IN AND ABOUT THE FARM.

Waipa Post, Volume III, Issue 109, 10 May 1912, Page 4

IN AND ABOUT THE FARM.

BEE-KEEPING. The following article, written for the Horowhenua Chronicle, will be of interest to local farmers. The climate of Levin, except for being colder, is much the same as the local climate, and in that district the culture of bees forrns an important industry, and there is no reason why it should not be the same here. This is not a scientific article, but rather a summary of things learned during a number of years, and much of it learnt from the teachings of the bees themselves, who are certainly the best instructors in matters appertaining to their own welfare and to the profit of those who keep them; further than that it aims at economy in working and outlay. Hives, thanks to legislation, are now pretty much of a pattern, and can be bought of any appliance manufacturer, but the apainst, if anything of a carpenter, if he has a pattern to work by, can make his own very cheaply, buying his frames from the local agent. The roof must be watertight, with a good fall to carry off the water; a lean-to roof is most easily made. Hives must be of a uniform size so that all parts are interchangeable. Floor boards should be slightly under the width of the box, as this allows all rain to run clear, instead of collectingand running under the edge of the hive; the front must project far enough to make a comfortable alighting place for a laden bee. Great care must be taken to fill up all cracks or divisions in the floor boards, as these make homes for the undesirable wax moth. The opening to the hives should be twelve inches long and three-eighths of an inch deep; this can be reduced at any time when it is advisable/ but the need occurs but seldom, for one of the great secrets of successful bee-keeping is plenty of ventilation —fresh aii", and plenty of it, bees need open doors and windows just as much as we do, and they can keep warm much more easily than they can keep cool. Foundation is a necessity for the modern bee-keeper, but it is not necessary to put full sheets in the frames. A small strip placed in each frame to start the bees properly is sufficient. They will carry the beginning out to a proper conclusion. There is one advantage claimed for full sheets of foundation, they reduce the drone production, and so increase the working population.

Hives in this district should face the north, the openings will be away from th; westerly and southerly winds, and the alighting board warm and sunny.

The floor boards should be about six inches from the ground and may by nailing some inch boards on to a couple of pieces of six-by-two scantling see that boards are planed quite smooth!

The hives must be from three to four feet apart, and there should be free passage all round them for the bee master. Paint the hives white. Further necessary appliances are an uncapping knife, see veil, and smoker ; for smoking purposes brown paper and clean old cloth or moleskin.

A word of warning here do not, on any account use any galvanised vessels for honey, as the galvanise is dissolve by and into the honey, making it a very deadly poison. If the quantity of hives is large an extractor will be required. A two frame" machine will be sufficient.

The room in which the honey is run or extracted, must be bee tight, or they will find their way in very quickly. In taking swarms a clean kerosene box is best; it is not too large to carry and is large enough to hold any swarm. In putting swarms into the hives take a spare empty, box, place it on top of the hive, shake the best from the box in which you have taken them well down into the frames, throw loosely over them the canvas cover, and leave them. In a short time they will have settled on the frames, when the empty box may be removed, the cover laid smooth, and the roof put on. There is an old idea that rattling tin can, firing guns, and spraying water will cause a swarm to settle, and there is an idea in England that whoever follows a swarm of bees, making appropriate noises, is allowed to go anywhere, however private the place may be, without committing an act of trespass.

Swarming bees very seldom fly far on first issuing from the hive, but if they rise for a second flight it is almost useless to follow them, as they will travel both fast and far. The best inducements for bees to settle are trees or bushes, and from these they are easily shaken into the swarming box. When the bees are in the box place it on the ground, with a stone under one side, to give free passage to all bees left outside; hive the bees in the evening. To keep bees successfully, they must be allowed enough food to keep them through the winter.

The plan to follow is this : Let the bees have the body box (that is the lowest box), their living room, and nursery for their own ;

take only the honey that they make above this. Some beekeepers use section boxes, others a full-sized super, containing frames for extracting. This latter has many advantages ; the frames are light and easily handled, the comb does not break in the extractor, and are more quickly filled. In a good season the supers will soon get filled, but whether the season is good or bad see that the bees have enough to carry them through the winter. When taking honey smoke your hive sufficiently, and when the bees are quiet take out the frames, dust the bees back into the hive, and remove the frames at once to the extracting room. A handful of grass makes the best brush, and when it gets sticky can be easily replaced. Never attempt to go near bees unless your hands are perfectly clean ; the bees show at once, and very effectively, that they resent dirt.

Amongst the enemies of bees are mice, spiders, and the wax moth r get rid of them wherever possible. To make uncapping easier have a deep jug of very hot water in which to place the uncapping knife, otherwise it will get dogger 1 with honey and fail to cut. Bees need water, and this must be given to them. If it if it is not easily available, a tub of clean water frequently changed, with pieces of wood floating, answers very well. Choose a warm sunny day in winter, during July if possible, before there is any brood in the comb. Open your hives, take out the frames one by one, place all clean combed frames in the centre of the hives, and from the rest cut out all black brood comb. The breeding chamber will have a clean fresh start for the coming season. This is very important. Lift the hive off the floor board and scrape clean. This will need doing at fairly reasonable intervals. Supers may be put on the stocks early in the year, and on the swarms very soon after they are settled. To get strong stocks unite two swarms. This can be done very easily, and there is a better chance of plenty of honey in the hive. There is need to watch very carefully for foul brood, but there is no need to be unduly alarmed about it, so long as a hive is dry, clean, and well ventilated. The writer kept bees for five years, and never had a case of foul brood, though told many times that he had it; nay, that he must have it in his apiary. He handled, two seasons ago, the descendents of his bees, and found them still clean. Of course, there are in every hive cases of dead brood, but the bees can look after these themselves, and if the old brood comb is cleaned out every year there should be no trouble in the matter. A few cells of dead brood are not foul brood, properly spe'aking, any more than the average infant mortality in a city is a sign of a fearful plague. But brood is caused by an abnormal number of deaths in the brood cells, and naturally these smell, and smell horribly, but an average quantity of deaths is to be, and must be, expected. It must never be forgotten that cleanliness and ventilation are absolutely necessary to the health of the hive. The honey flow in any district is a problem to be solved. It is not yet known why in some seasons there is more honey to be gathered than in others. While clover and Scotch thistles each in their season are • generally to be relied on. Thistle honey may be.known by the very pale, almost white, capping on the comb. To grow honey for a large apiary would require considerable cultivation, and then it is impossible to fence out bees that do not belong to the cultivators. A very necessary part of an outfit for a beekeeper Is a large boiler. Boiling water is an admirable cleaner and disinfectant, and hives, frames, floorboards and roofs that can be plunged bodily into a big copper and kept there for a little time will come out perfectly clean and sweet for future use. Do not be afraid of your bees, but treat them well, and you will find them very friendly; and remember dry, clean, well-ventilated hives are absolutely necessary for the welfare and the well-doing of bees.

Honey is a medicine as well as a food. It is beneficial in some forms of rheumatism; it is a gentle laxative when eaten regularly; it is a help in gravel complaints, and has been used in cases of aenemia. Beeswax brings a good price, but the beekeeper who extracts his honey will not have much wax to spare —it takes a lot of comb to make a pound of wax, and it takes a lot of honey to make a pound of comb, so that it is wisdom to be careful of the comb. The apiarist will, if he is wise, make up his hives and roofs during the winter, and provide enough for the increase in the summer.

Very often stocks will come through the winter, and then, in the early spring, desert the hive, leaving it empty of honey and the floor board covered with wax cappihgs, done probably because the queen has died, but where the go it is impossible to guess. Perhaps they enter an adjoining hive. Every spring however, there is a depletion from this custom. Bees will sometimes, when swarming, enter an adjoining hive ; when this is the case put on an extra super to give them room. It is wonderful how

soon any one who takes an interest in bee work can learn. A little watchfulness, combined with a little common sense, will help very materially to make bees pay.