THE BUSY BEE

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 4006, 5 October 1929, Page 3

THE BUSY BEE

AN INTERESTING ADDRESS BY MR, F. €. RAINES. One Of the most interesting addresses that has yet been given before itbe Lunch Club was delivered by Mjiv F. C. Raikes, of Oroua Downs, on Thursday. There was a large attendance at the meeting, which was presided over by Mr. M. B. Bergin. 'The chairman, in introducing the speaker referred to him as one of the best 'known residents in the district, and a man who had for years held aloft the torch of learning and advancement and who had .applied sound theoritical knowledge to practical farm pursuits and" by dint of study and - hard work won success in poultry and dairying pursuits. By his energies he had reclaimed waste lands and later made successful excursions into the bee farming industry. On rising to commence his address Mr. Raikes was accorded a round of applause. He had brought with him a hive and- various gear necessary to amply illustrate the topic of his talk in a most interesting mlanner. Commencing with the hive, Mr. Raikes illustrated and described the construction of the standard bee box which was chiefly manufactured from 1 kerosene or benzine boxes and was 16 inches wide and 20 inches deep, with a detachable bottom of totara. The top was covered with galvanised iron and differed from the old type in that it was perfectly flat and presented a good foundation for the addition of other boxes or tiers. The top was aiso handy for placing on the ground when dismantling tier’s for inspection purposes to place the top storeys on.and thus preventing maurading by ti-obber bees during the time work was being carried out on the hive or colony. The. entrance for the bees in the front of the ihive varied in size according to the time of the year. In summer the entrance comprised the whole of the front of the hive while in ithie winter or should the colony be weak, the entrance was reduced accordingly. This was chiefly to regulate the temperature in the hive but in the ease of a weak swarm it was also an added (protection against the rubber bee as a small entrance was far easie/r to defend than a larger one. A bee keeper could save his bees a great deal of work by a little consideration in this connection. The ibee was very particular with regard to the temperatulre and ventilation of the hive

and at all times certain of their number were detailed off to attend to the ventilation which they did by fanning with their wings at certain points which assured an even temperature and perfect ventilation throughout the Ihiive. When the hcTt weather came along and the hive had hut a small entrance lairge numbers of bees were detailed to remain in the hive and fan whereas if ample ventilation were provided at the entrance this would not be necessary and these bees could be away gathering honey. When it was considered that a good hive comprised some thousands of bees it would readily be seen that good ventilation in the summer was es-' sential. The entrance was always guarded by a certain number of bees while others could be seen on a ■ summer’s day on either side of the entrance fanning the hive, one lot sending fresh air in and the other exhausting the stale air. To approach a hive then, it was always advisable to do so from ’the rear and by so doing it was often quite an easy matter to inspect the hive without creating a disturbance of any 'kind or collecting any stings. The question was often asked a bee keeper if a 'bee died when it stung •a person, said- Mr. Raikes. This was thought to be invariably the case, he said,-until one day a bee keeper w r as sending away a queen bee and in placing some of the attendant bees in the cage he was stung by one of them which afterwards escaped into the cage. He wrote on the haclk of the box that lie had been stung by a bee in the consignment : and asked the receiver to note whether there was a dead bee in the cage. There had not been and so it was discovered that bees (lid not always die after stinging a person. Bees, however, were of varying temperaments. Some were very quiet and others just the reverse. They would sting one person just as readily as another, however, and no one was immune from the sting. Inside the lid ,of the box was usually placed sacking mats to protect the top of the coinlb and inside the boxes were the frames of comb. In the two bottom boxes of a three box hive, were usually placed nine or ten frames, while only seven or eight wore put into the top box. • 'Thp frames were usually made of box wood and fitted with wax foundations. These wax foundations were set, in grooves in the -frames but were chiefly held in place by three fine wires which ran from end to end of the frame and which, when once the wax was in place, was connected up to an electide current which heated the wire and half buried it in the wax, thus fastening it securely. This was very necessary as a well-filled frame of honey weighed as much as lOlbs. datiou and when the cells were The hees built out on the founcompleted they were filled with thence tar brought in which was evaporated down until ripened and then fanned down in the cells which were then sealed up. When the time came to take the c-omb out of the hive a smoker was used. This instrument was stuffed with half, rotten sacking to which was added a little waste oil. A few puffs were given the front of the hive which

caused the bees to think their last day had arrived and made them immediately rush to the comb and fill themselves up with honey. This made them' less vicious and also made it more diffijcult -for them to sting as they were not able to bend their bodies with the usual display agility. The top of the hive was then removed, the mats lifted and ;the frames taken out. The comb was then placed in a centrifugal extractor and whiffled around until the honey was extracted. Great care had to 'be taken when removing the comb from a hive that the bees from the other boxes were not given any opportunity for maurading as nothing was worse in a bee keeper’s yard than robbing. Some time ago, the amateur bee farmer did not place any value on old discoloured combs found in a hive, said Mr. Raikes, exhibiting an old dark comb. 'To-day, however-, it is considered to be most valuable. The frame exhibited by Mr. Raikes was ovelr twenty years old and he demonstrated the strength of the comb contained therein. The dark lining, lie said, was due to the fact that the bees had strengthened the cells and that was always the work carried out preparatory to the queen bee depositing her eggs in them. The cells were lined with a silky cocoon substance and made stronger every year prior to the breeding season. The greatest care had to be exercised in the extraction of honey from new comb, but the old comb, discoloured with years of strengthening was .very hard to break. Once a bee farmer accummulated a lot of old comb his expenditure was practically reduced to labour.

The chief thing in bee farming, said Mr. Raikes, is to get together -a big force of bees in readiness for the honey flow.’ On this depends the success of the venture. The real ’ days of the honey flow were few, only a week or two at the most, but when it commenced the honey poured in and it was no unusual thing for a whole storey comprising about 601bs. to be gathered in a week. Some hives have been known to / build out a com,b and fill it in a week. It is during this period that overcrowding in a hive has such a detrimental effect. Where bees are crowded in one storey early in the season ' (iConcluded on'* page 4.)