THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3030, 10 April 1912, Page 12

THE APIARY.

Ry J A.

I SEASON 1911-1912. i At Oakieigh we have closed up our bees for the winter. We anticipated reducing our 150 colonies to 100, and then requiring to do a considerable amount of feeding. That anticipation is not to bo realised; we have only reduced to 120, and will be able to get through to September without more feeding. We were agreeably surprised to hnd that the bees had made such good use of (Ire few available nectar days as to be able to do this. So far as we could find there ifi no foul brood showing amongst them, but we are not sanguine enough to expect that it will not be again in evidence i in the spring. I Looking buck over the season, we have to ' write it down as the very worst in our experience of some 26 years. We have never before known a season that the bees did not got at least a fortnight of good weather. This ficiifion it has only been intermittent days. There was practically no swarming . season, and queen breeders had great difficulty to get their queens fertilised, more especially in the spring. Under these circumstances, in Southland at least, wo do not. expect to hear of anything but almost total failure in so far as the honey harvest is concerned. Our own yield is 18001 b, about one-sixth pa.rt of what it would have been in an ordinary year. Already there is evidence of great scarcity in the honey market, and prices accordingly are reported as very firm. We fear that the season will prove a severe check to our industry. Many of our . beekeepers have lost heavily, and at least | some of them will not seek to restock—more especially will that be the case where the fight again t foul brood has proved very difficult, and the personal interest in the bees themselves ifi lacking. We hope, however, that the check will only prove 1o bo temporary, and that a good year will : restore confidence again. | LEAVING THE APIARY TIDV. ’ We wrote under a somewhat similar heading once before the value of having tnmgs attractive in the apiary. We like to gather up all spare stuff that has been left at, convenient places through the apiary and store it away till next season, also to carefully cut and clear up the grafts; this wo use as a mulch for the apple trees, though, of course, it is better to use it in that way in the spring. After cutting and raking up all the grass our next operation is to use some weed-killer immediately round the i hives. Perhaps as good a thing aft can be got for the purpose is agricultural salt. This spread immodaitoly round tine hives kills the weeds and leaves them nice and clean. What we want is to have the whole premises so tidy that on a lino day in winter it will be a pleasure to go amongst the bees and note how they are getting on. We go still further than that: wo believe that it is a good thing to lay out the apiary grounds ns nicely as possible, and to have some flowers and flowering shrubs, and generally to make them as attractive us we can. j BEE-KEEPING IN ENGLAND. (By A. 11. Bowden.) | Thanks to the influence of “Old Sol.” j who shone out in cloudless skies from early I morn till dewy eve, the year 1911 ranks high in England among the seasons of recent years, for both the quality and the quantity of the crop are excellent. Indeed, had it not been for the stormy period

in Juno and the fierce heat of July, tho season would have vecn a record one; still, the result is satisfactory and most encouraging after two poor J'^fus. With a fairly ni;l<* winter, tees came out in good condition out the *arly spring, proved unfavourably and was, bitterly cold, with the result fcbafc (Many collies died out through lack of been a*id stow.*. This condition existed unfjj the end of April, when the weather chained ; and from then right on we enjoyed pel ?ct bee days. Fruit trees rapidly came int/V'plossom, and colonics quickly built up un-J.., at the beginning of June, many were on 14 combs of brood, and occupying two supers. All colonics located on the hills where the first flow is from sainfoin, were fed with syrup from about March, right on until the honey flow. The syrup was given in slowtin feeders, and it was surprising howpowerful the colonics became, just in time for the flow, which commenced early in June. A large quantity of unusually light honey was stored and quickly extracted, the wet combs being returned ready for the main clover harvest. Unfortunately the weather broke up and continued showery and cool until July, when we again enjoyed a glorious period of sunshine, which lasted more or less until the end of August, The fierce heat somewhat scorched up tho clover; but a fair quantity was collected from that source, and also from the lime trees, which yielded well this year. Prom my own bees I secured an average of 351 b per hive of comb and extracted honey, and also obtained a 25 per cent, increase. Tho strongest colony yielded 1001 bof extracted honey; the next 851 b, and from the remainder quantities varying down to 10 sections. When getting wet combs cleaned up after the last extracting I have found it advantageous to place them under tho colonies instead of above, a s is usually practiced. My method is to remove tho colony from its floor board, and put on two or throe supers containing wet combs, then replace the colony on the top. The entrance is contracted to avoid robbing; and when home} has all been carried above the supers are removed. In this country bees are usually covered with quilts made of a ccarsc material, such as felt carpet, or even cast-off garments; but I use a wooden quilt of my own manufacture, which answers tho purpose admirably; for not only does it afford protection against both cold and .damp, but it also provides a perfect winter passage. The excellent way in which bees winter when covered with this quilt has proved to me its very great value. I should like to convot to your readers some idea of the quiet beauty of the Cotswold, especially in September. Nature is then at her best; the cold bleak hills aire clothed with the warmth of golden stubble, and the autumnal haze softens the landscape with those lights and shades whioh add so much of loveliness to a hill country; and suddenly, as we ramble along, a lovely valley is soon below ; oldworld farmhouses and ivy-covered cottages come into view, nestling among stately elms and beech trees. On descending we come into a typical Cotswold village, with its manor house and Norman church, which, stands out against tho russet-tinted woods in the background. Passing through tho village you will come across here and there in the cottage garden half a dozen skeps raised from the ground on logs of wood, and covered with a miscellaneous assortment, of crocks, old sacks, tins, or anything else which can be pressed into service. With the "gintlemen that pays the rint," and tho proceeds from the sale of honey, cottagers are able to supplement their somewhat scanty wage. But tho great changes which) are sweeping over our land have already invaded even such secluded Cotswold villages as these, and very soon the skep and thatched cottage will be a thing of the past, FOUNDA TION SPLINTS. —I Tow Madr> and How Used. — Foundation splints are made by sawing and also by slicing. First the wood is cut into sheets l-16in in thickness. Then a number of sheets are laid together and cut into splints, making the splints l-16in square. A saw for the purpose must, of course, be very fine, and the .slicing machine is a large and powerful affair that I suppose is quite expensive. They would work all right if made long enough to reach from top to bottom-bar, but would be troublesome to put. in, so they are made iin shorter than that. For a frame of Langstroth size, with top-bar Jin thick and bottom bar iin • thick, that makes the splint 7|in long. Broomcorn might work for splints, only it would take a good deal of care in Selecting, and at that would not be of such uniform thickness as the spliced splints. I hardly think you would make satisfactory work splitting wood into splints, even if your cedar and fir are very straightgrained. But you can easily fry it. Now the manner of putting in the splints. The foundation is fastened to top and bottom bars, then the frame is laid over a board such as is commonly in use, being made to fit rather loosely inside the frame with stops on the edges to allow the foundation to rest on the board. The snlints are thrown into a square shallow tin pan that contains hot. beeswax. They will froth up because of the moisture frying ouf of them. When the frothing ceases, and the splints are saturated with wax. then they are ready for use. With a pair of plyers a splint is lifted out <- r the wax (kept Just hot enough over a stove), and placed upon tho foundation so that the splint shall Ik- perpendicular when tho frame is hung in the hive. As fast as a splint i- laid in place an assistant immeframe. This for heavy or medium foundation with the wetted edge of a fhin board. I have used different makes of broodfoundation with splints, and of different. weights—heavy, medium, and light. About l£in from each end-bar is placed n splint. and between thes/> three other splints at equal distances, making five splints in the frame. This for heavy or medium foundation. For light foundation I have used seven snlinta-'to the frame. Tf splints are given when the bees are not, busy gathering nectar and building comb, they will be gnawed out. The thinner the foundation the more likely the ana wine.