HOW TO BEGIN BEE-KEEPING
THE VARIOUS WAYS OF BEGINNING
There are so many ways of beginning this interesting work that no
classic way obtains. Many people have received the stimulus from a
swarm of bees, escaped from some apiary, which has alighted on a tree
or bush on the premises, and which seemed too much like a gift of
the gods to be ignored. In fact, no one with blood in him would do
otherwise under such circumstances than to hunt up a soap-box or a
nailkeg and, with an intrepidity amounting almost to heroism, place it
under the cluster and shake the bees into it. Then, if the swarm feels
content, the fact is accomplished; and the involuntary owner finds a
new interest in life, and enthusiastically becomes a bee-keeper. This
is an excellent and inexpensive way to begin, and for all who are thus
favoured it is by far the best way. But one may wait many years before
this happens, and after all there are other and more direct methods.
The best way is to begin by wishing sincerely to keep bees, and then to
adopt one of the following plans:
The cheapest way is to visit the nearest neighbour who keeps bees, and
buy of him a swarm, which will cost, perhaps, two or three dollars.
If the neighbour be a good apiarist, this may be an excellent method,
for he will give practical advice and be a most helpful friend in time
of future difficulties and doubts; he will also explain appliances
and make the labours and perplexities of the beginner much smoother.
Besides these advantages, it is a help to neighbourliness, for keeping
bees is almost as close a bond between two neighbours as an interest
in golf or automobiles, and has a much broader and more philosophical
basis.
Of course, the bees may be bought at any time of the year convenient,
but the early spring is the best season for beginning, for then one has
the advantage of increase by swarms. If one is ingenious and inventive,
one may easily construct other hives like the one bought; but there are
other things needed which may be obtained cheaper and better from firms
that sell apiarists’ supplies. However, we are acquainted with several
apiarists who furnish all of their own supplies except the sections
for comb-honey, the wax foundations, the smoker, the cartons and the
honey-extractor.
The usual way of beginning is to send to some of the dealers in
bee-keepers’ supplies for a catalogue and to invest in a library of bee
books. There is something most fascinating about these books written by
bee-keepers, for no one makes a success of bee-keeping unless he loves
the bees; and if he loves bees he writes of them so persuadingly, and
his lines are so full of insidious allusions to the enchantments of
the occupation, that whoever reads one of these volumes finds life arid
without bees.
Then the catalogue of bee-keepers’ supplies has its own attractions.
Never were such breathlessly interesting pamphlets written; and I would
add that, on the whole, they are the most honest and reliable of all
advertising catalogues. They almost invariably give good and sensible
advice to beginners, suggesting proper outfits at moderate prices. To
the would-be bee-keeper these catalogues are so delightful that, if
the purse is long enough, he feels inclined to order a specimen of
everything listed. However, this is not the best way to do. A moderate
number of things can be ordered at first, and other things may be
ordered later as the growing sense of their need develops.
If one is minded to go into bee-keeping as a regular business, the
best way to begin is to spend a year with a successful bee-keeper,
working for him and with him and paying for the tuition, whatever may
be charged. Thus one may gain his knowledge of the business and get his
practical training under the guidance of experience. The very worst way
to begin, and one that is sure to result in disaster, is to buy a large
number of colonies at first. This is a too expensive way of learning
the extent of one’s own ignorance and limitations as a bee-keeper.
As we have begun keeping bees three times in the course of our lives,
we feel more or less competent to give advice about this special
phase of bee-keeping. We first began when we were children and
two swarms were bestowed upon us by an uncle who moved away from
the neighbourhood. This was long before the idea of supers and box
comb-honey had been thought of. We were among the first to adopt the
old glass-sided super when it was introduced. The second and third
times we purchased our outfit of a dealer in apiarists’ supplies, and
both of these beginnings were good and successful; so perhaps the
best way to tell others how to begin is to describe how we began. The
following is the order which we sent to a dealer.
A BEGINNER’S ORDER
One colony of bees, in an eight-frame, dovetailed, chaff hive with a
deep telescope cover, and with a tested Italian queen.
Two complete supers ready for use, with 4¼ × 4¼ × 1½ plain sections.
One super cover.
Three extra 1½-story chaff hives uniform with the above, and with super
covers.
One standard Corneil smoker.
One bee-veil.
One pair bee-gloves.
Two hundred and fifty sections, plain, no bee-way, 4¼ × 4¼ × 1½.
One pound medium brood foundation.
Two pounds thin super foundation.
One Daisy foundation-fastener.
One Van Deusen wax-tube fastener.
One ¼-pound spool No. 30, tinned wire.
One Porter bee-escape, with board.
One Manum’s swarm-catcher.
One Dixie bee-brush.
One Doolittle division board feeder.
One Alley’s queen and drone trap.
NOTES ON A BEGINNER’S ORDER
THE BEES
The selection of the bees is the first and most important
consideration, since race and heredity determine to so great an extent
the bee’s efficiency and disposition.
The consensus of opinion to-day is in favour of the Italian bees; this
is so much so that the other races, except the German, are hardly on
the general market in America. Taking all points into consideration,
the Italian has a higher average of satisfactory qualities than has any
of the other races.
Our earliest experiences were with the ordinary black German bees, and
it was through them that we first learned to love bees, although their
nervousness and their unhappy habit of considering us intruders when we
neared their domain were always somewhat embarrassing, and made us feel
like James Whitcomb Riley’s visiting base-ball team, that “we weren’t
so welcome as we aimed to be.” Therefore, when we decided to buy bees,
we unhesitatingly ordered Italians. These are much more gentle and
friendly than the others, and it is one of our greatest pleasures to be
on good terms with our bee-folk. Under all ordinary circumstances the
Italian bees are not only tolerant of human interference, but are sweet
tempered and optimistic, believing that we mean well by them; and one
cannot work with them without learning to love them.
If one begins bee-keeping in the spring, some money can be saved by
buying a nucleus and tested queen, instead of a full colony of bees.
A nucleus in bee-keeping parlance is a small colony with only one,
two, or three frames. The colony should be large enough to build combs
with sufficient rapidity to keep the queen fairly busy, so as not to
encourage in her the habit of loafing, and so that too much time shall
not be required to build up a full colony. Two frames with about a
quart of bees will accomplish this well.
Such a nucleus as this in a hive, with a division board on either side
of the two adjacent frames, can be soon built up into a full colony if
there is plenty of nectar and pollen to be had. A division board is a
solid board of the shape of the frame, but a little larger so that it
is close-fitting in the hive. The frame should be watched closely, and
as soon as the comb is filled with brood, and there are enough bees to
cover the brood well, another frame filled with brood foundation should
be added; this should be continued until the hive is filled with frames.
A TESTED QUEEN
As the queen is the mother of the whole colony, her powers for
transmitting a kind disposition and superior honey-making qualities are
of the greatest importance. It is essential, therefore, to know that
the queen, which is to serve as a foundation for the apiary, has mated
with a drone of the desired race. A tested queen is one that has been
kept until some of her offspring have been reared. The colour of these
will indicate whether the queen has mated with a drone of her own race.
THE HIVE
Next to choosing the bees comes the selection of the hive, for there
are several kinds of hives in general use, and all of them are
apparently good. We chose the Langstroth hive because its merits are
attested by the fact that it is more largely used than all others taken
together. We chose the eight-frame in preference to the ten-frame
form because we wished to produce comb-honey, and it is easier to
induce bees to store surplus in the sections when the brood-chamber is
small. If one wishes to produce extracted honey, the ten-frame hive
is the better one. We ordered the more expensive chaff hives, as we
wished to save the trouble of moving the bees into winter quarters;
and we think this would be the case with anyone with whom bee-keeping
is an avocation instead of a vocation. In fact many people who
make bee-keeping their principal business prefer chaff hives, for
they not only keep out the cold in winter, but also protect the bees
from the heat in summer. The objections to them are that they are
heavy to handle and are expensive, though the expense can be reduced
considerably if one has the ability to make them. Another thing we
like about the chaff hives is that they are fine and dignified in
appearance, and we find that their majestic proportions, white and
beautiful, set against the background of our larches, add much to our
conscious pleasure every time we look upon our apiary. We ordered a
deep telescope cover, as we wished room for two supers on the hive at
once.
The hive stand we ourselves made from lumber taken from dry-goods
boxes. It is simply a smooth platform, six inches wider than the hive
on three sides and extending about a foot out in front of the hive,
thus serving as an alighting-board.
TWO COMPLETE SUPERS
We knew that we would need these very soon, for the basswood harvest
was imminent; we ordered them ready for use, as we wished to see all
the “new wrinkles” in supers, and exactly how the parts are arranged.
We used the supers as models later in putting together and fitting
other supers. This proved a wise precaution, as it saved us much time
in reading directions and studying out independently the arrangement
of parts. We ordered 4¼ × 4¼ × 1½ sections, as this is the size most
generally used, and we chose the no-beeway, or “plain” style, because
we think it presents a better appearance when filled with honey. We
will return to this question in Chapter VIII.
THREE EXTRA HIVES
We wished to have these on hand for any swarms which might possibly
issue.
[Illustration:
PLATE II.
(_a_) Two flat section-boxes; and one being bent together.
(_b_) A Corneil smoker.]
[Illustration:
PLATE III.
(_a_) The Dixie bee-brush, spur wire-embedder, and Van Deusen
wax-tube fastener.
(_b_) A super with fences and two rows of section-boxes in place;
a separate fence.
(_c_) The Porter bee-escape in a honey-board.]
ONE STANDARD CORNEIL SMOKER
I do not know just why we chose this of the many excellent smokers, but
perchance the name called to mind happy experiences with sundry Corneil
smokers of quite a different feather, and we were thus favourably
disposed toward this one. It has not disappointed us in the least,
for it is both handy and practical. It may seem an unfriendly act to
smoke one’s own bee-people, but a little smoke wisely applied is as
efficacious in preserving pleasant relations with the bees, as was the
smoke from the pipe of peace in preserving similar relations between
our forefathers and the savages. (Plate II.)
ONE BEE-VEIL
The senior partner of our apiary rarely uses a veil, but when he does
use one he needs it very much, and it is an article necessary to have
at hand. To the beginner it gives a calmness of nerve and a surplus of
courage which are highly desirable when dealing with such high-strung
creatures as bees. Also there always occur times during the year when
the bee-tempers are on edge for some reason or other; and at such
times, if one be intrenched behind a bee-veil, it facilitates work and
encourages a serene spirit.
ONE PAIR OF BEE-GLOVES
While we do not use these ordinarily, yet when we have some special
work to do which involves changing many bees from one location to
another, we find these gloves most convenient to keep the disturbed
little citizens from crawling up our sleeves, thus saving both them and
ourselves from a most embarrassing situation.
250 SECTIONS
Only a small supply of sections was ordered, as but few would be needed
the first year in addition to those in the two complete supers. (Plate
II.)
ONE POUND BROOD-FOUNDATION
This was for use in the frames in the extra hives.
TWO POUNDS THIN SUPER-FOUNDATION
This was for use in the sections.
ONE DAISY FOUNDATION-FASTENER
In the early days of our bee-keeping we fastened the foundation into
the sections and frames with a common kitchen-knife which we heated
over a lamp and then applied to the edge of the wax foundation held
against the section, thus melting it and pressing it fast to the wood.
Afterward we used a Parker fastener, and found it a great improvement
over the primitive method. But this Daisy foundation-fastener as
described in the catalogue appealed to the modern spirit in us. When
we tried to use the machine, we were bitterly disappointed at the end
of five minutes, but that was because the iron was not hot enough to
properly melt the wax. After a little we learned to hold the foundation
on the plate just long enough to melt it to a proper consistency so
that it adhered to the section as soon as it was dropped upon it.
Then it was that filling sections was placed on the list of sports.
The rapidity with which we filled four dozen sections almost took our
breath away.
ONE VAN DEUSEN WAX-TUBE FASTENER
This was ordered under the impression that it would be needed for
fastening the foundation in the brood-frames, but when the hives came
we found that a much better method of fastening the foundations had
been devised. This is described in Chapter VIII. (Plate III.)
TINNED WIRE
This is used for strengthening the foundation in the brood-frames, as
described later.
ONE PORTER BEE-ESCAPE
The Porter bee-escape is a simple and most useful device. It is set in
a thin board just the size of the top of the hive; in the middle is a
bit of tin which forms a round pit on the upper side. The bees descend
into this pit, and, trying to get out, push apart two strips of tin
set at angles to each other, fastened at the ends, which act like a
valve, letting the bee out but not permitting her to push back. This is
put between the super and the hive in order to free the super of bees
before removing the honey. This escape is also used on the doors and
windows of workshops or extracting-rooms or other places where bees get
in and it is desirable to get them out. (Plates III., XVIII.)
THE MANUM SWARM-CATCHER
We bought this because we liked the idea of it, but as yet we have
never had occasion to use it; however, we never look at its long handle
without being filled with a mad desire to try it on a provoking swarm
of bees clustered in the top of a cherry tree.
ONE DIXIE BEE-BRUSH
This is an exceedingly useful instrument for brushing bees from frames
and from sections. (Plate III.)
ONE DOOLITTLE FEEDER
Bee-keepers of extended experience consider this the best and most
satisfactory kind of feeder in use for small apiaries. (Plate XII.)
QUEEN AND DRONE TRAP
This is not a necessity; we bought it in order to try experiments in
preventing swarming by its use, and also to have on hand in case an
excess of drones should be developed in any of our colonies. (Plate
XIV.)