THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3802, 25 January 1927, Page 11

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

To write anything interesting about the apiary while the weather is broken is very difficult, and especially when the broken weather comes in January. For the first 17 days of the month there have been five days in which the bees could add to the weight of the hive, and that with the clover abundant; and yet there is very little to complain of from the farmer’s point of view. It is good growing weather, and just in that is the beekeeper’s hope. It will lengthen out the clover season, and the beekeeper’s turn may come before the end of February. With plenty of mpisture the North Otago and Canterbury beekeepers should be having a good time. My scale hive record for the week was 2,7, 0,0, 0,0, 0 pounds. The blanks predominate, and an average of 11b per day does not mean any surplus for the beekeeper. However, even before this reaches the reader’s eye there may be a change. SWARMING. The swarming season is well nigh past now, though I have had swarms up to the middle of February. With 90 colonies I have had no swarms, and the prevention of them (which has been, my aim) has not been very difficult. Going through the colonies once a fortnight and cutting out the few cells that have been started has been enough to keep them right. The giving of ample room and plenty of ventilation has been my main reliance. Usually I allow the apiary to increase to between 110 and 120 colonies, but that is not at all likely this year. BEE WORK. From late spring until clover bloom is beginning to fail is the beemaster’s happiest time. The bees are easy to handle; there is not the nip of the harvest time when wet combs are going out and when, owing to the decline of nectar supplies, the bees are poking into each other’s hives and getting into a state of general irritation. It is in that earlier season that the beekeeper thinks out his problems, and, finding the bees more tractable, is able to work them out. It is strange that with so simple a proposition as a colony of bees there should come each year so many new or partly new problems. And' yet there it is from year to year. Master minds with long experience are constantly evolving new improvements which are helpful, and, stranger still, these new improvement's nearly all tend towards greater simplicity in working, and certainly towards a greater control. It is the beginner who (because he does not know how little he knows) knows most about beekeeping. He gets into old worked-out claims, not knowing that the gold they contained has been minted long ago. A concise history of beekeeping from the discovery of the frame hive onwards would be a boon to beginner and beemaster alike, if well divided and indexed and brought forward to date. It would be a text book of .much value to the beekeeper. EXTRACTION. The problem in connection with extracting is not how soon it can begin, but, rather, how long it can be put off. The aim should be a plentiful supply of combs and supers, and. by giving plenty of storing room, to allow the honey to remain in. the hives as long as possible, or at all events until there is the fear of taint from undesirable autumn flowers. The honey will always be ripening into better condition. The tendency of harvesting operations is to disorganise the apiary, and it is better to do it in a business-like way and get it over as quickly as possible.. This cannot always be done. Combs sometimes Lave to be emptied, and put back again. The aim, however, should be to have sufficient room to store the whole crop on the hives. THE WEEK’S WORK. This has been a siting week. Still, although not..much nectar has been coming in, the bees have been hatching out very rapidly, and for that reason and owing to the extension of the brood-nests require more room. The notes taken as to < ndition on the first round of the bees, and extended in succeeding rounds, are proving very useful. These notes were taken on a piece or smooth, and clean board with a pencil, and in this form are very handy. A glance at the board as I go forward to each colony shows exactly what its condition was on previous examinations, and simplifies the work to be done. At each round it is necessary to watch out for queen cells, and forestall any attempt at swarming. Very little, however, has been required in this direction. The only other work required has been the finishing of a clean-up about the hives. The writer hopes to have the privilege of meeting many of our Southland beekeepers on the 26th at Mr Larsen’s apiary. The field day is our begt opportunity for social work and getting to know each other.