THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3832, 23 August 1927, Page 11

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

SAD PLIGHT OF THE LOUISIANA BEEKEEPERS.

Beekeeping being only a secondary industry, no notice was taken of it in the telegraphed reports of the Mississippi floods. Reports now to hand, however, show how serious a matter the flood was for the beekeepers. The best beekeeping territory in Louisiana is in the lowlands, and consequently was in the track of the water. Mr J. L. St. Romain says in a letter to Gleanings: “At 1 a.in. on the morning of May 15 I woke up to find water just covering my yard. I had some colonies not yet on scaffolds. YY’ith three men to help, we worked desperbul: 111 t"'° hours’ time there was 3ft °f water, and all hives not on scaffolds were floating away. At 8 o’clock that morning I had scaffolded all chickens, feed, furniture, and bee equipYY ater was on my house floor.” I uither on he says: ‘'l have just heard late r arrival from the flooded districts that I haven’t a single beel'l'e lett- I had 750 colonies. Some 100 package bees were undelivered and as many queens—all paid for. I haven’t a penny to return to these customers, and no more bees.” He closes by saying that some 30,000d0l worth of bees were washed away from our small community round Hamburg,” and “by the time tlie flood waters reach the Gulf the loss will aggregate IOO.OOOdoI for Louisiana.

„-¥ l A T n<lerson - State Entomologist. or the Louisiana Department of Agriculture, has been requested to distribute relief. He says: “The beekeepers are facing the terrible propos tion ot trying to start over again with nothing to start on. It is most fe° Uragl, i lg , tf ,’ ? bem - and the future ." bole . lot darker because of the ~;?h that bee mdustry is not recognised as being a very important on?, and jet these beekeepers depend soleiy on their bees for a livelihood. On the face of everj- one of them in the various refugee camps there is nothin" but discouragement and despair.” •If \ S i d° wn ‘9 these Southern States. ’ eir ® arler and warmer climate. 8 1 * C ,n P i a o agC i trado for the Northern' States and Canada is carried on. Bees n el oif? r % i red to 801(1 b - ( ’ the pound, in 21b , 31b, or 41b packages. Thes? arc sent by post, and on delivery at their destination are nursed into colonies that are sufficiently strong to gather the mam flow of honey. In these notes a tew weeks ago I described how this trade was being developed in the Rod Ri\er Y alley right through from Dakota to Hudson s Bay. Winnipeg alone is said to icccive 10,000 of these packages in a season No doubt Mr Anderson’s appeal on behalf .of these flood sufferers will meet with a big response from beekeepers all over the States. SPRING FEEDING.

A beginner in beekeeping asks- “Can you give any hints as to the best way to feed mj- bees? The colonies are light. ‘*!\ d i- a f ra id require immediate attention.

In the earlier spring months it is a generally accepted rule that feeding should be done quickly. There is a fea? that the impression may be given to the colonies that there is a continuous supply available from somewhere if daily feeding ox er a lengthy period is adopted. Jhe effect would be to make the bees extend their brood-nest more rapidly than is advisable, and make them dependent on the supply being kept up Io avoid this it is best to feed heavily for two or three days, then stop for a week or so, and then feed again. The best food to use in the early season is a thick syrup, say, 2 of sugar to 1 of water. Make the water hot (boiling or nearly so), pour in the sugar, and stir till all is dissolved. If the weather is cold it is better to feed the syrup warm, and to give it to the bees at sundown. The reason for this late feeding is that the food excites the bees, and if a number of colonies are being fed at the same time it is not unlikely that robbing may be started. If the’ feeding is done late in the evening the overexcitement is prevented by darkness, and in the morning all will be quiet. There are many kinds of feeders in use. but one of the best is the Doolittle feeder. It takes the form of a frame to be hung in the hive. If a wide-sec-tion frame is used, the ends and bottom bar being the same width and boarded on both sides with a light boarding, and then made tight with hot wax, it makes a good feeder. The boarding should not come quite up to the top bar, so as to leave ample room for the bees going and coining. A hole in the top bar is required to* insert a tin filler to introduce the food. A float in the form of a light piece of wood will prevent the bees from getting into the syrup.

Later in the season, say, about. November 15 or November 20, should the beginner wish to stimulate his bees so as to get strong colonies for the clover flow, it can be done by feeding daily a half-pint of a thinner syrup, say, 1 of sugar to 2 of water. On no account, however, must it be stopped until the flow is on. The half-pint per day to each colony goes through a lot of sugar, but, after all, it is small when compared to what the bees bring in from the field, a fair average being about half a gallon per day.