
 ing record crops of honey. 
 
 A good many apiarists advocate the re- 
 queening of all colonies with young queens of 
 the season's breeding, as this insures every 
 colony beginning the next season with vigor- 
 ous young queens able to produce a large 
 amount of brood, and such colonies are not 
 so liable to swarm as those with old queens at 
 their head. 
 
 There are three natural conditions under 
 which colonies will of themselves raise queens, 
 such as : at the time of swarming, when made 
 queenless, and when about to supersede an 
 old queen that is worn out. When about to 
 swarm, the bees will begin to build a number 
 of queen cells, usually at the bottoms of the 
 combs, and in many instances the queen will 
 deposit eggs in them for this purpose. While 
 
 99 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 these cells are of the very best, yet the fact 
 that they have to be cut out of the combs in 
 order to isolate them in cages, has led to the 
 adoption of little wooden cups in which eggs 
 are grafted by the beekeeper, by which means 
 they can the more easily be handled without 
 the danger of injuring their occupants, as will 
 be described later. 
 
 When a queen begins to show signs of fail- 
 ing through old age or injury, the colony will 
 at once begin to build cells, and when the 
 young queen begins to lay, the bees will usually 
 kill the old one. If a colony has its queen 
 taken from them, or should she be killed 
 through the careless handling of the frames 
 by the beekeeper, the colony will also build 
 cells in order to replace her, and under the 
 conditions outlined above will build from five 
 to fifteen cells, though in the case of Carnio- 
 lans and Cyprians colonies will often build as 
 many as fifty cells at a time. While the cells 
 reared by the bees under normal conditions 
 are the very best, yet their production is 
 
 100 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 uncertain, and does not always occur when the 
 beekeeper needs them, and this has led to the 
 almost universal adoption of artificial methods. 
 As far as is known, such queens are equal to 
 those reared at the pleasure of the colony. 
 
 Nursery case for queens and virgins. 
 
 Perhaps the best system in vogue is the 
 Swarthmore System, originated by the late 
 E. R. Pratt of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 
 and, with the few inexpensive appliances pur- 
 chasable at almost any supply house, one can 
 raise as many queens as are needed. This 
 system requires a number of little wooden 
 
 101 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 cell cups which are filled with melted beeswax, 
 and with a small hand press made for the 
 purpose, the rudimentary of the queen cell 
 is made. 
 
 Into each one of these little cell cups a 
 larva must be placed, and a small piece of 
 wire is made for this purpose. 
 
 While a colony will accept these little cells, 
 and supply the larvae with the necessary food, 
 yet it is best to make a colony queenless 
 several days before the larvae are grafted, and 
 from the natural cells a small quantity of the 
 royal jelly can be placed in each wooden cup 
 with the grafted larvae, as the bees more 
 readily start on such cells than on those that 
 are not so supplied. 
 
 The larva is taken from the worker cells 
 of the colony from whose queen you desire to 
 rear queens, and must be not more than about 
 three days old, as such larvae alone can be 
 depended upon for good queens. If you 
 secure a larva that is only a day old, so much 
 the better, and in lifting it from the worker 
 
 102 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 cell in the comb to the artificial cup, use great 
 care not to bruise it, as it is very tender. The 
 age of the larva can be easily determined by 
 its size, and the smaller it is the better. 
 
 Before you are ready to graft cells, make 
 your swarm box ready ; the Swarthmore 
 swarm box is a box that has the bottom side 
 covered with wire gauze and holds just five 
 frames of comb. About ten o'clock in the 
 morning, go to some strong colony, and, hav- 
 ing previously placed in the box three combs 
 filled with honey and pollen, but no brood, 
 lift the lid from the box and shake into it the 
 bees from three or four frames taken from the 
 strong colony, put the lid on securely, and 
 stop the entrance with a large cork or piece 
 of wood. Remove the box, bees and all, to 
 the house, and place it in a dark, quiet place, 
 moderately warm, and wait until about four 
 o'clock in the afternoon before you begin to 
 graft the larvae. 
 
 During this time the imprisoned bees will 
 discover that they are hopelessly queenless, 
 
 103 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 as there is no brood present from which thej 
 can raise one, and it is this condition that in- 
 duces them to accept the queen cups you give 
 them and work on them at once. 
 
 The top of the swarm box is so cut out that 
 a couple of cell bars are 
 fitted to it, and in each 
 of these bars are sixteen 
 little waxed cups which 
 close the holes, and in 
 which you will place the 
 transferred larvae, about 
 four o'clock. At four 
 o'clock, go to some col- 
 ony whose queen is a 
 choice one and lift out 
 a frame that has a lot 
 of larvae not over three 
 days old, shake off all the bees, and carry it to 
 the house. See that the room in which you are 
 to do the grafting is heated to at least eighty 
 degrees so as not to chill the larvae when grafted. 
 Lift out one of the cell cups and place a dummy 
 
 104 
 
 Lifting larva out of 
 worker cell. 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 cell cup in the hole it occupied in the cell bar. 
 Cutting open a cell taken from the colony that 
 was made queenless to rear them, transfer a little 
 royal jelly to the base of the artificial cell, stir 
 it a trifle with the little metal spoon, and then 
 with the wire grafting needle, gently lift a 
 tiny grub or larva from the frame of the brood 
 at hand, place it in the bottom of the cup right 
 in the midst of the royal jelly, and put it in the 
 hole occupied by the dummy cup. Proceed 
 in like manner with the other cups, and when 
 all have been attended to, the frame of the 
 brood can be returned to the colony from which 
 it was taken. 
 
 Now cover the swarm box with a blanket 
 for warmth, and leave it in a warm room until 
 the following morning, and when, on the 
 morrow, you lift out a cup to examine it, you 
 will be surprised to find that the imprisoned 
 bees will have accepted the majority of larvae 
 given them and will have fed them liberal 
 allowances of royal jelly, and will have built 
 down the cell to nearly an inch in length. 
 
 105 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 As soon as the little cells have been started, 
 they should be given to some strong colony 
 to complete. Formerly, the custom was to 
 make a colony queenless before grafting cells, 
 and to give the started cells to that colony to 
 complete, but since we now have the little 
 incubating cages, and perforated zinc queen- 
 excluders, we are able to give the started cells 
 to a queenright colony for completion, as the 
 zinc allows the workers free access to the cells, 
 and at the same time excludes the queen from 
 destroying them. If your colonies are occupy- 
 ing but one body for the brood nest, it will be 
 necessary to use a holding frame fitted with an 
 incubating cage in its top; this frame can be 
 placed in the centre of any strong colony hav- 
 ing a queen, the cell bar holding sixteen of the 
 started cells can be slipped into the top of the 
 cage, and the frame put in place in a strong 
 colony. In about ten days the cells will be 
 all sealed over and ready to be transferred to 
 individual cages in which each virgin will 
 hatch by herself and be safe from being de* 
 
 106 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 stroyed, as would be the case if they were ah 
 permitted to hatch in one compartment. If 
 the colony to which the cells have been given 
 for completion is a strong one, and is occupy- 
 ing two brood bodies one above the other, it 
 will be a very simple matter to place the queen 
 down in the lower brood body, and between 
 it and the upper story a queen-excluding zinc, 
 which keeps her below; in this case as many 
 as three bars of ceils can be given to the upper 
 story, each bar being put in the holding frame 
 without the incubator cage. 
 
 When the cells are about twelve days old 
 from the time the egg was laid, remove them, 
 and put each one by itself in one of the little 
 nursery cages. As many as forty-eight of these 
 little cages can be secured firmly in an empty 
 frame, and the frame given back to the strong 
 colony to keep warm until the virgin queens 
 shall hatch, which will be in sixteen days 
 from the time the eggs were laid. 
 
 There is a little compartment in each of the 
 nursery cages in which should be placed a 
 
 107 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 small quantity of candy made from mixing 
 pulverized sugar with honey until it makes a 
 stiff dough, so that the virgins will be pro- 
 vided with food when they emerge, in case the 
 bees refuse to feed them through the wire net- 
 ting, which they often do. 
 
 After the cells are completed, the only thing 
 the bees do for the cell is to maintain the 
 proper temperature of about ninety-eight 
 degrees, and again and again I have hatched 
 choice queens in an ordinary chicken incubator 
 by keeping it at the required temperature. 
 The cells taken care of by the bees, however, 
 show a larger percentage of hatch, as the bees 
 will gnaw the ends of the cells given to their 
 care until they are as thin as paper, which is 
 a great aid to the virgin in getting out. 
 
 Going back to the time of taking the cells 
 from the swarm box, after the cells are re- 
 moved, the imprisoned bees can be shaken 
 at the entrance of the hive from which they 
 were taken, and they are glad indeed to join 
 their fellows. By the Doolittle Method, the 
 
 108 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 breeder has to make his own cells by dipping 
 a wooden rake tooth in melted wax, and stick- 
 ing it to a bar of wood with more or less dan- 
 ger of its becoming detached, and it is difficult 
 to handle such cells individually. 
 
 The Swarthmore System is superior to 
 either the Alley or the Doolittle System, as 
 they compel the queen-rearer to permit the 
 bees to start the cells on a strip of brood comb 
 under the Alley Method, and the objection to 
 this is that there is more or less risk in injur- 
 ing the queens when cutting the cells from 
 the combs, to say nothing of the nuisance of 
 having each cell all ragged at its top in han- 
 dhng. 
 
 The Swarthmore plan has every advantage, 
 as each cell is fastened in a little wooden 
 cup, and can even be handled roughly without 
 fear of injury, and as for cell-starting, it is 
 more convenient than any other system. 
 
 Now that your virgins have been hatched, 
 the next thing is to mate them, and the small 
 mating-box does this effectually, and does 
 
 109 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 away with the old method of having to use a 
 full colony for each queen mated. Virgins 
 may be given to a queenless colony and 
 allowed to mate from them, but great care 
 will have to be exercised in introducing them, 
 as a colony will not accept them as readily as a 
 queen that has mated and begun to lay. 
 Then again if the beekeeper is rearing queens 
 with which to supply the trade, the demand 
 is for mated and laying queens, and it becomes 
 a necessity to have them mated before being 
 sold. 
 
 The best mating-box is the Root twin 
 mating-box, which is so divided in the centre 
 that each compartment contains two small 
 combs that have been built in a strong colony; 
 and as there are two small entrances to the 
 box, each little nucleus of bees has the spirit of 
 a colony. 
 
 When the virgins have hatched, take the 
 small mating-boxes to a strong colony, and into 
 each compartment of the mating-box brush 
 about a teacupful of bees, being careful not to 
 
 110 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 secure the queen; securely close the entrance 
 of each compartment and remove the im- 
 prisoned bees to a shady place. About four 
 in the afternoon run a virgin in at the entrance 
 to each compartment, and if the bees were 
 shaken in about ten o'clock in the morning, 
 fully realizing their queenlessness, they will 
 gladly accept her. Toward night, the en- 
 trance can be opened, and in the morning you 
 will find that the miniature colony will have 
 the spirit of a full colony, with their sentinels 
 posted at the tiny entrance. In a few days 
 the virgin will fly from this box and mate, and 
 when you find that she has begun to lay, she 
 can be used or sold as an untested queen. 
 
 An untested queen is one that has mated 
 and begun to lay, and can be sold as a tested 
 queen only after she has been kept laying long 
 enough for some of her eggs to have hatched ; 
 and if the young bees prove by their markings 
 that their mother has been purely mated, then 
 she can be said to be a tested queen. 
 
 These little nuclei need encouraging, and 
 111 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 it will be necessary to feed them a small 
 quantity of syrup every other day in the little 
 feeders that are a part of the hive. The 
 syrup should be made of equal parts of hot 
 water and granulated sugar. 
 
 Many queen-rearers, when they put a vir- 
 gin into the mating-boxes, also put another 
 
 A queen's egg under the microscope. 
 
 in on its floor, imprisoned in its nursery cage 
 so that it soon acquires the odor of the little 
 nucleus. When the first virgin has mated 
 and is removed, the caged virgin can be liber- 
 ated at once, for the bees will accept her, as 
 she iiias the proper odor. This procedure 
 can be carried on all through the season, a 
 caged virgin being placed in each compart- 
 ment as soon as a mated queen is sold and 
 another virgin liberated. 
 
 112 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 At the close of the season these little swarms 
 can be brushed into some weak colony that 
 has been well smoked, or several of them can 
 be united and given to a queenless colony and 
 a queen provided, and the little boxes set 
 away for use the following year. 
 
 Just a word of caution : Don't begin queen 
 rearing too early in the season, or else you will 
 fail. Wait until fruit bloom, when the weather 
 is warm and the bees are flying nicely, and 
 if you should need queens for your own use 
 before it is time to rear them, remember that 
 the better plan is to secure them by mail from 
 some southern breeder whose warmer climate 
 enables him to start breeding before it is possi- 
 ble in the North. 
 
 The next thing is to introduce a queen to a 
 colony that needs one, and whether the queen 
 to be introduced is one of your own raising or 
 has come by mail from a distant breeder, the 
 method is the same. The queen to be intro- 
 duced is enclosed in a small introducing or 
 mailing cage, and one end of the cage is filled 
 I 113 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 with the honey dough previously described. 
 Open the hive to which she is to be introduced, 
 and after tearing away the little piece of wire 
 or paper that covers the hole to the compart- 
 ment where the dough is stored, pry apart a 
 couple of frames in the centre of the queenless 
 colony and slip the cage with the queen in it 
 down between them with the candy side down, 
 and leave the colony undisturbed for three or 
 four days. 
 
 During this time the queen will be acquir- 
 ing the odor of the colony, and the wall of 
 candy will prevent the bees from getting at her 
 to kill her, which they would do if they could 
 the first day or so, but by the time the bees 
 have eaten their way through to her and 
 made a passage for her to get out, she will 
 usually have become so impregnated with the 
 odor of the colony that they will accept her. 
 
 In rare cases, however, they will destroy her, 
 and sometimes even if they do not do this, they 
 are sullen about accepting her, and will upon 
 your opening the hive "ball her," in which case 
 
 114 
 
RAISING QUEEN BEES 
 
 you will find a large ball of angry bees, try* 
 ing to kill her; but this can be broken up at 
 once by filling the smoker with tobacco and 
 sending clouds of tobacco smoke through the 
 hive and at the cluster, and this seems to have 
 the effect of making them all smell alike, thus 
 averting all further trouble. 
 
 Every colony has its distinctive odor, and 
 it is by this the bees recognize each other, as 
 well as their queen, and the reason we cannot 
 liberate a strange queen at once is that she has 
 an odor from the hive or mating box from 
 which she was taken; for this reason we are 
 compelled to let her hang in the colony to 
 which she is introduced for a few days until 
 she has the odor of her new home. It may 
 seem strange, but you can take a laying queen 
 from her bees and hold her in your hand for 
 a few minutes, and, when you will put her 
 back in her regular hive the bees will ball her 
 at once, thinking she is a strange queen simply 
 because of her contact with your hand, and 
 the odor she derives from it. 
 
 115 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Whether you keep few colonies or many, 
 make it a point to raise some queens if only 
 for the fun of the thing, for it is intensely in- 
 teresting work; and should you need a large 
 number of queens as your colonies increase, it 
 will prove a considerable saving to raise them 
 yourself. 
 
 Those of us who keep a large number of 
 colonies know that every year or so we find 
 that we have a queen of rare worth, whose off- 
 spring are beautifully marked, remarkably 
 gentle, and as honey -gatherers are hustlers, and 
 it pays to breed from this queen, and in time 
 make all the bees of this strain. 
 
 116 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 XT ONE Y is marketed in two forms, either 
 -*— *- as comb honey, in the individual one- 
 pound sections in which the bees store it, or 
 as extracted honey, this being extracted from 
 the large brood combs used in an upper story 
 above the brood nest, the queen being pre- 
 vented from laying her eggs in the extracting- 
 combs by means of a perforated zinc board, 
 which confines her below, at the same time 
 giving the workers access to them for storing. 
 Whether the beekeeper proposes to produce 
 comb or extracted honey, it is very neces- 
 sary that the colonies shall be strong at the 
 time of the honey flow, and this can only be 
 brought about by seeing that every colony 
 put into winter quarters is strong, supplied 
 with ample stores, and, if wintered outdoors, 
 is fully protected. 
 
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HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 When the old-fashioned box hives were the 
 thing, the principal way the surplus was 
 gathered was by brimstoning the bees, a bar- 
 barous method to say the least, and when the 
 bees were killed, the combs were cut out and 
 set aside for use. 
 
 American hive, Langstroth type. 
 
 At best, this is an untidy method, and the 
 combs secured are often more or less filled 
 with brood and pollen, and such honey seldom 
 finds a ready sale. 
 
 With the advent of the modern hive, it is 
 possible to secure comb honey of snowy white- 
 ness, in little boxes containing about a pound 
 
 118 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 each, and, best of all, the colony does not have 
 to be sacrificed, but is still in possession of the 
 brood nest, with ample stores for winter, and 
 ready for the next season's work. 
 
 In the production of comb honey under 
 obsolete methods, twenty-five to thirty pounds 
 was considered a good yield per colony, but 
 with the modern hives with section box supers 
 it is possible to produce three and four times 
 that amount of the choicest honey imaginable. 
 
 While it is possible to secure a good surplus 
 from any strong colony in an average season, 
 with the ordinary hives having the full depth 
 brood frames, such as the Hoffman Self- 
 Spacing frames, yet a good many progressive 
 beekeepers are adopting a shallower hive, as 
 tests have proved that the shallower brood nest 
 compels the bees to store more of their honey 
 up in the sections where the comb-honey pro- 
 ducer wants it. For the production of comb 
 honey, there are no better hives on the market 
 than the Danzenbaker and similar hives, 
 several kinds of which are manufactured, all 
 
 110 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 having a brood nest about four inches shal 
 lower than the ordinary hive. 
 
 Let us suppose that the winter is past and 
 that the spring has come, and that with the 
 first warm days of April, each and every colony 
 has been looked over, and those that were 
 found to be queenless were given queens, and 
 those that were weak have been strengthened 
 by giving them frames of sealed brood and 
 bees from the stronger hives, so that things are 
 generally equalized. 
 
 In transferring frames of bees and brood to 
 the weaker colonies, be sure that you do not 
 take from the stronger colonies the frame con- 
 taining their queen, or else you will needlessly 
 sacrifice her, since the colony to which she is 
 given will destroy her, while the colony from 
 which she was taken will be made needlessly 
 queenless and will lose time and honey in 
 having to rear a new one. 
 
 As fruit bloom comes on, examine the brood 
 frames of a few colonies, and if the cells near 
 the top bars are sealed with nice new white 
 
 120 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 cappings, indicating that the flow is well under 
 way, then make haste to have the super cases 
 
 Foundation-fastener and section-holder. 
 
 all filled with the little section boxes with a full 
 sheet of thin comb foundation in each box. 
 
 It is a good thing, if many sections are to be 
 put together, to attend to this work during the 
 
 121 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 slack winter months, and thus have them all 
 in readiness for the flow, as a good deal of 
 worry will be saved thereby. 
 
 The little section boxes are made of white 
 bass wood and are grooved at the places where 
 they are to be bent to put together, and before 
 putting them together it is an excellent thing 
 
 
 Different methods of cutting foundations for the sections. 
 
 to lay a lot of them on a table, so that the 
 grooves will all coincide, and then pour a little 
 hot water from a teakettle over the grooves, 
 as this will make the wood soft and flexible 
 and save the breaking of many a section. 
 
 The foundation should be cut in strips just 
 long enough to almost fill the section boxes, 
 leaving a space of about a half inch at the 
 bottom and about a sixteenth of an inch space 
 at the sides, as it is necessary only to secure 
 
 122 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 the sheet of foundation to the top of the sec- 
 tion box. 
 
 While there are many methods of fastening 
 the foundation to the tops of the section boxes, 
 perhaps the best is the Daisy Foundation 
 fastener, which works with a slight foot pres- 
 sure, and, with a little heat supplied from the 
 lamp that goes with it, securely fastens the 
 foundation in place. 
 
 The average super case holds about twenty- 
 four of these little sections, and each row of 
 sections is held in place by a section-holder, 
 with bee space fences or spaces between each 
 row to prevent the bees from sticking the 
 combs together, or causing some to bulge. 
 Have no less than three super cases for each 
 hive, and if possible four, and long before the 
 fruit bloom have every super ready to place 
 on the hives. When the brood combs reveal 
 the fact that the colony is gathering new honey 
 from fruit bloom, lift off its lid and on top of 
 the brood body place a super filled with section 
 boxes, and on top of this place the lid. 
 
 US 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 All the strong colonies should be treated 
 alike, and by the time the clover honey begins 
 to coine in the bees will be at work in a state 
 of great activity in the sections, and when an 
 examination of the supers shows that the 
 sections are nearly all drawn out and filled, 
 it is time to give the colony another super case 
 of sections. Instead, however, of putting the 
 
 Supers for plain sections. 
 
 additional one on top, it must be slipped in 
 between the super in which the bees are already 
 working and the brood body, as tests have 
 proved that the bees will more readily accept 
 it and start to work in it than if it were placed 
 on top. 
 
 By doing this, the bees that are working in 
 124 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 the super on top are compelled to pass through 
 the empty one in order to get to the one in 
 which they are working, and thus become 
 familiar with it, and, being near the brood 
 nest, it is accepted. 
 
 When it is found that the colony has pretty 
 nearly filled the second one, and the field indi- 
 cations are that the flow is to continue, a third 
 super can be placed beneath the upper two, 
 and so on, one at a time, until sometimes as 
 many as four or five may be placed on the hive. 
 This is called tiering. 
 
 Tiering, however, should be carried on with 
 caution, and no more supers given to each 
 colony than it is able to take care of, and if the 
 honey flow shows any signs of a cessation, no 
 more supers should be given, or else there will 
 be a lot of unfinished and unsalable sections 
 on hand ; whereas if the colony had only been 
 given as many as they could take care of, and 
 finish a nice surplus of, nearly all finished sec- 
 tions will be secured. No rule can be laid 
 down; the beekeeper must be governed by the 
 
 125 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 condition of the colony, and the local flora, 
 and, using his best judgment, give to each 
 colony individual treatment. 
 
 As I look out over my own apiary, I find 
 that some colonies have but one super, others 
 have two, while a goodly number have as many 
 as three and four, varying according to the rapid- 
 ity with which each colony fills its sections. 
 
 Sometimes the bees will sulk and refuse to 
 enter the supers, preferring to cluster on the 
 outside of the hive, and in some instances will 
 swarm with ample storage room, and when 
 such is the case the beekeeper must resort 
 to some method of compelling them to go 
 above and get to work. This can often be 
 accomplished by the use of bait sections, that 
 are partially completed, and can either be had 
 from some left over from the previous season, 
 or a few can be taken from the supers of 
 colonies that are working well, and three or 
 four of them scattered among the empty sec- 
 tions in the supers on the sulking colony. It 
 is astonishing how quickly this will set some 
 
 126 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 sulkers to work, so that in a day or so the 
 colony will be working with vim and energy, 
 in striking contrast to their idleness of a few 
 days before. 
 
 If this does not work, another good plan is 
 to give the colony a good smoking, driving 
 almost the entire force up into the supers, 
 and often this will accomplish the desired 
 result, but should this not succeed, then there 
 is one plan more that can be worked, which 
 I have never known to fail. Lift from a good 
 working colony, in which the bees are work- 
 ing in full blast on the sections, the entire 
 super, bees and all, and place it on the sulking 
 hive, and it will not be long before the colony 
 will catch the fever of the force above and begin 
 to work, and as the bees transferred will return 
 to the hive from which they were taken, no 
 loss of its working force will ensue c A disad- 
 vantage of smoking the bees out of the comb 
 honey supers is that as soon as we smoke them 
 a lot of bees are certain to uncap many cells 
 in their endeavor to fill up before going below, 
 
 127 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 and this will spoil the looks and sale of other- 
 wise perfect sections. 
 
 Comb as well as extracted honey usually 
 comes from two flows, the early or light honey, 
 and the late or dark honey; they should be 
 separated, as the early light clover honey is of 
 lighter color than the late, and, being of more 
 delicate flavor, is worth more per pound. 
 For this reason most beekeepers take off the 
 early surplus as soon as the flow is over, 
 which is usually the middle of July, and, re- 
 moving the honey to a safe place, give back the 
 supers, or extracting-cases as the case may be, 
 for the later fall flow. 
 
 Nothing is gained and much is lost by leav- 
 ing all the surplus on till the fall, for in the 
 case of the early honey the nice white combs 
 will become travel-stained and unsightly and 
 not bring the top-notch prices, so for this reason 
 it is best to take the honey off as soon as it is 
 sealed, for when it is sealed it is fully ripe and 
 ready for use or sale. 
 
 There is really only one satisfactory way to 
 128 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 take off comb honey, and that is by means of 
 a bee escape board, having a Porter bee escape 
 in it that escapes all the bees into the brood 
 nest below, thus enabling us to take off the 
 surplus without having to smoke the bees 
 below, and getting a lot of stings. 
 
 The bee escape boards are furnished by the 
 supply houses, and are used in the following 
 manner : — 
 
 First lift all the supers from the hive and 
 slip the bee escape board on top of the brood 
 nest, and place the supers on top of the escape 
 board. In twenty- four hours all of the bees 
 will have passed out below, and, being unable 
 to get back again through the trap, the supers 
 will be completely emptied without the aid of 
 smoke and no uncapping of cells. The best 
 time to put on the bee escape board will be 
 late in the afternoon after the bees have ceased 
 flying, and by the following evening the supers 
 free of bees will be ready to come off. 
 
 These supers with their section boxes should 
 be stored in a warm room secure from the 
 K 129 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 bees, for should the bees find them, they will 
 steal the honey, and carry it back to their 
 hives in short order. For this reason see that 
 it is stored in a safe place until you are ready 
 to take the sections of honey from the supers 
 and pack in shipping-cases. 
 
 When you are ready to put your comb honey 
 in marketable shape, it will be necessary to take 
 the sections out and with the blade of a sharp 
 knife, scrape from the wood of the section 
 boxes the propolis or bee glue, more or less 
 of which will be on the boxes, but be careful 
 and not jab the combs. 
 
 At best, there will always be some unfinished 
 sections on hand, but their number can be 
 greatly reduced by a little care. 
 
 As we stated above, nothing is gained by 
 leaving the combs on the hive after they have 
 been sealed, but the having a number of un- 
 finished sections can be avoided by waiting 
 until nearly all the combs are sealed, and when 
 this condition is reached, the supers should 
 be taken off by aid of the bee escape board 
 
 130 
 
HOW TO PRODUCE COMB HONEY 
 
 and the fully sealed or finished sections re- 
 moved from them. If the bees are working 
 nicely, there will be very few of the unfinished 
 sections on a hive, and these can be separated 
 from the finished ones, and be placed in 
 supers by themselves, and returned to the 
 bees immediately, and if the flow lasts a few 
 days longer, they will practically all be finished. 
 
 There are several different sizes of sections 
 that are used, some with the bee-way cut in 
 them and perfectly square, while others are 
 plain, without the bee- way and are taller than 
 their width. Though the latter contain no 
 more honey than the perfectly square ones, yet 
 they appear to, and sell more quickly, and these 
 things have led an increasing number of bee- 
 keepers to adopt them. A perusal of the 
 catalogues of the various supply houses will 
 enable the beginner to make such selection as 
 suits his fancy, as tastes differ. 
 
 The fall flow of comb honey is harvested 
 the same as the early flow, and should be 
 taken off as soon as finished, or when the 
 
 131 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 weather indications point to a cessation of 
 the flow. 
 
 In the production of comb honey there will 
 be a greater likelihood of swarming than in 
 the production of the extracted; but giving 
 the hives shadeboards, and open entrances 
 full depth and width, and, last, treating each 
 hive according to the "shook swarm" plan, 
 will reduce it to a minimum and lessen the 
 work and worry of the beeman. 
 
 The proper way to prepare the sections for 
 market will be treated fully in the chapter on 
 "Marketing the Honey Crop." 
 
 132 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 HOW TO PRODUCE EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 r MHE method of producing extracted honey 
 -■- differs so materially from that em- 
 ployed for comb honey that we treat it under 
 a separate chapter. 
 
 When the colonies are run for comb honey 
 it becomes almost a necessity to resort to the 
 *' shook swarm" plan to keep down swarm- 
 ing, and this compels us to handle the brood 
 body of the hive in an entirely different 
 manner. 
 
 The matter of swarm control becomes easy 
 when we run our colonies for extracted honey, 
 as we can extract from time to time and thus 
 keep the bees from feeling crowded, with the 
 consequent swarming. 
 
 The extracting supers differ from the comb 
 honey super cases in that, instead of being 
 
 133 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 shallow and filled with little section boxes, 
 the bodies are full depth, and have in them the 
 same size of frames as the brood nest. 
 
 When the colonies are strong and the tops 
 of the combs in the brood nest show the pres- 
 ence of newly gathered honey, we are ready 
 for the extracting bodies. When the honey 
 flow comes on with a rush, happy is the man 
 who is the possessor of a lot of surplus combs, 
 as this means the immediate storage of the 
 surplus, and does away with the attendant 
 waste and delay when frames with but full 
 sheets of foundation are at hand. This, how- 
 ever, is not a serious matter, and only prevails 
 for the first season, as at the end of the season 
 after the surplus is gathered, the fully drawn 
 combs are in hand for the next season's crop, 
 and for a number of seasons, for that matter, 
 as these combs are capable of being used for 
 a period of years. Many beekeepers make it 
 a point never to use in the extracting supers 
 combs that have ever been used in the brood 
 nest, as they claim that such combs invariably 
 
 134 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 result in a somewhat darker honey, owing to 
 the darker color of the brood combs; but in 
 my experience I have found that it makes but 
 little difference, and a host of beekeepers use 
 their frames interchangeably with the brood 
 body and the supers. 
 
 Imbedding the wire. 
 
 One thing, however, is an absolute necessity, 
 and should not be overlooked, and that is to 
 see that the foundations in the extracting: combs 
 are properly wired in, full directions for doing 
 which come with the hives from the manu- 
 facturers, as this prevents the combs from 
 becoming broken as they are rapidly whirled 
 around in the extractors, a breakage that is 
 almost sure to occur in the case of new combs. 
 
 135 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 When the flow comes on, and the colony 
 is strong, lift off the lid of the colony's hive 
 and place on top of the hive a queen-excluding 
 board, so that the queen cannot have access 
 to the extracting supers, for if she is allowed 
 to enter, the presence of her eggs and brood 
 
 Zinc honey-board. 
 
 will seriously interfere with extracting, more 
 or less of the brood being thrown out. 
 
 For many years these excluders were noth- 
 ing more or less than sheets of zinc to fit over 
 the brood body, and were perforated with 
 oblong holes just large enough for the workers 
 to get through, but small enough to keep the 
 queen below. 
 
 136 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 Even at their best the edges of the per- 
 forated holes were more or less rough and to a 
 certain extent impeded the workers, but they 
 were the best we could get, and there was no 
 choice in the matter. 
 
 With the advent of the Root wire excluder, 
 the results in increased production of honey 
 were marked, as the bees seem readily to 
 slip through the polished edges of the wires, 
 and are not interfered with in the least, while 
 the queen is fully secured below as under the 
 old method of stamped zinc excluders. These 
 excluders are bound with wood, and with care 
 should last a number of years. 
 
 It has been a mooted question for years as 
 to the proper size of hive to use in the pro- 
 duction of extracted honey, and the tendency 
 of late has been toward a large hive, cer- 
 tainly of no less than ten frames, which has 
 become the standard, though there is an ever 
 increasing number of extracted honey men 
 who have made special hives of twelve and 
 fourteen-frame size, claiming that swarming 
 
 137 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 is more easily controlled, and that the queen 
 has ample laying-room. 
 
 The beginner had better adopt the regula- 
 tion ten-frame size hive, as the expense will 
 be considerably less, as these goods are always 
 carried in stock by the supply houses ; and as 
 experience is gained, the larger hives can be 
 tried out according to one's own ideas, but these 
 experiments should be very carefully made, 
 for it is a waste of time and money to try 
 out hives of one's own invention when the very 
 ideas may have been tried and found wanting 
 many years ago. 
 
 Now that you have the queen-excluder in 
 place, proceed to put on top of it a full-sized 
 body filled with extracting combs, and, if 
 combs are not at hand, then use frames with 
 full sheets of foundation wired in. The 
 extracting super will of course be of the same 
 size as the hive body, but it will be best not 
 to crowd the former with its full capacity of 
 frames, as experience has proved that it is 
 best to use but eight frames in a ten-frame ex- 
 
 138 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 tracting super, pulling them a little apart from 
 each other so that the bees will have ample 
 space to cluster while storing their surplus 
 and working on the combs. 
 
 I cannot tell why, though I know from 
 experience, that a colony likes to build a cer- 
 tain amount of comb, and this may have a 
 great deal to do with their desire to swarm, 
 as by swarming they have ample opportunity 
 to build new combs in their new homes, and 
 by spacing the frames apart it enables them to 
 satisfy this propensity by building the combs 
 in the super out to a point where they are 
 decidedly fat and bulky, thus holding swarm- 
 ing in restraint. 
 
 When filled with honey these fat combs are 
 not an encumbrance when it comes to extract- 
 ing, but on the contrary they render their uncap- 
 ping particularly easy, as the capping knife can 
 be sunk deep into the comb, and when the honey 
 has drained from the cappings that are thrown 
 into the uncapping boxes, it can be drawn off, 
 and a fine lot of wax thus secured each season. 
 
 139 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Now that you have your super in position^ 
 place on it its covering board, replacing the 
 lid, and treat in like manner all colonies that 
 are ready for supers. 
 
 If the flow is good, an examination of the 
 super body will tell how rapidly the bees are 
 filling it, and if you find that about two- 
 thirds of each comb is filled and capped over, 
 the frames are ready for extracting. 
 
 Some beekeepers never use more than one ex- 
 tracting super for each colony, and by frequent 
 extracting, keep the colony from being crowded 
 for room, but there is another class who pre- 
 fer to tier up, and in some cases as many as 
 three or four supers are used. 
 
 Where tiering up is to be resorted to, it 
 requires that the beekeeper, as soon as he finds 
 that the first super is nearly filled, shall gently 
 lift it and place between it and the hive brood 
 body another super with eight frames of combs 
 or frames of wired foundation sheets, leaving 
 the excluder still over the brood body. When 
 the second body is nearly filled, and the indi- 
 
 140 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 cations point to a continuance of the flow, a 
 third body may be added under the second, 
 and all left in place until the flow is ended and 
 operations for extracting begin. 
 
 Running the bees for extracted honey has 
 this advantage over the production of comb 
 honey, namely, there is no risk of having a lot 
 of unfinished sections on hand if the flow 
 should suddenly cease, as it often does, for 
 in producing extracted honey it matters not 
 at all if a lot of cells should be uncapped if 
 the bees have possession of the combs long 
 enough to thoroughly ripen it. 
 
 Whether the extracting is done frequently 
 with the use of but one super, or done all at 
 once about the last of July, it is a waste of 
 mioney not to extract the early white honey 
 and keep it by itself, as it is sure to be more or 
 less mixed with the inferior and cheaper fall 
 honey that comes from the fall flow if the supers 
 are left on from spring till fall. For this 
 reason it is wiser to extract during or at the 
 close of the flow from clover, basswood, and 
 
 141 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 early bloom, and give the empty combs back 
 to the bees for the later flow. 
 
 When your supers are ready to extract, it 
 becomes necessary to free the combs of the 
 bees, and, as it makes little difference if a few 
 combs should be uncapped by the bees when 
 we smoke them down, we need not use bee 
 escape boards as in the case of comb honey, 
 for in the matter of comb honey there would be 
 a noticeable loss in the appearance and sala- 
 bility of the combs if the bees should in their 
 fright at being smoked at the time of emptying 
 the supers, uncap many cells on what would 
 otherwise be perfect sections. 
 
 To get rid of the bees on the extracting 
 frames, open the hive and smoke them until 
 they run down into the body below ; what few 
 bees remain can be shaken from the frames 
 in front of their hives and the frames of honey 
 placed in an empty hive body on a wheel- 
 barrow handy for the purpose. 
 
 To prevent robbing, cover the body on 
 the wheelbarrow with a large cloth thoroughly 
 
 142 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 wet, for the robbers are very chary about 
 crawling up under a wet cloth, and as soon 
 as the carrying body is full, cover it imme- 
 diately. When two or more bodies are filled, 
 take them to the extracting room for extract- 
 ing. Do your extracting in a room ihe doors 
 and windows of which are securely screened, 
 and in the top corner of the screen door or 
 window screen have a bee escape, so that 
 any stray bees that may be carried into the 
 extracting-room may escape without possibil- 
 ity of returning. 
 
 There are a good many extractors and un- 
 capping knives on the market, and the novice, 
 after reading the various catalogues, will 
 have to make his choice, but there are certain 
 principles that go to make up an effective 
 extractor, and these should not be overlooked. 
 By all means secure an extractor that is re- 
 versible ; this will save much work and trouble 
 in the matter of extracting, as it is a nuisance 
 to have to take out each frame after one side 
 of the comb has been extracted, and turn it 
 
 143 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 around by hand to put it into the extractor 
 again. 
 
 There are extractors on the market that 
 reverse automatically by a lever pressure, so 
 that when one side of the combs is emptied, 
 they are, at the will of the operator, reversed 
 in a second, and the opposite sides emptied 
 also. 
 
 While the two-frame extractors will perhaps 
 do for the novice having a half dozen hives, 
 yet the four-frame extractor is decidedly 
 preferable, as it can be used just as effectively 
 in a small apiary, and as the number of colo- 
 nies increase, it is ample for the increased 
 output. 
 
 There are a few beekeepers, whose colonies 
 are numbered by the hundreds and whose 
 surplus runs up into the thousands of pounds, 
 who use an extractor of eight-frame capacity, 
 and have it geared to a small gasolene engine. 
 Where the size of the apiary warrants it, this 
 is a decided saving in time and labor, but 
 where no more than one hundred colonies 
 
 144 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 are kept, the four-frame hand-power extractor 
 will meet all the requirements, and it is aston- 
 ishing how much honey can be extracted 
 in a day with them. 
 
 The Bingham improved uncapping knife 
 is about the best that can be used, as its square 
 wooden handle and projecting metal shoulder 
 on the blade enable the operator to secure a 
 firmer grip than with the old style round handle 
 knife. A small oil or alcohol stove is a posi- 
 tive necessity, and on it should be a pan filled 
 with water kept hot, so that while one knife is 
 being used, the other is resting in the hot 
 water, being heated and cleansed of adhering 
 honey and particles of wax. Personally I use 
 an alcohol stove of special construction, and 
 thus avoid all danger of spoiling the delicate 
 flavor of the honey by the fumes of an oil 
 stove. As one knife becomes cool it is placed 
 in the pan of hot water, and the other used 
 until it cooIf. The constant heating of the 
 uncapping knives makes all the difference in 
 the world, and renders uncapping a compar- 
 L 145 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 atively easy task. Another necessary fixture 
 is an uncapping can or tank, and it is unwise 
 to attempt to make one, for the homemade 
 affairs are sticky and unsatisfactory at best, 
 and the patented ones are more effective and 
 not expensive. 
 
 We will suppose that everything is now 
 ready, that all the adhering bees have been 
 shaken and brushed off the combs in front 
 of their hives, and the combs in the extracting- 
 room ready for the extractor. 
 
 Lift up one of the combs and rest its end 
 on the bar of the uncapping can, and with 
 the knife proceed to cut just under the cap- 
 pings with a backward and forward motion, 
 like sawing, from the bottom upward; don't 
 be afraid to cut deeply, as any damage to the 
 combs, if not too great, will be repaired by the 
 bees when the combs are returned to them. 
 Do not be afraid to cut well under the cap- 
 pings and make the comb nearly its normal 
 thickness, and as the cappings fall into the 
 uncapping can, scrape the blade of the knife 
 
 146 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 across the rack for the purpose and clean it of 
 honey and wax that are sure to adhere to some 
 extent. Now reverse the frame of honey and 
 uncap the opposite side, and when it is all 
 uncapped, place it in one of the wire baskets 
 of the extractor, and proceed to uncap an- 
 other and place it in another of the baskets. 
 When the four baskets are filled, extract by 
 turning the handle of the extractor, and don't 
 be afraid to get up considerable speed, for there 
 is little danger to the combs if the original 
 foundation was wired in. If you have widely 
 spaced your combs in the extracting supers, 
 you will find uncapping a pleasure. As the 
 baskets whirl about, the honey is thrown out 
 by centrifugal force, and there is no more 
 pleasant sound than the rain of well-ripened 
 honey against the sides of the extractor. 
 
 The extractor should be elevated at least a 
 foot above the floor of the extr acting-room, 
 and two feet would be better, so as to permit 
 the placing of some vessel to catch the honey 
 as it runs from the honey gate on the extractor. 
 
 147 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 A piece of cheesecloth made into a bag about 
 six inches long can be tied to the honey out 
 let gate of the extractor, and as the honey 
 runs out it is strained of all sediment or dirt, 
 and is in first-class condition for putting into 
 cans, kegs, or vats, as the case may be. Some 
 large beekeepers, like Mr. Alexander of Delan- 
 son, New York, place the extractor on the 
 floor, running a large tin funnel through the 
 floor and permitting the honey as fast as 
 extracted to run through the funnel into a pipe 
 that conveys it to a vat in the room below. 
 At the end of the pipe just over the vat is 
 hung a pail made of wire cloth; the honey is 
 strained through the pail into the vat holding 
 about five thousand pounds, and when one vat 
 is filled, another section of pipe is slipped on 
 and the honey carried to another vat. 
 
 Where the output does not run over five 
 thousand pounds, it is just as well to elevate 
 the extractor, using the cheesecloth, and run 
 the honey into pails from which it can be 
 poured into whatever vessels are to be used to 
 
 148 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 store or market it, or it can be run directly into 
 the vessels in which it is to be sold. 
 
 We have seen a good many receptacles used 
 for storing extracted honey, from old milk 
 cans to stone crocks, but there is nothing so 
 satisfactory as the square five-gallon tin cans 
 made for the purpose, two of which come 
 packed in a reshipping case. 
 
 These cans, if new, — and second-hand cans 
 should never be used, — are the very best re- 
 ceptacles, as there is no danger of contaminat- 
 ing the honey, and no fear of leakage. More- 
 over, when put up in this shape they are just 
 right for the buyer who bottles honey, as honey, 
 which is almost sure to granulate, can be 
 conveniently liquefied by simply placing the 
 cans in hot water. Where the honey is so 
 packed, it often brings a considerably greater 
 price than honey run into kegs and barrels, 
 which has to be scooped and shovelled out to 
 be liquefied. Again, honey in these cans 
 can be packed in storage compactly, and when 
 the caps are screwed on, there is no leakage 
 
 149 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 or danger of robbing being started by the 
 bees. 
 
 Shall we return the extracted combs to the 
 bees as soon as they are emptied? That 
 will depend upon the chances of robbing being 
 started by the bees getting at the empty combs. 
 If the flow is well on and care is exercised, 
 it will do no harm to return them at once, 
 but there are a number of beekeepers who 
 prefer to wait till toward evening, when the 
 bees have stopped flying, and return them all 
 at once. Local conditions will guide the 
 beginner as to which method he had best 
 pursue. 
 
 When all of the early light-colored honey 
 has been extracted, the empty combs can be 
 allowed to remain on the hives until the late 
 flow in late summer and fall has been gathered, 
 when the same methods of taking the surplus 
 that were used for the early flow should be 
 followed as soon as the late flowers cease to 
 secrete nectar. After the late flow has been 
 extracted, the combs may be set outdoors in 
 
 150 
 
PRODUCING EXTRACTED HONEY 
 
 their bodies and the bees permitted to have 
 access to them to clean them up, and then 
 they should be set away in a safe place where 
 mice or rats cannot destroy them^ as they are 
 an important asset for the coming season. 
 
 My plan is to fill each super body with its 
 full quota of combs and to pile them five or 
 six high on the barn floor, closing them se- 
 curely at the top with extra lids and placing 
 a weight upon each lid; and if the nights 
 are frosty, there is no danger from the rav- 
 ages of the wax moth. 
 
 151 
 
CHAPTER Xn 
 
 HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 SWARMING is nature's method of in- 
 crease, but it is so uncertain and this 
 with the possible loss of swarms emerging 
 during the beekeeper's absence, has led pro- 
 fessional beekeepers to adopt artificial methods 
 of increase that are absolutely under the 
 control of the operator. Generally speaking, 
 natural swarming is a very uncertain depen- 
 dence for increase, as there are many years 
 when it will hardly more than make up for 
 winter losses, and he who would increase his 
 colonies materially must adopt methods of 
 division that will give him the desired number 
 of extra colonies. 
 
 When it comes to a matter of simply doub- 
 ling the number of colonies, division is com- 
 paratively easy and safe even in the hands of 
 
 152 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 an amateur, but when the increase is rapid, 
 involving a splitting up of a ten-frame colony 
 into five or ten little colonies, great care should 
 be used or failure is sure to follow. 
 
 The late Mr. E. W. Alexander of Delanson, 
 New York (than whom there was no better 
 beekeeper in the world), had a method of 
 doubling his colonies for increase, by which 
 he did away with all possibility of loss of 
 brood, and was still able to secure a good sur- 
 plus at the same time, whereas under most 
 of the methods followed, increase was carried 
 on at the expense of the honey crop, for it is 
 almost an axiom with beekeepers, "The 
 greater the increase, the less honey for that 
 year." 
 
 It can be readily seen that in the splitting 
 up of colonies for increase there would be no 
 surplus gathered, as each of the divisions 
 would require the entire season to draw the 
 frames of foundation out to full combs, and 
 get strong for winter quarters. 
 
 While in rapid increase there is an entire 
 153 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 loss of the honey crop, yet the increase of one 
 colony to five or even ten would represent 
 an increased equipment many times the 
 value of the surplus that would have been 
 gathered by the colony had it been run for 
 honey. There is, therefore, a gain and not a 
 loss, though the gain is in bees and not in 
 honey. 
 
 Mr. Alexander's method of course meant 
 the increase of but one more colony for each 
 strong colony in hand, but as it carried with 
 it the assurance of a surplus at the same time, 
 it is a most excellent plan to follow where 
 a rapid increase is not desired. 
 
 In " Gleanings in Bee Culture," an illustrated 
 bee journal published by the A. I. Root Co. 
 of Medina, Ohio, we find in the issue of one 
 of the months of 1906, page 423, the method 
 outlined as follows : — 
 
 " When your colonies are strong enough 
 to swarm naturally, and you wish to divide 
 them so as to make two from one, go to the 
 colony you wish to divide; lift it from its 
 
 154 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 stand and put in its place a hive containing 
 frames of comb or foundation, the same as 
 you would put the swarm in providing it had 
 just swarmed. Now remove the centre comb 
 from your new hive, and put in its place a 
 frame of brood, either from the hive you wish 
 to divide or some other colony that can spare 
 one, and be sure you find the queen and put 
 her on this frame of brood in the new hive; 
 also look it over very carefully to see that it 
 contains no eggs or larvae in any queen cells. 
 If it does, destroy them. Now put a queen- 
 excluding honey-board on top of this new 
 hive that contains the queen and frame of 
 brood with their empty combs, then set your 
 full queenless colony on top of the excluder; 
 put the empty comb or frame of foundation 
 into the body from which you took the frame 
 of brood; and close the upper hive except the 
 entrance they have through the excluder into 
 the hive below. Leave them in this way 
 about five days, then look over the combs 
 carefully, and destroy any larvae you may 
 
 155 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 find in the queen cells in the top body, un* 
 less they are of a good strain of bees that 
 you care to breed from, for they frequently 
 start the rearing of queens above the ex- 
 cluder very soon after their queen has been 
 placed below the excluder. If so, you had 
 better separate them at once; but if they 
 have not started any queen cells above, then 
 leave them together ten or eleven days, dur- 
 ing which time the queen will get a fine 
 lot of brood started in the lower hive, and 
 every egg and particle of larva that was in the 
 old hive on top will have matured, so it will 
 be capped over and saved; then separate 
 them, putting the old hive on a new stand. 
 It will then be full of young bees mostly, and 
 capped brood, and in about twenty-four hours 
 they will accept a ripe cell, a virgin, or laying 
 queen, as they will then realize that they are 
 hopelessly queenless. I would advise you to 
 give them a laying queen, as I never like to 
 keep my full colonies for even a day longer 
 without a laying queen than I can help. In 
 
 156 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 this way you have two strong colonies from 
 one, as you have not lost a particle of brood 
 nor cheeked the laying of your queen; and 
 with me it almost wholly prevents swarming. 
 This is the way we have made our increase 
 for several years, and we like it much better 
 than any other way we have ever tried. In 
 doing so you keep all your colonies strong 
 during the whole summer, and it is the strong 
 colonies that count in giving us our surplus. 
 
 The mere fact of having a large number 
 of colonies does not amount to much unless 
 they are strong in bees and are well cared for 
 at all times. This is a fact that many have 
 sadly overlooked ; and when the season comes 
 to a close, giving them a small surplus, they 
 feel disappointed and lay the fault on many 
 things that have had but little to do with 
 their failure. 
 
 In making your increase in the above way, 
 your new swarm on the old stand is in fine 
 shape for a clamp of sections, as it has a large 
 working force backed up by having its hive 
 
 157 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 nearly full of brood, and but little honey, 
 as the bees have been in the habit of storing 
 their honey in the old hive that was on top. 
 They will soon go to work in the sections, 
 with no intention of swarming. Then the 
 old hive that has been set away can usually 
 spare fifteen or twenty pounds of honey, 
 which can be taken with the extractor, giving 
 its new queen plenty of room to lay, and in a 
 short time will be one of your best colonies, 
 with no desire to swarm. 
 
 Now, if you have done your duty by your 
 bees since taking them from their winter 
 quarters, as I have recommended above, 
 keeping them snug and warm, and feeding 
 them a little thin warm syrup nearly every day 
 for the first thirty days after they have be- 
 gun to fly, you can have two good strong 
 colonies in the place of one, ready to com- 
 mence work on your clover harvest, which 
 will probably come about June 15. 
 
 From an extensive experience along this 
 line I find I can get nearly twice the amount 
 
 158 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 of surplus by dividing as above stated, ovei 
 what I was able to acquire either by letting 
 them go undivided or dividing in a way that 
 caused the loss of a greater part of their brood. 
 This losing of brood we must guard against 
 at all times if we expect to secure a fine sur- 
 plus. It costs both time and honey to produce 
 it, and it is the principal factor in obtaining 
 those strong colonies that give us tons of honey. 
 
 Far too many beekeepers think that the 
 value of their apiary consists in the number 
 of colonies they keep. This is so only to a 
 certain extent; for if you had one thousand 
 colonies and they were all weak in bees, so 
 they would give you no surplus, they would 
 not be worth as much as one good strong 
 colony that would give you two hundred or 
 three hundred pounds of honey. 
 
 Several years ago one of my sons bought 
 nine colonies of bees in common box hives, 
 about the first of June. He brought them 
 home and transferred them at once to movable- 
 frame hives, and in about three weeks divided 
 
 159 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 them, making twenty colonies of the nine he 
 bought, using some queen cells I had on hand 
 for his surplus colonies. He then attended to 
 those twenty colonies so they were all strong 
 at the commencement of our buckwheat har- 
 vest. I then loaned him twenty hives of empty 
 combs to put on top of his colonies to extract 
 from. He took two thousand eight hundred 
 and forty-nine pounds of extracted honey 
 from those nine colonies and their increase, 
 and left them in good condition so that every 
 one came out the next spring in fine order. 
 
 Another son, the same season, took one 
 colony, divided into three, and received three 
 hundred and forty-seven pounds of extracted 
 honey. They also came through the follow- 
 ing winter in good condition. I speak of 
 these cases simply to show that it is not neces- 
 sary to keep hundreds of colonies in order to 
 get a little honey. If you will keep only 
 strong colonies and give them the best of care, 
 you will soon find both pleasure and profit 
 in bee-keeping. 
 
 160 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 Now, in regard to the criticism on this waj 
 of making our increase, which has been pub- 
 lished in " Gleanings." I find that nearly all 
 who have made a failure of the method have 
 taken colonies that had already made some 
 preparations for swarming by having eggs or 
 larvae in their queen cells, as did J. D. Ronan, 
 of Chesterville, Mississippi, and also Don 
 Mills, of Highland, Michigan. 
 
 During the summer I received a few letters 
 from persons who had made a failure of this 
 method in much the same way. Some had 
 taken colonies that had capped queen cells 
 in their hives at the time they put the queen 
 in the under hive, and, of course, they swarmed 
 in a day or two. I cannot see that these 
 failures are any proof of fault in the method. 
 When we work with our bees we must always 
 use some discretion in such matters. If a 
 colony is very strong in bees, it certainly re- 
 quires different management from that given 
 to one rather weak. 
 
 The above plan is a most excellent one; 
 M 161 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 I have used it with unfailing success, and the 
 beginner will make no mistake in adopting 
 it where a rapid increase is not desired ; it will 
 result in a doubling of the colonies and a 
 goodly surplus at the same timco 
 
 There are other times, however, when the 
 beekeeper desires to increase his colonies 
 several fold, and if great care is exercised, it 
 is possible to increase the number of colonies 
 to ten times the original number in one season; 
 but one had better wait a season or two for 
 experience before going in for a wholesale 
 multiplication of colonies. Personally, I was 
 able in one season to increase ten colonies 
 up to one hundred, and, by a little feeding 
 which will be described later on, succeeded in 
 building the one hundred colonies up to strong 
 swarms for winter quarters, and the follow- 
 ing spring had one hundred prime colonies 
 ready for the honey flow, all made from but 
 ten colonies the season before. The increased 
 value of the apiary was from $100 to $1000, 
 and though there was no honey surplus gath- 
 
 162 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 ered by the increase the season the division 
 took place, yet the increased value of the 
 apiary was many times what the surplus from 
 the original ten colonies would have amounted 
 to had they not been divided. 
 
 Let us suppose that you have a good strong 
 ten-frame colony of bees, strong in bees and 
 brood, and you wish to increase it to five 
 colonies by division so that the apiary at the 
 close of the season will be five times its origi- 
 nal size. 
 
 About the last of April, if the colony is 
 strong, and the weather permits, and honey 
 is coming in rapidly, have on hand five extra 
 hives all complete with full sheets of founda- 
 tion wired in the frames, and above all four 
 extra queens in their mailing cages that have 
 been secured in advance from some breeder. 
 You are now ready for the division. 
 
 Toward evening after all the bees are 
 in, open the strong colony, and when you 
 have found the frame with the queen, lift 
 it gently from its hive and place it in one of 
 
 163 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 the empty hives, removing two of the frames 
 of foundation from the empty hive, in order to 
 make room. 
 
 Then lift another frame of bees and brood 
 from the strong colony with all adhering 
 bees and place it in the new hive beside the 
 frame that has the queen, and when they are 
 in place, put on the lid, and close the en- 
 trance with a strip of wood nailed on. The 
 new swarm, or nucleus, is now ready to be 
 carried and placed on the stand it is to per- 
 manently occupy. 
 
 This new hive will contain two frames of 
 bees and brood with queen and eight frames 
 of full sheets of foundation. 
 
 Now take another empty hive and set aside 
 two of its frames of foundation, and in their 
 place put two more frames of brood and bees 
 from the strong colony. As these two frames 
 of brood and bees and all others taken will be 
 without queens, take one of the little cages 
 having a queen, and, tearing off the piece of 
 cardboard from the end of the cage holding 
 
 164 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 the feed, insert the little cage with the queen, 
 the feed end down, between the frames of 
 brood and bees in the new hive; push the 
 frames close together, and, closing the entrance 
 of the hive, place it on the stand it is to oc- 
 cupy. In about two days the imprisoned bees 
 will eat a passageway through the feed to 
 liberate the queen, and by the time she is lib- 
 erated she will have acquired the odor of the 
 colony and be accepted, whereas if she had 
 been liberated at once at time of division, the 
 bees would have perceived her to be a stranger 
 and killed her. Treat the remaining empty 
 hives the same way, and when all have two 
 frames of bees and brood with a new queen 
 you will have five little colonies all ready 
 to get to work as soon as we take away the 
 strip of wood from their entrances. 
 
 The original hive that was divided should 
 be left on its old stand with the last two 
 frames of bees and brood and the cage con- 
 taining the queen. (See chapter on "Queen 
 Rearing" in reference to introducing queens.) 
 
 165 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 In three days you can remove the block from 
 each entrance, and, using the same entrance 
 strip, so tack it to the entrance of the hives, 
 ihat there will be a small outlet about a half 
 inch wide. Place a piece of board slanting 
 from the top of the hive to the ground 
 so that the bees when coming out will mark 
 their new location and not return to the old 
 stand they occupied before the division. 
 
 If this rapid increase is done early in the 
 season, — and it should be done early to give 
 the little colonies the entire season in which 
 to build up, — the weather will be sufficiently 
 cool, and the number of bees in each hive so 
 few that there will be no danger of the bees 
 smothering while imprisoned, which certainly 
 would occur if a strong colony were so im- 
 prisoned during warm weather. 
 
 In about a week the little colonies can be 
 opened and the cages taken out, and if you 
 find the queen, or even eggs a day or so old, 
 you can know that she has been accepted. 
 There may be rare cases where the queen will 
 
 166 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 be destroyed, but this will not occur more than 
 in one case out of a hundred, and when her 
 loss is discovered, a new queen should be 
 introduced at once by the method described. 
 
 Of course it is understood that a caged 
 queen is not to be given to the first division 
 that was made, as that nucleus has the original 
 queen given to them when the division was made. 
 
 If you desire to increase one colony up to 
 ten, the method of procedure is identically 
 the same, and differs only in that you give 
 each empty hive but one frame of bees and 
 brood instead of two. 
 
 A few days after the division has been made 
 it is well to examine each nucleus, and when 
 it is found that the bees have begun to work 
 on the frame of foundation next to their 
 frame of bees and brood, it can be lifted out 
 and inserted between the two frames of brood, 
 as this will facilitate its rapid completion. 
 In this way the completed combs can be 
 spread every few days until all the sheets 
 of foundation are drawn out to full combs. 
 
 167 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 If the honey flow should cease before the 
 sheets of foundation are fully drawn out, each 
 little colony should be fed daily about a half 
 pint of syrup made from mixing equal parts 
 of good granulated sugar and boiling water, 
 as this has the same effect upon them as 
 though the natural flow continued, and will 
 force them to work out of season, build good 
 combs, and rear a numerous brood. 
 
 A good feeder for this purpose is the Board- 
 man entrance feeder, which has a quart jar 
 with perforated cap inserted in a block of 
 wood which can be placed at the entrance 
 safe from robber bees, and the glass jar enables 
 the operator to tell at a glance how rapidly 
 the feed is being taken up. Other feeders 
 will be described in the chapter on "Feed- 
 mg. 
 
 The danger attending very rapid increase 
 is that the operator will either make his divi- 
 sions before the colony is strong, or else will 
 defer it so late in the season that the little 
 colony will not have time in which to build up 
 
 168 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 before cold weather. Personally I have made 
 divisions as late as August 1, but this neces- 
 sitated constant feeding and great care, and 
 the addition to the nucleus of an occasional 
 frame of sealed brood from some strong colony. 
 Late increase, however, is only successful in 
 the hands of an expert; the course of wisdom 
 for the beginner is to make the increase early, 
 and as the season progresses, if there are other 
 strong colonies in the apiary that have not 
 been divided, it is an excellent thing to en- 
 courage the struggling nuclei by giving them 
 a frame of sealed brood every once in a while 
 from one of the strong colonies. Be sure that 
 you do not give them the queen from the strong 
 hive, or you will make your strong hive queen- 
 less and possibly sacrifice a good queen, as the 
 little swarm will be sure to kill any additional 
 queen that may be accidentally given them. 
 
 The empty space in the strong colony from 
 which the frame of sealed brood is taken can 
 be filled by a frame of foundation taken from 
 the little swarm, after all adhering bees have 
 
 169 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 been shaken in front of the hive to which 
 they belong. 
 
 The reason we give the little colony sealed 
 brood is because such sealed brood does not 
 require attention and feeding by the bees, for 
 if we gave the weak nucleus unsealed brood, 
 there might not be sufficient bees present to 
 properly care for it, with a consequent loss 
 of brood and bees. When the brood is once 
 sealed over, all that it requires is the proper 
 temperature of about ninety-eight degrees to 
 insure its hatching, and when these frames 
 hatch in the little colony, it is astonishing 
 what a multitude of bees will result to the 
 colony to which the frames were given. 
 
 The above methods are the very best, and 
 have proved their worth over and over, but, 
 as has been said, the Alexander plan is the 
 best for the novice. As experience is gained, 
 rapid increase can be resorted to; but in any 
 case keep your eyes on the increase, and give 
 them all the encouragement possible in the 
 matter of slight stimulative feeding, and an 
 
 170 
 
HOW TO MAKE INCREASE 
 
 occasional frame of sealed brood if conditions 
 demand it. 
 
 If the increase is started early, and the flow 
 of honey prolonged, it is possible to make 
 rapid increase without either feeding, or addi- 
 tion of sealed brood, but at all events watch 
 the colonies closely, and meet any emergency 
 that may arise. 
 
 171 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 LOCATION OF THE APIARY — OUT APIARIES — 
 MOVING BEES 
 
 X OCATION IS of a twofold character, and 
 -■-^ has to do first with the possibiUties of 
 the flora of any given section of the country 
 where bees are to be kept, and secondly with' 
 the position of the hives in the apiary. 
 
 As we stated in the first chapter, in any 
 section of the country where agricultural 
 pursuits are successfully carried on bees are 
 sure to be a source of profit to their keepers, 
 and even in suburban towns where the farm- 
 ing districts are remote, there is more or less 
 forage for the bees, so that one is not com- 
 pelled to seek an isolated country district in 
 order to make a success of the venture. In 
 fact, there are wild regions, such as the Mid- 
 dle West, where there is an abundant natural 
 
 172 
 
LOCATION OF THE APIARY 
 
 growth of clover, basswood, and wild rasp- 
 berries, where some of the greatest crops are 
 secured, so that we can see that the bees adapt 
 themselves to almost any environment. While 
 the buckwheat sections of New York state, 
 the alfalfa districts of Utah, Colorado, and 
 California, are particularly favorable for large 
 returns, nevertheless in almost every section 
 of the country bees are able to extract a goodly 
 surplus for their owners. 
 
 Where the nectar-secreting flowers are more 
 or less restricted, there is danger of overstock- 
 ing, and this has led a good many eastern bee- 
 keepers to resort to a system of out apiaries. 
 
 Instead of placing five hundred colonies in 
 the home yard, a thing that is possible in the 
 regions referred to above, it will be best in an 
 average location to place not more than seventy- 
 five colonies in the home yard, and then at 
 distances of say three to five miles from each 
 other, place additional apiaries of like number. 
 In this way a large number of colonies may 
 be kept in sections of the country that are 
 
 173 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 often only of an average character. The 
 management of these apiaries is identically 
 the same as the home yard, the only differ- 
 ence being that the operation of the out-yards 
 requires a trip to them by the operator, which 
 can be easily accomplished with horse and buggy , 
 bicycle, motor cycle, or automobile. 
 
 Whether there be many or one yard, it is 
 essential that the home yard be placed in a 
 favorable or safe position so that the neighbors 
 shall not be annoyed, or the keeper's family 
 be constantly stung. This should also be the 
 rule in the location of the out-yards. 
 
 In the matter of the out apiaries, a purchase 
 of land for their location is not at all neces- 
 sary, for a farmer or other person having a 
 little land will usually be glad to rent it for 
 from $5 to $10 a year, as an apiary of consider- 
 able size occupies but a small space. 
 
 If horses or other stock are at hand, the 
 apiary should be placed a sufficient distance 
 away from them to avoid annoyance, and the 
 exercise of a little judgment will enable the 
 
 174 
 
LOCATION OF THE APIARY 
 
 beekeeper to adjust himself to local conditions. 
 Formerly an orchard was advocated as the 
 best place in which to locate an apiary, but 
 experience has proved that the bees do better 
 if their hives are placed so that the sun can 
 shine on them, and, during very hot weather, 
 a little extra ventilation and the use of a shade 
 
 Hive stand. 
 
 board on top of the hives will offset the disad- 
 vantages of the hot spells. There is no doubt 
 but that a back yard or open field is the very 
 best place in the world for the bees, as the 
 sun's rays in spring aid very materially in the 
 rearing of brood, and even during the winter 
 months it is a decided help to the bees. 
 
 A good plan is to arrange the hives in groups 
 of four or five, as this renders manipulation 
 
 175 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 much easier, and by equalizing things in the 
 matter of distributing brood and honey, each 
 group forms a convenient unit by itself. A 
 stand of some sort for each hive is a necessity, 
 as it keeps the hive from contact with the 
 moist earth, and adds to the life of the hive, 
 for rotting of wood is not likely to occur, and 
 when stormy and winter days come on its 
 protection is important. 
 
 Some beekeepers make concrete stands for 
 each hive while others buy stands ready made, 
 but both of these are an unnecessary expense, 
 as any man can with a few boards, saw, and 
 hatchet, make his own, and though such 
 stands may be more or less crude, they are 
 nevertheless just as useful as the expensive 
 ones. All that is necessary is to get some 
 rough hemlock boards and cut two lengths 
 about a foot longer than the width of the 
 bottom board of the hive; then cut two 
 shorter lengths about six inches longer than 
 the length of the bottom board of the hive 
 and using each of the shorter lengths for 
 
 176 
 
LOCATION OF THE APIARY 
 
 the ends, nail the longer pieces on top of 
 the shorter ones, and the stand is complete. 
 The advantage of these low stands over 
 the taller ones is that the bees when coming 
 in from the fields heavily loaded will not fall 
 to the ground a foot or more from the entrance 
 of the hive, but get into their homes at once. 
 When it comes to operating an out apiary, 
 the methods and fixtures are the same as in the 
 case of the home apiary. To avoid carrying 
 back and forth the necessary implements, it 
 is well to have a small building, or even a 
 large box covered with heavy waterproofed 
 paper, with a door that can be locked, and in 
 this little building keep the smokers, hive 
 tools, veils, fuel, and such other little articles 
 that are necessary for the work to be done. 
 These things are inexpensive, and much 
 trouble is saved by having located at each yard 
 the necessary tools, etc. The extra hive 
 bodies, and comb and extracting supers, can be 
 stored in the barn or other such buildings that 
 may be at hand by the owner of the land from 
 H 177 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 which it is rented, or else they can be brought 
 over as needed. 
 
 When extracting at the out yard, the extract- 
 ing supers can be taken off late in the after- 
 noon and be carted back to the home yard, 
 extracted in the place set apart for this work, 
 and be returned to the bees in the morning. 
 If this is too much trouble, a wooden frame 
 extracting cage about ten feet square, covered 
 with wire cloth, and when set up secured 
 by hooks and eyes, can be carried to the yard 
 and the extracting done on the spot. As these 
 large cages are inexpensive, and when taken 
 down can be easily carried in a small wagon, an 
 increasing number of bee-keepers who have a 
 system of out yards are using them. 
 
 If the bees at the out yards are to be win- 
 tered outdoors with winter cases, there will be 
 no carting of the bees to the home cellar in the 
 fall and carting them back to their yards in 
 the spring, and this is an important item in 
 favor of outdoor wintering, which will be 
 considered in the chapter on "How to Winter 
 
 178 
 
LOCATION OF THE APIARY 
 
 Bees Successfully." If, however, the bees are 
 to be carted back home in the fall to be placed 
 in the cellar, great care should be used in 
 preparing and carting them. 
 
 To prepare the bees properly for carting 
 to the home for cellar wintering the follow- 
 ing is a most excellent plan: For each hive 
 to be moved, take some wooden strips about 
 an inch wide and about seven-eighths of an inch 
 thick, and make frames just the size of the top 
 and bottom of the hive; over these frames 
 tack securely some ordinary mosquito wire- 
 netting, and after all the bees are in their 
 hives nail one of these frames to both the top 
 and the bottom of the hive, and it is ready for 
 moving either by wagon or train. As an 
 extra precaution against smothering the bees, 
 it is well to tack or nail an extra strip of wood 
 on the front ends of the bottom screen to 
 elevate it above the floor of the wagon or car, 
 as this will give a free circulation of air for the 
 colony and insure their better condition when 
 arriving at their destination. Some of the 
 
 179 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 supply houses have in the making of their 
 screens overlooked this extra bottom cleat, so 
 that when the hive of bees is set on the floor, 
 they might as well be entirely without the 
 bottom screen. The lids and bottom boards 
 that were removed from the hives to be moved 
 can be sent or carried separately. 
 
 When bees have been bought in the old- 
 fashioned box hives, all that is necessary is to 
 turn the hive upside down and tack some wire 
 net over the bottom, and ship the hive in this 
 position. 
 
 When a quantity of bees are to be shipped 
 a considerable distance by rail it will be a 
 good thing for their owners to accompany 
 them, and give them in warm weather an 
 occasional sprinkling of cold water to cool 
 and keep them quiet. 
 
 If horses and wagon are employed, by all 
 means unhitch the horses before the bees are 
 loaded on the wagon and take them a safe dis- 
 tance from the bees until the wagon is loaded, 
 and, when the other bees have stopped flying, 
 
 180 
 
LOCATION OF THE APIARY 
 
 hitch up again, and there will be no risk of the 
 horses being stung. 
 
 In some sections of the country, migratory 
 bee-keeping is practised, the bees being moved 
 from place to place to take advantage of the 
 flow that may come in districts remote from 
 the. yards already located; though this has 
 been tried in Florida and other parts of the 
 country, the results have not warranted the 
 extra trouble, save in some parts of Europe, 
 where it is carried on quite extensively. The 
 better plan is to locate the bees where the 
 forage is abundant, and leave them there 
 permanently. 
 
 In shipping full colonies of bees, or two- or 
 three-frame nuclei, the screens referred to 
 above are all that is needed, and in the case 
 of nuclei, small boxes made from old boxes 
 secured at some store with a piece of screen 
 tacked over the top and the bottom, with the 
 frames firmly secured by small nails, fully 
 answer the purpose. Be sure in every case 
 to see that the wire screens are properly ad- 
 
 181 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 justed to the hives to prevent the escape of 
 the bees, or otherwise most of them will escape 
 in transit, and the colony become almost en- 
 tirely depopulated by the time it arrives at its 
 destination. 
 
 If a shipment of a large number of hives 
 is to go a long distance, it is essential that 
 some one accompany them, and if the bees 
 are found to be clustering on the upper screens, 
 some water, which can be carried in five-gallon 
 honey cans, can be sprinkled on them with a 
 small hand sprinkler, or whisk broom, and 
 after sprinkling, the bees will return to their 
 combs, with the result that there is greater 
 ventilation and air for the colony. In warm 
 weather especially, it is a mistake to ship a 
 very strong colony, for they are almost certain 
 to smother, as I know by some sad experiences. 
 For this reason it is best to screen and pack the 
 colony about noon, when a large number of 
 bees are in the field, and on the stand from 
 which the colony was taken there should be 
 placed an empty hive with frames of full 
 
 182 
 
LOCATION OF THE APIARY 
 
 foundation, with a frame of unsealed brood in 
 its centre, which will take care of the returning 
 bees. A queen can be given to them, and in an 
 incredibly short time the hive will build up to 
 a strong colony. 
 
 This method, however, should not be 
 adopted, unless the colony so divided is un- 
 usually strong. It is no detriment to the 
 colony shipped, for by the time it reaches 
 its destination, enough new bees will have 
 hatched out to fill it full, and it has this ad- 
 vantage to the buyer, that the bees in the 
 colony will be largely young bees, and their 
 gentleness will be a decided gain to him, as he 
 can handle them with greater confidence. 
 
 Some years ago beekeepers advocated 
 migratory bee-keeping, believing that the colo- 
 nies could be located in the far South at the 
 opening of the early flows there, and be 
 gradually moved north to take advantage of 
 the continuing flows, and a gigantic crop 
 secured ; but few have tried it, and those who 
 have declare that the results do not warrant 
 
 183 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 the effort. I have not heard of any phenom- 
 enal crops being, gathered by this method. 
 The majority of beekeepers are content to 
 leave their home and out apiaries in their 
 permanent locations, and where a section is 
 found to be unusually good, an out apiary is 
 established at that point. This has proved 
 to be the most satisfactory and profitable 
 plan. 
 
 Before closing this chapter, a few words 
 concerning out apiaries seem necessary. It 
 is the fear of overstocking a given location 
 that has led to the adoption of out apiaries, 
 but after all is said, the danger of overstock- 
 ing is more imaginary than real, if a little 
 care is exercised. 
 
 There are few locations that will not sup- 
 port as many as one hundred colonies, and 
 add a goodly surplus at that, and if one hun- 
 dred colonies are the limit, it will be better 
 to keep them all at the home yard than to go 
 to the extra trouble of establishing an out 
 yard. 
 
 184 
 
LOCATION OF THE APIARY 
 
 If one hundred and fifty or several hun- 
 dred colonies are to be kept, then it becomes 
 an absolute necessity to establish some out 
 yards, and if one hundred and fifty are to be 
 kept it will be best to put, say, seventy-five 
 hives in the home yard, and seventy-five in 
 an out yard, say from three to five miles from 
 home; and these out yards can be so located 
 along the line of trolley and railroad as to be 
 of easy access by their operator. 
 
 It is a disputed question how far bees will 
 travel from their homes in quest of nectar; 
 some authorities go so far as to say that bees 
 will travel a distance of five miles or more, 
 but, generally speaking, three miles will be 
 their limit, and even if the apiaries are located 
 but three miles from each other (though five 
 miles would be better), there is not a great 
 deal of danger in the matter of crowding, as 
 many experiments have proved. 
 
 There are some beekeepers fortunately loca- 
 ted, notably the late Mr. Alexander of Delanson, 
 who is in the midst of the buckwheat country of 
 
 185 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 New York state, who kept all of his hives, some 
 eight hundred, located in the one home yard, 
 and during favorable years produced in 
 the neighborhood of eighty thousand pounds 
 of extracted honey, principally buckwheat. 
 This, however, is an exceptional case, and 
 the average location will demand the keep- 
 ing of not more than one hundred hives in 
 one yard; in case a large number of colo- 
 nies are kept, a system of out apiaries is ab- 
 solutely essential to success. 
 
 The novice will be wise to go slowly in the 
 matter of out apiaries, until he has the neces- 
 sary experience to make it a success. 
 
 186 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 "DEES, like all other stock, may be subject 
 -*^ to disease, and other enemies that will 
 ravage them if the conditions are favorable, 
 but as a matter of fact the danger is very re- 
 mote if the bees are given the proper care they 
 demand. In my many years of experience, 
 I have never had a case of disease among my 
 bees, and the predations of natural enemies 
 such as birds, skunks, snakes, and mice have 
 been of such rare occurrence as to be in- 
 finitesimal factors in all the years that have 
 passed. It is well, however, to describe some 
 of the diseases to which bees are prone, and 
 to point out preventive and curative measures 
 for any possible condition that may arise. 
 
 Foul Brood is the most dreaded of diseases. 
 It is of two varieties, the American and the 
 
 187 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 European, and, unless speedily cured, will in 
 a short time ravish and destroy an entire 
 apiary. 
 
 It is primarily a bacterial disease of the 
 larva, and when once a spore of the disease 
 takes possession of a larva, it spreads with 
 wonderful rapidity. 
 
 It is usually transmitted to a healthy colony 
 in one of two ways : either by the introduction 
 of a new queen that may have come from 
 some section of the country where the disease 
 is prevalent, or by the bees of a healthy 
 colony robbing honey from an infected hive, 
 and the spores carried in the honey that was 
 robbed. This danger has led a great many 
 beekeepers to kill all of the attendant bees 
 that accompany the queen in her journey 
 through the mails, and reserve only the queen 
 for introduction; and this is a most excellent 
 precautionary measure to adopt. 
 
 Beginners are very liable to confuse chilled 
 dead brood, or pickled brood, with foul brood, 
 and become needlessly alarmed; but when 
 
 188 
 
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 once the real thing has taken possession of a 
 colony, the condition of the brood, and the 
 terrible stench, will enable him to detect its 
 presence at once. The American foul brood 
 is easily distinguished from the European 
 foul or black brood by its sticky or ropy 
 nature, as a very easy test will prove. One 
 of its first symptoms is that some of the brood 
 will fail to hatch, and the cappings of the cells 
 will assume a sunken appearance, and if a 
 match or wooden toothpick is inserted into 
 the cell and gently pulled out, a foul-smelling 
 mucilaginous substance will adhere to it. 
 The larva soon loses its shape, and becomes 
 a sticky mass, smelling very much like ordi- 
 nary glue. The offensive odor is not very 
 pronounced in its early stages, but as the 
 disease advances, it becomes more and more 
 noticeable. 
 
 The larvae that are attacked are usually 
 sealed over by the bees, but this is not always 
 the case, as it frequently happens that the 
 unsealed brood is destroyed, especially if the 
 
 189 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 infection is well under way, and the bacteria 
 fully at work. The color of the sticky mass 
 is like strong coffee with milk added, but since 
 these conditions prevail to a certain extent in 
 the cases of chilled and pickled brood, we 
 cannot be sure it is the real foul brood un- 
 less we test it with a toothpick or match as 
 outlined above; if it adheres to the match, 
 and can be drawn out to a distance of one- 
 half or one inch, we can then be reasonably 
 certain that we have a case of real foul brood 
 on hand. 
 
 The progress of this disease is very rapid, 
 as all the combs of the hive are more or 
 less certain to be infected, the honey included, 
 and when the queen lays new eggs the honey 
 that is fed to the larvae will contain a lot of 
 spores, and the new larvae will in turn become 
 diseased. 
 
 After a time the bacteria are so prevalent 
 in the hive that no brood can be reared, and 
 as the old bees die off the colony becomes so 
 weak that it becomes an easy prey to robber 
 
 190 
 
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 bees, who will in turn carry its infected honey 
 to healthy colonies, and in this way the disease 
 will spread with alarming rapidity. 
 
 Sometimes a beginner will imagine he has 
 a case of foul brood because the bees in warm 
 weather will sometimes leave the cappings of 
 brood they are sealing in an unfinished shape, 
 so that there will be a small pinhole opening in 
 the centre of the cell, but if the larvae are nice 
 and white, there is no occasion for alarm. In 
 the case of foul brood the perforation will not 
 be regular and rounded, but will have ragged 
 edges, and this is due to the fact that the bees 
 seem to have an instinct that something is 
 wrong with the brood, since it fails to hatch, 
 and they tear away a part of the cappings to 
 determine what is the matter. 
 
 The best preventive measure is to take 
 such good care of every colony that it is al- 
 ways strong, for bees are like human beings, 
 the stronger are better able to resist disease 
 in every form; and as a rule a strong colony 
 is seldom affected unless the spores are directly 
 
 191 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 introduced by the bees from some already 
 infected source. 
 
 After the treatment of a diseased colony, 
 it is absolutely essential that all tools and 
 implements that have been used shall be kept 
 from the other bees till they have been thor- 
 oughly boiled and sterilized, if they are to be 
 used again on a healthy colony. Even the 
 clothing that was worn while treating a dis- 
 eased colony is a perfect means of transmission, 
 and there have been cases where careless 
 inspectors of foul brood have gone from a 
 diseased apiary to a healthy one without 
 change or fumigation of their wearing apparel, 
 and rendered the infection of the healthy 
 apiary almost a foregone conclusion. The 
 entrance to the hive of a diseased colony should 
 be made smaller to prevent the possibility of 
 robbing, and all manipulation shouM be done 
 late in the day after the bees have ceased to 
 fly, or serious consequences will follow. A 
 great many curative methods have been tried in 
 the past, using salicylic acid, phenol, carbolic 
 
 19£ 
 
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 acid, and formaldehyde, but the results were 
 in no sense satisfactory. 
 
 William McEvoy of Woodburn, Ontario, 
 Canada, claims to have had great success in 
 the treatment of thousands of colonies, and he 
 puts them back into the hives out of which 
 they came; but there have been a large num- 
 ber of cases where the disease has appeared 
 again in the hives whose bodies and fixtures 
 were not disinfected. His plan is to take the 
 infected colony in the height of the honey sea- 
 son, and in the evening shake the bees from 
 their infected combs into their old hive, 
 giving them frames with foundation starters, 
 and let them work on them for four days. 
 The bees will in that time have worked out 
 some comb, and have stored in it all the dis- 
 eased honey they carried in their sacs from 
 the diseased combs, and then in the evening 
 of the fourth day, he takes the new combs out 
 ajud shakes the bees on new frames of founda- 
 tion; and he claims that the cure will be 
 complete as all the infected combs with their 
 o 193 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 honey will be removed from the hive. He 
 does not advocate the disinfection of the old 
 hive, but a little extra work in this respect 
 will save worry and possible return of the 
 disease, and for one's peace of mind it will be 
 well to pour a strong solution of boiling water 
 and carbolic acid over the hive body, lid, and 
 bottom, letting it soak in all sides and run 
 into every crevice. 
 
 A good plan for disinfection of the hive body 
 is to pour some gasolene all over it and touch 
 a match to it and let it burn off, and if too 
 much is not used, and the blaze carefully 
 watched, no harm will result to the hive. 
 The old combs should be burned over a good 
 fire and the ashes buried, this work being 
 done at night; but if the combs are filled with 
 honey, the honey can be extracted and boiled, 
 and used for feed, but there is always the 
 possibility of infected honey, with its fearful 
 consequences, remaining in the extractor. 
 
 European foul or black brood differs in 
 many ways from the American foul brood, and 
 
 194 
 
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 first made its appearance in this country in 
 New York state. Many an apiary was devas- 
 tated by it, and it has been only in recent 
 years that we seem to have found a cure. 
 
 While this form of foul brood in some 
 respects is similar to the American kind, yet 
 there are several respects in which it very 
 materially differs. In the first place, it is very 
 rarely ropy in its consistency, and the dead 
 larva seldom loses its shape and becomes a 
 sticky mass, but on the contrary, it assumes 
 a watery consistency, and confines itself to 
 the grub itself, which in time turns a dark 
 brown. I have seen it a coffee black in some 
 hives that were infected. Only in its latter 
 stages does it become offensive like American 
 foul brood, but even then it is hardly as foul- 
 smelling. 
 
 Mr. E. F. Phillips, Ph.D., in charge of the 
 Department of Apiculture at Washington, 
 D.C., is one of the leading experts on bee 
 diseases and will gladly render a report on any 
 specimen that may be sent to him in a tightly 
 
 195 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 sealed tin box; so that any beekeeper may 
 determine beyond the shadow of a doubt just 
 what disease he has to contend with. 
 
 The usual treatment for black brood up to 
 a short time ago was identically the same as 
 that used for American foul brood, but dur- 
 ing recent years the late Mr. Alexander, of 
 Delanson, New York, experimented for a 
 considerable period and finally discovered a 
 treatment that seems to be effective in every 
 case. His plan was to remove from every 
 diseased colony its queen, and by cutting out 
 all queen cells already started, leave the 
 colony in a hopelessly queenless condition for 
 at least three weeks, during which period no 
 new brood developed. During this time all 
 of the healthy brood in the hive will hatch, 
 and the colony, in anticipation of a new queen, 
 will, as all queenless colonies do, clean out and 
 polish every cell for the new eggs; this clean- 
 ing and polishing process seems to eradicate 
 the disease completely. Some beekeepers were 
 not very successful in following this method, 
 
 196 
 
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 but in the hands of Mr. Alexander it was a pro- 
 nounced success, and a personal examination 
 of some colonies that were treated the season 
 before failed to reveal to me any indication of 
 the presence of foul brood in any form. 
 
 It might be said that during a good honey 
 flow a strong colony runs little chance of be- 
 coming diseased. Do all the work with a 
 diseased colony in the evening, and prevent 
 even a single bee from another colony getting 
 access to any of the diseased honey or imple- 
 ments, for one bee carrying even the minutest 
 drop of infected honey to a healthy hive can 
 spread the germs as effectively as a thousand. 
 
 Bee Paralysis is another disease that is 
 sometimes found in warm climates, but is 
 rarely known in the North, and, as a whole 
 colony is seldom affected by it, it is not a cause 
 for alarm. 
 
 An occasional bee with its abdomen greatly 
 distended will be found crawling along the 
 alighting-board evidently in an effort to get 
 away from the hive to die; and this is about the 
 
 197 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 extent of its ravages in the North; though 
 the ravages of the disease in warm climates 
 have been known to clean out an entire apiary, 
 and is as dreaded as foul brood. Sometimes 
 the removal and killing of the queen will work 
 a cure, and would seem to indicate that the 
 disease was inherited from the queen, but 
 some experiments have proved that dequeen- 
 ing fails to accomplish the desired result. 
 Perhaps the best way to cure it is to remove 
 from the diseased hive all of its frames of 
 brood and give them without their bees to a 
 strong colony for a day or more, and giving 
 a liberal sprinkling of powdered sulphur to the 
 bees remaining in the affected colony; thus a 
 cure is generally accomplished. 
 
 Spring dwindling of a colony is not a disease, 
 but rather a condition, and is usually the 
 result of a cold spell following the removal of 
 bees from their winter cellars. Uniting such 
 colonies has not proved the best plan, and a 
 much better one is to place a queen-excluding 
 zinc on top of a strong colony and on it set the 
 
 198 
 
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 dwindled one, queen, bees, combs, and all, 
 and when it has built up to fair strength, put 
 it back on its stand. 
 
 There are a number of enemies that prey 
 upon the bees, and as some of them are hard 
 to reach, and as the results of their predations 
 are minor, it is one of the phases of bee-keeping 
 where the beekeeper has to take a chance, as it 
 were. There are certain insectivorous birds 
 that catch and eat bees while in flight, and 
 many a good virgin queen in her matrimonial 
 flight has been gobbled up, but this is a chance 
 we have to take, and I know no means of 
 stopping it. In warm climates the dragon 
 flies kill a large number of virgin queens when 
 in flight, and in certain sections they are so 
 numerous that commercial queen-rearing is 
 well nigh an impossibility. 
 
 Frogs will often in the cool of the evening 
 place themselves at the entrance of a hive of 
 bees, and many a luckless bee has been en- 
 snared in their long tongues to make a tasty 
 morsel for them. Field ihice and small 
 
 199 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 snakes will often invade a hive, and if the 
 colony is weak will work havoc with the 
 combs, but, with the exception of mice, the 
 setting of the hive upon a stand a foot or so 
 above the ground will prevent their ravages. 
 
 An apiary is very likely to be the lurking- 
 place of skunks, who seem to have a fondness 
 for bees, and the little rascals will, in the 
 shadow of night, scratch on the alighting- 
 board of a hive to lure the sentinels out for 
 investigation, only to be gobbled up by their 
 odoriferous enemies. A few traps baited with 
 the proper bait will soon rid the yard of these 
 pests; but care should be used in their han- 
 dling if they are still alive when trapped. 
 
 In some sections of the country, the fond- 
 ness of bears for honey has led them to topple 
 over the hives and work much damage, but a 
 little watchfulness on the part of the beekeeper, 
 with the aid of a good rifle, will result in break- 
 ing it up. 
 
 Sometimes a mouse or small snake will 
 invade a strong colony and be stung to death, 
 
 200 
 
DISEASES AND ENEMIES OF BEES 
 
 and when the bees find that they are unable 
 to remove the carcass, they will proceed to 
 propolize or mummify it and glue it securely 
 to the bottom board of the hive. In lifting 
 hives, with their bottom boards, I have fre- 
 quently found a live snake, or nest of mice, 
 enticed there no doubt by the warmth of the 
 hive and the possibilities of a rich repast; 
 but as these are things of but rare occurrence, 
 no serious harm is likely to occur. 
 
 201 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 A FTER the surplus honey has been 
 -^-^ gathered, whether it be comb or ex- 
 tracted, its proper grading, packing, and 
 marketing is an important factor, as these 
 things added to the quality of the crop will 
 with a little attention mean the securing of a 
 better price for the output, and whether the 
 crop be large or small, is an item worth con- 
 sidering. 
 
 Where the apiary is of moderate size, there 
 is no better place to sell the crop than right 
 at home or in a near-by town, as the reputa- 
 tion of the beekeeper, supplemented by a 
 high-grade article, will result in high prices. 
 The honey package should be attractive 
 whether it be wholesaled or retailed, and a 
 package a little more attractive than that of 
 the other dealers means increased revenue. 
 
 202 
 
MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 If the crop is extracted and is intended for 
 the commission trade or the wholesale bottler, 
 there is no better package than new five-gal- 
 lon cans, two of which come in a wooden case. 
 Being in cans, it is more easily handled by 
 the commission merchant and the bottler, 
 and in this shape will bring a little higher 
 price than if sent in wooden kegs with the 
 attendant labor of scooping it out for liquefy- 
 ing. 
 
 Use nothing but new, clean cans, and have 
 the early light honey separate from the later 
 dark honey; and be sure of the honesty of 
 the commission merchant, for thereby hangs 
 many a sad tale. 
 
 It will be far more profitable to bottle your 
 extracted honey in an attractive bottle and 
 work up a trade among the retail grocery 
 houses, as it means securing about fifteen 
 cents a pound net profit as against about seven 
 cents a pound net profit when sold wholesale. 
 
 The standard package for the retail is a 
 glass jar holding just one pound, and a nicely 
 
 203 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 printed label with a half-tone cut of the 
 apiary and a statement of the purity of the 
 honey will make for it a very ready sale. 
 These jars can be procured from the manufac- 
 turers^ and as they come in reshipping cases 
 holding two dozen, each can be shipped very 
 handily when filled. 
 
 By the time you are ready to bottle your 
 honey it will in all probability be granulated, 
 which in itself is a test of its purity; and to 
 return it to its liquid state it will be necessary 
 to heat it to about one hundred and fifty 
 degrees and hold it there for about three hours; 
 but do not under any circumstances heat it 
 above one hundred and sixty degrees, or you 
 will spoil its delicate aroma and reduce its 
 value. A large tin boiler or galvanized square 
 can can be made at slight cost; it should be 
 eighteen inches deep, and in this boiler over 
 a gasolene or cook stove, with a block of 
 wood underneath each can of honey, one or 
 two of the sixty-pound cans can be placed, 
 with their caps removed, and the boiler filled 
 
 204 
 
MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 nearly full of water. When the water heats 
 to the desired point, it should be kept there 
 for about three hours, and when the honey 
 in the cans is nice and clear, which it will 
 be if it was properly strained at time of ex- 
 tracting, the little one-pound jars should be 
 filled with the hot honey and capped at once, 
 when they are ready for the stores to which 
 they are to be sent. 
 
 A most excellent jar for this purpose is the 
 Hazel Atlas Simplex, a jar with a glass cap 
 and a waxed ring, and attractive to the eye. 
 Another good package for the home trade, if 
 a house-to-house canvass is to be made, is the 
 ordinary quart preserve or canning- jar, and 
 as the housewife can make use of this jar after 
 it is emptied, this style of package will ap- 
 peal to her. 
 
 The county fairs held in the fall form an 
 excellent medium for the sale of honey, as 
 the beekeeper can have a booth and an obser- 
 vation hive at hand with live bees in it, and 
 such an exhibit will always attract a crowd. 
 
 205 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Sometimes it is a good thing to take the 
 extracting cage referred to in another part 
 of this book, and in it have a hive of live 
 bees. The operator can then go through an 
 interesting performance that will astonish 
 the natives, and secure a large sale of his 
 honey. 
 
 Other beekeepers take a little cage of live 
 bees under their arms and visit the business 
 offices of our large cities, taking orders for 
 honey in gallon cans at $2 a gallon to be sent 
 by express C. O. D. at the expense of the 
 buyer; in this way a profitable employment 
 is secured for the beekeeper during the entire 
 winter months, with a larger profit for his 
 honey than if it were sent to the city whole- 
 sale. 
 
 Where the output runs up into many tons, 
 it will be more satisfactory for the producer 
 to send it to the cities in bulk, but even in this 
 case there is no reason why the producer 
 should not dispose of a large amount of his 
 output to the grocery trade in bottles, and 
 
 206 
 
MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 reap the benefits of the increased price se- 
 cured. 
 
 Generally speaking, there is seldom more 
 than one beekeeper in business on an exten- 
 sive scale in a given place, and he will have 
 little difficulty in disposing of his crop at horne 
 and in near-by towns to both stores and 
 families. This will necessitate the use of 
 a horse and wagon, but the greater profit 
 will make this plan advisable, and it is fol- 
 lowed by hundreds of beekeepers every year. 
 I know an old man seventy years of age, who 
 puts his honey up in quart jars, and visits 
 the factories and shops at the noon hour, 
 giving a little talk on bees, who has sold as 
 much as $2000 worth of honey in a single 
 year. He gets fifty cents a quart for his 
 honey. 
 
 Sometimes in a large city a vacant store on a 
 busy thoroughfare can be rented for a month, 
 and a display of live bees and honey will 
 result in large sales at fancy prices, as bees 
 are a source of interest to city folk. Depart- 
 
 207 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 ment stores are good customers and are glad 
 to have an exhibit of live bees in observation 
 hives together with a nice display of honey, 
 as such exhibits draw a crowd and result in 
 business in all departments. 
 
 With the new pure food laws in operation, 
 the beekeeper is having his day, as he no 
 longer has to compete with mixtures of honey 
 and glucose masquerading under the name 
 of pure honey, as was formerly the case. In 
 the matter of honey these laws are rigidly 
 enforced, and adulterated honey is required 
 to have a statement on every package, stating 
 just what the adulterant is and in what pro- 
 portions. Few people will buy such stuff 
 when they can secure the real thing at a mod- 
 erate price. 
 
 Comb honey has to be prepared in an en- 
 tirely different way to be placed on the market, 
 and unless great caution is exercised in the 
 matter of packing, serious breakage of the 
 combs will follow. Each section should be 
 carefully scraped of all particles of propolis, 
 
 208 
 
MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 and the honey according to its appearance 
 carefully graded and marked. The ordi- 
 nary shipping-cases with glass on one side 
 and corrugated paper in the bottom, and hold- 
 ing twenty-four sections, is the best all-round 
 package that can be used, and these cases 
 
 No-Drip Shipping-Case. 
 
 can be purchased at moderate cost from any 
 of the supply houses that make them espe- 
 cially for the comb honey producers. 
 
 Under no circumstances should these cases 
 
 be shipped individually. A number of them 
 
 should be packed in a crate with projecting 
 
 strips for handles, and the bottom of the 
 
 p 209 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 crate filled with at least six inches of hay or 
 straw to act as a cushion for the honey and 
 prevent its breakage in transit. . 
 
 It is the poorest of policies to face the glass 
 end of each case with the best sections, and 
 put the poorer ones at the back, as the trick will 
 
 Shipping-Crate. 
 
 sooner or later be discovered to the detriment 
 of the shipper. A better plan is to select 
 and grade all the best sections and put them 
 in cases by themselves, and crate the poorer 
 ones by themselves; the additional price of 
 the first grade will average the price in a 
 satisfactory manner. 
 
 In scraping the propolis from the sections 
 nothing is better than a broad-bladed butcher 
 
 210 
 
MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 knife. Unless you are careful, there will be 
 more or less gashing of the surfaces of the 
 sections with its resulting drippings, which 
 will make them sticky and unsightly, and 
 greatly reduce their value. Though there is 
 no reason why there should not be a universal 
 rule for grading comb honey, certain rules 
 prevail of a twofold character, known as 
 "Rules for Western Beekeepers," and "Rules 
 for Eastern Beekeepers." 
 
 The Eastern Grading Rules read as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 Fancy. — All sections well filled: combs 
 straight, firmly attached to all four sides; combs 
 unsoiled by travel stain or otherwise; all the 
 cells sealed except an occasional one; the outside 
 surface of the wood well scraped of propolis. 
 
 A No. 1 . — All sections well filled except the 
 row of cells next to the wood; combs straight; 
 one-eighth part of the comb surface soiled, or 
 the entire surface slightly soiled; the outside 
 surface of the wood well scraped of propolis. 
 
 No. 1. — All sections well filled except the 
 211 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 row of cells next to the wood; combs com- 
 paratively even; one-eighth part of the comb 
 surface soiled, or the entire surface slightly soiled. 
 
 No. 2. — Three-fourths of the total surface 
 must be filled and sealed. 
 
 No. 3. — Must weigh at least half as much 
 as a full-weight section. 
 
 In addition the honey must be classified 
 according to color, using the terms white, 
 amber, and dark ; that is, there will be, "Fancy 
 White," "No. 1 dark," etc. 
 . These are the result of the action of the 
 National Beekeepers' Association in convention 
 in Washington, D.C., in December, 1892. 
 
 The Colorado Beekeepers' Association 
 adopted the following rules, which prevail 
 west of the Mississippi: — 
 
 NEW COMB-HONEY GRADING-RULES ADOPTED 
 BY THE COLORADO STATE BEEKEEPERS* 
 ASSOCIATION 
 
 No. 1 White. — Sections to be well filled 
 and evenly capped except the outside row, 
 
 212 
 
MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 next to the wood; honey white or slightly 
 amber, comb and cappings white, and not 
 projecting beyond the wood ; wood to be well 
 cleaned; cases of separatored honey to aver- 
 age 21 pounds net per case of 24 sections, no 
 section in this grade to weigh less than 13 J 
 ounces. 
 
 Cases of half- separatored honey to average 
 not less than 22 pounds net per case of 24 
 sections. 
 
 Cases of unseparatored honey to average 
 not less than 23 pounds net per case of 24 
 sections. 
 
 No. 1 Light Amber. — Sections to be well 
 filled and evenly capped, except the outside 
 row, next to the wood; honey white or light 
 amber; comb and cappings from white to 
 off color, but not dark; comb not projecting 
 beyond the wood ; wood to be well cleaned. 
 
 Cases of separatored honey to average 21 
 pounds net per case of 24 sections ; no section 
 in this grade to weigh less than 13 J ounces. 
 
 Cases of half-separatored honey to average 
 £13 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 not less than 22 pounds net per case of 24 
 sections. 
 
 Cases of unseparatored honey to average 
 not less than 23 pounds net per case of 24 
 sections. 
 
 No. 2. — This includes all white honey, 
 and amber honey not included in the above 
 grades; sections to be fairly well filled and 
 capped, no more than 25 uncapped cells, 
 exclusive of outside row, permitted in this 
 grade, wood to be well cleaned, no section 
 in this grade to weigh less than 12 ounces. 
 
 Cases of separatored honey to average not 
 less than 19 pounds net. 
 
 Cases of half-separatored honey to average 
 not less than 20 pounds net per case of 24 
 sections. 
 
 Cases of half-separatored honey to average 
 not less than 20 pounds net per case of 24 
 sections. 
 
 Cases of unseparatored honey to average 
 not less than 21 pounds net per case of 24 
 sections. 
 
 214 
 
MARKETING THE HONEY CROP 
 
 It can be seen by the above that the rules 
 for the eastern beekeepers are a little more 
 discriminating than the western standard, and 
 enable the buyer to form a clearer idea of 
 just the quality of the honey bought. 
 
 When producing comb honey for market, 
 the beekeeper has several styles and sizes 
 of sections from which to select, though in 
 each case the amount of honey will be nearly 
 the same. Formerly the square section with 
 the slotted bee- way was the only one that 
 was used, but there is a growing demand for 
 a plain section a little taller than wide, meas- 
 uring 4 X 5 X 1|- inches, and although this sec- 
 tion is a trifle thinner than the old style, 
 yet it appears to have more honey, and is 
 being adopted more and more by up-to-date 
 beekeepers. 
 
 There is a class of trade that demands that 
 every section when it is packed shall be glazed, 
 with pieces of glass fitted to each side of the 
 surface of the wooden holder, and although 
 they are a nuisance to prepare, it pays if the 
 
 215 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 trade demands it, as a little higher price can 
 be secured for the trouble, especially if a fancy 
 paper border is used to secure the glass to 
 the section. Where glass is not used, it is 
 well to encase each section in a pasteboard 
 carton, as it protects the honey and adds to 
 the appearance of the section. 
 
 If the faces of some combs are slightly 
 stained, they can be bleached by placing them 
 in a box or small room and fumigating them 
 with the fumes of burning sulphur, or else 
 they can be exposed to the direct rays of the 
 sun, to accomplish the same result. 
 
 216 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 BEESWAX ITS USES HOW TO RENDER IT 
 
 "FN running an apiary, especially one main- 
 •^ tained for extracted honey, large quan- 
 tities of beeswax from cappings, old combs, 
 and brace combs, will accumulate, and as 
 beeswax is always in demand and sells at a 
 good price, its proper care and rendering be- 
 comes an important item. For many cen- 
 turies, beeswax has been a much-needed 
 commodity in almost every branch of work. 
 Before the ingenuity of man made parchment 
 as a medium for writing, tablets covered with 
 beeswax were almost entirely used, and fulfilled 
 a useful purpose. Owing to the fact that bees- 
 wax will not rot, it was used by many nations 
 to embalm their dead, and mummies that 
 have lain for centuries upon examination show 
 the wax used to be in a fine state of preserva- 
 tion. 
 
 217 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 The rubrics of the Catholic Church pre- 
 scribe beeswax exclusively in the making of 
 candles for solemn ceremonies, as it is secreted 
 by a virgin insect. In the polishing of floors 
 and furniture wax has been found a valuable 
 adjunct, as its use adds to the beauty and life 
 of the object polished. Sculptors, painters, 
 dentists, and molders use large quantities 
 of it, and in the arts and various departments 
 of manufacture it has become so great a ne- 
 cessity that there is never an over-production, 
 and the beekeeper who has a goodly supply 
 on hand will experience no diflSculty in ex- 
 changing it at the supply houses for new 
 sheets of foundation for both his brood and 
 super frames. 
 
 For the use of the beekeeper there has been 
 found nothing that will take its place, al- 
 though a long line of experiments with par- 
 affin and ceresin have been made, without 
 success, as the bees show a positive dislike 
 for any other foundation than that made from 
 pure beeswax. 
 
 ns 
 
BEESWAX 
 
 The making of beeswax by the bees is a 
 very delicate and wonderful process, and if 
 you will open a hive in the height of the honey 
 flow when the bees are at work, a lot of the 
 little disks will be found on the bottom board 
 of the hive, and when examined under the 
 microscope they are really beautiful. Before 
 secreting wax, the bees fill themselves with 
 honey and then hang in clusters in their 
 hives; and by generating heat they are able 
 to convert the honey into wax, which as small 
 disks protrudes from the little wax scales 
 located on the under side of the abdomen of 
 the bee. 
 
 Pattern-makers, machinists, and manufac- 
 turers of shoe and furniture polish are ready 
 to purchase at a good figure unlimited quanti- 
 ties of pure beeswax, so it can be readily 
 seen that there is a great demand for it, and 
 the careful beekeeper will make it s. point 
 to save every particle, melting and rendering 
 it into commercial form at his convenience. 
 
 It seems unfortunate that progressive meth- 
 219 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 ods of beekeeping, as compared with the 
 older methods, have restricted the production 
 of beeswax in the apiary ; but as the progress 
 has resulted in a greater production of honey, 
 there is no actual loss in profit. When bees 
 were largely kept in the old-fashioned box 
 hives the bees were brimstoned to get the 
 honey, and as the combs were usually mashed 
 and strained, there was of necessity a larger 
 amount of beeswax secured each season. 
 
 With the use of the modern extractor, the 
 honey is extracted from the combs by centrif- 
 ugal force, and the combs used year after year, 
 so that the proportion of beeswax to honey 
 secured is not as great as formerly; the 
 honey-producer of to-day is dependent upon 
 the cappings from the frames extracted, old 
 combs, brace and bur combs, but even at 
 that the revenue from these sources is con- 
 siderable. As the wax accumulates it should 
 be kept in a cool place, so that it will not 
 become a breeding-place for the wax moth 
 and be ruined, and for this reason it is well 
 
 220 
 
BEESWAX 
 
 to melt and render it before it becomes at- 
 tacked. 
 
 There are many methods of rendering old 
 wax, and the beekeeper is allowed large lati- 
 tude in the matter of selection. One of the 
 older methods was to j&ll a porous sack or bag 
 with cappings, old combs, and other waxen 
 refuse and to weigh it down in a large kettle, 
 covering it with water and allowing it to boil 
 until the wax began to rise, and when the 
 water became cold a cake of wax would form 
 at the top. At best this method was far from 
 satisfactory, as the cake was more or less 
 burned or water-soaked, and filled with more 
 or less dregs of matter from the old combs 
 from which it was rendered. 
 
 About 1862 the first solar wax extractor 
 was invented in California, and was first used 
 for extracting the honey from the combs, 
 but later it was used solely for melting wax, 
 and even to-day is extensively used in many 
 of the largest apiaries in the world. These 
 solar wax extractors were little more than 
 
 221 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 large boxes covered with glass in which old 
 combs were placed and exposed to the rays 
 of the sun, and toward evening as the day 
 grew cooler the wax, because of its lightness, 
 was found in sheets on top of the honey. 
 
 Doolittle, Boardman, Rauchfuss, and others 
 invented solar wax extractors which were 
 more or less adopted, but in principle they 
 were practically the same, and depended upon 
 the sun's rays shining through glass to do the 
 work. 
 
 While the solar wax extractor can be 
 depended upon to do a certain amount of 
 rendering, especially where capping and new 
 combs are put into them, yet when it comes 
 to getting the wax out of old dark combs, 
 they have their limit, and compel us to resort 
 to another method. The only satisfactory way 
 to render wax is by some method by which 
 the old combs can be enclosed in a sack 
 and subjected to pressure while surrounded 
 by steam. This method is not entirely new, 
 though some of the appliances are, and were 
 
BEESWAX 
 
 used in Germany many years ago, where it 
 originated, but it remained for America to 
 invent a satisfactory press, several makes of 
 which are on the market, all capable of doing 
 excellent work. 
 
 Some of these 
 presses extract the 
 wax under pressure 
 at the time the steam 
 is surging through 
 the mass, as in the 
 case of the German 
 Wax Press and the 
 Hershiser Wax 
 Press, while others 
 extract the wax 
 under pressure after 
 the heated sack has 
 been taken from the steamer, and Messrs. Hatch 
 and Gamil were successful pioneers in the per- 
 fection of the press that bears their names. 
 The latter plan is perhaps the best, and is fast 
 being adopted, as experience proves that there is 
 
 223 
 
 German Steam Wax Press. 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 less wax left in the slumgum, as the refuse is 
 called, than under other methods. 
 
 The old combs and pieces of wax are en- 
 cased in a stout bag and boiled for a few min- 
 utes, then lifted and poured out of the bag, 
 about a gallon at a time, and, when the cloths 
 of the press are firmly secured about it, pres- 
 sure is exerted, and the water and practically 
 all of the wax will run out of the press into the 
 bucket or other vessel that has been put into 
 position to receive it, and when the water is 
 cooled the cake of wax is ready for removal. 
 Repeating the process, using about a gallon 
 of the mass at a time, it is surprising how 
 much wax will be secured within a short time. 
 An up-to-date wax press is not expensive, 
 and as it does its work so much better than 
 the many homemade makeshifts that are 
 used, it is economy to buy one, as the extra 
 amount of wax obtained from the slumgum 
 will pay for it in a short time. 
 
 If the wax secured is intended for the manu- 
 facturers of foundation, it can be shipped 
 
 224 
 
BEESWAX 
 
 just as it comes from the press; but if it is 
 for general use, it should be remelted and 
 molded in little tins, and in the melting an 
 iron kettle should be avoided, as it has a 
 tendency to discolor the wax and render its 
 sale difficult. 
 
 Manufacturers of comb foundation say 
 that hardly two lots of wax that they receive 
 are uniform in color; this is due to the pres- 
 ence of more or less foreign substances, and 
 to reduce it all to its original yellowness, it 
 is necessary for them to treat it to a bleaching 
 process with sulphuric acid. 
 
 The following is the method of bleaching 
 used by the A. I. Root Co. 
 
 HOW TO REFINE WAX WITH SULPHURIC ACID 
 
 Wax cakes, as they are bought up, are 
 usually of all grades and colors. The differ- 
 ence in color is due largely to the amount of 
 impurities the wax contains. In all the 
 years that we have been in the business we 
 have found no practical or satisfactory way 
 Q 225 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 of bringing the wax to a yellow color — that 
 IS, to its original state of purity, except by 
 treating it with acid. 
 
 The method, in brief, is as follows: Fill a 
 wooden tank or barrel a quarter full of water, 
 and add cakes of wax until nearly full. The 
 water is then boiled until all the wax is melted, 
 when a quantity of commercial sulphuric acid 
 is poured in, and the boiling continued until all 
 is thoroughly mixed. The heat is then removed 
 and the impurities are allowed to settle. 
 
 For a detailed account, it may be well to 
 describe our own system of refining wax. 
 Our tank is a little over three and one-half feet 
 in diameter, and about five feet high. Water 
 is run into it to a depth of twelve inches, 
 and then fifteen hundred pounds of wax are 
 thrown in, making it about full. The mass 
 is then heated by means of a jet of steam from 
 a pipe projecting down into the water from 
 the top. When all the wax is melted, the acid 
 is poured in. If the wax is dark, seven pints 
 of acid are used ; but if light enough to make 
 
 226 
 
BEESWAX 
 
 surplus foundation, not more than three quarts 
 are used. If the wax is already of good 
 quality, so small an amount as two quarts of 
 acid will answer. On the average, therefore, 
 we use three quarts of acid to eighty gallons 
 of water for fifteen hundred pounds of wax. 
 Soon after this is poured in, the color of the 
 boiling wax will be seen to grow lighter, and, 
 after a minute or so, the boiling is stopped. 
 
 The steam pipe is now drawn out, and the 
 tank covered with a cloth or carpet, and al- 
 lowed to stand as many hours as the wax will 
 remain liquid, or about twenty-four hours. 
 At the expiration of this time the water and 
 acid will have settled to the bottom by reason 
 of their greater specific gravity ; and the acid, 
 in turn, having a greater specific gravity than 
 that of water, will settle to the bottom of the 
 water; and the consequence is, that the wax 
 itself, after being purified, is allowed to be- 
 come thoroughly cleansed of any residue of 
 acid, and the dirt accumulation will all have 
 settled to the bottom of the wax and into the 
 
 227 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 water. The melted wax is now drawn of? 
 from the top, and poured into any sort of 
 receptacles with flaring sides. When the wax 
 is nearly to the bottom, or when it shows 
 evidence of coming near the dirt, the rest 
 is allowed to stand. As soon as it is caked 
 in the tank it is lifted out, and the dirt cling- 
 ing to the bottom scraped off. 
 
 Rendering wax at best is a troublesome 
 and messy job, and it is possible to work much 
 damage to a carpet or a suit of clothes that 
 is of far more value than the little wax that 
 may be secured where the beekeeper has but 
 a few hives. ' 
 
 If the rendering is done in the house kitchen, 
 spread some paper — newspapers will do — on 
 the floor, and go about the work slowly and 
 carefully. If at the close of the work the wax 
 is smeared over kettles and pans, it can be 
 removed by immersing the utensils in boiling 
 water for a while, and rubbing them with 
 a cloth that has been saturated with benzine. 
 
 228 
 
BEESWAX 
 
 Muffin tins, egg cups, pails, or any recep- 
 tacles of proper size may be used to pour the 
 melted wax into for molding, first wetting 
 the vessel with water, and when the wax has 
 cooled into solid cakes it can be dumped out 
 and is ready for market. Some of the supply 
 houses make little tins for molding the wax 
 into cakes that retail for ten cents, and these 
 are a help where the wax is to be sold in the 
 home town or placed with the grocery trade 
 for sale. Little candles made of beeswax give 
 a brilliant light and throw off a delicate per- 
 fume ; the molds and wicks for making them 
 can be had at slight cost, and their sale brings 
 the highest prices for the wax that is used. 
 
 I know of one beekeeper who is able to 
 make a dozen of these little candles from a 
 pound of beeswax, and he has no difficulty 
 in getting $1 a dozen for them. By all means 
 husband your old combs and cappings, as the 
 revenue derived from them will often pay for 
 the foundation that from time to time has to be 
 bought for brood frames and section boxes. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 HONEY AS A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 TTONEY is being more and more recog- 
 -*--*- nized as a necessity and not as for- 
 merly a luxury, and could its food and health- 
 giving qualities be better known, it would 
 appear more often on the bill of fare than it 
 does. 
 
 In looking over the various dictionaries 
 I fail to find a correct scientific definition of 
 the constituents of honey, and only succeeded 
 in finding the following definition in Phin's 
 Dictionary of Beekeeping : — 
 
 "Honey contains four different kinds of 
 sugar: (1) Cane sugar (though this is not al- 
 ways present); (2) fruit sugar or glucose; 
 (3) invert sugar, so-called because it turns the 
 plane of polarization to the left, or inverts 
 the action of the fruit sugar; (4) a sugar of 
 
 230 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 which little is known, but which is evidently 
 a distinct variety. 
 
 " Under the peculiar action of the ferment 
 (enzyme) previously mentioned, and which 
 is generally present, the cane sugar gradually 
 changes to sugar of the second and third 
 kinds; and as these are less soluble than cane 
 sugar, the clear limpid fluid gradually becomes 
 opaque and granular, or in other words the 
 honey is said to granulate." 
 
 However vague the above description may 
 be, honey in the public mind means nectar 
 secreted by the flowers of the field and gath- 
 ered by the bees and thoroughly ripened in 
 the hive. Honey will vary in its color and 
 flavor according to the source from which it 
 was gathered, the clover being mild in flavor 
 while that from buckwheat is pronounced. 
 Notwithstanding this variation in color and 
 flavor, the food value of all honey is practically 
 the same, the particular flavor desired being 
 largely a matter of choice. 
 
 Before the passage of the Hepburn Pure 
 231 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Food Law in America on June 30, 1906, a 
 great deal of adulterated honey was sold to 
 the public, but since the passage of the above 
 law, the public is reasonably certain of get- 
 ting pure honey. 
 
 Honey as Food 
 
 The American nation consumes an enor- 
 mous amount of sugar, averaging nearly 
 eighty pounds per head, and the people of 
 the British Isles ten pounds more. The 
 increased consumption of sugar during the 
 last few years has been phenomenal, and even 
 people in moderate circumstances consume a 
 large amount. Honey sells in some states for 
 very little more than good cane sugar. 
 
 Honey is much superior to sugar in several 
 respects. It has far more flavor and aroma, 
 and for baking certain fancy cakes it has no 
 equal; and for this reason will always com- 
 mand a higher price than sugar. We know 
 fastidious people are always willing to pay 
 high prices for foods having fine flavors, and 
 
 232 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 all physiologists are agreed that flavor has 
 much to do with the dietetic value of a food 
 by inducing a free flow of saliva and pro- 
 moting digestion by its palatability. 
 
 Honey is an excellent food in the preven- 
 tion of fatigue, owing to the fact that, while 
 it builds up the body, or rather makes up 
 for the loss of tissue, it does not tax the sys- 
 tem. The latter is not called upon to throw 
 off or get rid of a mass of perfectly useless 
 material, for it is undoubtedly true that not 
 more than one two-hundredth part of honey 
 is actual waste. Practically the human sys- 
 tem uses up almost every particle of honey 
 placed in the stomach. This can be said of 
 no other food except sugar, which must un- 
 dergo a process of inversion before the system 
 can utilize it. Honey, on the other hand, 
 is in a state of partial digestion before being 
 eaten; and this, in addition to the very free 
 flow of saliva induced by the flavor, causes it 
 to be completely used up by the digestive 
 system without straining it in the least — so 
 
 233 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 much so, in fact, that many invalids and in- 
 fants may use honey when sugar would be 
 prejudicial. 
 
 Honey, it is believed, after passing through 
 the stomach, becomes glycogen by the action 
 of the liver, and in this way is converted into 
 heat and work. It differs from sugar in two 
 important particulars. First, it does not re- 
 quire to be "inverted," or converted into 
 natural glucose (it is that already), a process 
 which frequently leads to diabetes, and, again, 
 it possesses an aroma and flavor which sugar 
 does not. Moreover, it does not contain pow- 
 erful chemicals, as sugar sometimes does. It 
 is a purely natural production, and requires 
 no cooking or preparation. 
 
 There is almost an infinite variety of flavors 
 in honey, so that the peculiar palate of every 
 one may be suited. In dealing with children 
 and delicate people this is important. In 
 countries where the consumption of sugar is 
 large, as in the United States, Canada, and 
 the British Islands, Germany, Holland, and 
 
 234 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 other northern lands, diabetes is quite com- 
 mon. This is due to the fact that the system 
 of those afflicted is so constituted that they 
 are unable to convert ordinary sugar into glu- 
 cose. There is always a certain number of 
 such people in every community. Diabetes 
 bears considerable resemblance to Bright' s 
 disease of the kidneys, which is, however, 
 due to an excess of albumen — not sugar. 
 
 Children generally crave something sweet, 
 and this is a perfectly healthy and natural 
 longing which ought to be satisfied in some 
 way. This is generally done by giving con- 
 fectionery and sweetmeats, which frequently 
 are indigestiblco Honey can be made to 
 take their place with many children if it is 
 allowed in the regular dietary. In this way 
 the craving for sweets is very effectively met. 
 In France and other parts of Europe the doc- 
 tors recommend honey and cream, or honey 
 and butter, in the treatment of consump- 
 tively inclined children. They say this com- 
 bination is better than cod-liver-oil emulsion, 
 
 235 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 for the reason that it is much more palatable, 
 and more satisfactory to the patient's stomach. 
 A fine combination for fast-growing thin 
 children is bread, butter, and honey. In 
 this country any mother may try this bill of 
 fare on her well-beloved children. She may 
 feel certain that no better menu for a child 
 can be suggested. Honey may be very effec- 
 tively used in summer drinks, and should 
 take the precedence of sugar in this respect, 
 more particularly where workmen are em- 
 ployed in hot and fatiguing work such as takes 
 place in glass and iron factories. 
 
 Immense quantities of honey are used by 
 bakers, both in America and Europe. In this 
 country alone the National Biscuit Company 
 uses an amount which seems staggering to a 
 man unacquainted with the industry. This 
 concern recently purchased in one lot seventy 
 carloads of good honey, and is always in the 
 market for honey in big lots. There are no 
 means of knowing just how much honey 
 the baking industry uses in this country; but 
 
 236 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 we do know it is very large indeed. The best 
 bakers have discovered that honey is far supe- 
 rior to sugar as a sweetening agent. The latter 
 causes the cakes and bread made wdth it to 
 dry up and become unpalatable in a few days ; 
 whereas honey, on the other hand, causes them 
 to remain sweet and moist for a long period. 
 Cases are reported of honey- jumbles remain- 
 ing moist for twelve years; and in France 
 nobody thinks it is anything very wonderful to 
 keep honey-bread a year or eighteen months, 
 and yet have it remain perfectly good and 
 satisfactory. If it is hard, it is simply put 
 into a damp place for a few days, when it 
 returns to its original condition. 
 
 It is perfectly clear that, where bread and 
 cakes are made in factories, they must have 
 some "keeping" qualities; and by experi- 
 ence the managers have found honey is the 
 only acceptable agent for this purpose. At 
 Dijon, in France, from time immemorial a 
 kind of honey-bread (pain d'epice, or Leb- 
 kuchen, as the Germans call it) has been 
 
 237 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 made which has acquired a wide fame. It 
 is made in other parts of Europe, but this 
 place seems to excel in its production. The 
 bakers there are fastidious, and cannot be 
 induced to use any but buckwheat honey. 
 They say they cannot risk their reputation by 
 using any other. The honey is obtained in 
 Brittany; and when it is used up the bakers 
 will stop baking rather than use a substitute. 
 
 Honey-bread is now made and sold in New 
 York, and what we have used of it here in 
 Medina proved to be very fine eating in- 
 deed. The general opinion of it is, it would 
 be very acceptable to dyspeptics or persons of 
 impaired digestion, as it is very open and po- 
 rous, and easily masticated. 
 
 Honey-cakes and jumbles have been con- 
 sumed in steadily increasing quantities of late 
 years, and the demand increases by leaps and 
 bounds, showing that consumers appreciate a 
 really delicious and satisfactory food, no matter 
 if it seems somewhat higher priced than similar 
 foods. 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 A considerable amount of honey has also 
 been used in confectionery. This demand is 
 increasing; and in this connection beeswax 
 is also used to some extent. The beeswax 
 is used in about the same proportions that we 
 find it in a piece of comb honey, and some 
 actually buy comb honey for making con- 
 fectionery. Honey-candies coated with choco- 
 late are much consumed in Europe. 
 
 Honey is largely used as a medicine and as a 
 vehicle for administering nauseous medicines. 
 It is so soothing in its action that it is used 
 effectively for many purposes in the sick- 
 room. In continental Europe the doctors 
 constantly recommend and use honey. For 
 some unexplained reason our medical men are 
 not so favorable to honey as their European 
 confreres, possibly because they are afraid 
 of its adulteration. Since the passage of the 
 national pure-food law there need be but little 
 fear of this, and it may be freely recommended. 
 
 Honey has an excellent effect on the skin, 
 and for this reason is much used in soaps 
 
 239 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 and similar preparations sought by ladies for 
 softening the cuticle and improving the com- 
 plexion. Salves are also improved by the use 
 of honey and beeswax; in fact, the latter is 
 considered the only proper substance for 
 forming the base of ordinary salves. 
 
 Very many of the so-called honey cooking 
 recipes are untested, and hence worse than 
 none; for when the ingredients are put 
 together and cooked the result is vile. The 
 recipes given below have been tested, and 
 every one is guaranteed to be good. The 
 honey- jumble recipe, for instance, is espe- 
 cially good, as is the honey-cake recipe by 
 Maria Eraser. 
 
 HONEY COOKING RECIPES 
 
 Honey-gems. — 2 qts. flour, 3 tablespoonfuls melted lard, 
 f pt. honey, J pt. molasses, 4 heaping tablespoonfuls brown 
 sugar, IJ level tablespoonfuls soda, 1 level teaspoonful salt, 
 J pt. water, J teaspoonful extract vanilla. 
 
 Honey- JUMBLES. — 2 qts. flour, 3 tablespoonfuls melted 
 lard, 1 pt. honey, J pt. molasses, IJ level tablespoonfuls soda, 
 1 level teaspoonful salt, i pt. water, § teaspoonful vanilla. 
 
 240 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 These jumbles and the gems immediately preceding are 
 from recipes used by bakeries and confectioneries on a large 
 scale, one firm in Wisconsin alone using ten tons of honey 
 annually in their manufacture. 
 
 Honey-cake or Cookies without sugar or molasses. — 
 2 cups honey; one cup butter; four eggs (mix well); one 
 cup buttermilk (mix); one good qt. flour; one level tea- 
 spoonful soda or saleratus. If it is too thin, stir in a little 
 more flour. If too thin it will fall. It does not need to be as 
 thin as sugar-cake. I use very thick honey. Be sure to use 
 the same cup for measure. Be sure to mix the honey, butter, 
 and eggs well together. You can make it richer if you wish 
 by using clabbered cream instead of buttermilk. Bake in a 
 rather slow oven, as it burns very easily. To make cookies, 
 use a little more flour, so that they will roll out well without 
 sticking to the board. Any kind of flavoring will do. I 
 use ground orange-peel mixed soft. It makes a very nice 
 gingerbread. Maria Fraser. 
 
 Howell Honey-cake. — (It is a hard cake.) Take 6 lbs. 
 flour, 3 lbs. honey, Ij lbs. sugar, Ij lbs. butter, 6 eggs, J oz. 
 saleratus ; ginger to your taste. Directions for mixing. — 
 Have the flour in a pan or tray. Pack a cavity in the centre. 
 Beat the honey and yolks of eggs together well. Beat the 
 butter and sugar to cream, and put into the cavity in the flour ; 
 then add the honey and yolks of the eggs. Mix well with 
 the hand, adding a little at a time, during the mixing, the \ oz. 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 saleratus dissolved in boiling water until it is all in. Add the 
 ginger, and finally add the whites of the 6 eggs, well beaten. 
 Mix well with the hand to a smooth dough. Divide the 
 dough into 7 equal parts, and roll out like gingerbread. Bake 
 in ordinary square pans made for pies, from 10 X 14 tin. 
 After putting into the pans, mark off the top in J-inch strips 
 with something sharp. Bake an hour in a moderate oven. Be 
 careful not to burn, but bake well. Dissolve sugar to glaze 
 over top of cake. To keep the cake, stand on end in an oak 
 tub, tin can, or stone crock — crock is best. Stand the cards 
 up so the flat sides will not touch each other. Cover tight. 
 Keep in a cool dry place. Don't use until three months old 
 at least. The cake improves with age, and will keep good as 
 long as you will let it. I find any cake sweetened with honey 
 does not dry out like sugar or molasses cake, and age improves 
 or develops the honey flavor. E. D. Howell. 
 
 Aikin's Honey-cookies. — 1 teacupful extracted honey, 
 1 pt. sour cream, scant teaspoonful soda, flavoring if desired, 
 flour to make a soft dough. 
 
 Soft Honey-cake. — 1 cup butter, 2 cups honey, 2 eggs, 
 1 cup sour milk, 2 teaspoonfuls soda, 1 teaspoonful ginger, 
 1 teaspoonful cinnamon, 4 cups flour. Chalon Fowls, 
 
 Ginger Honey-cake. — 1 cup honey, J cup butter, 
 or drippings, 1 tablespoonful boiled cider, in half a cup of 
 hot water (or J cup sour milk will do instead) . Warm these 
 ingredients together, and then add 1 tablespoonful ginger 
 
 242 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 *nd 1 teaspoonful soda sifted in with flour enough to make 
 a soft batter. Bake in a flat pan. Chalon Fowls. 
 
 Fowls' Honey Fruit-cake. — J cup butter, | cup honey, 
 J cup apple jelly or boiled cider, 2 eggs well beaten, 1 tea- 
 spoonful soda, 1 teaspoonful each of cinnamon, cloves, and 
 nutmeg, 1 teacupful each of raisins and dried currants. 
 Warm the butter, honey, and apple jelly slightly, add the 
 beaten eggs, then the soda dissolved in a Httle warm water; 
 add spices and flour enough to make a stiff batter, then stir 
 in the fruit and bake in a slow oven. Keep in a covered jar 
 several weeks before using. 
 
 Muth's Honey-cakes. — 1 gal. honey (dark honey is 
 best), 15 eggs, 3 lbs. sugar (a httle more honey in its place may 
 be better), Ij oz. baking-soda, 2 oz. ammonia, 2 lbs. almonds 
 chopped up, 2 lbs. citron, 4 oz. cinnamon, 2 oz. cloves, 2 oz. 
 mace, 18 lbs. flour. Let the honey come almost to a boil; 
 then let it cool off, and add the other ingredients. Cut out 
 and bake. The cakes are to be frosted afterward with sugar 
 and white of eggs. 
 
 Fowls' Honey Layer-cake. — f cup butter, 1 cup honey, 
 3 eggs beaten, § cup milk. Cream the honey and butter 
 together, then add the eggs and milk. Then add 2 cups 
 flour containing IJ teaspoonfuls baking-powder previously 
 stirred in. Then stir in flour to make a stiff batter. Bake 
 in jelly-tins. When the cakes are cold, take finely flavored 
 candied honey, and after creaming it spread between layera 
 
 ^43 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Fowls* Honey-cookies. — 3 teaspoonfuls soda dissolved 
 in 2 cups warm honey, 1 cup shortening containing salt, 2 
 teaspoonfuls ginger, 1 cup hot water, flour sufficient to roll. 
 
 Honey Nut-cakes. — 8 cups sugar, 2 cups honey, 4 cups 
 milk or water, 1 lb. almonds, 1 lb. English walnuts, 3 cents* 
 worth each of candied lemon and orange peel, 5 cents' worth 
 citron (the last three cut fine), 2 large tablespoonfuls soda, 
 2 teaspoonfuls cinnamon, 2 teaspoonfuls ground cloves. 
 Put the milk, sugar, and honey on the stove, to boil 15 minutes; 
 skim off the scum, and take from the stove. Put in the nuts, 
 spices, and candied fruit. Stir in as much flour as can be 
 done without making the dough too stiff. Set away to cool, 
 then mix in the soda. Cover up and let stand over night, 
 then work in flour enough to make a stiff dough. Bake 
 when you get ready. It is well to let it stand a few days, as 
 it will not stick so badly. Roll out a little thicker than a 
 common cooky ; cut in any shape you like. 
 
 This recipe originated in Germany, is old and tried, and the 
 cake will keep a year or more. Mrs. E. Smith, 
 
 Honey Drop-cakes. — 1 cup honey, § cup sugar, J cup 
 butter or lard, J cup sour milk, 1 egg, J tablespoonful soda, 
 4 cups sifted flour. 
 
 Honey Shortcake. — 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoonfuls bak- 
 ing-powder, 1 teaspoonful salt, J cup shortening, Ij cups 
 sweet milk. Roll quickly, and bake in a hot oven. When 
 
 244 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 done, split the cake and spread the lower half thinly with 
 butter, and the upper half with J lb. of the best-flavored 
 honey. (Candied honey is preferred. If too hard to spread 
 well it should be slightly warmed or creamed with a knife.) 
 Let it stand a few minutes, and the honey will melt gradually 
 and the flavor will permeate all through the cake. To be 
 eaten with milk. 
 
 Honey Tea-cake. — 1 cup honey, J cup sour cream, 
 2 eggs, § cup butter, 2 cups flour, scant J teaspoonful soda, 
 1 tablespoonful cream of tartar. Bake thirty minutes in a 
 moderate oven. Miss M. Candler. 
 
 Honey X^^ingersnaps. — 1 pt. honey, f lb. butter, 2 tea- 
 spoonfuls ginger. Boil together a few minutes, and when 
 nearly cold put in flour until it is stiff. Roll out thin, and 
 bake quickly. 
 
 Honey Fruit-cake. — 1§ cups honey, f cup butter, § cup 
 sweet milk, 2 eggs well beaten, 3 cups flour, 2 teaspoonfuls 
 baking-powder, 2 cups raisins, 1 teaspoonful each of cloves 
 and cinnamon. 
 
 Honey Popcorn-balls. — Take 1 pt. extracted honey; 
 put it into an iron frying-pan, and boil until very thick ; then 
 stir in freshly popped corn, and when cold, mold into balls. 
 These will specially delight the children. 
 
 Honey-caramels. — 1 cup extracted honey of best flavor, 
 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoonfuls sweet cream or milk. 
 
 24>5 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Boil to "soft crack," or until it hardens when dropped into 
 cold water, but not too brittle — just so it will form into a 
 soft ball when taken in the fingers. Pour into a greased dish, 
 stirring in a teaspoonful extract of vanilla just before taking 
 off. Let it be ^ or I inch deep in the dish; and as it cools 
 cut in squares and wrap each square in paraffin paper, 
 such as grocers wrap butter in. To make chocolate cara- 
 mels, add to the foregoing 1 tablespoonful melted chocolate, 
 just before taking off the stove, stirring it in well. For choco- 
 late caramels it is not so important that the honey be of best 
 quality. C. C. Miller. 
 
 Honey Apple-butter. — 1 gal. good cooking apples, 
 1 qt. honey, 1 qt. honey vinegar, 1 heaping teaspoonful 
 ground cinnamon. Cook several hours, stirring often to 
 prevent burning. If the vinegar is very strong, use part 
 water. Mrs. R. C. Aikin. 
 
 Honey and Tar Cough -cure. — Put 1 tablespoonful 
 liquid tar into a shallow tin dish and place it in boiling water 
 until the tar is hot. To this add a pint of extracted honey 
 and stir well for half an hour, adding to it a level teaspoonful 
 pulverized borax. Keep well corked in a bottle. Dose, 
 teaspoonful every one, two, or three hours, according to 
 severity of cough. 
 
 Summer Honey-drink. — 1 spoonful fruit juice and 1 
 spoonful honey in J glass water ; stir in as much soda as will 
 
 246 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 Ke on a silver dime, and then stir in half as much tartario 
 acid, and drink at once. 
 
 Honey Cereal Coffee. — Fresh wheat bran, 5 lbs.; 
 mix with 2 lbs. of rye flour 2 lbs. of alfalfa honey. Mix the 
 honey with 3 pts. of boiling water. After the honey and 
 water have come to a boil, pour into the bran mixture. Stir 
 thoroughly, and knead to a very stiff dough. Put them 
 through a domestic meat-grinder to separate them. Dry in 
 a warm oven. Brown the same as coffee. For a coffee flavor, 
 add 2 lbs. best Mocha and Java. Have it all ground and put 
 in air-tight cans for future use. W. L. Porter. 
 
 Honey-taffy. — Boil extracted honey until it hardens in 
 cold water. Pull until white. Any quantity may be used. 
 One pound requires about twenty minutes' steady boiling. 
 
 Mary C. Porter. 
 
 Dyspepsia Remedy. — Dr. McLean, San Francisco, 
 California, recommends this for the cure of dyspepsia. Mix 
 a drink of honey and water to suit the taste, then add a small 
 quantity of myrrh (just a few drops), and drink every morning 
 on rising. 
 
 Honey-paste to put Labels on Tin. — Take two spoon- 
 fuls of wheat flour and one of honey. Mix the flour and 
 honey, and add boiling water to make \. the right thickness. 
 This is fine for labels or wall paper where paper will not ? Jck 
 with ordinary paste. W, L, Porter. 
 
 247 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 FOREIGN HONEY RECIPES 
 
 Alsatian Gingerbread. — 1 lb. honey, 1 lb. flour, ginger 
 to suit, 2j drams bicarbonate soda. The honey is first 
 brought to a boil, preferably in a double boiler. It is then 
 removed from the fire, and the flour well stirred into it, and 
 then the soda (or baking-powder) ; bake. If sweet ginger- 
 bread is wanted, add the white of an egg, well whipped, and 
 more honey. The above will keep well for a year if kept in 
 a cellar. 
 
 Swiss Cookies. — Prepare some dough as for the ginger- 
 bread, and mix with it J lb. crushed almonds, orange and 
 lemon juice, and cinnamon; and, if desired, cloves to suit the 
 taste. 
 
 Honey Fruit-cakes. — 4 eggs, 5 teacups flour, 2 teacups 
 honey, 1 teacup butter, 1 teacup sweet milk, 3 teaspoonfuls 
 baking-powder, 1 lb. raisins, 1 lb. currants, 1 teaspoonful 
 cloves, 1 teaspoonful cinnamon, 1 teaspoonful nutmeg. Then 
 bake in slow oven. The above will keep moist for months. 
 
 Honey Brown Bread. — 1 cup corn meal, 1 cup rye 
 meal, 1 cup sour milk, J (or less) cup honey, 1 teaspoonful 
 salt, 1 teaspoonful soda. Steam 4 hours, then dry in the oven 
 15 minutes. This bread should be kept in an air-tight box, 
 where it will keep fresh for a long time. 
 
 248 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 French Honey-muffins. — 1§ pts. flour, 1 cup honey. 
 J teaspoonful salt, two teaspoonfuls baking-powder, 2 table- 
 spoonfuls butter, 3 eggs, and a little over half a pint of milk 
 or thin cream. Sift together the flour, salt, and powder; rub 
 in the butter cold; add beaten eggs, milk, and honey. Mix 
 smoothly in batter as for pound cake ; about half fill sponge- 
 cake tins, cold and fully greased, and bake bread in good 
 steady oven for eight minutes. 
 
 Remedy for Constipation. — Dr. Vogel, of the Uni- 
 versity of Dorpat, one of the greatest authorities on the sub- 
 ject of children's diseases, recommends giving the juice of 
 well-stewed prunes, sweetened with honey, to very small 
 children, instead of castor oil or other remedies. This is also 
 a remedy which can be used by adults with good results. 
 Try it. 
 
 Honey-taffy. — Boil honey until it hardens when dropped 
 into cold water. Pull until it becomes white. Any quantity 
 may be used. A pound requires 20 minutes' boihng and 
 stirring. Great care must be exercised not to burn the 
 honey. It makes very fine taffy. 
 
 Honey-drops. — Blend J cup honey, 1 teaspoonful butter, 
 1 egg well beaten, f cup flour, sifted with half a teaspoonful 
 of baking-powder and a pinch of salt. Drop by teaspoonfuls 
 on a tin, and bake in a quick oven. These proportions will 
 make about 20 cakes. 
 
 249 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Pickled Grapes in Honey. — 7 lbs. good grapes (wine 
 grapes if possible). The stalks must be left, and carefully 
 packed in a jar without bruising any of them. Make a syrup 
 of 4 lbs. of honey, a pint of good vinegar with cloves, etc., 
 to suit the taste. Then boil the syrup, carefully skimming 
 it, for 20 minutes. While boiling hot, pour the syrup over 
 the grapes and seal up. This will keep perfectly for years, 
 as the honey is a preservative. 
 
 Honey Cold Cream. — 1 cup of honey; f of a cup of 
 beeswax; 1 cup of cottolene. Melt all, take off the fire, 
 and stir till it is cool; rose or violet perfume may be added. 
 It should be well protected from the air. The blending 
 should be well done. This is fine for chapped or rough 
 hands, which should be slightly wetted before applying. 
 
 Honey-cakes (Pain d' Spice or Lebkuchen). — The fol- 
 lowing recipe will be much appreciated by cake-makers. 
 The cakes are excellent, and will keep indefinitely. If they 
 get dry, simply put them for a few days into a bread-tin. 
 Use 3 lbs. of honey, 3 lbs. of flour, 1 oz. powdered ammonia, 
 a small teacupful of ground cinnamon, half-teaspoonful of 
 ground cloves, 6 oz. orange peel (or citron) cut very fine ; 4 oz. 
 sweet almonds cut very small. (The ammonia evaporates in 
 baking.) Directions. — Pour the honey in a granite ware or 
 copper saucepan, and set on the stove. When it boils, draw 
 it aside and remove the scum (as honey boils and burns very 
 quickly, great care must be used). Then pour the honey into 
 the vessel in which the paste is to be made; leave it to cool; 
 
 250 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 then add flour and other ingredients, except the ammonia 
 which latter must not be added till the flour and honey have 
 been mixed up and the paste has become cold. In preparing 
 for use, place the ammonia in a cup ; pour on a few drops of 
 cold water, and stir it well, so as to form a thick paste, then 
 mix it up with the rest. Then take a piece of the paste, roll it 
 out into a cake not over J inch thick, and cut up into conven- 
 ient sizes. Put these on a flat tin and bake in a hot oven 
 12 to 15 minutes. The above is made by the monks of 
 Buckfast Abbey, England. 
 
 Honey Vinegar. — The best vinegar produced any- 
 where is made from honey. Any one who understands how 
 to make cider vinegar can easily make honey vinegar, only 
 substituting water sweetened with honey for the apple juice. 
 
 Bar-le-Duc Preserves. — These preserves are believed 
 to be the finest of their kind, and have hitherto been im- 
 ported at extravagant prices. Other fruits besides currants 
 may be treated in this way, as honey is of itself a preservative. 
 These preserves do not require to be kept absolutely air- 
 tight. 
 
 Take selected red or white currants of large size, one by 
 one ; carefully make an incision in the skin J of an inch deep 
 with tiny embroidery scissors. Through this slit remove 
 the seeds with the aid of a sharp needle; remove the seeds 
 separately, preserving the shape of the fruit. Take the 
 weight of the currants in honey, and when this has been 
 
 251 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 heated add the currants. Let it simmer a minute or two, 
 and then seal as for jelly. The currants retain their shape, 
 are of a beautiful color, and melt in the mouth. Care should 
 be exercised not to scorch the honey, then you will have fine 
 preserves. 
 
 Honey-paste for Chapped Hands. — An excellent paste 
 for chapped hands is made as follows : The white of one egg, 
 one teaspoon of glycerine, one ounce of honey, and sufficient 
 barley flour to compose a paste. It may not be generally 
 known that honey is a prime ingredient of cosmetics; for 
 its action on the skin is always agreeable. 
 
 Honey for Cleaning the Hands. — Honey is an excel- 
 lent cleanser of the skin, though few are aware of the fact. 
 Try this : Rub a Httle honey on the dry skin ; moisten a little, 
 and rub again ; use more water, and rub. Wash thoroughly, 
 when it will be found the hands are as clean as the most 
 powerful soap can make them. 
 
 Honey Tooth-paste. — 8 oz. precipitated chalk, 4 oz. 
 powdered castile soap, 4 oz. orris-root powder, 40 drops oil 
 of sassafras, 80 drops oil of bay, and honey to make a paste. 
 
 French Honey-candies. — In an enamelled-ware sauce- 
 pan melt one part of gelatine in one part of water, stirring well. 
 When arrived at the state of a soft paste, add 4 parts of honey 
 previously warmed, stirring briskly. Take from the fire ; add 
 the desired flavor and color, mixing carefully, and pour into a 
 shallow hghtly greased dish. Let it dry for a few days. 
 
 252 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 Honey as a Softener of the Hands. — Rub together 
 1 lb. of honey and the yolks of 8 eggs; gradually add 1 lb. oil 
 of sweet almond during constant stirring ; work in ^ lb. bitter 
 almonds, and perfume with 2 drams each of attar of bergamot 
 and attar of cloves. Of course, the quantities may be reduced 
 if necessary. 
 
 Honey for Freckles. — Half a pound of honey, 2 oz. 
 glycerine, 2 oz. alcohol, 6 drams citric acid, 15 drops amber- 
 gris. Apply night and morning. 
 
 Honey-chocolate. — Chocolate sweetened with honey 
 rather than with sugar is excellent. This is how it is made : 
 Melt 1 lb. of gelatine in a pint of water; add 10 lb. of 
 honey, thoroughly warming the same, and then add 4 lbs. of 
 cocoa. Flavor with vanilla when taken off the fire, and then 
 pour into greased dishes or molds. 
 
 Honey Brown Bread. — One cup corn meal, 1 cup rye 
 meal, 1 cup sour milk, J cup or less of honey, a teaspoonful 
 of salt and a teaspoonful of soda. Steam four hours, and 
 then dry in the oven fifteen minutes. It may be added that 
 most of the molasses now sold is not fit to eat, and in any 
 case honey is much better. 
 
 It can be seen from the foregoing recipes 
 that honey has a multitude of uses in the home, 
 and its free use as a spread for bread is far 
 preferable for children to much of the cheap 
 candies that they buy. 
 
 253 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 We cannot close this chapter better than by 
 giving the advice of the Scriptures, found in 
 Proverbs xxiv: 13: "Eat honey because it is 
 good." Not only as a food has honey a great 
 value, but in medicine it has a large place, 
 especially in the treatment of colds and 
 diseases of the lungs, and forms a valuable 
 ingredient in many of the excellent cough 
 remedies that are made and sold. 
 
 The following uses of honey as a medicine are 
 given by permission of the A. I. Root Company : 
 
 Coughs, Colds, Whooping Cough, etc. — Fill a bell- 
 metal kettle with horehound leaves and soft water, letting it 
 boil until the liquor becomes strong — then strain through a 
 muslin cloth, adding as much honey as desired — then cook 
 it in the same kettle until the water evaporates, when the 
 candy may be poured into shallow vessels and remain until 
 needed, or pulled like molasses candy until white. 
 
 Dr. Kneipp's Honey-salve. — This is recommended as 
 an excellent dressing for sores and boils. Take equal parts 
 of honey and flour, add a Httle water and stir it thoroughly. 
 Don't make too thin. 
 
 Honey and Cream for Freckles. — Have you tried a 
 mixture of honey and cream — half and half — for freckles ? 
 
 254 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 Well, it*s a good thing. If on the hands, wear gloves on going 
 to bed. 
 
 Honey Croup Remedy. — This is the best known to the 
 medical profession, and is an infalHble remedy in all cases 
 of mucous and spasmodic croup: Raw linseed oil, 2 oz.; 
 tincture of blood root, 2 drams; tincture of lobelia, 2 
 drams; tincture of aconite, J dram; honey, four oz. 
 Mix. Dose, J to 1 teaspoonful every 15 to 20 minutes, ac- 
 cording to the urgency of the case. It is also excellent in all 
 throat and lung troubles originating from a cold. This is 
 an excellent remedy in lung trouble : Make a strong decoction 
 of horehound herb and sweeten with honey. Take a table- 
 spoonful four or five times a day. 
 
 Honey for Dyspepsia. — A young man who was troubled 
 with dyspepsia was advised to try honey and graham gems 
 for breakfast. He did so, and commenced to gain, and now 
 enjoys as good health as the average man; and he does not 
 take medicine. Honey is the only food taken into the 
 stomach that leaves no residue; it requires no action of 
 the stomach whatever to digest it, as it is merely absorbed 
 and taken up into the system by the action of the blood. 
 Honey is the natural foe to dyspepsia and indigestion, as well 
 as a food for the human system. 
 
 Honey as a Laxative. — In olden time the good effects 
 of honey as a remedial agent were well known, but of late 
 little use is made thereof. A great mistake surely. Notably 
 
 255 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 is honey valuable in constipation. Not as an immediate 
 cure, like some medicines which momentarily give relief, 
 only to leave the case worse than ever afterward, but by its 
 persistent daily use, bringing about a healthy condition of 
 the bowels, enabling them properly to perform their functions. 
 Many suffer daily from an irritable condition, behaving 
 themselves nervous, not realizing that constipation is at the 
 root of the matter, and that a faithful daily use of honey 
 would restore cheerfulness of mind and health to the body. 
 
 Honey for Old People's Coughs. — Old people's 
 coughs are as distinct as the coughs of children, and require 
 remedies especially adapted to them. They are known by the 
 constant tickUng in the pit of the throat — just where the 
 Adam's apple projects — and are caused by phlegm that accu- 
 mulates there, which, owing to their weakened condition, 
 they are unable to expectorate. 
 
 Take a fair-sized onion — a good, strong one — and let it 
 simmer in a quart of honey for several hours, after which strain 
 and take a teaspoonful frequently. It eases the cough won- 
 derfully, though it may not cure. 
 
 Honey for Stomach Cough. — All mothers know that 
 a stomach cough is caused by an irritation of that organ, 
 frequently attended with indigestion. The child often 
 vomits after coughing. 
 
 Dig down to the roots of a wild cherry tree, and peel off a 
 handful of the bark, put it into a pint of water, and boil 
 down to a teacupful. Put this tea into a quart of honey, and 
 
 256 
 
HONEY A FOOD AND MEDICINE 
 
 give a teaspoonful every hour or two. It is pleasant, and if 
 the child should also have worms, which often happens, they 
 are pretty apt to be disposed of, as they have no love for the 
 wild-cherry flavor. 
 
 Honey and Tar Cough Candy. — Put a double handful 
 of green horehound into two quarts of water, boil down to 
 one quart ; strain, and add to this tea two cupfuls of extracted 
 honey and a tablespoonful each of lard and tar. Boil down 
 to a candy, but not enough to make it brittle. Begin to eat 
 this, increase from a piece the size of a pea to as much as can 
 be relished. It is an excellent cough candy, and always 
 gives relief in a short time. 
 
 Honey and Tar Cough Cure. — Put one tablespoonful 
 liquid tar into a shallow tin dish, and place it in boihng water 
 until the tar is hot. To this add a pint of extracted honey, 
 and stir well for half an hour, adding to it a level teaspoonful 
 pulverized borax. Keep well corked in a bottle. Dose, one 
 teaspoonful every one, two, or three hours, according to 
 severity of cough. 
 
 «57 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 ROBBER BEES HOW TO PREVENT ROBBING 
 
 npHE energy that bees will display in rob- 
 -^ bing each other, also the alacrity with 
 which they will pounce upon any honey or other 
 sweets if left within their reach, is not after 
 all an unmixed evil, as it shows their indus- 
 try; and a few preventive measures will result 
 in keeping it within bounds and prevent any 
 serious consequences. 
 
 This tendency to rob prevails in all races 
 of bees, especially if no honey is coming in 
 from the fields, and is more pronounced in 
 some races than in others. 
 
 The Italian bees especially are given to 
 robbing, but be it said to their credit that 
 they are more easily discouraged from it 
 when attempts are made to break it up. 
 
 The main danger when extensive rob- 
 bing is under way, is that the robbers 
 
 258 
 
ROBBER BEES 
 
 after cleaning up any honey that may have 
 been left carelessly about, will proceed to 
 pounce upon one weak colony after another, 
 and will often clean them out completely, — 
 to say nothing of the viciousness of their 
 tempers when robbing. 
 
 When a single bee has succeeded in stealing 
 a load of honey from some weak hive, it seems 
 to have some means of communicating that 
 fact to the other members of its colony, for 
 when it rushes out for another load it is in- 
 variably accompanied by some of its comrades, 
 until literally thousands of bees are engaged 
 in robbing. 
 
 With the bees no question of ethics is in- 
 volved in robbing, as they seem to regard as 
 legitimate prey any and all honey that is in 
 their reach, and they will keep on stealing 
 until means are taken by their keepers to stop 
 it. 
 
 When honey is coming in from the fields 
 there is little danger of the bees robbing, and 
 extracting can be carried on in the open field 
 
 259 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 without any precaution whatever; but as 
 soon as the flow ceases the little rascals are 
 ready to gobble anything at hand, urged 
 thereto no doubt by the fact that they are in a 
 state of enforced idleness and want to lay up 
 as much honey for wintering as possible. 
 
 Until a case of robbing is well under way, 
 it will often be diflScult for the novice to detect 
 it, as the little thieves will act in many ways 
 similar to young bees taking a play spell 
 flying before their hives ; but when the thing is 
 in full operation, it is easy to recognize it at 
 once, as the hive being robbed will have a 
 large number of bees busily flying before it 
 like a new swarm coming out, and the terrific 
 fight going on on its alighting-board with the 
 dead bees that have been killed in the fight- 
 ing — often as many as a quart — will tell 
 its own tale even to the novice. 
 
 Another method of detecting robbing is to 
 watch the actionjs of the bees coming out of 
 the hive suspected of being robbed; as the 
 robber comes out it does not act in the 
 
 260 
 
ROBBER BEES 
 
 Jeisurely manner of a bee getting ready to fly 
 to the fields, but rushes out in a great hurry, 
 and the distention of its abdomen will indi- 
 cate that it is heavily loaded, whereas in the 
 case of a bee coming out for its flight to the 
 field, the abdomen is empty and slim in ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 It is a good plan as soon as the flow of honey 
 is over, and the weather not too warm, to con- 
 tract the entrances of all hives; this is not so 
 necessary in the case of strong colonies, but 
 where they are weak it is absolutely essential 
 and should not be neglected. Be careful 
 about opening hives out of season, and keep 
 their lids off only so long as is necessary ; above 
 all, do not leave any honey or feed syrup about, 
 for this will be only an invitation to robbing. 
 
 Where queen-rearing is carried on, there is 
 great danger of robbing, as the little mating 
 nuclei are not strong enough to repel the 
 invaders unless the entrances are small, and 
 what is true of nuclei is also true of all weak 
 colonies. 
 
 261 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Frequent cases of robbing are started in 
 the most innocent way imaginable by people's 
 making preserves in the neighborhood without 
 proper screens for the windows of the room 
 in which the preserving is done; I know of 
 one occasion when the bees drove a woman 
 from the room and swarmed upon the sugar 
 and syrup until it was all cleaned up, and it 
 was not until night that the woman could 
 get back. On the following morning thou- 
 sands of the little thieves were on hand to 
 complete the work and were only prevented 
 from continued robbing because every window 
 had been screened with mosquito netting 
 during the night. As it was, many bees 
 lingered about the windows all day, wondering 
 why their rich repast had been interfered with. 
 
 I knew of another case where a good house- 
 wife was candying some peaches; the candied 
 peaches were placed on a large tray on a shed 
 to harden in the sun, and in a few hours some 
 bees from a neighboring apiary had discovered 
 them. Before night they had licked all the 
 
 262 
 
ROBBER BEES 
 
 sugar from the peaches, leaving them as clean 
 as they were before being coated with sugar 
 syrup. The bees could hardly be blamed; if 
 anywhere, the blame rested upon the house- 
 wife for not protecting the fruit with a screen, 
 for common sense would have told her that 
 there must be some bees in the vicinity that 
 would take advantage of their opportunity. 
 
 If the robbing is confined to one or two 
 colonies, it will be a good thing to carry the 
 colonies being robbed into the cellar in the 
 dark, leaving them there until the following 
 afternoon, when they can be set out again, 
 and, with their entrances contracted, the dam- 
 age can be stopped. 
 
 If the robbing is general in the apiary, or 
 even if a single colony is being robbed, it can 
 often be stopped by throwing an armful of 
 brush at the entrance of the hive being robbed, 
 for the robbers are a bit wary about working 
 their way through the tangled mass, as they 
 always want a rapid way of retreat. In this 
 way the colony being robbed will be able to 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 get over their demoralization, and can mar- 
 shal and organize their scattered forces for a 
 good resistance; and if toward evening the 
 entrance to the hive is contracted it will have 
 spent its course as far as that hive individually 
 is concerned. Sprinkling the brush with cold 
 water has a good effect upon the robbers, and 
 they will often give up at once rather than 
 run the risk of getting wet and being placed 
 hors de combat. Frequently I have broken 
 up a case of robbing by squirting kerosene oil 
 on the front and on the alighting-board of 
 the hive being robbed, and this has proved 
 effective, because the robbers at once become 
 suspicious of the strange odor. It must be 
 remembered that a bee that is robbing is on 
 the lookout continually for some trap to catch 
 him in his piratical career, and their actions 
 indicate the fear of being killed. 
 
 Sometimes a colony will be so completely 
 cleaned out of its stores that it will be a wise 
 thing to let the robbers finish their work at 
 that hive rather than give their attention to 
 
 S64 
 
ROBBER BEES 
 
 others. At nightfall the cleaned-out hive can 
 be examined, and if the queen is uninjured, 
 and a fair amount of bees present, its entrance 
 can be contracted so that only a bee or two can 
 pas;^ out at a time, and in a couple of days it 
 can be built up with bees and sealed brood 
 from strong colonies and no serious damage 
 will have resulted. 
 
 A plain pane of glass laid in a slanting posi- 
 tion in front of a hive that is being robbed 
 will so confuse the robbers that they will give 
 up in despair, but the kerosene, squirted on 
 the front of the hive or on some brush or dried 
 grass thrown in front of the hive entrance, 
 is the best thing of which I know, and again 
 and again I have nipped in the bud what 
 promised to develop into a first-class case of 
 embezzlement. Turpentine, or a weak solu- 
 tion of carbolic acid water, will work equally 
 as well, and, when the robbed colony have a 
 chance to rest over night, and recover from 
 their panic, it is astonishing what a fight they 
 will be prepared to put up the following day. 
 
 265 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 When bees are in full swing of robbing they 
 are liable not only to pounce upon a weak 
 hive, but in all likelihood will sting everything 
 and everybody in sight, including stock, and 
 for this, if for no other reason, it is important 
 to prevent robbing entirely, and if it is under 
 way to break it up at once. If we were sure 
 that the robbers were entirely our own bees, 
 it might not be a great loss in honey, as the 
 honey that was robbed will be transferred to 
 other hives in the yard, but in all probability 
 the robbers are from any and all hives within a 
 radius of three miles, and no one cares to enrich 
 the yards of a neighbor at one's own expense. 
 
 It is sometimes the course of wisdom to 
 fight fire with fire, and to divert the robbers 
 from the hive that is being robbed by exposing 
 some combs of honey a little distance from 
 the apiary, and the robbers will leave the 
 hive they are robbing and devote their time 
 to the exposed combs, as there are no bees to 
 fight them. While they are robbing these 
 combs, the hives in the yard can be attended 
 
ROBBER BEES 
 
 to, and at night the combs can be carried into 
 the house. In the morning it is amusing to 
 see the clouds of bees hovering over the spot 
 where the combs were given them the day 
 before and wondering what on earth has 
 become of their "Klondike." 
 
 If it were possible to do all our work among 
 the bees during a honey flow, we should have 
 no trouble from robbing, but unfortunately 
 we have to do much work at other times, 
 especially if we are rearing queens; but this 
 difficulty can be overcome by using a small 
 tent, made for the purpose of laths and mos- 
 quito netting, which can be set over the hive 
 to be worked, and, as it is large enough to 
 permit the operator to do his work, all opera- 
 tions can be carried on in safety. These 
 tents are inexpensive and exceedingly light, 
 and are a positive necessity in a well-regulated 
 apiary of even moderate size, and the excellent 
 results they accomplish, added to the peace of 
 mind of the beekeeper, more than warrant 
 the expenditure for them. 
 
 267 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 It must not be supposed from the foregoing 
 that robbing is a terrible bugbear and a fatal 
 thing to bee-keeping, for I can safely say that 
 by the exercise of a little caution and the adop- 
 tion of the preventive measures referred to I 
 have not for ten years had a serious case of 
 robbing in any of my yards, and a pound of 
 prevention is worth a load of cure. Be care- 
 ful when working out of the honey flow, and, 
 when feeding the bees, not to let any of the 
 honey or feed lie about, and in all probability 
 you will never have a case of robbing that will 
 amount to anything. 
 
 268 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 FEEDING 
 
 "TTTHEN we speak of feeding bees we would 
 ^ ^ not be understood as advocating the 
 feeding of bees with sugar syrup in order to have 
 it stored in the combs and sold as honey, as 
 such a practice is dishonest, and certain to 
 bring the honey-producer into conflict with 
 the pure food laws; but rather that feeding 
 which from time to time is necessary, such as 
 feeding the bees to supply them with suflScient 
 stores to carry them over the winter, or to 
 stimulate brood-rearing in the early spring, or 
 when given to a hive to encourage them to rear 
 queens outside of the season of the natural 
 honey flow; and under these conditions feed- 
 ing is both legitimate and important. 
 
 Sometimes in the early spring, a colony or 
 two will be found to have come out of winter 
 quarters in a much-depleted condition, and 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 in order to encourage it to rear a lot of brood, 
 which it generally will not do until the natural 
 flow comes on, we feed it about a half pint of 
 syrup each day with remarkable results. 
 
 Some of the most successful beekeepers 
 even advocate feeding all colonies in the spring 
 for brood-rearing, but this is not at all neces- 
 sary — the better plan is to see that each colony 
 goes into winter quarters with abundant stores, 
 more or less of which will be present in the 
 hive with the coming of spring, as such stores 
 are the best for early brood-rearing without 
 resorting to stimulative methods. 
 
 Whether the feeding is to be done for early 
 brood-rearing, or for raising queens, or even 
 given in large quantities in the fall for winter 
 stores, the syrup should be the same, and is 
 made by thoroughly mixing equal parts of pure 
 granulated sugar and boiling water. If a large 
 quantity is to be made, it can be mixed up in 
 the extractor, first putting the boiling water in, 
 and pouring the sugar in while the baskets are 
 being whirled about. 
 
 270 
 
FEEDING 
 
 It is possible to make the stimulating syrup 
 with a smaller proportion of sugar, but this 
 is no advantage, as the surplus water has to 
 be thrown off by evaporation, and by using 
 equal parts of sugar and water, we save the 
 bees that much extra work. Moreover, ex- 
 periments have proved to me that they seem 
 to prefer the thicker syrup at all times. In 
 every case the syrup should be given them 
 while it is hot, as they take it up more quickly. 
 Under no conditions should the mixture be 
 boiled on a stove, as there is danger of scorch- 
 ing it, and this will work serious damage to the 
 bees in promoting dysentery and other intes- 
 tinal diseases, particularly where such syrup 
 is fed for winter stores. 
 
 There is no class of men given to invention as 
 much as are beekeepers. In regard to feeders, 
 especially, the number that has appeared from 
 time to time is enormous, and it is the pur- 
 pose of this chapter to call attention only to a 
 few that have stood the test of time. 
 
 A good feeder for stimulative feeding in 
 271 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 the spring is the Simplicity feeder. This is 
 nothing more than a long block of wood, 
 preferably basswood, that has been grooved 
 out to hold the feed; it is placed in an empty 
 super on the quilt or cloth that covers the 
 frames, and is of easy access to the bees pro- 
 viding one corner of the cushion or cloth is 
 turned up for the purpose. The principal 
 things in favor of this feeder are that it is 
 cheap and puts the feed where the bees are 
 most likely to go for it — overhead ; but it 
 has the objection that it necessitates the lift- 
 ing of the cover from the tops of the frames, 
 with more or less loss of warmth from the 
 brood nest, and this at the time of the year 
 that it is most needed. It might be said, 
 however, that a large number of beekeepers 
 have used and continue to use it. 
 
 Another good feeder is the Alexander 
 feeder. This is built somewhat on the plan 
 of the Simplicity, but has the decided advan- 
 tage of being placed directly under the rear 
 end of the hive with a block covering the end 
 
 272 
 
FEEDING 
 
 that projects beyond the hive, which is lifted 
 for filling, and, when put back, the little block 
 shuts off all entrance for robber bees. An- 
 other thing in favor of the Alexander feeder 
 is that it does not require the opening of the 
 hive for filling, or the lifting up of the cushion 
 or cloth for the bees to get at the syrup, and 
 does away with loss of heat from the brood 
 nest. 
 
 The most serious objections to the Alex- 
 ander feeder are, first, that to use it requires 
 that the hive body shall be pushed back from 
 its entrance, and in stormy weather rain is 
 sure to run down the sides of the hive and 
 dilute the syrup, causing the feeder to over- 
 flow on the ground and start up a first-class 
 case of robbing at the most unfavorable season 
 of the year. 
 
 Still another feeder is the Boardman, which 
 is nothing more than an ordinary quart jar, 
 filled with syrup, to which has been fitted a 
 perforated metal cap, fitting down securely 
 in a hollowed block of wood. This is shoved 
 T 273 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 in at one side of the hive entrance, and gives 
 the bees of the hive access to the feed, 
 at the same time excluding bees from other 
 colonies that show an inclination to rob. 
 One thing in favor of this feeder is that, the 
 jar being of glass and being in position out- 
 side of the hive, the beekeeper can tell at a 
 glance just how rapidly the colony is taking 
 the feed, and will thus know how much to give 
 daily to each individual colony. 
 
 Experience has proved again and again 
 that an ideal feeder is one which places the 
 feed right over the cluster where it is naturally 
 found by a colony, and which does not permit 
 the escape of heat. There is no feeder on the 
 market that meets this requirement except 
 the Lyon feeder, invented by the author. 
 The following directions show how it should 
 be made. 
 
 Take two boards, ^ inch thick, and cut 
 them so that the two will just cover the brood 
 body of the hive. To secure the two boards, 
 tack some cleats, |- inch thick and as long as 
 
 274 
 
FEEDING 
 
 required, to the top ends of the boards and 
 along its top sides, so that when all is nailed 
 you have a wooden cover that fits flush with 
 the outside sides of the hive. 
 
 Fill with syrup a one-quart or a two-quart 
 Hazel Atlas, or ordinary preserving- jar, and 
 cover it with a perforated metal cap with 
 rubber ring, procured from the bee supply 
 house, and it is ready to be placed in the 
 boarded cover. Place the metal cap in the 
 centre of the board top, and mark around it 
 with a lead pencil; then with a compass 
 saw, saw a round piece of wood out of the 
 wooden cover. Nail a square piece of wood, 
 not over |- inch thick, to the round piece 
 that was cut out, having the square block 
 projecting an inch beyond the round block 
 to prevent its dropping through the hole 
 upon the frames when the jar is not being used. 
 
 When you are ready to feed, remove the lid 
 from the hive and place the feeding-board 
 over the brood nest. In the hole place the 
 inverted feeding- jar with metal cap screwed 
 
 275 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 tightly on, and on top of the feeding-board 
 place an empty hive body, and on top of this 
 place the lid of the hive. 
 
 When the jar needs refilling, it can be lifted 
 out of its hole and taken to the house, the 
 round wooden piece of wood being put back 
 in the hole, to prevent the bees from coming 
 up while the jar is being refilled, and when 
 filled the jar can be set in place again. A 
 little time can be saved by filling another jar 
 and placing it immediately in the hole at the 
 time the empty one is taken out, and when the 
 feeding is all over, whether for stimulating 
 brood or for giving winter stores, the wooden 
 block can be placed in the hole, and the feeder 
 board left where it is as a permanent cover 
 to the brood frames, the extra body removed, 
 and the lid of the hive placed upon the feeder 
 board. 
 
 These feeder boards have the advantage of 
 being used as a permanent cover underneath 
 the hive lid the year round, and whenever the 
 colony needs feeding it can be changed to a 
 
 276 
 
FEEDING 
 
 feeding-board in a second by simply removing 
 the round block from its hole, and inserting the 
 jar in its place. This does away with many 
 extra fixtures, and permits feeding in small or 
 large amounts without escape of heat from the 
 colony, or opening of the brood nest either 
 above or below. 
 
 I prefer a half-gallon Hazel Atlas jar, as a 
 little feed can be given in them for early brood- 
 rearing, and when it comes to heavy feeding 
 for winter, a large quantity can be given each 
 time with the use of but one jar. I have used 
 these feeders for years. They never fail to 
 serve the purpose. They are better than 
 any feeders that I have seen, and are readily 
 made out of old boards, boxes, or other 
 material at hand. 
 
 The Doolittle Division board feeder is 
 made the size of a brood frame and is placed 
 in the centre or at one side of the brood nest, 
 but as the use of this feeder necessitates the 
 opening of the hive every time it is filled, and 
 when filled many bees are likely to be drowned, 
 
 277 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 I, personally, have never found it so satisfac- 
 tory as some others. 
 
 Whatever feeder is used, the colony fed for 
 early brood-rearing should be given toward 
 evening about half a pint of hot syrup, and 
 if the amount given is more than the bees 
 will take up during the night, the quantity 
 should be accordingly reduced. The feeding 
 should be discontinued as soon as a regular 
 flow begins to come in from natural sources, 
 and the feeders stored away, though in the 
 case of the Lyon feeder only the glass jars 
 are taken away, as the feeding-board remains 
 as a cover for the frames beneath the hive lid. 
 
 In feeding for winter stores the standard 
 feeder for years was the Miller feeder, a large 
 water-tight box with two compartments so 
 arranged that the bees have access to the feed 
 through a wire screen and are thus in no 
 serious danger of being drowned. This 
 feeder will hold as much as twenty-five pounds 
 of syrup, and is placed in an empty comb 
 honey super on top of the brood frames. 
 
 278 
 
FEEDING 
 
 Honesty compels me to say the Lyon 
 feeder is equally as effective, though it may 
 require the refilling of the half-gallon jars 
 a couple of times, to give the required 
 amount for winter stores; and, unlike others, 
 there is no pouring and splashing of feed 
 outdoors, and no bees can possibly crowd up 
 around the feeder and get drowned in the 
 syrup as hundreds of bees often do in other 
 feeders in spite of careful packing of cloths 
 around them. 
 
 It is generally conceded that September 
 is the best time to feed for winter stores, as 
 the bees will take the feed much quicker than 
 later on; but if there is a prolonged flow 
 from the late fall bloom, we often sacrifice a 
 lot of syrup in feeding, as many a light colony 
 will secure from late flowers, even after Sep- 
 tember, sufficient honey for successful win- 
 tering. Bees will seldom take down feed in 
 bitter cold weather when other feeders are 
 used, and in this respect the Lyon feeder excels 
 them all. 
 
 279 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Even in freezing weather it is possible to 
 place a Lyon feeder in place and fill the super 
 brood body around it with planer shavings. 
 The feed will keep warm a surprisingly long 
 time, and even through the winter can, from 
 time to time, be replenished, as the packing 
 will keep it from getting too cold. Being 
 right over the brood nest, the bees can get it 
 without leaving the cluster, and will go through 
 the winter depending on it entirely, whereas 
 with other feeders they will starve with chilled 
 feed near them. 
 
 Every colony to be wintered in the cellar 
 should have at least fifteen pounds of stores, 
 and if honey to this amount is not present, it 
 should be supplemented to that quantity by 
 syrup. 
 
 Where bees are to be wintered outdoors 
 there should be about twenty-five pounds of 
 stores present. One can, by lifting the back 
 end of the hive tell by the weight of it, if it 
 is well supplied with winter stores; and even 
 though a colony is short, there will be more or 
 
 280 
 
FEEDING 
 
 less honey present, and only a little additional 
 syrup will be necessary. 
 
 Feeding is only necessary where we have 
 used the extractor too freely or where the 
 colony has not gathered enough, and there are 
 many seasons when the bees do so well that 
 feeding will not be required. Be careful in 
 feeding not to splash any feed about, or robbers 
 may defeat the very end you have in view in 
 feeding; so, for this reason, it is best to defer 
 feeding until late in the day, and to contract 
 the entrances of the hives being fed. I 
 would not advocate the open outdoor method 
 as tried by some, which consists in pouring 
 a large quantity of feed in an open trough, 
 as it is open to the objections that robbing is 
 likely to be encouraged; hives that do not need 
 feeding will get a goodly share of it; you may 
 be feeding bees from hives not your own; and, 
 to say the least, it is an expensive and uncer- 
 tain method. 
 
 Better give to each colony individual treat- 
 ment, and then you will have the satisfac- 
 
 281 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 tion of knowing that it is getting just the 
 amount it requires, and there will be no 
 danger of feeding all the bees in the neigh- 
 borhood. 
 
 282 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 HOW TO WINTER BEES SUCCESSFULLY 
 
 /^ ENERALLY speaking, there are two 
 ^^ ways in which bees are wintered, out- 
 doors, and in cellars or special repositories, 
 and the methods of treating the colonies vary 
 according to the plan followed. 
 
 For many years there have been discussions 
 among beekeepers as to which plan is the 
 better, and there is a great deal to be said in 
 favor of both, but it is conceded by eminent 
 authorities that the outdoor plan is preferable 
 if the conditions of successful outdoor winter- 
 ing are followed, and the bees provided with 
 the proper packing and shelter. Personally 
 I believe that outdoor wintering is best even in 
 cold climates; but outdoor wintering in such 
 sections demands great care in the matter of 
 extra packing, in order to bring the bees 
 
 283 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 through their long winter's sleep in good con- 
 dition, with the coming of spring. 
 
 In favor of indoor wintering in cellars and 
 special repositories, it is said that it requires 
 less stores to winter bees indoors, which is a 
 distinct saving in honey and offsets the extra 
 work of moving them in and out, and the bee- 
 keeper has no worry from the possibility of 
 their freezing if left outdoors, if the weather 
 goes down below zero and remains there for 
 weeks at a time. I shall show, however, that 
 if properly packed for extreme coldness the 
 fear of loss from freezing is groundless. Of 
 course it costs a great deal more for winter 
 cases for outdoor wintering, but the first cost 
 is the principal one, and the added benefits 
 derived more than offset the matter of expense, 
 and the added strength in spring of colonies 
 wintered outdoors as compared with those 
 wintered indoors means a larger surplus from 
 the early flow. 
 
 Bees wintered indoors cannot take advan- 
 tage of occasional warm days during winter 
 
 284 
 
HOW TO WINTER BEES 
 
 for cleansing flights, and if the winter is pro- 
 longed, are subject to dysentery, whereas the 
 outdoor bees have had several opportunities 
 in which to relieve themselves, and seldom 
 suffer from it. Again, bees wintered indoors 
 require constant care in the matter of receiv- 
 ing proper ventilation and regulation in the 
 matter of temperature, and when set outdoors 
 in the spring suffer from spring dwindling, in 
 case a cold spell should come on after they are 
 set out. They are even destroyed, while bees 
 that were wintered outdoors do not feel the 
 change, as they are in their winter packing 
 and are used to the cold. 
 
 To offset spring dwindling, many a bee- 
 keeper places some extra protection around 
 his bees when he sets them out in spring, and 
 while this is a help, the bees nevertheless suffer 
 from the contrast when placed outdoors, and 
 spring dwindling is the rule rather than the 
 exception. 
 
 If the truth were known, the real reason why 
 so many beekeepers keep a large number of 
 
 285 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 colonies wintered indoors is because they hesi- 
 tate about going to the extra expense and 
 trouble of providing winter cases for each 
 hive, and having to pack them. The trouble 
 of packing is no greater than that of having to 
 move the bees in and out each year. 
 
 As outdoor wintering is the simpler and 
 easier method, especially for the beginner, 
 we will describe it first. 
 
 Whether bees are to be wintered outdoors 
 or in the cellar, every colony should be gone 
 over carefully in September and care exercised 
 to see that each colony is strong in bees and 
 stores. If there are a number of weak colo- 
 nies, it is best to unite several of them 
 and make strong ones, as these weak colonies 
 are almost sure to perish, and it is a waste of 
 time to try to winter them separately. Sup- 
 posing that every colony is in good condition, 
 we will in following the outdoor plan leave 
 every colony on its summer stand, and as cold 
 weather becomes settled, about the middle of 
 November, we will now get ready to pack them. 
 
HOW TO WINTER BEES 
 
 Some beekeepers use nothing but chafi 
 hives, and where these hives are used, it is a 
 very simple matter to get them ready. All 
 that we have to do is to put the chaff tray 
 filled with planer shavings on the hive, over 
 the board that covers the frames, and when it 
 is in place slip the large telescoping cover over 
 all and the hive is prepared. In sections of 
 the country where the winters are moderately 
 mild with an occasional zero day, these hives 
 fulfil every requirement, but in the extreme 
 north, where zero weather prevails for weeks 
 at a time, a thicker packing than that of the 
 ordinary chaff hive will be necessary. The 
 extra cost of the chaff hives has stood in the 
 way of their general adoption by the majority 
 of beekeepers who winter out of doors, and 
 this has led to other methods for providing 
 winter protection which, to say the least, are 
 far from what they should be. Better put the 
 bees in the cellar a thousand times than to 
 leave them outdoors once without proper cas- 
 ing. Beekeepers of this class usually place 
 
 287 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 over every hive an empty section super, in 
 which is stuffed a bag containing old leaves, 
 cut hay, wheat chaff, or even rags, and with 
 the lid over this, the hives are left for the winter. 
 We would not say that such packing is of no 
 benefit, but it does fall far short in giving the 
 extra warmth that goes to make up successful 
 outdoor wintering. 
 
 Still another class of beekeepers resort to 
 old newspapers, and where about an inch of 
 these is placed on top of the board covering the 
 brood nest, the lid being previously removed, 
 and about a dozen thicknesses of paper tied 
 around the four sides of the hive, and a deep 
 wooden telescope case pressed down over 
 the same, leaving of course the entrance of the 
 hive open, this will, in the majority of cases 
 where moderate winters prevail, winter the 
 bees in fairly good shape. 
 
 Other beekeepers make large tenement 
 boxes in which they place several hives side 
 by side and pack the large case with some 
 absorbent packing, covering the case with a 
 
HOW TO WINTER BEES 
 
 good waterproof paper, and in many cases 
 the bees winter remarkably well, but if you 
 want to be absolutely certain of wintering 
 your bees successfully, even in Canada, adopt 
 the following plan used by the author, who 
 tried and discarded long ago as unsatisfactory 
 most of the methods referred to above. 
 
 For each hive, I have a large winter case 
 or nearly square box made of 1 inch 
 board, which is by inside measurement five 
 inches wider all around than the hive body, 
 and six inches deeper. This is a perfectly 
 plain box without bottom or lid, but at its 
 bottom edges I have some ^ inch thick 
 strips that run in at all sides at right angles 
 from the sides and which permit of the case 
 being slid down over the body of the hive 
 with about J inch space all around. The 
 lid of the hive must be removed to permit 
 of this case going down around the hive. On 
 each side of the bottom board of the hive I 
 have a cleat running its entire length from 
 front to back, to act as a rest for the winter 
 u 289 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 case, which rests on both sides on the strips 
 that run in at right angles, and prevent the 
 winter case from slipping down over the 
 entrance of the hive. These cleats, which are 
 one inch thick, are left as a permanent part of 
 the bottom board and are nailed on just 
 a trifle below the edge of where the bottom 
 board comes in contact with the bottom edge 
 of the hive body, so that the winter case when 
 packed will cover the crack completely and 
 keep out wind and water. The winter case 
 projecting beyond the hive body all around 
 prevents completely the clogging of the hive 
 entrance with snow, and keeps out the rain. 
 When the winter case is in place and the feeder 
 or cover board is over the frames, a barrel 
 of planer shavings is dumped into it and 
 packed tightly around the sides and ends, 
 and about eight inches of loose planer shavings 
 are put over the top of the hive body. Over 
 this winter case is slipped a telescope lid that 
 is five inches deep and has a tin roof, and 
 by this means perfect conditions prevail, as 
 
 290 
 
HOW TO WINTER BEES 
 
 the colony has for protection, first its hive 
 body ^ inch thick on all sides, then five 
 inches of planer shavings all around with 
 eight inches on top, and a waterproof tele- 
 scope case over this. The lid to this winter 
 case can be covered with a good heavy paper 
 such as Rubberoid, and will not cost as much 
 to make as the one with the sheet iron cover- 
 ing. In these perfect cases, the bees are 
 comfortable, and even in the extreme north 
 will winter in fine shape. 
 
 The metal-covered cap is used all through 
 the summer season as a lid for the hive over 
 the board cover over the brood nest; and as 
 it projects some ten inches all around, it acts 
 as a perfect sun shade; when the time comes 
 for winter packing it is made to fulfil a two- 
 fold purpose by covering the winter case. 
 Any one can make these cases, and, as they are 
 the result of many years' experiment, they 
 are the best in the world. 
 
 When wintering bees in a cellar, the prepa- 
 ration of the colonies is about the same as 
 
 291 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 far as strength is concerned, with the possible 
 exception that not quite so much honey needs 
 to be present in the hive, and the proper time 
 to place the bees in the cellar is after cold 
 weather has come, — generally speaking this 
 is about the 20th of November. The best 
 time is after two or three warm days follow- 
 ing a cold spell, so that the bees may have a 
 final cleansing flight, and when the cold days 
 come on again the colonies are ready for 
 moving into their winter quarters. Any good 
 dry cellar will do for this purpose, but all the 
 windows should be darkened, for the bees 
 are to winter in absolute darkness, and if the 
 entire cellar cannot be devoted to them, a 
 part of it should be partitioned off with shin- 
 gling-laths and building-paper so that it can 
 be kept absolutely dark. 
 
 One by one, toward the close of day, the 
 hives on their bottom boards with lids in place 
 should be carried in and placed in rows against 
 the wall, and when the entire floor space is 
 occupied, leaving an aisle down the middle, 
 
HOW TO WINTER BEES 
 
 other hives may be piled on top of those on the 
 floor and on up to the ceiling, leaving every 
 hive with a full opening at its entrance. 
 
 When once the bees are placed in their 
 winter quarters, the only things to be looked 
 after are ventilation, and the maintenance 
 of the proper temperature, which may vary 
 between forty and sixty degrees, though the 
 nearer forty-five it can be kept the better. 
 If the temperature should rise on mild days, 
 and the bees show signs of restlessness, it 
 will be necessary to open the door of the 
 cellar or a window after dark and leave them 
 open all night, but be sure to close them 
 before daybreak lest the bees be lured out by 
 the light. 
 
 Even though the winter may be severe 
 outside and the bees are not restless, it is an 
 excellent thing to ventilate the cellar occa- 
 sionally. The ideal plan is first to open a 
 part of the cellar most distant from the bees 
 and allow fresh air to enter it, and then close 
 the outer door, and allow the fresh air to be- 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 come tempered as it were, and then open the 
 door that leads into the part of the cellar where 
 the bees are stored, and let the tempered air 
 into them. By following this method, the 
 bees are not disturbed as they would be if the 
 cold air were turned in on them directly from 
 outdoors. 
 
 Do not be alarmed if during the winter 
 some dead bees should accumulate on the cel- 
 lar floor, for this does not indicate any injury, 
 but they are merely old bees that have died 
 off from natural causes and that have crawled 
 out of the hive to keep from dying within 
 their homes. If the bottoms of the hives 
 are fitted with reasonably deep bottom boards, 
 it will not be advisable to try to scrape out the 
 dead bees with a piece of wire, as some bee- 
 keepers advocate, as all such poking has a 
 tendency to annoy the bees and disturb their 
 slumbers. The less we trouble them, the 
 better it will be for all concerned. Where 
 house apiaries are used, the packing can be 
 done inside the house around the hives, but 
 
 294 
 
HOW TO WINTER BEES 
 
 house apiaries have long since been discarded 
 by progressive beekeepers, as the bees are 
 always getting on the floor during the working 
 season, to say nothing of other annoyances, 
 that led to their rejection years ago. 
 
 The individual beekeeper must be the best 
 judge as to the proper time to place his bees 
 outdoors in the spring, but, generally speaking, 
 the latter part of March, or, better still, when 
 the pussy-willows are in bloom, or when 
 settled, mild weather prevails, and a little added 
 protection in the way of packing-paper placed 
 about each hive as it is set out will help to 
 keep down spring dwindling. The planer 
 shavings, packing, and cases can be left on 
 the hives of the bees wintered outdoors until 
 fruit bloom, and will go a great way toward 
 encouraging early brood-rearing, and here we 
 have another advantage in favor of outdoor 
 wintering with proper packing. In some of 
 the northern states some beekeepers bury their 
 bees for winter in long trenches or clamps, 
 and cover them with branches and leaves and 
 
 295 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 a foot or so of earth, but we would not ad- 
 vise such a plan, especially for the beginner. 
 A great deal more might be written about 
 the wintering of bees and other plans dis- 
 cussed, but as we have given the best two, 
 we need not add explanation concerning 
 methods that have been discarded, as it will 
 only be unprofitable and confusing. By all 
 means winter out of doors, and by giving the 
 proper protection for the hives in the winter 
 cases fully described, you will have a plan 
 which is ideal and that will help toward suc- 
 cess in a hundred ways. 
 
 296 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 nnHE sources from which bees gather 
 -^ their honey are many and unexpected, 
 and often in a locality that would be con- 
 sidered unfavorable, they gather a surplus 
 that is simply surprising. It is not even 
 necessary to locate in a section where the 
 presence of honey- secreting blossoms are 
 noticeably abundant, for there are many 
 plants seldom observed that yield to the bee- 
 keeper a goodly supply of honey. 
 
 Not every flower that blooms produces 
 honey, and many a humble blossom likely 
 to be overlooked will upon careful examina- 
 tion prove to be a most prolific source of 
 revenue. Nor is it advisable to plant special 
 crops such as alsike, clover, buckwheat, and 
 other plants primarily for the honey they will 
 
 297 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 produce, but rather depend upon the bloom 
 that is always present in greater or less quantity. 
 
 We would not gainsay the fact that the 
 beekeeper is favored who is located in sec- 
 tions where honey-producing plants are cul- 
 tivated, but, even so, a close scrutiny of the 
 flora of any locality will reveal the presence 
 of many a source upon which the busy bees will 
 levy a handsome tribut*. . 
 
 Study your locality. The following list 
 taken from a United S; \tes Department of 
 Agriculture Bulletin will give some idea of the 
 many sources of supply. The larger the type, 
 the more important the plant: — 
 
 NORTH AND NORTHEAST 
 
 NAME [Above 40° N.] time of bloom 
 
 Red or Soft Maple (Acer ruhrum) .... April. 
 
 Alders (Alnus) April. 
 
 Elm (Ulmus) April. 
 
 Willows {Salix) Apr-May. 
 
 Dandelion (Taraxacum taraxacum = T. offi- 
 cinale of Gray's Manual) Apr.-May. 
 
 Sugar, Roch^ oi Hard Maple (Acer saccharum 
 
 '^ A. saccharinum oi Gray's M.siimaX) . . Apr.-May. 
 298 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Juneberry, or Service Berry (Amelanchier cana- 
 densis) May. 
 
 Wild Crab Apples (Pyrus) May. 
 
 Gooseberry and Currant (Rihes) • . . May. 
 
 Peach, Cherry, and Plum (Prunus) . • . May. 
 
 Pear and Apple (Pyrus) May. 
 
 Huckleberries and Blueberries (Gaylussada 
 
 and Vaccinium) May-June 
 
 CoJVEViON, Black, or Yellow Locust {Rohinia 
 
 pseudacacia) May-June. 
 
 European Horse-chestnut {Msculus hippocasia- 
 
 num) May-June. 
 
 Common Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) . . . May-June. 
 
 Tulip Tree, or *'Whitewood" (Liriodendron 
 
 tulipifera) May- June. 
 
 Grapevines (Vitis) May-June. 
 
 Rape (Brassica napus) May-June. 
 
 White Mustard and Black Mustard {Brassica 
 
 alba and B. nigra) June. 
 
 RASPBERRY {Ruhas) June, 
 
 WHITE CIvOVER (Tnfolium repens) , . June-July. 
 
 ALSIKE CLOVER (Trifolium hybridum) . June-July. 
 
 Edible Chestnut (Castanea dentata = C. sativa 
 
 var. americana of Gray's Manual) . . June-July. 
 
 Alfalfa, or Lucern (Medicago sativa) . . June-July. 
 
 LINDEN, or BASSWOOD (Tilia americana) July. 
 
 Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) July. 
 
 Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) . . . July. 
 
 299 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Melilot, Bokhara, or Sweet Clover {Meli- 
 
 lotus alba) July-Aug. 
 
 Indian Corn {Zea mays) July-Aug. 
 
 Melon, Cucumber, Squash, Pumpkin {Citrul- 
 
 lus, Cucumis, and Cucurbita) ..... July-Aug. 
 Fireweed (Erechthites hieracifolia) . . . July-Sept. 
 
 Chicory (Cichorium intybus) July-Sept. 
 
 Knotweeds {Polygonum, especially P. penn- 
 
 sylvanicum and P. persicaria) .... Aug.-Sept. 
 BUCKWHEAT (Fagopyrum fagopyrum = F. 
 
 esculentum of Gray's Manual) .... Aug.-Sept 
 Indian Currant, or Coral Berry (Symphori- 
 
 carpos symphoricarpos = S. vulgaris of 
 
 Gray's Manual) Aug.-Sept. 
 
 Great Willow-herb (Epilobium angusti- 
 
 folium) Aug.-Sept. 
 
 Thorough wort, or Boneset (Eupatorium perfoli- 
 
 atum) Aug.-Sept. 
 
 Burr Marigolds (BidenSy especially Spanish 
 
 Needles, Bidens bipinnata) .... Aug.-Oct. 
 
 Wild Asters {Aster) Aug.-Oct. 
 
 GoLDENRODS {SoUdago) Aug.-Oct. 
 
 MIDDLE SECTION 
 
 [Between 35° and 40® N.] 
 
 Redbud {Cercis canadensis) Mar.-Apr. 
 
 Alder {Alnus rugosa — A. serrulaia of Gray's 
 
 Manual) Mar.-Apr. 
 
 300 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 T. qffl- 
 
 Red or Soft Maple (Acer ruhrum) 
 
 Elm (Ulmus) 
 
 Willows (Salix) 
 
 Dandelion (Taraxacum taraxacum 
 
 cinale t)f Gray's Manual) . . 
 Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) , . 
 Juneherry (Amelanchier canadensis) 
 Wild Crab Apples (Pyrus) . . 
 Gooseberry and Currant (Ribes) 
 Rhododendrons (Rhododendron) . 
 Peachy Cherry y and Plum (Prunus) 
 Pear and Apple (Pyrus) , . . 
 Crimson Clover (Trifolium incarnatum) 
 Huckleberries and Blueberries (Gaylussacia 
 
 and Va^cinium) 
 
 American Holly (Ilex opaca) 
 
 Black Gum, Sour Gum, Tupelo or Pepperidge 
 
 (Nyssa aquatica = N. sylvatica of Gray's 
 
 Manual) 
 
 Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos) (California) . . 
 Common, Black, or Yellow Locust (Rohinia 
 
 pseudacacia) 
 
 Barberry (Berberis canadensis) 
 
 TULIP TREE, or *' POPLAR" (Liriodendron 
 
 tulipifera) 
 
 Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) .... 
 
 Grapevines (Vitis) 
 
 Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) .... 
 
 Mar.-Apr. 
 Mar.-Apr. 
 Mar-May. 
 
 Apr.-May. 
 Apr.-May. 
 Apr-May. 
 Apr.-May. 
 Apr.-May. 
 Apr.-May. 
 Apr.-May. 
 Apr.-May. 
 Apr.-May. 
 
 May. 
 May. 
 
 May. 
 May. 
 
 May. 
 May. 
 
 May. 
 
 May- June. 
 May- June. 
 May-June 
 
 301 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 White Clover (Trifolium repens) May- June. 
 
 Aldke Clover {Trifolium hyhridum) .... May- June. 
 
 Raspberry (Rubus) May-June. 
 
 CowPEA (Vigna sinensis) May-Aug. 
 
 Edible Chestnut (Castanea dentata = C. 
 
 sativa var. americana of Gray's Manual) June. 
 
 Chinquapin {Castanea pumila) June. 
 
 Catalpas, or Indian Bean Trees (Catalpa) . June. 
 
 Magnolia, or Sweet Bay (Magnolia Glauca) June. 
 
 Linden, or "Linn" (TiZm ammcana) . . . June. 
 SOUR WOOD, or SORREL TREE (Oxy- 
 
 dendrum arboreum) June-July. 
 
 Oxeye Daisy, or Whiteweed (Chrysanthemum 
 
 leucanthemum) June-July. 
 
 Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) July. 
 
 Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) . . . July. 
 Cleome, or "Rocky Mountain Bee Plant" 
 
 (Cleome serrulata = C. integrifolia of 
 
 Gray's Manual) (West) July-Aug. 
 
 ALFALFA (Medicago sativa) (West) . . . July-Aug. 
 MELILOT, BOKHARA, or SWEET 
 
 CLOVER (Melilotus alba) July-Aug. 
 
 Cucumber, Melon, Squash, Pumpkin (Cucu- 
 
 misy Citrullus, and Cucurbita) .... July-Aug. 
 Knotweeds (Polygonum, especially P. pennsyl- 
 
 vanicum and P. persicaria) July-Sept. 
 
 Buckwheat (Fagopyrum fagopyrum = F. escu- 
 
 lentum of Gray's Manual) Aug.-Sept. 
 
 302 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Wild Asters (Aster, especially Heath-like 
 
 Aster, Aster ericoides) Aug.-Oct 
 
 Thorough wort, or Boneset (Eupatorium perfoli- 
 
 atum) Aug.-Oct. 
 
 Burr Marigolds (Bidens, especially Spanish 
 
 Needles, Bidens bipinncUa) Aug.-Oct. 
 
 Goldenrods (Solidago) Aug.-Oct. 
 
 Indian Corn (Zea mays) July-Aug. 
 
 SOUTH 
 
 [Below 350 NJ 
 
 Redbud (Cerds canadensis) Feb.-Mar. 
 
 Alder (Alnus rugosa = A. serrulata of Gray's 
 
 Manual) Feb.-Mar. 
 
 Red or Soft Maple {Acer ruhrum) .... Feb.-Mar. 
 
 Elm (JJlmus) Feb.-Mar. 
 
 Willows {Satix) Feb.-Mar. 
 
 DandeKon (Taraxacum taraxacum=T. officinale 
 
 of Gray's Manual) Feb.-Mar. 
 
 Apricot (Prunus armeniaca) Feb.-Mar. 
 
 Carolina Cherry, or Laurel Cheixy (Prunus 
 
 caroliniana) March. 
 
 Juneberry (Amelanchier canadensis) . . . March. 
 
 Orange and Lemon (Citrus) Mar.-Apr. 
 
 Cottonwoods or Poplars (Populus) .... Mar.-Apr. 
 
 TiTi (Cliftonia ligustrina) (Florida and south- 
 ern Georgia, westward) Mar.-Apr, 
 
 Gooseberry and Currant (Ribes) Mar.-Apr. 
 
 303 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Peachy Cherry^ and Plum {Prunus) .... Mar-Apr. 
 
 Pear and Apple {Pijrus) Mar.-Apr. 
 
 Huckleberries and Blueberries {Gaylussada 
 
 and Vaccinium) April. 
 
 Crimson Clover {Trifolium incarnatum) . . . April. 
 
 Black Gum, Sour Gum, Tupelo, or Pepper- 
 IDGE (Nyssa aquatica = N. sylvatica of 
 Gray's Manual) April. 
 
 Ball, or Black Sage {Ramona stachyoidesy R. 
 palmeriy etc. = Audihertia stachyoides, 
 etc., of the Botany of California) (Cali- 
 fornia) April. 
 
 Gallberry, or Holly (Ilex glabra) .... Apr.-May. 
 
 Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos) (California) . . Apr.-May. 
 
 Acacias (Acacia) Apr.-May. 
 
 CommoUy Black, or Yellow Locust (Robinia 
 
 pseudacacia) Apr.-May. 
 
 Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) .... Apr.-May. 
 
 Edible Chestnut (Castanea dentata = C. 
 
 saliva var. americana of Gray's Manual) . Apr.-May. 
 
 Chinquapin (Castanea pumila) Apr.-May. 
 
 Catalpas (Catalpa) Apr.-May. 
 
 Magnolias (Magnolia) Apr.-May. 
 
 Rhododendrons, Rosebays, Azaleas (Rhododen- 
 dron) Apr.-May-June 
 
 Mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) (Texas and 
 
 westward) Apr.-July. 
 
 Cowpea (Vigna sinensis) <, Apr.-Aug. 
 
 304 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Tulip Tree, or *' Poplar" (Ldriodendron 
 
 tulipifera) May. 
 
 Mountain Laurel (Kcdmia latifolia) .... May. 
 
 Grapevines (Vitis) May. 
 
 Raspberry (Rubus) May. 
 
 China Berry, China Tree, or Pride of India 
 
 {Melia azedarach) May. 
 
 WHITE SAGE (Ramona polystackya = Avdi- 
 
 hertia polystackya of the Botany of California) 
 
 (California) May-June, 
 
 HORSEMINT (Monarda citriodora) . . . May-July. 
 SOURWOOD, or SORREL TREE {Oxyden- 
 
 drum arhoreum) May-June. 
 
 SAW PALMETTO (Serenoa serrulata) (coasts 
 
 of Georgia and Florida) May-June. 
 
 Banana (Musa sapierdum) May-Sept. 
 
 Linden, or "Linn" (ri/iaa??ierica?ia) . . . June. 
 Red Bay (Persea borbonia = P. carolinensis of 
 
 Gray's Manual) June. 
 
 Indian Corn (Zea mays) June-July. 
 
 Cucumber, Melon, Squash, Pumpkin (Cucumis, 
 
 CitruUus, and Cv^urhitd) June-July. 
 
 CABBAGE PALMETTO {Sabal palmetto), coasts 
 
 of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) June- July. 
 BLACK MANGROVE (Avicennia tamentosa 
 
 and A. oblongijolia) (Florida) .... June-July. 
 
 ALFALFA (Medicago saliva) June-Aug. 
 
 Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) June-Aug. 
 
 X 305 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Melilot, Bokhara, or Sweet Clover (Meli- 
 
 lotus alba) June-Aug. 
 
 Wild Pennyroyal (Hedeoma pulegioides) . June-Sept. 
 Blue Gum and Red Gum {Eucalyptus globulus 
 
 and E. rostrata) (California) .... July-Oct. 
 Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) 
 
 (California) Aug-Sept. 
 
 Japan or Bush Clover (Lespedeza striata) . . Aug.-Sept. 
 Burr Marigolds (Bidens, especially Spanish 
 
 Needles, Bidens bipinnata) Aug.-frost. 
 
 Wild Asters (Aster, especially Heath-like 
 
 Aster, Aster ericoides) Aug.-frost. 
 
 Goldenrods {Solidago) Aug.-frost. 
 
 It would be well-nigh impossible to give a 
 complete list of all the flowers that are more 
 or less important, but in addition to the list 
 already given we append the following, by 
 permission of the editor of " Gleanings in Bee 
 Culture," and the beekeeper will do well to 
 study it carefully and familiarize himself 
 with the plants that are present in his 
 immediate vicinity. He will be astonished 
 at the varieties to which his bees have 
 access. 
 
 Words in small capitals mean the subject 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 is treated of in " Gleanings in Bee Culture." 
 "See" means the subject is treated of under 
 another name. 
 
 Acacia dealbata, or silver wattle; California, from Aus- 
 tralia; commercially important. 
 
 Acacia decurrenSy black wattle; California; similar to the 
 above. 
 
 Acacia famesia (huisache); along the Rio Grande; much 
 grown in Europe as an ornamental plant. 
 
 Acacia Greggii (catclaw, or una de gato). Southwest Texas, 
 New Mexico, and Arizona — see Catclaw. 
 
 Adinomeris squarrosa, golden honey-plant. 
 
 Agave Americana, pulque, century plant; Mexico, 
 Southern United States. 
 
 Aguinaldo (Ipomea sidcefolia), Cuba — see Bellflower. 
 
 Alders (Alnus). 
 
 Alfilarila (Erodium cicvtarium), or pin clover; Arizona 
 and Cahfornia; an excellent honey and forage plant from 
 Europe — see " pin clover ' ' under head of Clover. 
 
 Alfalfa, or lucern (Medicago saliva), see Alfalfa. 
 
 Algarroba {Inga dulsis) and other species. 
 
 Alsike or Swedish clover {Trifolium hyhridum) — see 
 Alsike Clover. 
 
 Anchusa tinctoria, dye-plant. All the anchusas are ex- 
 cellent bee-plants. 
 
 Antignon leptopus, Mexican rose, or coralita, California, 
 Florida, West Indies, and Mexico; an excellent honey-plant. 
 
 307 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Apple (Fyrus). The whole apple family is here meant — 
 see Fruit-blossoms. 
 
 Apricot (Prunus Armeniaoa)y California. 
 
 Archas sapota, sapodilla; fruit-tree of the tropics; Florida. 
 
 Ash {Fraxinus ornus) or flowering or manna ash; planted 
 south for its beauty. 
 
 Asters {Aster) of many species almost everywhere — see 
 Asters. 
 
 Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), cultivated. 
 
 Artichoke, true or globe artichoke {Cynara scolymus)* 
 
 Avocada pear (Persea gratissima), Florida. 
 
 Banana (Musa sapientum and M. Cavendishii), Florida 
 and the tropics generally. 
 
 Berberry {Berheris vulgaris), 
 
 Basil, or mountain mint (Pycnantkemum lanceolatum), 
 
 Basswood, or American linden (Tilia Americana^ also 
 T, heterophylla)y Southern Kentucky, and Allegheny Moun- 
 tains — see Basswood. 
 
 Beans (Phaseolus lunatus), lima beans in California; 
 horse beans (P. nanus) in British Isles and Holland. 
 
 Bee-balm {Melissa officinalis)^ garden flower. 
 
 Beggar-tick, or burr marigold {Bidens frondosa). United 
 States — see Spanish Needle„ 
 
 Bellflower, Christmas bells, Christmas pop, aguinaldo, 
 campanilla, etc. {Ipomea sidoefolia), of Cuba, Jamaica, and 
 other West India islands and Mexico. 
 
 Bergamot {Monarda Jistulosa), a kind of mint; United 
 States. 
 
 308 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Bignonia radicanSy south — see Nectar. 
 
 Blackberry (Rubus), of many species; Europe and United 
 States. 
 
 Black gum — see Nyassa or Tupelo. 
 
 Black mangrove (Avicennia nitida) ; Florida and the coasts 
 of all tropic seas; generally known as mangrove except in 
 British Guiana, where it is known as "courida" — see Man- 
 grove. 
 
 Blackheart, or water smartweed (Polygonum acre), closely 
 related to buckwheat: Illinois. 
 
 Black mustard (Brassica nigra) — see Mustard. 
 
 Black sage (Ramona stachy aides and R. palmeri), Cali- 
 fornia — see Sage. 
 
 Bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia), north and west. 
 
 Blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus), Tasmania and Cali- 
 fornia — see Eucalyptus. 
 
 Blue thistle (Echium vulgare) viper's bugloss; a weed 
 from Europe; Virginia and Pennsylvania. 
 
 Boneset, or thoroughwort (Eupatorium perfoliatum) , a 
 honey-plant of considerable importance. 
 
 Borage (Borago officinalis), Em-ope, but now well known in 
 the United States. 
 
 Box-elder, or ash-leaved maple (Acer negundo). Northern 
 States. 
 
 Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) y the tree box of the Balearic 
 Islands and Turkey; produces much honey but it is very 
 bitter; introduced into the U. S. 
 
 Buckbush (Symphoricarpus vulgaris) — see Buckbush. 
 
 309 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Buckeye {Msculus glabra), Ohio and similar States. 
 
 Buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus). Southern States. 
 
 Buttercup, oxaKs of Bermuda (Oxalis Bermudiana), fine 
 for those who wish to plant for bees. 
 
 Buckwheat (Polygonum fagopyrum) — see Buckwheat. 
 
 Buckwheat, wild (Polygonum acre), also blackheart. 
 
 Burdock (Lappa major) , has white pollen. 
 
 Burr marigold (Bidensfrondosa), a near relative of Spanish 
 needle, which see. 
 
 Bush honeysuckle (Diervilla Japonica), cultivated, Japan. 
 
 Button-bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis); important on 
 the overflowed lands of the Mississippi. 
 
 Butterweed (Senecio lobatus). South and Southwest. 
 
 Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) common cabbage: see also 
 colza, rape, turnip, charlock, white and black mustard, be- 
 longing to the Cabbage family. 
 
 Campanilla (Ipomea sidcefolia), Cuba — see Bellflower. 
 
 Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), in Canada. 
 
 Cassia (Cassia chamoBcrista). Probably all cassias are 
 honey-plants. 
 
 Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) ; good where grown for 
 seed; very common in Argentina. 
 
 Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis). 
 
 Carob bean (Ceratonia siliqua) — St. John's bread for the 
 Southwest; similar to catclaw. 
 
 Carpenter's square — see Figwort. 
 
 Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), hardy catalpa, planted for its 
 timber and shade. 
 
 310 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Catclaw (Acacia Greggii), important in the Southwest — 
 see Catclaw. 
 
 Catnip (Nepeta cataria), an important honey-plant in 
 Europe and North America. 
 
 Ceratonia siliqua, or St. John's bread, now introduced into 
 the United States from Europe, will probably become important. 
 
 Chaste-tree (Vitex agnus castus) introduced from Europe 
 into parks, cemeteries, etc. This and the New Zealand 
 species, Vitex littoralesy are excellent. 
 
 Chayote (Sechium edule), grown as a vegetable around 
 New Orleans; a good honey-plant. 
 
 Cherry (JPrunus cerasus)^ the cultivated cherry. 
 
 Chick pea (Cicer arietinum), known in the West as coffee 
 pea; grown very largely in Mexico — "garbanza." 
 
 Chicory (Cichorium intybus), cultivated in Europe — a 
 common weed here. 
 
 Chinquapin (Castanea pumila), of considerable impor- 
 tance to the South. 
 
 Cleome integrifoliay also C. spinosa, same as Rocky Moun- 
 tain bee-plant, which see. 
 
 Clovers — see article under this head; also Alfalfa, 
 Alsike, Sainfoin, Sulla, Crimson Cl., Sweet and Pea- 
 vine Cl. 
 
 Clover, alsike (Trifolium hybridium), Swedish clover — ■ 
 see Clover. 
 
 Clover, crimson (Trifolium incarnatum) — see Crimson 
 Clover. 
 
 Clover, red (Trifolium pratense) — see Clover, 
 
 311 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Clover, yellow {Trifolium procumbens). New England, 
 Eastern and Middle States to Tennessee. 
 
 Cocoanut (Cocoa nucifera), Florida and the tropics. 
 
 Coffee (Coffea Arahica and Liberica); honey clear, but 
 season very short ; sometimes grown in Florida. 
 
 Coreopsis (Coreopsis aristosa) — see Span, Needle; Illi- 
 nois and Missouri. 
 
 Corn, Indian (Zea mays) ; under certain conditions maize, 
 or corn, is a good honey-plant. 
 
 Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum) ; south; some say it com- 
 pares with clover. 
 
 Cowpea (Vigna sinensis) ; Southern States. 
 
 Crab apple (Pyrus coronaria). New York; west and south. 
 
 Crocus (Crocus), of many species; both spring and fall 
 varieties are good. 
 
 Crowfoot (Ranunculus repens). 
 
 Cucumber (Cucumis sativus). In the vicinity of pickle- 
 factories this plant yields quite a harvest of honey after clover 
 is over. 
 
 Culver's root (Veronica Virginica) ; north. 
 
 Currant (Ribes rubrum), from Europe; cultivated. 
 
 Cytisus proliferous alba — tree alfalfa; grown a little in 
 California; a great honey-plant in the Canary Islands. 
 
 Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). 
 
 Date (Phcenix dactylifera) ; a great honey-plant now being 
 planted in Arizona and California. 
 
 Duranta plumieriy or pigeon-berry, recently introduced 
 into Florida and California; an exquisite honey-plant. 
 
 312 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Ebony {Zygia fiexicaulis) , Southwest Texas — not the 
 true ebony. 
 
 Echinops spherocephalusy also E. ritro — excellent plants 
 for introduction — see Chapman, H. P. 
 
 Elms (Ulmus), of various species. Where plentiful the 
 elms are of considerable importance on account of their aid 
 in early brood-rearing. 
 
 Eriohotrya Japonica — loquat fruit of Japan; excellent 
 honey-plant; Florida, Gulf Coast, California, Georgia, and 
 Arizona ; known in some sections as Japan plum. 
 
 Esparcette — see Sainfoin. 
 
 False indigo {Amorpha fruclicosa)^ Ohio, Pennsylvania; 
 south and west. 
 
 Figwort (Scrofularia nodosa) — see Figwort. 
 
 Fireweed, or willow-herb, which see (Epilobium angiisti- 
 foliwfn), the great fireweed of the North; Ontario, Quebec, 
 Northern Michigan, and the Hudson Bay country. 
 
 Fog-fruit {Lipyia nodiflora), California (carpet-weed); 
 Texas and the West Indies; a great honey-plant, but Httle 
 known. See Carpet Grass. 
 
 Freesia refracta alba, an exquisite honey-plant grown in 
 California for its bulbs ; also in Florida and the Gulf Coast. 
 
 Gallberry, or holly (Ilex glabra), south; important. 
 
 Genip (Melicocca bijuga), in South Florida; heavy yieldel 
 where common. 
 
 Germander, or wood-sage (Tettcrium Canadense). 
 
 Giant hyssop (Lophanthus) — species, north and west. 
 
 Gill-over-the-ground, or ground-ivy {Nepeta glechoma), 
 
 313 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Giant mignonette (Reseda grandiflora) — see Mignonette. 
 
 Golden apple (Spondias dulcis), Florida. 
 
 Golden honey-plant (Actinomeris squarrosa). 
 
 Goldenrod (Solidago) , — species. 
 
 Gooseberry {Rihes grossularia). 
 
 Grape {Vitis lahrusea). 
 
 Ground-ivy (Nepeta glechoma). 
 
 Heal-all, or figwort (Scrofularia nodosa) — see Figwort. 
 
 Hibiscus esculentus — okra, or gumbo, of the South. 
 
 Hibiscus sabdariffa — Jamaica sorrel of Florida. 
 
 Huajilla (Zygia brevifolia), Texas and adjacent countries. 
 See Huajilla. 
 
 Hawthorn (Cratagus Oxycantha), Great Britain, Ireland, 
 and North Europe; introduced here. 
 
 Hazelnut and filbert (Corylus avelana and C. Americana), 
 valuable in early spring for pollen. 
 
 Heartsease, which see, or large smartweed (Persicaria 
 mite) , on the overflowed lands of the Mississippi River. 
 
 Heather (Erica vulgaris); a prolific source of honey in 
 Europe and the British Isles. The honey is thick, with a rich 
 flavor. In the same latitude on this continent its place is 
 taken by the fire weed, which see — an excellent yielder 
 also. 
 
 Hercules club (Aralia spinosa). 
 
 Hemp (Cannabis sativa, also C. Indica), ganja of the East. 
 
 Horehound (Marrubium vulgare). Good yields of honey 
 have been reported from this plant; but it is so bitter as to 
 be worthless except as medicine. It might improve with age. 
 
 314 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Hog-plum (Spondias luted); Florida; a splendid yieldei 
 of honey. Known as hobo in Cuba. 
 
 Holly, American (Ilex opaca). 
 
 Honey-locust (Gleditschia triacantkos), also known as white 
 locust. 
 
 Honeysuckle (Lonicera caprifolid), and some other species 
 not so well known. 
 
 Horse-chestnut (Mculus hippocastanum) , European species. 
 
 Horsemint, which see (Monarda fistula). 
 
 Hoya carnosa, or wax-plant — see Nectar. 
 
 Huisache, Mexican name for Acacia Farnesiana, a beauti- 
 ful tree of the Southwest, similar to catclaw. 
 
 Indian currant, coral-berry, buckbush, which see (Sym- 
 fhoricarpus vulgaris). 
 
 Ironwood, or hornbeam (Carpinus Americana). 
 
 Japanese buckwheat — see Buckwheat. 
 
 Japan plum; south; same as *'loquat." 
 
 Japan privet {Ligustrum J aponicum) , all Southern States 
 and California; hedge-plant of the best. 
 
 Judas-tree, redbud (Cerds Canadensis). 
 
 June-berry, service-berry, shad-berry (Amelanchier Canor 
 densis). 
 
 Knotweed, or, heartsease which see (Persicaria mite). 
 
 Lantana (L. nivea and L. mixta) > Florida, Bahamas, and 
 Bermuda. 
 
 Lemon {Citrus limonum), Florida and California. 
 
 Lentil (Ervum lens), or pulse of the East; much used in 
 Europe to make soup. Italians grow it in this country. 
 
 315 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Lime (Tilia Europea), English name for linden or bass- 
 wood; now much planted as an avenue tree in the United 
 States. 
 
 Lime (Citrus limetta); Florida, CaUfornia, and the West 
 Indies. 
 
 Limnanthes Douglasii, or marsh-flower; native of Cali- 
 fornia; cultivated in England for bees. 
 
 Linden (Tilia Europea)^ or European basswood; famous 
 in Berhn and other places as a street tree; now popular in 
 the United States. 
 
 Liquidambar Styracifluay sweet gum ; very important, par- 
 ticularly south. 
 
 Locust, which see (Robinia pseudacacia) ; now being 
 planted for its timber in Ohio and other States. See Locust. 
 
 Logwood (HcBTnatoxylon Campechianum); the various 
 states bordering on the bay of Campeche; introduced into 
 Florida, Jamaica, West Indies, and South America. See 
 Logwood. 
 
 Loquat (Eriobotyra Japonica) ; sometimes wrongly named 
 Japan plum ; south ; valuable because it flowers very late. 
 
 Lucern (Medicago sativa); the English name for the 
 Spanish alfalfa. 
 
 Lupine (Lupinus perennis). 
 
 Madrona (Arbutus Xalapensis), southwest. 
 
 Magnolia (M. grandiflora and others) ; south. 
 
 Malva (M. alcea). 
 
 Mammoth red or peavine clover — see Clover. 
 
 Manzanita (Arctostaphylos) , California. 
 316 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Maples (Acer), — species. The different species are o! 
 much value, yielding well for early brood-rearing. 
 
 Marigold, which see (Gailardia pulchella). 
 
 Marjoram (Origanum vulgare). 
 
 Marsh sunflower (Helianthus strumosus). 
 
 Matrimony- vine (Lydum vulgare). 
 
 Meadow-sweet, or spiraea (Spirea salicifolia). 
 
 Melilot (Melilotus alba) , or honey lotus — see Sweet 
 Clover, white and yellow. 
 
 Melons (Cux^urbita melo). Melons of all kinds are valuable 
 to apiarists. 
 
 Mesquite, which see (Prosopis pubescens and julijlora); 
 southwest and New Mexico. 
 
 Mignonette (Reseda odorata). 
 
 Milkweed (Asclepias eornuti). 
 
 Milk- vetch (Astragalus Canadensis), 
 
 Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca). 
 
 Mountain laurel, sheep laurel, rhododendron (Kalmia 
 latifolia), famous for producing honey which has sickening 
 properties — see Poisonous H. P. 
 
 Mustard (Brassica arvensis)^ charlock of England. 
 
 Okra, or gumbo (Hibiscus esculentus). 
 
 Onion (Allium cepa). There are reports of yields of honey 
 from fields of onions cultivated for seed, having very strongly 
 the peculiar onion odor, which, however, disappears after a time. 
 
 Orange (Citrus aurantium) ; considered valuable in some 
 places. 
 
 Oxeye daisy (Bellis integrifolia) ; Kentucky and southwest 
 317 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Palmetto. 
 
 Parsnip (Padinaca sativd)^ from the common parsnip 
 run wild. 
 
 Partridge pea (Cassia chamoecrista). 
 
 Peach (Prunus Persica) — see Fruit-Blossoms. 
 
 Pea vine, or mammoth red clover (Trifolium pratense) — 
 see Clover. 
 
 Pecans {Hicoria Pecan). Good in the South. 
 
 Pepperidge — see Tupelo. 
 
 Peppermint {Mentha vulgaris). 
 
 Pepper-tree (Schinus molle), Cahfornia and Florida; fine 
 shade-tree; excellent for honey. 
 
 Persimmon (Diospyrus Virginianum and Texana) ; known 
 as "lotus" in Europe. 
 
 Phacelia tanacetifolia, a beautiful garden-plant from Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Phormium tenax. New Zealand flax; sometimes grown 
 south ; good yielder ; may become very important commercially. 
 
 Pin-clover, or alfilarila {Er odium Cicutarium Geranicce). 
 
 Plane-tree (Platanus orientalis), also known as sycamore 
 or buttonwood; good in Europe, and introduced here; simi- 
 lar to our sycamore ; a fine shade-tree. 
 
 Plantain, or rib-grass (Plantago major), has white pollen. 
 
 Plantain fruit (Musa paradisica), similar to the banana, 
 but extensively used as a vegetable in all tropic latitudes, 
 Florida, and Porto Rico. 
 
 Pleurisy-root (Asclepias tuberosa) ; highly praised by James 
 Heddon. 
 
 318 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Plums. All kinds of wild plums yield honej. 
 
 Pmnciana regia, Florida. 
 
 Poplar, or whitewood, which see {Liriodendron tulipi/era). 
 
 Poplar (Populus), south. 
 
 Prairie clover (Petalostemon Candida), good in Texas. 
 
 Protea mellifera alba. South Africa; a wonderful yielder 
 of honey. See Nectar. 
 
 Pumpkin {Cucurbita pepo); cultivated; the original, 
 C. ovifera, runs wild in Texas. 
 
 Rape {Brassica campestris). 
 
 Raspberry (Rubus strigosus). Northern Michigan and 
 similar localities; R. idcesis, European raspberry, and R, 
 roswfolius, Porto Rico and West Indies. 
 
 Rattan (Berchemia scandens) ; Texas ; a heavy yielder. 
 
 Rattlesnake root, or white lettuce (Nabalus altissimus), 
 
 Rattleweed, or figwort, which see. 
 
 Redbay (Persea Carolinensis), south. 
 
 Redbud, or Judas-tree (Cercis Canadensis). 
 
 Red gum {Eucalyptus rostrata), CaUfornia and native of 
 Australia. 
 
 Rhododendron, species; rosebays, azaleas, species; and 
 sheep laurels, or mountain laurels; important in the moun- 
 tains of the South; known in England as American plants. 
 Rhododendron pontica was the source of the honey which 
 poisoned Xenophon's army of ten thousand. 
 
 Rocky Mountain bee-plant, which see (Cleame integru 
 folia). 
 
 Royal palm {Oreodoxa regrm), Florida, Cuba, and Porto Rica 
 319 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Rose apple (Eugenia jambos), Florida; very important in 
 Cuba and Porto Rico. 
 
 Sage, black (Ramona stachyoides and R. palmeri); very 
 important in California — see Sage. 
 
 Sage, white (Ramona polystachia) ; California. 
 
 St. John's- wort (Hypericum) , — species. 
 
 Sage, button, same as black sage, which see. 
 
 Sainfoin, which see (Onohrychis sativa); a great plant* 
 similar to alfalfa. 
 
 Saw palmetto (Sabal serrulata) ; Georgia and Florida. 
 
 Serradella clover (Ornithopus sativus) ; a fine honey-plant, 
 similar to sainfoin, which see. 
 
 Shadbush (Amelanchier Canadensis), also known as June- 
 berry and service-berry. 
 
 Shaddock, pomelo, or grape fruit (Citrus decumana); 
 Florida and California. 
 
 Simpson honey-plant, same as figwort, which see. 
 
 Smartweed, same as heartsease, which see. 
 
 Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale). 
 
 Sorrel-tree, same as sourwood, which see. 
 
 Sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum); Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
 and south. 
 
 Spanish needle, which see (Coreopsis aristosa and C. aurea), 
 better known as tickseed. 
 
 Spider-flower or spider-plant, which see (Cleome pungens). 
 
 Square-stalk, same as figwort, which see. 
 
 Squash (Cucurbita maxima). 
 
 Stone crop (Sedum pulchellum), south. 
 
 320 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) ; cultivated. 
 
 Sulla clover (Hedysarum coronarium) , or Spanish sainfoin; 
 a good honey-plant for the Gulf States. 
 
 Sumac {Rhus venenata). 
 
 Sunflower {Heliardhus major). 
 
 Sweet clover {Melilotus alba) — see Cloveb. 
 
 Sweet gum — see Liquidamhar styracifiiia. 
 
 Sweet potato (Ipomea batata). 
 
 Tea (Thea Bohea). 
 
 Thistle (Cirsium arvense), Canada. 
 
 Thyme {Thymus vulgaris). The classical honey of Mount 
 Hymettus was from this. 
 
 Tickseed, or Spanish needle, which see. 
 
 Ti-Ti {Cliftonia mxmophylla) ; Georgia and Florida prin- 
 cipally. 
 
 Touch-me-not, or swamp balsam {Impatiens pallida) — 
 see Pollen. 
 
 Trefoil, or clover, which see. 
 
 Tulip-tree, or whitewood, which see (Liriodendron tvlipi- 
 fera). 
 
 Tupelo {Nyssa mvltiflora), common tupelo, or sour gum; 
 N. aqvatica, water tupelo or gimi; N. uniflora, large tupelo; 
 N. capitala^ Ogeechee lime; very important south. 
 
 Turnip {Brassica depressa). 
 
 Valerian {Valeriana edulus) ; Ohio and westward. 
 
 Varnish-tree {Alyanthus glandulosa); south from Japan; 
 honey bad. 
 
 Vervain {Verbena officinalis), 
 
 T 321 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Viper's bugloss, or blue thistle, which see {Echium vulgare). 
 
 Vetch (Vicia), — species. 
 
 Virginia creeper (Ampelopsis quinquefolia), 
 
 Vitus bipinnata, south. 
 
 Vitex agnus castus, chaste-tree in Europe and United States; 
 introduced ; V. littoralisy important in New Zealand. 
 
 White mustard (Brassica alba). 
 
 White wood, which see {Liriodendron tulipifera). 
 
 White sage (Ramona polystachya) , CaliioTma,. 
 
 Wild buckwheat {Polygonum); produces a light-colored 
 honey. 
 
 Wild cherry (JPrunus Pennsylvanica), north. 
 
 Wild senna {Cassia chamoecrista) . 
 
 Wild rose {Rosa Carolina, lumda, blanda, caninat rugosa). 
 
 Wild sunflower {Helianthus) , — species. 
 
 Willow {Salix). All species form an important class, 
 coming as they do early in the season, and yielding both honey 
 and pollen. 
 
 Willow-herb, which see {Epilobium angustifolium) , 
 northern parts of the United States and Canada. 
 
 Wistaria {Wistaria chinensis). 
 
 Yellow- wood {Virgilia luted). Virginia. One of the 
 finest native ornamental trees. 
 
 CONCLUDING WORD 
 X ET no one imagine from the foregoing 
 -*— ^ chapters of this work that beekeeping is a 
 royal road to wealth, for there is a vast amount 
 
 32^ 
 
SOURCES OF HONEY 
 
 of experience and hard work demanded to 
 make it a success, but it can be said in all 
 truthfulness, that for the amount of time and 
 application given to this most interesting de- 
 partment of rural life, the returns are far 
 greater than in almost any other field of 
 endeavor. 
 
 To be out in the great outdoors, amid the 
 hum of these marvellously active and won- 
 derfully intelligent creatures, is compensation 
 enough in itself for the labor we give to them. 
 But taking a more practical and perhaps 
 sordid view of the subject, there is no reason 
 in the world why any man or woman of in- 
 telligence may not, after several seasons' ex- 
 perience, make the bee a sole means of live- 
 lihood, and in the doing have their work con- 
 fined to the most delightful months of the year. 
 The practical work in the bee yard will be 
 compassed between March and November, 
 while the rest of the year may be devoted to 
 disposing of the crop or in other avenues 
 of congenial endeavor. 
 
 323 
 
HOW TO KEEP BEES FOR PROFIT 
 
 Beekeeping has been called the poetry of 
 agriculture, and certainly there is no more 
 noble profession on earth, nor one in which 
 the exercise of skill and experience will bring 
 a more liberal income for men and women 
 who give their time and effort to its pursuit. 
 
 As we stand amid the hives and hear the 
 merry hum of its many thousand denizens, 
 there will come to us again and again a feel- 
 ing of contentment in the knowledge that 
 their multiplied efforts are in our behalf; and 
 when the season draws near for the gathering 
 of the harvest of golden nectar, how proud 
 we are to know that owing to our skill 
 and direction, the busy little people have suc- 
 ceeded in gathering far more nectar than if 
 left to their own inclinations. The greatest 
 of the world's writers have written of these 
 wonderful little creatures; how infinitely better 
 is it to know and care for them and realize 
 they are ours, and have wrought to make us 
 happier and wealthier. 
 
 SU 
 
INDEX 
 
 After-swarms, treatment of, 48. 
 
 Age of bees, 46, 50-51. 
 
 Alexander, E, W., method of 
 doubling colonies practised by, 
 153, 170; experience of, in 
 matter of large apiary in one 
 yard, 185-186; treatment of 
 bee diseases by, 196-197. 
 
 Alexander feeder, the, 272-273. 
 
 Alfalfa as forage for bees, 173. 
 
 Alley Method of queen-rearing, 
 109. 
 
 Alsatian gingerbread made with 
 honey, 248. 
 
 American foul brood disease, 187- 
 194. 
 
 Antennae of bees, 14. 
 
 Apiaries, system of out apiaries, 
 58, 173 ff.; location of, and of 
 hives in, 172 ff. ; house apiaries, 
 294-295. 
 
 Apple-butter from honey, 246. 
 
 Artificial comb honey, impossi- 
 bility of making, 31. 
 
 Automatic hivers, fallacy of, 92. 
 
 Bakers, use of honey by, 236-238. 
 
 Banat bees, 24. 
 
 Baskets for tools, 68. 
 
 Basswood, fondness of bees for, 
 38. 
 
 Bears, damage to hives from, 200. 
 
 Bees, life of, 3; physiology of, 
 11-17; workers, 12, 13, 45, 48- 
 49, 52, 54; drones, 13, 51, 52- 
 54; queens, 13, 26-27, 41-44, 
 46, 48, 97 ff., 100, 111, 113-115, 
 
 164-167, 199; races and varie. 
 ties, 18-27; homes of, 28-39; 
 constitution of family, 40-54; 
 mating of, 41-43; moving of, 
 59-64, 179-180; handling of, 
 73-82; swarming of, 83-96; 
 increasing of, 152-171; diseases 
 of, 187-198; enemies of, 199- 
 201 ; robbers and robbing, 258- 
 268; feeding, 269-282; winter- 
 ing of, 283-296. 
 
 Beeswax, uses of, 217-219; 
 methods of rendering, 221-229. 
 See Wax. 
 
 Bingham uncapping knife, 145. 
 
 Birds as bee enemies, 199. 
 
 Black bees, 18-20; resemblance 
 of Caucasians to, 24. 
 
 Black brood disease, 189-192, 
 194-197. 
 
 Bleaching of wax, 225-228. 
 
 Blood of bees, 16. 
 
 Boardman entrance feeder, 168, 
 273. 
 
 Books on bees, 11, 17. 
 
 Bottling extracted honey, 204- 
 205. 
 
 Brood nest, the, 71-72. 
 
 Buckwheat, as forage for bees, 
 173; flavor of honey from, 231. 
 
 Candles from beeswax, 218, 229. 
 Candy from honey, 245, 247, 249, 
 
 252, 253. 
 Carniolan bees, 21-22. 
 Caucasian bees, 22-24. 
 Cellars for wintering bees, 291-294. 
 
 325 
 
INDEX 
 
 Cells, size and structure of, 33-34; 
 
 of queen bees, 46. 
 Chaff hives for outdoor wintering, 
 
 287. 
 Clothing for beekeepers, 68-70. 
 Clover, flavor of honey from, 
 
 231. 
 Color of honey, variation in, 231. 
 Colors, bees' choice of, 69-70. 
 Comb honey, shallow brood nest 
 
 hives for, 71-72; production of, 
 
 117-132; marketing of, 208 ff.; 
 
 grading of, 211-215; choice of 
 
 sections for, 215-216. 
 Combs, structure and composition 
 
 of, 12; method of manufacture, 
 
 32-33. 
 Concrete hive stands, 176. 
 Constipation, honey a cure for. 
 
 249, 255-256. 
 Cooking recipes with honey, 240- 
 
 263. 
 Cough-cures from honey, 246, 
 
 254, 256, 257. 
 Croup remedy from honey, 255. 
 Cyprian bees, 20-21. 
 
 Daisy Foundation fastener, 123. 
 
 Diseases of bees, 187-199. 
 
 Distance that bees will travel, 
 185. 
 
 Doolittle Division board feeder, 
 277. 
 
 Doolittle system of queen-rearing, 
 108-109. 
 
 Dragon flies as bee enemies, 199. 
 
 Dress for women beekeepers, 68- 
 69. 
 
 Drinks from honey, 246-247. 
 
 Drones, class of bees constituting, 
 13; fertilization of queen bees 
 by, 44-45 ; rearing and develop- 
 ment of , 51 ; eggs which produce, 
 62-53; life of, 53-64. 
 
 Dyspepsia remedies from honey, 
 247, 265. 
 
 Eggs, 12-13; for production ol 
 queens, 46; for production oi 
 worker bees, 48-49; develop- 
 ment of, into grubs, 49; laying 
 of drones' and workers', 52. 
 
 Embalming, beeswax used in, 217. 
 
 Enemies of bees, 199-201. 
 
 Escape boards, 129. 
 
 European foul brood disease, 187- 
 188, 194-197. 
 
 Excluding-boards, 136-137, 
 
 Extracted honey, defined, 117; 
 production of, 133-151; mar- 
 keting of, 203-208. 
 
 Extractors, selection of, 143-145. 
 
 Eyes of bees, 14. 
 
 Feeding and feeders, 168, 269- 
 
 282. 
 Field mice as bee enemies, 199- 
 
 200. 
 Flavor of honey affected by its 
 
 source, 37-38. 
 Food constituents in honey, 230 ff. 
 Forage for bees, 172-173, 297- 
 
 321. 
 Foul brood disease, 187-191. 
 Foundation, wax, 30-31; the 
 
 cutting of, 122; methods of 
 
 fastening to tops of section 
 
 boxes, 123; importance of 
 
 properly wiring in, 135; pure 
 
 beeswax the only, 218. 
 Frames for hives, 29-30; choice 
 
 of, 72; question of depth of, 
 
 119. 
 Frogs as bee enemies, 199. 
 Funeral, story of bees at a, 35-36. 
 
 "Gleanings in Bee Culture," 
 
 quoted, 154-167. 
 Gloves for working with bees, 81. 
 Grading comb honey, 211-216. 
 
 Hazel Atlas Simplex jars, 205. 
 Hearts of bees, 16. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Hetherington, Captain, plan of 
 swarm control of, 93-94. 
 
 Hives, manufacture of, 64; size 
 of, 64-65; choice of, 70-72; 
 opening of, 76-79; advantages 
 of modern, 118-119; question 
 of depth, 119; size of, for pro- 
 duction of extracted honey, 137; 
 location of, 174-175; arrange- 
 ment of, in groups, 175-176; 
 stands for, 176-177; for out- 
 door wintering, 287. 
 
 Hive tools, 67-68. 
 
 Homes of bees, 28-39. 
 
 Honey, amount of, produced by 
 single hive, 7-8; not a product 
 but the food of bees, 36-37 
 effect of sources on flavor, 37 
 sources of, 55-58, 297-321 
 comb honey and extracted 
 honey, 117; receptacles for 
 storing extracted, 149 ; market- 
 ing of, 202-216; food constitu- 
 ents in, 230 ff.; superiority of, 
 to sugar for certain purposes, 
 234-237; use of, in bread, cakes, 
 and confectionery, 237-239 ; 
 as medicine, 239; in soaps and 
 salves, 239-240; in cooking 
 recipes, 240-253. 
 
 Honey-boards, 136-137. 
 
 Honey-bread, 237-238. 
 
 Honey sac, the, 15. 
 
 House apiaries, 294-295. 
 
 Hybrids, 20. 
 
 Implements, 65-68. 
 
 Increase, methods of artificial, 
 
 152-171. 
 Indoor wintering, 284-286, 291- 
 
 295. 
 Italian bees, 18, 20, 24-27; as 
 
 robbers, 258. 
 
 Jars for honey, 203-205. 
 Jumbles, honey, 238, 240-241. 
 
 Kneipp's honey-salve recipe, 254. 
 Knives, choice of, for uncapping, 
 143-146. 
 
 Langstroth, L. L., father of Amer- 
 ican bee-keeping, vii; frame 
 hive invented by, 30. 
 
 Larvae, 49-50; grafting of, 104- 
 105. 
 
 Life, length of bees', 3. 
 
 Liquefying granulated honey, 
 204-205. 
 
 Literature on bees, 11, 17. 
 
 Location of apiaries, 172-175. 
 
 Lyon feeder, the, 274-276, 279- 
 280. 
 
 McEvoy, William, treatment of 
 
 diseased bees by, 193-194. 
 Marketing of honey, 202-216. 
 Mating of bees, 41-44; of virgins 
 
 under Swarthmore method, 109- 
 
 110. 
 Mating-boxes, 110. 
 Medicine, honey as, 239, 247, 249, 
 
 254-257. 
 Mice as bee enemies, 199-200. 
 Migratory bee-keeping, 181, 183- 
 
 184. 
 Miller, Dr. C. C, cited, 56. 
 Miller feeder, the, 278. 
 Mills, Don, mentioned, 161. 
 Moving bees, 59-64; from out 
 
 apiaries to home yards, 179- 
 
 180. 
 
 Newspapers, use of, in preparing 
 hives for outdoor wintering, 288. 
 Nurse bees, 49-50. 
 
 Odors, effect of, on bees, 70, 74; 
 
 distinctive odors of different 
 
 bee colonies, 115. 
 Orchards, question of locating 
 
 hives in, 175. 
 Out apiaries, 58, 173 fif.; location 
 
 327 
 
INDEX 
 
 of, 174-175; operation of, 177- 
 
 179; general advisability of 
 
 establishing, 184-186. 
 Outdoor wintering, 283, 286-291, 
 
 295-296. 
 Overalls for women beekeepers, 
 
 69. 
 
 Paralysis, disease of bees, 197- 
 
 198. 
 Parthenogenesis among bees, 44. 
 Paste made from honey, 247. 
 Phillips, E. F., bee expert, 195. 
 Physiology of bees, 11-17. 
 Plants on which bees feed, 306- 
 
 321. 
 Poison in stings, 16. 
 Pollen-gathering, 38-39. 
 Pollination of fruit blossoms by 
 
 bees, 4-5. 
 Porter bee escape, the, 129. 
 Pratt, E. R., 101. 
 Preserves made with honey, 251. 
 Presses for extracting wax, 222- 
 
 224. 
 Prices of honey, 203, 206, 207. 
 Profits from bee-keeping, 6, 8-9, 
 
 206-207. 
 Propolis, bee-glue, 23, 34-35. 
 Purchasing swarms, 59. 
 Pure food laws, 208; effect on 
 
 honey production, 231-232. 
 
 Queen bees, 13; choice of, in 
 selecting Italian bees, 26-27; 
 position of, in hives, 40—41; 
 fertilization of, 41-44; appear- 
 ance of, 44; age and powers of, 
 46; laying of eggs by, 48; rais- 
 ing of, 97 ff . ; destruction of old, 
 100; tested and untested, 111; 
 Introduction of, to strange 
 hives, 113-115, 164-167; ene- 
 mies that prey on, 199. 
 
 Queen-excluding boards, 136-137. 
 
 Queen-rearing, 97 ff.; Swarth- 
 
 more system of, 101-110; 
 danger from robber bees during, 
 261. 
 
 Races of bees, 18-27. 
 Raising queen bees, 97-116. 
 Rauchfauss veil, the, 67. 
 Recipes, honey cooking, 240-253. 
 Refining wax, method of, 225-228. 
 Reproduction, method of, 41-44, 
 
 83, 109-110. 
 Robbing, the matter of, 258-268. 
 Ronan, J. D., mentioned, 161. 
 Root Jumbo smoker, the, 66. 
 Root twin mating-box, 110. 
 Root wire excluding-board, 137. 
 Rules for grading comb honey, 
 
 211-214. 
 
 Sale of honey, 202-216. 
 
 Sections, choice of size, 131; for 
 
 marketing comb honey, 215. 
 Sentinel bees, 3. 
 Shipping bees, 59-64, 180-183. 
 Shipping honey, 208-211. 
 Shipping-cases, 209-210. 
 Shook Swarm Plan, the, 90. 
 SimpUcity feeder, the, 272. 
 Skunks as bee enemies, 200. 
 Smokers, 65-66. 
 Snakes as bee enemies, 200. 
 Solar wax extractors, 221-222. 
 Sources of honey, 55-57, 297-321. 
 Spring dwindling, condition 
 
 known as, 198-199; preventive 
 
 measures, 285. 
 Stands for hives, 176-177. 
 Sting, the, 16. 
 Stings, avoidance of, 73-76; the 
 
 poison of, 80; removal of, 80- 
 
 81; remedies for, 81; effect on 
 
 the bee, 82. 
 Sulking, treatment for, 126-127. 
 Super chamber, the, 71 ; insertion 
 
 of, 124; for extracting honey, 
 
 133-134. 
 
 328 
 
INDEX 
 
 Superstitions concerning bees, 35- 
 36. 
 
 Swarming, reason for, 83; time 
 of, 83-84; signs of, 84; method 
 to be followed in case of, 86-87; 
 plans to prevent, 89-96. 
 
 Swarthmore system of queen- 
 rearing, 101 ff. 
 
 Tents for use in working over 
 
 hives, 267. 
 Tiering, process of, 125; in pro- 
 ' duction of extracted honey, 
 
 140-141. 
 Time for handling bees, 76. 
 Tongues of bees, 14-15. 
 Tools, 65-68. 
 Transferring bees from one hive 
 
 to another, 60-63. 
 Transportation of bees, 59-60, 
 
 180-183. 
 Trouser legs, closing ends of, 
 
 68. 
 
 Uncapping, process of, 146-147. 
 
 Varieties of bees, 18-27. 
 Veils, 67. 
 
 Ventilation of cellars for winter- 
 ing bees, 293-294. 
 
 Vinegar from honey, 251. 
 
 Virgin queens, flight and impreg- 
 nation of, 199. See Queens. 
 
 Wax, method of securing, 139; 
 uses of, 217-219; methods of 
 rendering, 221-229; bleaching 
 of, 225-228; use of, in confec- 
 tionery, 239; as a base in 
 salves, 240. 
 
 Wax-building, process of, 32-33. 
 
 Wax extractors, 221-224. 
 
 Wax foundation, 30-31, 218. 
 
 Wintering bees, 283-296. 
 
 Women, as beekeepers, 6-7; 
 proper dress for, 68-69. 
 
 Worker bees, 12, 13, 48-49; so- 
 called reverence of, for queen 
 bees, 45; laying of eggs which 
 produce, 52; treatment of 
 drones by, 54. 
 
 Young, life of the, 2; develop- 
 ment and feeding of, 49-50; 
 freedom from stinging by, 76. 
 
 Zinc honey-boards, 136. 
 
 Printed in the United States of America. 
 
 329 
 
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