BEEKEEPING

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 153, 26 December 1936, Page 8

BEEKEEPING

A correspondent asks if beekeeping would not be a suitable sideline to poultry farming in a small way, and the writer's opinion is very:definitely against attempting to keep bees unless ample spare time is available . during October and November. Few poultry keepers have any spare. time, during these two months, which, are among the busiest in the year, and so' the two callings do not fit in. .While.the main nectar flow does not star' until late in November, much of the work in connection with beekeeping comes during the early spring when the hives must be built up to really strong. colonies, yet swarming .off-must be prevented. This means that each hive must be carefully inspected periodically to remove all queen cells that, are being drawn out. In addition, supers must be prepared for the main flow. Most larger apiarists agree that a few hives are difficult to manage in order to show a profit, since with less than, say, ten strong colonies it is hard--ly profitable to put in a special honey extractor. Honey in the comb is not nearly so profitable to produce as extracted honey, for it takes ten pounds of honey to make one pound of wax, as well as many hours of the bees' time. One or two hives kept for household supplies provide an interesting hobby, and the inquirer might well experiment with these before advancing 'further. The writer's opinion is

that unless thirty or more hives can be kept, bees are best left alone. Homemade boxes can be used, but the equipment is far more expensive than the bees themselves, and there is quite a little ■to learn in connection with routine managen ;ent. Fuil instructions ci I be obtained from a book issued by the Department of Agriculture, and field officers will be only too pleased to offer advice and, instruction if application is made.