THE APIARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3868, 1 May 1928, Page 11

THE APIARY.

By

J. A.

Now that the apiary season of 1928 is over and the bees are being left to their long winter vacation, it becomes igore difficult to make the apiary column interesting to those who read it. Beekeepers generally turn away from Uieir bees and take up other interests, and what is written, as it were, casually, does not appeal to them. To me my task is not merely the filling up of a column; unless the subject can be made of real interest it has no appeal to me. From time to time it has taken the form of a connected series of articles covering the whole range of the beekeeper’s season, the idea being to assist beginners and to interest those who may have some thought of taking up bee culture. It is somethin" of this kind that appeals to me at the moment. But, while covering the whole range of the season's work, I do not wish to adhere closely to any programme, so will not try to make one. BEGINNING OF THE SEASON. We are at the beginning of a new season in apiary work. On what care we take of the colonies during the off season will depend the fitness of the apiary to take advantage of the honey flow in summer time. We have a great advantage in the Dominion iu the mildness of our winter climate. In the Northern States of U.S.A, and in Canada the cold is so intense in winter time that it is necessary, if the bees are to be kept alive, either to put them into a cellar or to resort to what is known as “ packing.” Usually this latter method is done by putting four colonies into a packing case made large enough to take in some kind of packing round the hives, each hive having its own entrance. Neither method is necessary in this favoured land of ours. That, however, does not mean that we can afford to neglect our bees. There are two essentials that the beekeeper should not leave to chance: one is to have the stands well off the ground, and the other to’ have a water-proof cover. HIVE STANDS. The hive stand is the foundation on which the bottom board rests. Bottom boards as made by the supply men are not intended for placing on the ground. They are built of light material and of timber that will not last very long if it is damp. The stand adopted at Roslyn Bush apiary is made double —that is, for two colonies —and is very simple in construction, the material being six bricks and two hardwood bearers of 3in by 2in

sawn timber cut to 3ft 6in long. The ground is first levelled and cleared and then the bricks laid in two lines, three in front and three at the back, and just far enough apart to catch the weight of the ends of the hive when it is placed on them. It lias to be remembered that two colonies on each stand tilled up to six storeys, as is sometimes the case, and full of honey will weight 6cwt or 7cwt, so it is necessary that the bricks should be directly under each end. The bricks are laid on the flat, one at each end and one in the middle, and the front row should be at least lin lower than the back row, so as to give the hive a droop to the front. This enables the bees to keep their floor clean, where otherwise chips and dead bees would accumulate. The bearers are just laid on the bricks, and the stand is then ready for the bottom boards. The two bottom boards are placed one at each end of the stand, leaving just sufficient space between them to work the colonies comfortably. My reason for adopting the two-colony stand was in the first place to prevent loss of bees in the event of any colony being shifted. Homing bees coming back to the old stand when the colony is shifted will always be received by the other colony, so there is no loss. I have not found any disadvantage in any way; rather it fits into my work for many unexpected reasons. It is a great advantage to keep down all weeds and grass for at least 12in round each stand, and 18in in front, so the bees may have a clear flight. I have tried weed-killers, but cannot get any that act better than the Dutch hoe and the spade. It will be seen from this description of the stand that when the bottom board is placed on the bearers the hives are well off the ground, and the boards themselves kept dry, as there is a good current of air underneath them. It has also this advantage that insects, such as slaters, do not so readily shelter underneath them. I have seen hives placed directly on the ground, and when lifted there were myriads of these insects underneath. Not only that, but when the roof or cover was taken off slaters would be found up on the mat under the cover. No beekeeper likes to find any intruders in his hives, and will readily approve the help that dryness gives.