FALL MANAGEMENT.
FIRST CARE.
When the flowers fail at the end of the season, the first thing
necessary is to ascertain which are the weakest stocks, and all that
cannot defend themselves should either be removed or reinforced. The
strength of all stocks is pretty thoroughly tested within a few days
after a failure of honey. Should any be found with too few bees for
defence, they are quite sure to be plundered. Hence the necessity of
action in season, that we may secure the contents in advance of the
robbers.
STRONG STOCKS DISPOSED TO PLUNDER.
Strong stocks, that during a yield have occupied every cell with brood
and honey, when it fails, will soon have empty cells left by the young
bees, hatching. These empty cells, without honey to fill them, appear
to be a source of much uneasiness. Although such hive and caps may be
well stored, I have ever found them to be the worst in the apiary, much
more disposed to plunder, than weaker ones with half the honey. As weak
stocks cannot be bettered now, it is best to remove them at once, and
put the temptation out of the way. Carelessness is but a sorry excuse,
for letting bees establish this habit of dishonesty. Should any stocks
be weak from disease, the consequences would be even more disastrous
than bad habits; the reasons why such impure honey should not go into
thrifty stocks, have already been given. If we want the least possible
trouble with our bees, none but the best should be selected for winter.
But what constitutes a good stock, seems to be but partially
understood; if we judge from the number lost annually, too many are
careless, or ignorant in the selection; supposing, perhaps, because a
stock has been good one winter and swarmed well, it must of course be
right; the mistake is often fatal.
BEES CHANGEABLE.
Bees are so changeable, especially in the summer and swarming season,
that we can seldom be certain what they are, by what they have been. It
is safest, therefore, _to know what they are now_.
REQUISITES FOR GOOD STOCKS.
The proper requisites for a good stock are a full hive of proper shape
and size, (viz., 2,000 inches,) well stored with honey; a large family
of bees, and in a healthy condition, which must be ascertained by
actual inspection. The age is not important till over eight years old.
Stocks possessing these points, can be wintered with but little
trouble. But it cannot be expected that all will be in this condition.
Many bee-keepers will wish to increase their stocks and keep all that
is practicable, by supplying any deficiency. I shall endeavor to make
it appear profitable to do so, until bees enough are kept in the
country, to get all the honey that is now wasted.
All can understand why it is a loss to have bees eat honey part of the
winter and then die--that the honey consumed might have been
saved--that it makes no great difference to the bees whether they are
killed in the fall or sacrificed in the winter. I am not an advocate
for fire and brimstone as the reward of all unfortunate stocks, and
shall recommend it only when its use will make it no worse. We will see
how far it can be dispensed with.
GREAT DISADVANTAGE OF KILLING THE BEES.
Those rustic bee-keepers who are in the habit of making their hives
very large, such as will hold from 100 to 140 lbs., and killing the
bees in the fall, and sending the honey to market, will probably
continue the use of sulphur, unless we can convince them of the greater
advantage of making the hive smaller and have fifty or eighty lbs. of
this honey in boxes which will sell for more than can be realized for
their larger hive full, and at the same time, save their bees for a
stock-hive, making a better return in the long run, than one hundred
dollars at interest. When hives are made the proper size, the honey
will not be an object sufficient to pay for destroying the bees.
SECTION OF COUNTRY MAY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN WHAT POOR STOCKS NEED.
The kind of requisite to be supplied to our deficient stocks, will
probably depend on the section of country. Where the principal source
is clover and basswood, it will fail partially, at least, before the
end of warm weather.
Some poor or medium stocks will continue to rear brood too extensively
for their means, and exhaust their winter stores in consequence; such
will need a supply of honey. But where great quantities of buckwheat
are sown, cold weather follows almost immediately after this yield, and
stops the breeding. Consequently a scarcity of bees is more frequent
than honey. There are exceptions, of course; I am speaking of these
cases generally. My experience has mostly been in a section where this
crop is raised, and will say that there is not more than one season in
ten, but that the honey will be in proportion with the bees the first
of September; that is, if there are bees enough, there will be honey
enough.
WHEN BEES ARE NEEDED.
I have frequently had stocks with stores amply sufficient to carry a
good family through the winter, and yet too few bees to last till
January, or even to defend themselves from the robbers. Hence I am in
the habit of supplying bees oftener than honey.
I usually have some few hives with too little honey, as well as too few
bees. Now it is very plain if the bees of one or more of this class
were united with the first successfully, we should have a respectable
family. I have made additions to stocks in this way that proved
first-rate.
CAUTION.
Whenever we make additions in this manner, it would be well first to
ascertain what was the cause of a scarcity of bees; if it was
over-swarming or loss of queen, it is well enough--but if from disease,
reject them, unless the bees are to be transferred the next spring, and
then, when too many cells are occupied with dead brood, as the bees
cannot be successfully wintered.
PRINCIPAL DIFFICULTY.
The greatest difficulty in uniting two families or more in this manner,
is where they have to be taken from different places in the same
apiary; where the locations have been marked. It is sufficiently shown
that bees return to the old stand.
To prevent these results, it has been recommended "to set an empty hive
with some pieces of comb, fastened in the top in the place of the one
removed, to catch the bees that go back to the old stand, and remove
them at night for a few times, when they remain." This should be done
only when we cannot do better; it is considerable trouble; besides
this, we do not always succeed to our satisfaction.
HOW AVOIDED.
I like the plan of bringing them a mile or more for this purpose, and
have no after trouble about it. Two neighbors being that distance
apart, each having stocks in this condition might exchange bees, making
the benefit mutual. I have done so, and considered myself well paid for
the trouble. But latterly I have had several apiaries away from home,
and now manage without difficulty.
ADVANTAGES OF MAKING ONE GOOD STOCK FROM TWO POOR ONES.
This making one good stock out of two poor ones, cannot be too highly
recommended; aside from its advantages, it relieves us from all
disagreeable feelings in taking life, that we can with but little
trouble preserve.
TWO FAMILIES TOGETHER WILL NOT CONSUME AS MUCH AS IF SEPARATE.
Even when a stock already contains bees enough to make it safe for
winter, another of the same number of bees may be added, and _the
consumption of honey will not be five lbs. more than one swarm would
consume alone_. If they should be wintered in the cold, the difference
might not be one pound. Why more bees do not consume a proportionate
quantity of honey, (which the experience of others as well as myself
has thoroughly proved), is a mystery, unless the greater number of bees
creates more animal heat, and being warm, eat less, is a solution,
(which if it is, is a strong reason for keeping bees warm in winter.)
AN EXPERIMENT.
Notwithstanding all this, I cannot recommend making a _good_ stock
better by adding the bees from another good one as a source of profit.
I tried it a few times. I had purchased some large hives for market,
and wished to dispose of the bees without sulphur, and try the
experiment of uniting two or more. The next spring when they commenced
work such double stocks promised much; but when the swarming season
arrived, the single swarms, such as were good and had just about bees
enough, were in the best condition, in ordinary seasons. Whether this
was owing to the circumstance of there being already bees enough that
were beginning to crowd and interfere with each other's labors, and
less brood raised in consequence, or to some other reason, I cannot
say. I have often noticed, (as others have), that stocks which have
cast no swarms, are no better the next spring than others. The same
cause might operate in both cases. Therefore it would appear
unnecessary to unite two or more _good swarms_, unless it is to spare
our feelings in destroying the bees. The two extremes may generally be
avoided, and not have too many or too few bees.
SEASON FOR OPERATING.
The season for operating is, generally, when all the brood has matured
and left the cells. The exceptions are when there are not bees enough
to protect the stores; it may then be necessary, immediately after the
failure of honey.
Col. H. K. Oliver, of Salem, Mass., is said to be the inventor of the
fumigator, an instrument to burn fungus (_puff-ball_). By the aid of
this the smoke is blown in the hive, paralyzing the bees in a few
minutes; when they fall to the bottom, apparently dead, but will
recover in a few minutes, on receiving fresh air.
THE FUMIGATOR.
I am indebted to a communication from J. M. Weeks, published on page
151 of the Cultivator for 1841, for this method. The description of the
fumigator that I constructed will vary a trifle from his, but will
retain the principle. I obtained a tin tube four inches long, and two
in diameter. Next, I made a stopper of soft wood, three inches long, to
exactly fit one end of the tube when driven in half an inch, and
secured it by little nails driven through the tin. Through the centre
of this stopper I made a hole one-fourth of an inch in diameter. To
prevent this hole filling up, the end in the tube was covered over with
wire cloth, made a little convex. The end of this stopper was cut down
to about half an inch, tapering it from the tin. For the other end a
similar piece of wood is fitted, though a little longer, and not to be
fastened, as it must be taken out for every operation. The outer end of
this is cut down into a shape to be taken into the mouth, or attached
to the pipe of a bellows. (I fitted them in the turning lathe, but
have seen them fixed very nicely without.) It could all be made of tin;
but then it is necessary to use solder, which is liable to melt and
cause leaks.
[Illustration: FUMIGATOR.]
"The puff-balls must not be too much injured by remaining in the
weather, and should be picked, if possible, just before they are ripe
and burst open. When not thoroughly dry, put them in the oven after the
bread is out." When used, the cuticle or rind must be carefully
removed; ignite it by a lamp or coal (it will not blaze in burning),
blow it, and get it thoroughly started, before putting it in the tube.
Put in the stopper, and blow through it; if it smokes well, you are
ready to proceed. When it does not burn freely, unstop and shake it
out. The dry air is much better than moist breath at the commencement.
DIRECTIONS FOR UNITING TWO FAMILIES.
The hive to receive the bees is inverted, the other set over it right
end up, all crevices stopped to prevent the escape of the smoke. Now
insert the end of the fumigator into a hole in the side of the hive
(which if not made before will need to be now); blow into the other
end, this forces the smoke into the hive; in two minutes you may hear
the bees begin to fall. Both hives should be smoked; the upper one the
most, as we want all the bees out of that. The other only needs enough
to make the scent of the bees similar to those introduced. At the end
of eight or ten minutes, the upper hive may be raised, and any bees
sticking between the combs brushed down with a quill. The two queens in
this case are of course together; one will be destroyed, and no
difficulty arise. But if either of them is a young one, and you have
been convinced by some "bee-doctor" that such are much more prolific,
and happen to know which hive contains her, and wish that one to be
preserved, you can do so by varying the process a little. Instead of
inverting one hive, set them both on a cloth right side up, and smoke
the bees; the queens are easily found, while they are all paralyzed;
then put the bees all together. The hive should now have a thin cloth
tied over the bottom, to prevent the escape of the bees. Before they
are fully recovered, they seem rather bewildered, and some of them get
away. Set the hive right end up, and raise it an inch; the bees drop on
the cloth, and fresh air passing under soon revives them. In from
twelve to twenty-four hours, they may be let out.
Families put together in this way will seldom quarrel (not more than
one in twenty), but remain together, defending themselves against
intruders as one swarm.
I once had a stock nearly destitute of bees, with abundant stores for
wintering a large family. I had let it down on the floor-board, and was
on the lookout for an attack. The other bees soon discovered this
weakness, and commenced carrying off the honey. I had brought home a
swarm to reinforce them only the day before, and immediately united
them by means of the fumigator. The next morning I let them out,
allowing them to issue only at the hole in the side of the hive. It was
amusing to witness the apparent consternation of the robbers that were
on hand for more plunder; they had been there only the day before, and
had been allowed to enter and depart without even being questioned. But
lo! a change had come over the matter. Instead of open doors and a free
passage, the first bee that touched the hive was seized and very rudely
handled, and at last dispatched with a sting. A few others receiving
similar treatment, they began to exercise a little caution, then tried
to find admission on the back side, and other places; and attempted one
or two others on either side, perhaps thinking they were mistaken in
the hive; but these being strong, repulsed them, and they finally gave
it up. I mention this to show how easy it is, with a little care, to
prevent robberies at this season. Too many complaints are made about
bees being robbed; it is very disagreeable. Suppose that _none were
plundered through carelessness_; this complaint would soon be a rare
thing.
UNITING WITH TOBACCO SMOKE.
By the use of tobacco smoke, bees may be united with nearly the same
success. First, smoke the two to be united, thoroughly; disturb them
and smoke again, that all may become partially drunk, and acquire the
same scent. Then invert both hives, and with your pruning tools, cut
the combs down on the sides of the hive, and across the top, and take
out one comb at a time with the bees on it, and brush them with a quill
into the other hive; they immediately go down among the combs, without
once thinking it necessary to sting you. When done, the bees are to be
confined, the same as in the other method. I do not like this method as
well as the first, and do not resort to it when I can get the
puff-ball. The bees are more liable to disagree, and it compels me to
take out the comb, which I do not always like to do at the time. To
avoid it, I have tried to drive them, but when the hive is only part
full of combs, or contains but few bees, it is a slow job; and more so
in cool weather.
CONDITION OF STOCKS IN 1851.
The latter part of the summer of 1851 was very dry and cold; the yield
of buckwheat honey was not a tenth of the usual quantity; the
consequence was, that none but early swarms had sufficient honey for
winter; twenty-five pounds is required to make it _safe_ in this
section. I had over thirty young swarms with less than that quantity.
Feeding for winter I avoid when I can; they would not winter as they
were; and yet I made the most of them good stocks for the next summer
by the following plan.
HOW THEY WERE MANAGED.
I had about twenty old stocks with diseased brood, and but few bees,
yet _honey enough_. Now this honey appears healthy enough for the old
bees, and fatal only to the young brood.
I transferred the bees of these new swarms to the old stocks with black
comb and diseased brood. The bees were thus wintered on honey of but
little account any way, and all that was in the others, new and
healthy, was saved. These new hives were set in a cold dry place for
winter; _right end up_, to prevent much of the honey from dripping out
of the cells; some will leak then, but not as much as when the hive is
bottom up. Honey that runs out, when the hive is bottom up, will soak
into the wood at the base of the combs; this will have a tendency to
loosen the fastenings, and render them liable to fall, &c.
The next March the bees were again transferred from the old to the new
hives. My method is as follows: As the combs in the hive to receive the
bees are rather cold, I set them by the fire, or in a warm room, for
several hours previous. I take a warm room before a window, and as some
few bees fly off, they will collect there. The new hive is turned
bottom up on the floor; the old one on a bench by the side of it,
having smoked the bees to keep them quiet. One comb at a time is taken
out, and the bees brushed into the new hive; (a little smoke will keep
them there). When through, I get the few on the window, and tie over a
cloth to confine them, and keep them warm for a few hours longer.
Paralyzing with puff-ball will answer instead, but they do not always
all fall out of the combs when the hive is filled to the bottom, and it
is possible that if a few were left, the queen might be one. Also a
very few bees are worth saving at this season, and the combs might have
to be broken out at last, for this purpose.
When a good-sized family is put in a hive containing fifteen or twenty
pounds of honey, and near half full of clean new comb, they are about
as sure to fill up and cast a swarm, as another that is full and has
wintered a swarm.
CAUSE OF THEIR SUPERIOR THRIFT.
One cause of superior thrift may be found in the circumstance, that all
moth eggs and worms are frozen to death, and the bees are not troubled
with a single worm before June. No young bees have to be removed to
work them out. Nearly every young bee that is fed and sealed up, comes
forth perfect, and of course makes a vast difference in the increase.
SWARMS PARTLY FILLED PAY BETTER THAN TO CUT OUT THE HONEY.
Any person wishing to increase his stocks to the utmost, will find this
plan of saving all part-filled hives, of much more advantage than to
break it out for sale. Suppose you have an old stock that needs
pruning, and have neglected it, or it has refused to swarm, and give
you a chance without destroying too much brood. You can let it be, and
put on the boxes; perhaps get twenty-five pounds of cap honey; and then
winter the bees as described, and in the spring transfer them to the
new combs. Again, if there is no stocks to be transferred in the
spring, keep them till the swarming season. If a swarm put into an
empty hive would just fill it, the same swarm put into one containing
fifteen pounds of honey, it seems plain, would make that number of
pounds in boxes. The advantage is, in the comparative value of box or
cap honey over that stored in the hive; the difference being from
thirty to a hundred per cent.
ADVANTAGES IN TRANSFERRING.
I would now like to show the advantages I derived in transferring the
twenty swarms before mentioned. We will suppose that each family, from
the first of October till April, consumed twenty pounds of honey. That
in the centre combs, where there is most bee-bread, &c., is eaten
first; if any is left, it is at the top and outside. If I had attempted
to take out and strain this twenty pounds in the fall, it would have
been so mixed with dead brood, and bee-bread, that I probably should
have rejected most of it. The remainder, when strained, might have been
five pounds, not more. The market price for it is about ten cents per
pound; amount fifty cents. We will say the new hive kept through the
winter to receive the bees in the spring contained fifteen pounds; this
would also have averaged about ten cents per pound, amounting to $1.50.
All that a stock of this kind costs me appears to be just $2.00, and
worth at least $5.00. The advantage in changing twenty would be $60.00.
The labor of transferring will offset against the trouble of straining,
preparing, and the expense of getting the honey to market.
ANOTHER METHOD OF UNITING TWO FAMILIES.
I have occasionally adopted yet another method of making a good stock
from two poor ones, which the reader may prefer. When all your old
stocks have been reinforced that need it, and you still have some
swarms with too few bees and too little honey for safety as they are,
two or more can be united. The fact, which has been thoroughly tested,
that two families of bees, when united and wintered in one hive, will
consume but little, if any more, than each of them would separately, is
a very important principle in this matter. If each family should have
fifteen pounds of honey, they would consume it all, and probably starve
at last, after eating thirty pounds. But if the contents of both were
in one hive, it would be amply sufficient, and some to spare in the
spring.
UNITING COMB AND HONEY AS WELL AS BEES.
The process of uniting them is simple. Smoke both the stocks or swarms
thoroughly, and turn them over. Choose the one with the straightest
combs, or the one nearest full, to receive the contents of the other;
trim off the points of the combs to make them square across, and this
one is ready; remove the sticks from the other, and with your tools
take out the combs with the bees on as before directed, one at a time,
and carefully set them on the edges of the other; if the shape will
admit it, let the edges match; if not, let them cross. Small bits of
wood or rolls of paper will be needed between them, to preserve the
right distance. When both hives are of one size, the transferred combs
will exactly fit, if you are careful to place them as they were before.
You will now want to know, "what is to prevent these combs from falling
out when the hive is turned over?" This hive is to remain bottom up in
some dark place for some time, or till spring. (See method of wintering
bees.) The bees will immediately join these combs fast; the hive being
inverted, the honey in these combs will be consumed first; and when the
hive is again set out in spring, it will be a rare occurrence for any
pieces to drop out. Should any pieces project beyond the bottom of the
hive, they may be trimmed off even after they are fastened, any time
before setting out. An additional cross-stick may pass under the bottom
of the combs, to assist in holding them, if you desire. You will
probably never discover any difference in the subsequent prosperity in
consequence of the joining or crossing of the combs in the middle. I
have had them in this way, when they were among the most prosperous of
my stocks. As this operation is to be put off till November, it will be
an advantage in another way; that is, families of the same apiary can
be united, and will mostly forget the old location by spring, and no
difficulty arise by returning to the old stand, etc.
WHEN FEEDING SHOULD BE DONE FOR STOCK HIVES.
In some sections of country the _honey_ is more frequently wanting than
bees, or comb, and some seasons in this; in such cases, it will be
found an advantage to feed, until enough is stored for winter. This
should be done in September or October. But if they lack comb as well
as honey, and you wish to try feeding, (which I seldom do lately,) it
should be done if possible in warm weather, as they cannot work combs
to advantage in the cold. While feeding bees, it requires a great deal
of caution to prevent others from scenting the honey, and their
contentions about it. The safest place is on the top of the hive, with
a good cap over; but they will not work quite as fast, especially if
the weather is cool. The next best place is under the bottom in the
manner described in Chapter IX.
Setting out honey to feed all at once, I condemn wholly. These
disadvantages attend it: strong stocks that do not need an ounce, will
get two or three pounds, while those weaker ones, needing it more, will
not get one. Nearly every stock, in a short time, will be fighting.
Probably the first bee that comes home with a load, will inform a
number of its fellows that a treasure is close at hand. A number will
sally out immediately, without waiting for particular directions for
finding it; and mistaking other hives for the place, alight there, are
seized and probably dispatched. As soon as the honey given them is
gone, the tumult is greatly increased, and great numbers are destroyed.
If any of your neighbors near you have bees, you must expect to divide
with them.
If the honey to be fed is in the comb, and your hives are not full, and
they are to be wintered in the house, bottom up, it may be done at any
time through the winter, merely by laying pieces with honey on those in
the hive. The bees readily remove the contents into their own combs;
when empty, remove them and put in more until they have a full supply.
They will join such pieces of comb to their own; yet there will be no
harm in breaking them loose. The principal objection to feeding in this
way, will be found in the tendency to make them uneasy and disposed to
leave the hive, when we want them as quiet as possible, A thin muslin
cloth, or other means, will be necessary to confine them to the hive.
I have now given directions to avoid killing any family of bees worth
saving, if we choose.
When such as need feeding have been fed, and all weak families made
strong by additions, etc., but little more fall work is needed in the
apiary. It is only when you have weak stocks, unfit to winter, that it
is necessary to be on the lookout every warm day to prevent pillage.