Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 December 1890 — THE APIARY. [ARTICLE]

THE APIARY.

Point* for Beginner*. •, / Do not take too much honey from yd'ur bees. Remember .that it Is their surplus that you should take and nothing else. When you open a hive of bees, If you see any robber-bees flying about, you may be sure there is no honey in the fields, and you must avoid leaving the hives open, or exposing honey in their reach. ; A robber-bee is easily recognized by Its quick motions and sneaking ways. Ail bees become robbers, if tempted with exposed sweets In time? of scarcity. Decrease the size of the entrance of your hives when the honey crop is over, but be sure and have it very largo during the honey crop. Bees will not work on fruit juice when there is honey in the fields, and they cannot hurt sound fruit at any time. If any of you doubt this statement, put a bunch of sounif grapes or a sound peach in a hive of bees, and note the result twentyfour hours afterwards. It is birds and hornets that damage sound fruit; bees only gather the lost juices. In seasons of scarcity your bees should be fed. You will have such a season once in ten, and the busy little things will repay you fully the following year. Honey-dew and fruit-juice are bad winter food, and should be extracted from the combs. When you have to feed, if you cannot get good honey, use good sugar syrup. If bees have to be fed for winter, the food should be given them all before the opening of cold weather. Do not watch for bee-moths, but keep your colonies strong and healthy, and they will take care of the moths. A good bee-smoker and a bee veil are indispensable to an apiarist. Some people do not use veils, but they occasionally get stung on the face, and this is not very pleasant Smoke the bees at the entrance a little before opening a hive. Do not handle your bees early or late, or in the night. On the contrary, select the warmest part of the day, as the old bees are then In the field. When you are stung, do not lose a second, but scrape the sting off. Do not pinch it off, as you are more than likely to drive more poison into the wound. A sting instantly removed gives but little pain comparatively. There is more profit with less labor In 300 hives of bees than in 160 acres of land, but you should know what to do and do it in time. There arc about 5,000 bees in a pound. A gallon of honey weighs eleven to twelve pounds, according to its density. —Langntroth on the Honey-Bee.