=Bee-keepers' Requisites=
=Comb Foundation.=--It is this wonderful invention that with the
bar-frame has made bee-keeping a practical factor; without it, indeed,
the bar-frame hive would be useless from a commercial point of view.
The "comb-foundation" is a thin sheet of bees-wax, impressed by
machinery, on both sides, with true hexagonal, or six-sided, bases of
cells, a slight foundation for the walls being also impressed. Thus
the bees are given a start, as it were, in their work. This foundation
is made either with "worker" or "drone" cells and the bees will follow
unfailingly the lead thus given them in their building. It is made in
three degrees of thickness--"thin," "medium," and "thick"; the first
for use in sections, and the others in the brood chamber.
As a rule bee-keepers in England buy only the worker-brood foundation,
for should drones be required they can be secured by merely cutting
away the lower part of a honey-comb, or supplying only half a sheet of
foundation in the frames, for the bees will almost without fail build
drone cells on these.
Foundation is catalogued by all makers of bee-keeping appliances,
but it should be obtained only from reliable sources, for one of its
essentials is that it should be made from pure bees-wax thoroughly
cleansed and sterilized. Otherwise it may contain germs of brood
disease.
_Old Foundation._--If a stock of foundation should at any time be left
in hand it is advisable that it should be slightly warmed before it is
given for the use of the bees, for unless it is quite pliable the bees
will reject it.
=Excluder Zinc.=--It is impossible to work the bar-frame hive for
profit without the aid of excluder zinc, for it is this useful
appliance which prevents the queen from entering the supers and
spoiling the surplus honey by laying her eggs in the comb. For the
novice must learn at once that no honey should be extracted from combs
which contain brood.
The queen excluder should completely cover the open space above the
brood nest before the super is placed over it.
_A new queen excluder_ is now on the market, made of hard wires
strapped together, and the patentee claims that more workers can pass
through it than is possible with the old type.
[Illustration: A Standard Frame with Drawn-out Comb]
[Illustration: An Efficient Queen Excluder]
[Illustration: A Frame Hive with the top removed]
=Feeders.=--There are many varieties of feeders in use among
bee-keepers, and to attempt to give a description of them all would
occupy far too much space. It would, moreover, be unnecessary,
for, after all, the method of feeding is one to be decided by the
bee-keeper's own convenience and resources. Several feeders are on
the market to meet the requirements of quick feeding; these are made
either of tin or wood and include the "float feeders" and the Canadian
pattern, both of which find considerable favour. Another type covers
the so-called "slow feeders," in which the supply can be regulated by
turning the food vessel round to allow a larger or smaller quantity of
food to escape at the option of the bee-keeper.
_A cheap and serviceable feeder_ may be made by filling a glass jam jar
or pickle bottle with syrup and stretching a piece of bleached calico
over the top and tying it securely round the neck. The jar is then
placed in an inverted position over the feed-hole of the hive. Should
the syrup escape too quickly another thickness of calico can be added.
Glass jars should always be used as inverted feeders as the quantity
and condition of the remaining food can be seen at a glance.
_Scrupulous cleanliness_ is necessary with all feeders, or the food is
liable to turn sour or ferment.
=Uncapping Knives.=--Used for the purpose of removing the cap of wax
from the cells when extracting the honey from the combs, these knives
should be made of good material and be kept perfectly clean and bright.
Blades which discolour quickly should not be used, and where large
quantities of honey are extracted at a time it is advisable that two
knives should be available. This enables the process to be continuous,
as one knife can be heated--in hot water--while the other is in use.
In using the knife it is better to give it a sawing motion when
uncapping, for by so doing the chances of injuring the cells are
considerably lessened. It should be so arranged that the cappings fall,
as they are removed, into a tray or dish.
=The Extractor.=--This is a machine which should be included in the
outfit of every bee-keeper who is working with a view to profit. The
initial outlay may seem large, but by its quickness and efficiency a
good machine soon pays for itself and contributes to the credit side
of the account. The extractor is usually cylindrical in shape and
contains two cages, each sufficiently large to hold one standard frame
of comb. These cages are attached to a spindle which runs through the
centre of the machine, and is worked either direct by a handle or by
a simple chain or cog gear at the top. A lid and a honey tap complete
the outfit. The advantages of the extractor are many, but the chief one
is that the honey can be separated from the combs without breaking the
latter.
Hints for working the extractor are given on page 98.
=The Honey Press.=--This is used to squeeze thick or dense honey from
the combs. There are many varieties and makes on the market, ranging in
size down to that of the ordinary potato squeezer. Those used by the
larger honey farmers work with screw pressure. The combs are placed in
a wrapping of cheese-cloth, laid between pieces of American wire which
rest on fluted or ribbed boards, and the pressure applied. The honey
escapes by means of the fluted guides and the wax remains as a solid
cake.
=The Smoker.=--This is an indispensable article in the equipment of
the bee-keeper. It is not intended for the purpose of stifling the
bees, but on the contrary to make them good-humoured, and, although it
does not always have the desired effect, most bee-keepers have often
proved the smoker a good friend. The effect of the smoker when properly
applied is to cause the bees to gorge themselves with honey, for bees,
like most human beings, are good-tempered after a hearty meal.
After the smoker has once been lighted it should be placed on end, for
should it be laid flat the fuel will probably be extinguished.
It is always advisable when working the smoker to have a spare
cartridge handy so as to replace the one immediately it is consumed.
_Fuel_ for the smoker can be made from thin corrugated strawboard,
brown paper, calico, cotton wool, or anything indeed that will smoulder
rather than burn with a flare. It is a good plan to roll together some
fast and slow burning materials, thereby ensuring a steady smother
while it lasts. A supply of "cartridges" of this kind should be cut and
tied into lengths ready for use when required.
=Carbolic Cloths.=--These are useful for driving the bees down from the
frames into the hive, when the frames need manipulating. The cloths
are usually about 18 inches square, made of calico, and sprinkled with
one part of carbolic acid to two parts of water. They are laid over the
tops of the frame, but care has to be taken that the carbolic solution
is not too strong, or the bees will be driven from the hive.
When not in use, the cloths should be kept rolled up in a tin to ensure
their cleanliness and to retain their strength.
=Brushes.=--Bees are very particular concerning the kind of brushes
used by the bee-keeper to brush them from the combs, or to gather a
swarm together when it is scattered under a bush or in a position
where it is not possible to shake them into a hive. They have a firm
objection to anything of a hairy nature, and the very best method
to rouse them to wrath is to use a housemaid's broom under the
circumstances mentioned. It is a certain incitement to trouble.
Most brushes sold by appliance makers are of fibre, but one of the very
best forms can be made from montbretia leaves. The leaves, or blades,
should be cut from the plant near the ground and the tops doubled over
and tied near the end of the stalk. The stalk end is used as a handle,
the "brush" consisting of the intervening part. Montbretia is a very
adaptable plant and will thrive almost anywhere with a little care.
=Disinfectants.=--Disinfectants play a large part in the work of the
bee-keeper, to secure the cleanliness which is such an essential factor
to success, for the prevention of disease, and the confounding of the
many enemies of the bees.
_Carbolic Acid_ is the disinfectant most generally used, probably
because it is available for other purposes. It should not be used,
however, when supers are being removed or on any combs containing honey
that is to be taken for use. When cleaning the inside of a hive only
one part of carbolic acid should be used to ten or even twenty parts
of hot water, and care must be taken that the hive is thoroughly dry
before combs are placed in it, or the bees admitted.
_Naphthalene_ and _Camphor_ are each used for disinfecting purposes,
but more especially as antidotes against the wax-moth and other insects
that play havoc in the hive. Two fairly large pieces can be placed in
one hive, either in the cavities at the ends of the frames or over the
quilt.
=Veils.=--Some bee-keepers scoff at the necessity for a veil for
protection when handling the bees, but there is no question that
in spite of the grotesque appearance it imparts the veil is "a very
present help in trouble" to the average bee-keeper. Some people are
fortunate enough to be sting-proof and such can afford to smile at
those who seek, protection from a veil, but to those who are not immune
from the consequences of the angry attentions of the bee the veil is
indispensable. Serviceable veils can be made of Brussels or silk net,
mosquito netting, or fine wire. They can be procured in any colour,
though black is most generally adopted, that having been found the
least objectionable to the bees, who entertain violent prejudices on
the subject of colour.
Personally, I believe that it is the human breath to which the bees
particularly object, and I have found that if a little honey be eaten
before one opens a hive the enmity of the bees will be neutralised to a
very great extent.
=A pair of gloves, with gauntlets=, are absolutely necessary to the
bee-keeper's equipment, though an admirable makeshift for the latter
can be adapted from old stocking legs. These pulled over the sleeves of
the coat, after the gloves have been buttoned, form an efficient guard
against an exploring bee.