STRONG COLONIES.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 504, 17 January 1906, Page 3

STRONG COLONIES.

Without Them BevJcecitiiiff I» Sure t« H<; a 1> i nii >.> point men t. One of the difficult things for th« novice in beekeeping to learn is thai ten strong colonics will .store more honey than twenty weak ones. Then is an anxiety for large numbers, and each colony is counted one, no matter how feeble it may be. So the inexperienced is often delighted at getting two, three, or even four or five swarms from a single colony, notwithstanding the fact that the last twe or three swarms contain only a handful of bees. They make sure to die before the winter is over, and then he decides that he doesn't care for such very weak colonics, but still clings to the thpught that one strong enough to live through it is all right. Many times, however, it is true economy io lessen the nnmber, even with the view of having the largest, number possible in the succeeding fall Suppose, for instance, there are four weak colonies in the spring, each out having enough, bees to fairly cover two combs. Unite two of them and leave the other two without uniting. You now have only three colonies instead of four, and yet you may be better off; for the one colony, with bees to c jvor four combs, will go right on increasing in strength, and by the time the white clover harvest is fairly under way it will be strong enough to give you a rousing swarm, and you will now have two strong colonies for it, while the two weaklings have only just, begun fairly to build up. They stood still, not showing any increase in number for a long time, evidently needing all the strength they had to keep up existence and make good the loss of the dying bees by the young bees raised. ; If, instead of trying to increase, the effort be to get all the honey possible, supposing neitlier colony 'offers to ewarm, the difference is fully as noticeable, if not more so. The united colony will have more bees than there are in both the others. It is easy to see that It will store more surplus. But if you've had no experience in the matter it may be hard for you to believe how. much more.—Farmers' Union. fe AN EXCELLENT PLAN.>^ MmMiib an«l Breed in pc ArrnttfKement i lor s. Poultry Farm. Dark nests and convenience in gathering eggs from them characterize the plan shown herewith. The right of the cut represents the hallway, from which the nests are reached by lifting the hinged cover, as shown. The entrance to the nests is neen on the pen side «f

|f NEAT NESTING ARRANGEMENT, gj the partition, the dotted lines showing posdtion of partition between the dark walk and the nests. A hinged cover, shown by dotted lines, gives access to this alleyway, so it can be swept occasionally. Below the nests are grated openings into the hallway so that the fowls can be fed and watered in the hall, thus affording no chance of spilling or .soiling the food-pr water. With this arrangement nearly all the work of caring for the fowls dan be done from the hallway.—American Agriculturist. i hC among the poultry. >-,. No brooding pen should contain over 50 chicks. Prom 35 to 40 duck* and drakes are allowed-in a pen. Broilers shrink about a half-pound each when dressed. The shell of an egg contains about 15 grains of salt of lime. Forty dressed ducklings are packed in a barrel for shipment.' The duck averages ten dozen eggs in about seven months' laying. Build the house ten by ten feet for ten fowls, and the yard ten times larger. Duck]ings are marketed a t five pounds weight, which they attain in ten weeks.' Ten dozen eggs a year is the average' estimate given as the production of the hen. About four doeen eggs arc given as an average for the annual output of the turkey. Duck feathers sell at 40 cents per pound; goose feathers bring double the amount. Between 40 and 50 degrees is the proper temperature to keep eggs for hatching during winter. Eggs intended for hatching should not be kept over four weeks, They musst be turned over every day or two. It will require seven pounds of sMmxnod milk to equal one pound of lean beef for fleeli-forming qualities. One dollar per head is the average Cost of keeping a fowl a year, and the same amount is a fair estimate of the profits. —Poultry Monthly. - Sawdust Is Dim^cron*. Do not put sawdust in poultry pens. If the fowls eat il there may soon Ix 3 some cases of cropbound chickens, as it is liable to pack in the crop. It also gathers moisture and causes dampness. No matter bow convenient a pile ot sawdust may be It had best be let alone. Road dust is much better. This applies to fowls that are confined. When allowed a free range 1 hey are not likely to eat so mueih of any th'mgso undesirable as sawdust (hat it will injure Ibe.m, but when shut tip they do not discriminate very closely when it comes to filling their crops'. —Dakota Field ami Farm.