Under the above title it is intended to give a series of six papers on
the subject of “Practical Bee-keeping,” of which this one is the first.
[Illustration: STOCK-BOX AND FLOOR, SHOWING QUILTS AND FRAMES.]
It is presumed that the reader is a stranger as yet to the pleasures
of bee-keeping, but has some desire to know a little about these
extraordinary, interesting and useful insects, and thus to solve some
of the mysteries of the hive. The best way to do this is to keep a hive
of bees of your own, and the following papers, as they appear month by
month, will aim at giving seasonable directions for establishing and
managing it.
[Illustration: A MODERN BEE-HIVE.]
Bee-keeping is a pursuit that has several peculiar advantages to
recommend it. Much pleasure is derived in obtaining an insight into
the habits and requirements of these interesting insects by actual
handling and observation. There is also the aid to health, which a
moderate amount of exercise in fresh air and sunlight, with a restful
change of occupation for the mind, cannot fail to bring. And last, but
not least, there is the honey—the prize at the end of the season for
the diligent bee-keeper, the sum-total of little tokens of gratitude
contributed by thousands of little workers, each so tiny, but which,
when put together, form a very substantial and adequate return for all
the trouble and attention bestowed upon them. This last brings with it
the pleasure of being able to place on the family table the product of
one’s own bees, or if it amounts to more than can well be disposed of
at home, there will be the profit that will accrue from disposing of
it at a fair price to friends. There are, indeed, many people living
in the country who are able to make quite a useful addition to their
income by following this pursuit.
Perhaps the only thing that can be said against commencing bee-keeping
is the possibility of getting stung, but this is almost always the
result of too frequent or careless handling; it is seldom worse than
a passing inconvenience, and the bee-keeper soon learns to look upon
it as a factor not worth taking into account. The timid, however,
may render themselves nearly sting-proof by the use of india-rubber
gloves lined with wool, besides the veil usually worn by bee-keepers to
protect the face.
Few people are unsuited for bee-keeping. The invalid can manage
to attend to a few hives during the warm sunny weather in summer
without fatigue. The only persons who are really unfitted to take up
bee-keeping are those who have not the desire or opportunity to attend
to the bees regularly, or those who at first, perhaps, take up the new
hobby with great zest, only to leave their pets to neglect when the
novelty of the thing has somewhat worn off, or on the occasion of the
first difficulty. Such a one should not keep bees. When we become the
possessors of dumb animals, which depend more or less upon human aid
for their well-being and comfort—and bees certainly do—a responsibility
rests upon us which it would be wrong to ignore.
There are few places in this country where bees may not be kept. The
heart of a large city is perhaps the most unfavourable place for
bee-keeping, but even in London bees have been kept successfully
in Regent Street, Holborn, and in other parts. Wherever flowers
flourish, bees will generally find a subsistence. In country districts
where Dutch clover and sainfoin are largely cultivated, and on
the heather-clad moors of Yorkshire and Scotland, they will yield
considerable returns of honey in favourable seasons.
On the whole, bee-keeping is a fascinating pursuit to those who are
engaged in it, and thus almost every intelligent bee-keeper is more or
less of an enthusiast, and there is, I think, a general fellow-feeling
and desire to help one another amongst all interested in the craft,
be they old hands, beginners, or even merely desirous, would-be
bee-keepers, which is a pleasing indication of genuine love of the work
they have at heart.
[Illustration: OLD-FASHIONED SKEP AND MODERN FRAME HIVE.]
The best advice I can give to those who intend to start bee-keeping is
to go and see a practical bee-keeper living in the neighbourhood, who
keeps a few colonies of bees in the modern wooden hives. Choose a warm,
sunny day sometime this month for the visit, and ask him to open one
of the hives before you, and to explain its contents to you and how to
handle the bees.
It will be seen that a bee-hive consists essentially of three separate
parts, (1) the floor, (2) the stock-box, and (3) the roof.
The stock-box contains the combs and bees. The combs vary in number
from eight to twelve, or more; they are built in wooden frames which
hang from the sides of the stock-box, and are kept a certain distance
apart by means of metal ends, so that the bees may have free passage
between them. The number of the frames of comb may be varied according
to “the strength of the bees.”[1] When there are fewer frames than the
stock-box is capable of containing, the empty space beyond them is shut
off by means of a close-fitting board called a dummy. The entrance is a
narrow slit on one side of the hive between the floor and the stock-box
through which the bees pass in and out. The portion of the floor which
projects beyond the entrance is called the alighting-board. Several
thicknesses of cloths, or quilts as they are called, are placed on top
of the frames to keep the bees warm.
Besides these simple essentials of every hive, there should be an upper
story or lift to contain the super, which is a box placed over the
frames in summer, in which the bees may store all honey beyond what is
required for their own use. In many hives the lift is made so that by
inversion it will drop down over the stock-box for the winter, and so
help to keep the bees extra warm.
It will not be necessary to trouble the reader at present with any
details of the structure of the bee-hive, these being of use chiefly
only to those who intend to make their own hives; and this is not
recommended, as good hives can now be obtained ready-made from the
leading dealers, which are much more satisfactory.
A hive with the combs fixed in movable frames like the one described
above has a great advantage over the old-fashioned round straw hives
or skeps in which the combs are fixed immovably. In the former, any or
all of the frames of comb may be lifted out and examined, and the exact
state of the colony ascertained in a few minutes, while with the latter
the bee-keeper could never tell what was going on inside the hive.
Without knowledge there cannot be much progress, and we can understand
how, by keeping bees in this latter style, our forefathers for so many
centuries never dreamt of any improvement on their barbarous plan of
destroying the bees by burning brimstone when they wanted to obtain the
honey.
In this country we have now a further advantage in the movable comb
system by the universal adoption of a standard size of frame, which
has been fixed by the British Bee-keepers’ Association. These standard
frames are of course interchangeable, and will fit any hive made to
take them.
There are one or two ways of making a start in keeping bees, but
the best for this time of the year is to procure a swarm. Two
swarms obtained in May or the early part of June would make a very
good beginning. It is not advisable to start with more, until a
little experience is gained, and thus the chances of failure and
disappointment will be diminished.
The following is a list of articles necessary for commencing
bee-keeping which should now be procured, so that all may be in
readiness for the swarm when it comes, some directions for hiving which
will be given in the next paper.
LIST OF ARTICLES FOR COMMENCING BEE-KEEPING.
s. d.
1. Hive, with 10 standard frames and 2 dummies, 10s. to 20 0
2. Super, containing 21 1-lb. sections 2 6
3. Sheet of queen-excluding zinc 0 8
4. Brood foundation, 1½ lbs. 3 3
5. Super foundation, ¼ lb. 0 8
6. Bottle feeder with wooden stage 1 0
7. Smoker, with guard 2 3
8. Bee-veil; net, with black before the face 1 0
(_To be continued._)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] An expression used to denote the quantity of bees in the hive. The
bees are said to be “so many frames strong,” that is, so many frames
are covered by bees.
THE HOUSE WITH THE VERANDAH.
BY ISABELLA FYVIE MAYO, Author of “Other People’s Stairs,” “Her Object
in Life,” etc.