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Beekeeping in |
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This collection of articles has been gleaned from the Haddingtonshire Courier and give a valuable insight into beekeeping over the years. |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 21-6-1861 (03 02) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 5-12-1862 (02 06) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 22.9.1865 (02 07) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 8.7.1870 (01 08) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 21.06,1872 (01 04) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 19.06.1874 (02 08) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 3.07.1874 (02 07) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 11.7.1884 (03 08) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 25.7.1884 (03 08) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 1-8-1884 (03 08) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 8.8.1884 (03 07) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 8.08.1884 (03 07) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 20.03.1885 (03 07) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 21.01.1887 (03 08) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 18.02.1887 (02 07) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 04.03.1887 |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 4.03.1887 (01 03) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 15.07.1887 (03 08) |
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Haddingtonshire Courier 24.08.1888 (02 04) |
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1. A DANGEROUS
SKEPPING - Haddingtonshire
Courier |
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– Old folk say when a young man is about to
enter into the bonds of matrimony he is getting fixed, but we have heard of a
different way of fixing him. At |
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2 ARTIFICIAL SWARMING OF BEES - Haddingtonshire Courier 5-12-1862 (02 06) |
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Mr Shearer, Since my communication in your paper on the artificial swarming of bees I have had several private inquiries about the success of the one of which I gave an account, and of the process I adopted. With your permission I will now give an answer to those, and others who take an interest in bee-keeping. It will be remembered that, on our last inspection of the combs and bees of the artificial swarm, we saw that eggs had been laid in the cells, which we naturally supposed would turn out working bees, being laid in workers’ cells. When we looked again on the 9th August, they were found to be all drone eggs. Here, then, was a case proving the theory of parthenogenesis - viz., that a queen can lay drone eggs without being impregnated, and not working bees. Seeing this, we took another bar frame of comb and young brood from the original Ligurian to enable the bees to make another queen, being aware the bees would not allow a queen to remain which could not produce working bees. We removed all the stocks of bees to the hills on the 16th August, and consequently could not examine them until the 28th, when we found only drone eggs. We gave her other two combs of young brood, and examined her again on the 8th September and found her much the same, and on the 27th found no brood in any of the cells. Still the bees seemed as if they did not want a queen, and we resolved to allow her to remain till the 13th October, when we again found new-laid eggs. It appeared then, that she had reared another queen, and it remained to be seen whether she had been impregnated or not. On the 29th October we examined her carefully again, and found a number of drone cells sealed up, and new-laid eggs in workers cells. We were then strongly impressed with the opinion that her majesty had this time been successful in her hymeneal flights. But alas! no. On the 22nd November we found only young drones running about, but no young working bees, and still some new-laid eggs; but these I think perished with the cold. Such, then is the state in which the first artificial swarm we attempted remains at the present time. Of course she must remain now till spring, and as soon as we can get young brood from the old Ligurian I will give her some. Had this been the only one which we tried, it might have prevented us from trying it again; but the second one we attempted has been entirely successful. When we examined her on the 29th October she had a number of young bees out, others sealed up, and also new-laid eggs; we had also a sight of her majesty. On the 28th November we found all the young bees had been hatched, with the exception of a few which had evidently perished from the severe frost of last month. I think I may safely say that the oldest
bee-keeper will admit that this has been the most unfavourable season for
bees, and that there may have been many natural swarms this season which have
been no better than the artificial one, althought
not detected, from not having the power of inspecting them so minutely in the
straw hive as we have in the bar-frame hive. It is well known that during
this season there were many days and even weeks in which young queens could
not get out on their love excursions, thus proving the truth of Huber’s
observation that after a time impregnation becomes impossible. I believe, too
that breeding so late in the season as these have
done is seldom seen, and that drones in the month of November are quite as
rare. It will be interesting to notice the result, which I will do through
your columns at a future time. I have had no reason to alter my opinion as to
the hardy nature and prolific qualities of the Ligurian
bees, as the old one, nothwithstanding that it has
been twice emptied of comb and brood, has made 40lbs of honey and comb. I am
compelled, however, to alter my opinion as to their docility. They are
perfect savages; and if their countrymen of the genus homo had the same
spirit and pluck neigher
the Emperor’s soldiers nor the Pope would be long in |
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3 THE HONEY HARVEST - Haddingtonshire Courier 22.9.1865 (02 07) |
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Since the labours of the bees for the year 1865 may now be said to be at a close, it may not be amiss to note the kind of season they have had, and the results. It is well known to most bee-keepers that the winter of 1864 and spring of 1865 were very unpropitious. The long periods in which the bees were unable to get out during the winter from the cold and the snow, was very injurious to many, and a number died in consequence; others were attacked with dysentery, which if they did not succumb to, were much injured thereby, so that in the early spring most hives were weak; but as the spring advanced the find weather enabled the bees to get out, and they began to breed fast, which enabled many to get early swarms. What with the amount of turnip seed grown in this quarter, and also the extraordinary fine crop of white clover in the fields, they increased in strength and weight very fast, and a number of tops of fine flower honey were obtained by many who never got them before, and were sent to market as soon as possible, until the merchants were fully stocked. When the price fell, all were anticipating abundant harvest of heather honey, but [?] woefully we have all been disappointed. In [?] neighbourhood I do not think there will be a[?] single top of heather honey; there may be[?] some which were partly filled before they went to the heather, and may be made up, but it will be a rare case; so that I have no hesitation in stating that there will not be a full top of heather honey taken off a hive in all the Lammermoor Hills. I am conversant with upwards of a hundred hives, many of which will not have sufficient to keep themselves during the winter; and all my correspondents from other quarters have the same complaint. For my own part, out of seventeen hives which I have at the heather, I shall not have any; but I have had a good share of flower honey. I began the season with nine hives, and from them have now twenty-three, and have taken from them 290[?] lbs. of flowery honey. I had three tops of as fine honey as ever was seen, weighing respectively, 40, 86, and 32 lbs. net. The 40 lbs. was gathered by a top swarm within five weeks, the others about the same time. They are the heaviest which have ever been seen in this locality. I attribute my success to the liberal feeding which I gave them early in the spring when the queen was breeding. By so doing I had strong hives which were ready to take advantage of the white clover; and as my bees are now all Ligurians, or hybrids between them and the black ones, I cannot help giving them the preference as I never could obtain such results before with the common bee. Those hives which are meant to be kept for next year will require to be weighed, and if found less than 30 lbs. (that is the common straw-hive and board) then they must be fed at once. They would be better at 35 lbs.; still I find it a good plan to feed in the autumn, as it sets the queen on breeding in about six days, and consequently a fine lot of young bees are in the hive all the winter, ready to commence operations in the spring. All the bees which have been working during this summer will be dead before spring. It is only bees which are hatched in September and October which remain during the winter. At times a few superannuated bees may be found in the spring; but if they do not move[?] off by their own accord, they are soon expelled by their younger brethren. The bees have no idea of a poor-law; when they are unable to work they are expelled without remorse from their home. In removing tops at this season, especially when the weather is cold, it will be found that the bees are in a dormant state, and do not leave[?] the combs. In that case it is a good plan when[?] removing the top and turning it upside down to place an empty one of the same size on the top of it, wrapping a cloth round where they join, and carrying them into a warm room. The heat will soon cause the bees to revive and after filling themselves with honey, which they always do as soon as disturbed, by striking gently the lower top, the one with the honey and bees in it, they run up into the empty hive and it can be carried out and put on the hive where the bees belong to, when they will at last[?] join their comrades. The empty top should then[?] be taken away, and the holes in the top closed carefully up for the winter. In taking off tops at this season great care should be had that no honey is spilt or left about the hives; all should be taken away at once, as the bees in the other hives soon [?] it, and they then begin to rob their neighbours if they are allowed, and severe fights occur on these occasions. If it is observed that they have begun to [?] one, by the great commotion of the bees at the entrance, the door of the attacked hive should be shut, and the hive moved away into a [?] room or cellar for the day, and taken back to its place at night; or it may be kept for a day in the cellar if the weather is warm, and put out the following night. If once bees begin to rob[?] a hive in an Apiary they do not generally be[?] satisfied with that one, but will begin on others if the weather allow them; so that they should be watched after they come from the heather. And when feeding them, it should be done at night, by placing the food in troughs within the hive, and removing the empty ones in the morning.- A “Lammermoor beekeeper” in the Scottish Farmer |
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AT SETON MAINS, near Longniddry, On TUESDAY, the 12th day of July 1870. There will be Sold by Public Roup, as above, 20 BEEHIVES, Strong and Healthy, Belonging to Mr Purves, Farm-Steward.
GEORGE H. DRYSDALE, Auctioneer. |
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5 TO BEE-MASTERS - Haddingtonshire Courier 21.06,1872 (01 04) |
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THE TENANT at KIDLAW requests that NO BEE-SKEPS be placed on his part of the Hill Without Permission. Kidlaw, 18th June 1872. |
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6 INTERESTING TO APIARIANS – QUEEN BEE - Haddingtonshire Courier 19.06.1874 (02 08) |
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The following observations on the habits of the queen bee, which are the results of patient and minute observation on the part of Mr Shearer, Yester Gardens, a well-known bee-master, will not be unacceptable to the aparians of the county:- Having a unicomb hive containing four Woodbury bar-frames surrounded by glass, except the bottom, ends and top, and the space between the combs and glass being only half an inch, I can see the queen on all occasions, and a few details of what I have seen may be interesting to some of your readers. Having broken up a ten-bar Woodbury hive, I placed four bars well filled with brood in the unicomb hive along with the queen and bees, set it on a table at a bedroom window with a south exposure, made a hole for the exit of the bees by raising the sash a little, thus having an opportunity of examining them on all occasions. The first season I was extremely fortunate in observing the queen lay an egg in a queen cell. I first saw her come out of the cell and go out on her marriage trip, then saw her arrive home again and commence laying eggs. I will endeavour to describe in as few words as possible all that took place in the proceedings of her majesty. As the space got covered in the hive, the bees formed three queens cells, two on one side of the comb and one on the other, the queen frequently examining the three cells, but always passing on, till one day I saw her make a more careful scrutiny of one of the cells. She left it, remaining five minutes near it, while womd of the bees fed her. She then returned, examined it again, and deposited an egg – at least I imagined so, as she went through all the movements she usually does when laying them in worker cells. After that the cell was never at any time left without a bee in it; no sooner was one out than another was in. On the eighth day the cell was sealed up, on the ninth the old queen went off with a swarm, and on the fourteenth day he young princess ate herself out of the cell. On the eighteenth day I saw her go out at half past one and remain twenty minutes, then come in with all the appearance of a successful matrimonial trip, and on the twenty first day she was laying eggs. I have no doubt that , like bee-hatching, owing to the cold, it may take longer to rear a queen at one time than another. I have seen the working bee hatched in twenty days and have seen them not able to eat themselves out till the twenty-fifth day, so there may be times when the queen is not hatched till the sixteenth day. This being the only one I have seen, and having watched the whole process, there can be no mistake about it. Previous to the young princess going out on her marriage tour, the bees paid no more attention to her than to an ordinary bee. She went about the hive, even looking into the cells where other two princesses were maturing; but as soon as she returned the bees could not make enough of her, feeling her all over, cleaning and feeding her, and in twenty minutes after she went direct to one of the princesses’ cells which was sealed up, broke a small hole on the top, and as I suspect from what followed, killed the princess, left it, went to the other side of the comb and killed the other one which was not sealed-up, and in forty minutes after (though I feel loth to tell the tale, as it gives the bees a character I never would have conceived of them; but the truth must be told, that they are cannibals), they actually ate up both of the young princesses. The one had the form of the bee but white, the other was a large grub, but both were consumed by the bees. This co9uld be distinctly seen with the naked eye, though I had a microscope at the same time. When the bees are in want of a queen, and no eggs laid in queens’ cells, they don’t carry eggs from workers’ cells and put into queens’ cells as some suppose, but they break up three workers’ cells surrounding a worker’s cell containing an egg, and form it into a queen’s cell, and so rear a queen. When I was in the habit of rearing artificial queens, I used to pierce a hole half an inch in diameter through among the cells which had new laid eggs, and invariably there would be begun two and sometimes three queen cells, adjoining where these holes were made, even though there were queen cells formed in other parts of the hive. I am well aware that the queen frequently lays two and three eggs in a cell, but I have never seen a bee with one in its mouth, and I believe that they eat them, and instead of the bees following the queen to pick them up they are more intent on feeding her, ready to feed her if she wants. I have never seen her take honey from the cells herself, she is always fed by the bees. I have seen the queen lay seven eggs[?] in a minute, but not often. Three in a minute are about as many as she can lay at the very height of the season, and even then she takes[?] a rest of from ten to fifteen minutes, often longer; but she continues laying night and day with[?] the exception of these intervals. The queen [?] at present in the unicomb hive has not been[?] laying one egg in ten minutes, but as it [?] warmer she will be layng oftener. I find it[?] is a universal belief which must have been suggested[?] by apiarians, that bees will not work [?] are exposed to the light; there never was [?] greater error, as mine are exposed at all times to[?] the light and they go on as if in the dark, [?] no attention to any one looking at them, [?] [?] not darken the glass to prevent their [?] seen, as is generally believed. After the queen[?] and swarm had left the hive, and before [?] queen was out of the cell, having a [?] queen which was laying eggs I introduced [?] to the unicomb hive to see if they would accept[?] her instead of waiting for one of their own[?] rearing. As soon as she got in, the greatest [?] took place with the bees throughout the hive[?]. Every one seemed to know instantaneously that there was something wrong. They at [?] surrounded her jamming her up between [?] combs[?] and glass so that she could not move, [?] there suffocated her. It was fully an hour [?] they left her, when they carried her dead [?] to the door. I have not the least idea why [?] that the queen is reared in a cell hanging nearly[?] perpendicular, with the head undermost, while[?] the working bees and drones are reared in[?] a horizontal cell; and the queen grub is enveloped[?] in royal jelly, which has the appearance of boiled sago, and is sweet to the taste [?] of the working bee is of a greenish [?] colour and has a bitter taste. The queen [?] is sealed up with abundance of the royal jelly[?] in fact she lies embedded in it, while the working bees and drones have a very small quantity[?], if any, when sealed. The queen, working bees and drones all eat themselves out of the cells without any assistance from the [?] bees. As[?] the queen whose history I have given had [?] enough to make a second swarm, she [?] gave the usual warning for a second, so [?] cannot say in what state the queens are [?] they make their peculiar calls before swarming. |
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7 The Unicomb Hive - Haddingtonshire Courier 3.07.1874 (02 07) |
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MR SHEARER, “In the unicomb hive, noticed in my article on the queen bee in the Courier of the 19th inst., I have been able to keep a colony of bees all winter. One of the combs is bent a little, causing one side to be near the glass, while the opposite has has [sic] more space. In this space the bees have attached a piece of comb to the glass, containing about 100 cells. Previous to this year, the bees had always used these cells for storing honey and bee-bread. Some time ago, I was surprised to see about a dozen of eggs laid in the cells attached to the glass – the glass forming the bottom of the cell. Others are formed horizontal to the glass. In that case the glass forms one side of the cell, so that I was enabled to see the eggs in every position, and all the future process of bee growth in the cell. Had I tried it, I could not have placed them better for observation. Some of the eggs were deposited on the glass, right in the centre of the cell. Others were placed on the side of the cell where I had a full view of the whole egg and bee as it grew to maturity; and as it may be interesting to your apiarian readers who have not had the opportunity of observing the same, I will, with your permission, describe as well as I can all I saw. To make the subject as clear as possible, I will give the dates and progress of growth of one egg, out of many, from the notes I made at the time of observation. I took the precaution of putting a number on those cells which I had selected for noticing more particulary[sic], and noted down the changes which took place at the time the observations were made as follows:- “No. 4. Egg laid
between the hours of It is difficult to note the hour of every change which takes place in the development of the bee, the progress is so gradual when looking on; but to leave it for a time, the change is very marked in some of the stages, and though other observers may differ from me regarding the time required in each stage, I must observe that much depends on the temperature of the hive in which the process is going on. During the whole month of May I was afraid I would not see one egg arrive at maturity, the weather was so cold, and I took the precaution to place woollen cushions against the glass to keep up the temperature when not observing, and at that time the eggs were sometimes six days in hatching. As the temperature increased, the time has been shorter, but none less than the one noticed. When the egg is first deposited, it is pure white. In twelve hours it begins to get transparent at the point, and becomes more so, till the grub emerges from the egg. Previous to, or just about the time the grub comes out of the egg, a bee deposits a small globule of white matter, like that which the queen bee gets, but thinner. The quantity each grub gets of this white jelly as we may term it, is about the same as a bee can hold of honey in its honey stomach. This jelly is deposited by the bee immediately beneath the egg, and as the grub emerges from the egg it comes in contact with it, and begins to consume it, one part of the grub being in the jelly, and the other part still holding on by the shell of the egg, which it gradually leaves, and burrows itself overhead in the jelly. The grub as it passes out bursts the sides of the egg longitudinally as well as at the end. The other food it gets is placed by the bees at the bottom, and round the sides of the cell walls, and seems to consist of pollen moistened with water or honey, as I have seen the bees mixing it up with their mandibles against the glass, and then placing it on the cell walls. Each cell is provided with this food before the egg is laid; but should the queen chance to lay an egg in a cell immediately after a young bee has eaten itself out, the bees can, and do put the food into the cell after the egg has been deposited. When the young bee leaves the cell, another bee generally comes and trims the mouth of the cell, then enters it, feels if all is right, wipes it up with its sucker, which is just a pointed mop, and then proceeds to put in the food for the future bee. The grub goes on increasing in size among the white jelly for about three days, then it begins to the food laid on the cell walls, keeping in the circular form. As it clears away the food, it requires to turn its head or mouth more into the bottom of the cell where the food is deposited in greater quantity than on the cell walls. At this sage it eats voraciously, somewhat like a caterpillar on a rose or cabbage leaf, cleaning the glass completely where the food has been laid on it. As the head descends into the bottom of the cell, the abdomen extends upwards, and at this stage the bees seal up the cell. Here, then, is a period of the grub’s growth, when it increases rapidly in size, with its head the wrong way, seemingly impossible that it can ever turn itself. When I first saw it I confess I was like the boy and elephant, and if I had not seen it as well as others, I could not believe that it would turn; but it continued eating, notwithstanding, till it seemed to be unable to eat any more. It took about an hour to turn itself, and when it did so, began to eat at the top of the cell off the glass; at last it could eat no more, but kept moving its head as if doing so; then it ceased altogether and became motionless, lying on its side, as they all do, or on the back; none on the belly. So ends the second stage of a bee’s growth. No one could ever imagine that from the plain looking worm quietly reposing in a cell there would come forth a perfect bee, having so many marvellous adaptations for the work consigned to it in creation, and complete in all its parts for the wonders it performs. The first perceptible change that takes place in the grub is a light brown spot, the shape of the eye, then small protuberances on the body, from which the legs grow, and the division of the body from the abdomen, gradually develop themselves. The legs increase in length, and at last are properly formed, but the whole still retaining the white colour of the grub with the exception of the eye, which gets darker. The head and mouth then begin to appear, and the joints of the legs begin to wear streaks of brown colour, which extend all over the body. The thick part of the abdomen is the last to change colour. The proboscis or sucker can be seen growing down the belly. On the last day, the hair has grown, and the legs begin to move twelve hours before it comes from the cell, always increasing in motion; then the whole body moves, turning itself round every few seconds; very restless up to this time, about three hours before it comes from the cell. The proboscis continues as a solid trunk, so that it cannot turn it, as at other times. At last it, too, gets split up as in the normal state. Then the new-developed bee begins to eat itself out, which it does in two hours. When it does get out, it seems very happy, but none of its sisters take any notice of it then. It is, as a matter of course, occurring in hundreds of cases every day during the breeding season. Though these remarks are confined to one bee, they are the result of close observation of a great number of eggs. Though a number have been hatched, yet many more have failed, both as eggs and more in the grub state - none after they have passed into the bee stage. In a number of cells two eggs were deposited at a time; in other cases, a second egg was deposited after the first one was hatched; but in no case did a bee even move an egg but by eating it. Both eggs were allowed to remain till they were hatched, then the grub of one would be consumed by a bee, and sometimes they would be left till both were devoured. When one observes the firmness with which the eggs are glued to the glass or cell, it is difficult to conceive how the bees could remove them and stick them on to another cell, as they doubtless must be, as they are not dropped, but pressed against the cell. In the earlier part of the season, when the weather was cold, I have seen a bee approach an egg, feel it with its antennae, presenting its mouth filled with the white jelly to it, and remain in that position for half an hour, allowing the grub, not yet out of the egg, to eat the jelly out of its mouth. I saw this distinctly on several occasions; but it does not seem that they do it all seasons, as I have not seen it lately. A bee will sometimes take up its position in a cell beside an egg, and remain motionless for hours. Whether it is to rest or sleep, or to give heat to the egg, I cannot say. I only state the fact. I had the opportunity the other day of testing the white jelly from a queen cell, imagining from its appearance to be albumen or starch. But it did not coagulate by boiling, but partly became soluble. Instead of giving a blue colour by the addition of a solution of iodine, it indicated a brownish colour, so that it is neither albumen nor starch. I was always under the impression that the bees deposited the honey into the cell by means of the sucker, but I find I am wrong. It is from the mouth proper that it is expelled. When in the act of expelling it, the mouth seems large in proportion, in the form of an oblong square with the corners rounded. As the bag or stomach gets emptied, air bubbles are expelled at last, as if one pressed liquid from a bladder. The same thing occurs when they are putting the white jelly into the cell. It was seeing them putting in the jelly that first drew my attention to the fact. In these observations, I am fortunate in having a good microscope at my service. Yester, |
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8. MODERN BEE-KEEPING - Haddingtonshire Courier 11.7.1884 (03 08) |
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SIR, As
usual with the advent of summer there have been announcements from different
places of early swarms of bees, and such events are evidently classed among
parochial prodigies such as very early or very big potatoes, large eggs, and
such like. I am glad to see from these that bee-keeping is general in the
county, and among working-men, for I know of no healthier occupation by which
they can cultivate their minds and lighten their evening hours after a hard
day’s work. Permit me, however, to draw attention to the fact that a modern
bee-keeper should not reckon early swarms of bees either prodigious or
profitable. If he wishes to increase his stock, he arranges to have swarms
whenever it suits himself; he makes swarms at his own convenience; his bees
do not work in the dark, and swarm on some sunny day when perhaps he is not
able to attend to them. If he chose, he could so provide that his bees should
swarm at the very first sunny blink of spring, but more wisely he regulates
the time and manner of swarming, and this regulating power is a more
remarkable thing than the early swarm which surprises the old-fashioned
bee-keeper, and is announced in the newspaper. Most bee-keepers, in a
district like this, do not, however, wish to increase their stock of bees.
They wish to get a good season’s yield of honey from their present stock.
Their plan is this, to keep their bees at work, and not allow them to swam,
for swarming weakens the colony, and for a time stops honey-making. An
ancient bee-keeper having no control is helpless; the early swarm announced
in the newspaper is a proof of his helplessness. But the modern bee-keeper,
with the system of bar-frame hives, watches the formation of queen cells,
cuts them out at the proper time, and, by preventing swarming, keeps the
colony at work; the young brood turn in to assist the older bees or take
their places when they drop off (for in the busy season the life of the
ordinary bee averages only about seven weeks) and thus a profitable honey
harvest is secured. The beekeeper feels that he is master of his flock, and
they do not thwart his purpose by swarming when they choose. For a bee-keeper
to allow his bees to swarm during what is called a honey-glut,
is as unprofitable as for a farmer to let his work-people go holidaying when
they should be haymaking. In drawing the attention of those who keep bees in
this county to the subject, my aim is not so much to demonstrate the
advantage of the modern bar-frame system in point of mastery over the
movements of the bees, but to advocate, by urging its adoption, the more
humane treatment of that wondrous little insect that sweetens life so much by
its honey stores and shames the lazy man out of his indolence. At present,
under the old system, swarms are prized, because it is customary to let these
lay up stores during the season at home or at the heather, and then at the approach
of winter to slaughter the bees by means of brimstone, or in some other vile
way. By this system
of annual bee-murder, the family is supplied with honey, and the stock of
bees remains much the same as before. The custom is inhuman and barbarous, and
every bee-keeper who calls himself Christian should stop it. He degrades
himself by a practice which ought to receive the attention of the Society for
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The motto of modern bee-keeping is, “Never
kill a bee,” and the observance of this is the secret of the great success
that has attended the science in the last two decades of years. The system of
bar-frame hives makes it possible for all to observe it, and at any
rate no one is justified in continuing the old system of slaughter. The
little handbook of the British Beekeeper’s Association on “Modern
Bee-keeping,” specially prepared for cottagers, can be had for 6d, and
contains all needed instructions. The “British Bee-keepers Guide” by Cowan is
dearer (1s 6d), but to possess it is all that is required for following the
new system. I shall secure[?] these for any one who cannot get them through a
bookseller, and if any one is still afraid to undertake the driving process,
but anxious to preserve the hives of the bees when harvesting the honey in
autumn I shall gladly do this for him if his apiary is within reasonable
distance. Anyway, the destruction of the bees is a barbarous custom. The
little creature – like ourselves – has but a brief
life. To its life, as to ours, fire and brimstone make a miserable
termination, a termination [?] to be terminated by the power of humane
feeling, however hallowed[?] by past belief and
practice. In any case, it is miserable, but made more so when, in the very
act of depriving the little workers of their dearly gained treasures, you
stifle them with the vilest imaginable fumes. Let this be given up, but under
the improved system let bee-keeping be encouraged. If people are just
prepared to take a little trouble, and face a little failure and discouragement
now and then, they will find it a most profitable employment. For working
people especially, it is to be commended. With them it rests to advance the
bee-culture which has done so much for other countries, but as yet has done
little for I agree with your correspondent who last week called attention to the necessity of milk being more available for our farm people. A land “flowing with milk and honey” is still, I fear a land of hope and promise, not to be possessed without much patience and perseverance. – I am yours, &c. John Kerr Minister of Dirleton |
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9 Letters to the Editor BEEKEEPING - Haddingtonshire Courier 25.7.1884 (03 08) |
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SIR,- As one greatly interested in bee culture, I was very much pleased to see in your paper of last week a letter on the subject from the Rev. Mr Kerr of Dirleton. The old-fashioned and barbarous system of suffocating bees in the brimstone pit for the sake of the honey cannot be too strongly denounced and I hope Mr Kerr’s letter will induce all beekeepers within reasonable distance of Dirleton, who are not up to driving and amalgamating swarms, to take advantage of his kind offer, and so learn to save the bees while taking their honey; for, in addition to being cruel, it is the height of folly to kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Driving and amalgamation are such simple operations, that the greatest novice, after seeing them once done, need have no difficulty in performing them himself. There is one part of Mr Kerr’s letter which I am not quite sure that I understand. He says the “Modern Beekeeper with the system of Bar-frame hives, watches the formation of queen cells, cuts them out at the proper time, and by preventing swarming, keeps the colony at work.” If this refers to a stock before it has thrown a “top” or first swarm, I am afraid the plan is all but impracticable, because it will necessitate for many weeks a daily examination of the combs, for in twenty-four hours, after one set of royal cells have been cut out, another set will have been built. If, then, the hive be well provided with supers, which it must be if advantage is to be taken of a honey glut, a daily examination of the combs means a considerable amount of annoyance day after day, to the bees, and a very considerable amount of labour to the bee-keeper. The filling of supers will be daily interrupted, and as a matter of course, honey storing ceases for a certain time every day. The supers, besides, are carefully sealed down to the top of the hive by the bees, and to remove them every day would necessitate the bees to spend time every day in resealing , which otherwise would be devoted to honey gathering. After close observation on my own part, and after consulting several well-known apiarians, I adopted, some years ago, the following plan, which on the whole, I have found to work very well. When a stock is ready for swarming, I take off a moderately-sized swarm, and in three or four days after cut out all the queen cells except one. The youngest of the brood is then too old to be converted into queens, and so there is no risk of any more swarms. The stock remains strong, and in three weeks, when all the young brood will have been hatched, the hive will be literally crammed with bees. A young queen will have been hatched, and in a month or six weeks from the time the swarm was taken she will begin to lay. If the swarms be taken early in May, both it and the stock will be in prime condition during the months of July and August – the months when gluts usually occur – and will readily fill supers if the weather be at all favourable and the pasturage good; and the beekeeper will be rewarded with a rich harvest of fine super honey for all the care he has bestowed on his industrious little pets. As a rule, I find it more profitable to take one swarm from each stock, but at times I have stocks which I do not wish to swarm in which case I nadir them, that is I put empty hives below the stocks I do not wish to swarm, and that generally answers the purpose[?]. If Mr Kerr, in your next week’s issue, or when it suits his convenience, will kindly enter more fully into this part of the subject, and state the results of his own experience, I shall feel greatly obliged to him, as I am anxious to follow the very best method of bee management; and if, from the experience of bee-keepers such as Mr Kerr, people be persuaded that beekeeping may be made profitable, intelligent bee-keeping will be much more common than it is at present – I am &c., BEE-KEEPER |
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10 BEEKEEPING - Haddingtonshire Courier 1-8-1884 (03 08) |
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Sir, - I was pleased with the letter of
“Bee-keeper” in last week’s paper, and though I have not time to enter into
the subject just now, I may inform him that I have this year proved the
success of his own system for preventing swarming by putting an empty hive
below the stock which I did not wish to swarm. As to the impossibility of
examining the frames to cut out queen-cells, this so far holds when the super
is sealed over the frames, but “Bee-keeper” must be aware that honey-storing
can go on with certain hives, and the frames remain open to inspection. Also,
that if queen-cells are cut out, there is no danger of a queen appearing in
twenty-four hours. My purpose, however, was not to condemn the allowance of
one swarm off a stock in a season. I agree with him that this is generally
profitable, but I wished to show that the early appearance of such a swarm
was not prodigious, and to direct attention, especially on the part of
working men, to the humane system of modern bee-keepers. While I am pleased
to find that there is at least one
bee-keeper in East Lothian taking a scientific interest in this subject, let
me say that I disapprove of anonymous communications, and will not reply to
any others in that form. Dean Stanley thought the worst feature of John Kerr Minister of Dirleton. |
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11 Letters to the Editor BEEKEEPING - Haddingtonshire Courier 8.8.1884 (03 07) |
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SIR, - The Rev. Mr Kerr’s strictures on anonymous correspondence were quite uncalled for so far as my letter to you was concerned. He says “there is nothing more cowardly than the way in which people use this plan when they wish to do mischief.” This is quite true, and had I tried in my letter to do mischief I could have understood his declining “to talk with me on the agreeable subject of bee-keeping with the barrier of anonymity between us.” In my letter, however, I indulged in no personalities, and in discussing the interesting question of bee management, I did so in the most courteous terms, and from the best of motives; and Mr Kerr was therefore scarcely justified in taking exception to my letter on the ground of its anonymity. I may say that my first intention was to write privately to Mr Kerr, but as his first letter was written for the benefit of your readers generally, I on second thoughts, addressed my letter to you, so that those of your readers who are interested in bee-keeping might have the benefit of the information which I supposed Mr Kerr was both able and willing to give. I do not at all like to see my name blazing in the public newspapers, and this is my only reason for withholding my name, but if it will induce Mr Kerr to go more fully into the question of bee-management, I shall be very glad to forward him my name and address. I am glad to find that Mr Kerr approves generally of my system of bee-management, but am disappointed that he declines further correspondence. He says “Bee-Keeper must be aware honey-storing can go on with certain hives, and the frames remain open to inspection.” I understand Mr Kerr to refer to collateral hives, but as my experience of such hives has been very limited, I am not prepared to say anything about them, except that for the short time I tried them I did not find them profitable, though I knew that the original inventor of them, Mr Nutt, trumpeted their praises loudly enough. Mr Kerr further says – “there is no danger of a queen appearing in twenty-four hours.” This is quite a fact; but stocks that are allowed to swarm naturally usually send off a swarm eight or ten days before a young queen is hatched, for as soon as royal cells are made eggs are deposited in them, and in three or four days thereafter, if the weather permits, a swarm comes off, headed by the old queen. In conclusion, I beg to assure Mr Kerr that any information he can give on bee-management will be thankfully received by myself and other beekeepers, and I shall be very sorry indeed, if he declines to impart information because of the anonymity of my letters. – I am &c, BEEKEEPER, Innerwick, |
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12 - Haddingtonshire Courier 8.08.1884 (03 07) |
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SIR, - To any one commencing to keep bees on the modern system, or, indeed, on any system, the letters of the minister of Dirleton and an “East Lothian Bee-Keeper” will be of the greatest interest. How to obtain the honey, and at the same time save the bees, is answered by the system of bar-frame hives, clearly taught by the little hand-books named by the Rev. Mr Kerr. To those who wish to keep only one or two stocks of bees with little or no increase, the plan of an “East Lothian Bee-Keeper” is a very good one. Permit me to give another, extracted from the British Bee Journal, which may be of interest to such of your bee-keeping readers as do not subscribe to that useful periodical. – I am, &c, J. Turnball Lauder, 6th August 1884 Extract from the British Bee Journal, vol. 12, page 168:- “I will show what I should do with only one hive, if I wanted no permanent increase. Super the bees when strong enough, and with favourable weather, and when they swarm (say out of nine frames), return the swarm to their original stand, and hive on seven frames of foundation; but first remove all the combs with the adhering bees to another hive, placing the latter close to the old stand, but with the entrance (contracted) turned half-round, away form the other. All the working force will return to that hive on their own stand, leaving none but young bees to take charge of the nursery, or removed broodcomb. The supers are to be placed at once on to the seven frames of foundation, fill up all open spaces below with dummies. Returning to the nursery, it will be found that in eight or nine days the young queen will hatch. Destroy the others, and in about another ten days she will begin to lay; and now, after three days more, let the hives change places for the following operation. Probably the young queen will have eggs in no more than two combs (there need not be more if taken in time). Leave these two, but shake all the bees from the rest into the body of the hive; and now return the seven combs recently built from foundation with all the bees as well as the super, first removing the old queen. As soon as clear, take the denuded hive right away. We have then again nine frames, and a very strong colony, by giving them all these young bees, just old enough to work, but which would have been of little use to the original hive at an earlier date, especially as the latter had been restricted to seven frames, being all that could be profitably occupied during the three weeks. We have also gained a good young laying queen without losing time, and seven new combs. If the same plan of hiving is followed year after year, it is supposed that more combs will be obtained than are necessary; but I am convinced that if the surplus combs are rendered into wax, it will nearly pay for the foundation, while the slight additional expense is as nothing compared with the advantages obtained. Nevertheless, I consider that no system of bee-keeping is complete without extra combs and hives.” |
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13 FEEDING BEES - Haddingtonshire Courier 20.03.1885 (03 07) |
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SIR, - The friendship of many excellent beekeepers in this county which my letters on “Beekeeping” in your paper have brought me, has penalties along with the pleasure it gives me, for one of them calls my attention at this season – when I have other irons in the fire, to the necessity of following up former communications with something about “Feeding the Bees.” This is perhaps the most important thing in bee-keeping, and most requires attention, and in the hope that you can afford space more readily than I can afford time, I send some notes on the subject which I have jotted down with the last discussion of the British Beekeeper’s Association (of which I find it great advantage to be a member), on the subject before me. On the principle of division of labour, I give a few “heads,” and leave the “application” in the hands of county beekeepers. (1) As to Why we feed bees. We used to feed bees in autumn because we wanted a young brood in the hive hatched as late as possible that they might outlive winter, and be able to start work in spring. . It is now held by many eminent beekeepers that bees hatched so late in the season that they have no experience of open air work before winter are a disadvantage to the hive. If so (and I think it is likely) autumn feeding must be continued to the assisting of weak stocks to lay up sufficient store (20 or 25 lb. of honey) to tide over the winter months. It would appear that bees hatched, say in September, live on till the following April – longer than beekeepers used to suppose. Granting that this is true, it does not affect feeding in spring. We feed bees in spring that we may have a young brood ready to take the place of those who die after carrying the hive over winter, and to look after the honey harvest. We feed in spring to induce the Queen to start laying eggs, and to have these hatched in good time, so that we have a full swarm of able-bodied workers when the first honey harvest approaches. Beekeepers also should pay attention to the feeding of swarms. In this case our object is to assist the young swarm to fit its hive with comb cells so as to be ready for storing honey before the harvest passes. It takes 20lb. of honey to make 1lb. of comb, and 2lbs of comb at least are required to fit up an ordinary hive. We therefore feed in the case of a swarm to save them gathering and transforming this 40lbs. of honey into comb, and if we do so carefully, we can give our swarms as good a chance for the honey season as our stocks. (2) As to when we should feed bees. This greatly depends on the state of the hive and the place of its abode. We may do damage by rousing the bees to activity too soon in the season; but we can scarcely go wrong in giving them food when we see them showing activity about the beginning of March. If the district is one where we depend on the fruit blossom more than anything else for honey, we must be early astir with our feeding, and the sight of some early flowers in bloom is not a reason for stopping feeding by the reverse. Feeding, again, does not always end with spring. “We ought,” says Dr Walker, “to have our fingers constantly on the pulse of the hives, and feed when there is the slightest check, underrating the feeding, so as to prevent the bees storing it away, but giving just enough for their daily wants.” (3) As to what we feed bees with. The food most generally used is syrup made from ordinary white cane sugar (brown sugar is to be avoided). For more concentrated feeding we use barley-sugar or sugar candy and peacake. The Americans make great use of the former, the latter because is supplies the requisite pollen, and contains the nitrogen that, indispensable for brood-raising, is very useful in spring. For these three forms of bee food we give the latest and best recipes. Syrup is made by dissolving sugar in the proportion of 4lbs to a quart of water, adding half a wineglass of vinegar with a pinch of salt, and boiling for twenty minutes. Some good authorities object to boiling, and simply dissolve the sugar in boiling water. This, they say, saves the sugar from candying and the bees from dysentery. Barley-sugar is made by melting sugar with little or not water till it begins to change to a light straw colour. Boiling must not be continued too long, for caramel is then formed which may do for flavouring soup, but is hurtful to the bees. Pea-cake is made by adding 1lb of pea-flour to every 6lbs of sugar, adding not quite a pint of water, and keeping the mass well-stirred to prevent burning, the pea-flour having been added just when the sugar is dissolved, and taken off as soon as the excess of water is driven off, and is poured into saucers or soup plates covered with paper which prevents the sugar sticking. This may be placed over the feeding-hole or between the bars. Let me add, what many who keep bees are not aware of, that the bees require a great deal of water, especially at this season. Between March and May an ordinary stock will consume a gallon, and it is well that they should have it inside the hive, as many bees are lost in searching for water when the weather is treacherous as it is now. (4) As to how we feed bees. There is an infinite variety of bee-feeding apparatus, and great scope for inventive skill in contriving suitable feeders. Killing and chilling the bees are the two dangers we have to guard against. I use what is called the “Perfection Feeder,” by which the supply of syrup is nicely regulated as well, but I have to protect it well owing to the chilling danger. One of my young correspondents (Mr G.D. Clark, Kirklandhill), who has the enthusiasm necessary for success, and whose apiary shows how simply and inexpensively the modern system can be carried out, in writing me on this subject, thus describes a cheap style of feeder which any one can make and use for either straw or bar-frame hive:- “Take a piece of tin about four inches square, and pierce it in the centre with three pin holes, place this piece over the crown hole of the skep, or on an opening in the coverlet of the frame hive. Fill a tumbler or jam pot with food, then over it place another piece of flat tin. Invert both, so that the full bottle stands upon the tin. Place them over the crown hole or opening, and withdraw the flat piece of tin, so that the bottle stands upon the piece of tin with the three holes Through those holes the bees put their tongues and suck the food.” On this or on any other subject I shall be glad to hear the experience of beekeepers in the county, and I still hope to get sufficient support in the idea of forming an Association for our district. To all who are cultivating the humane system of treating our wonderful and wise little friend, the bee, I send my greetings – wishing them all a prosperous season, and many returns. – I am, &c., JOHN KERR. Manse of Dirleton,
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14 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR PROPOSED BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION - Haddingtonshire Courier 21.01.1887 (03 08) |
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SIR, - Will those who are willing to join and support a Beekeepers’ Association kindly send me their names. When a sufficient number (say twenty or so) has been raised, I shall then call a meeting to take further steps. I have received a good many kindly letters on the subject, and there is no doubt that the interest in it will much increase with the formation of an Association. – I am &c. J. KERR Manse,
Dirleton, |
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15 PROPOSED BEE-KEEPING ASSOCIATION - Haddingtonshire Courier 18.02.1887 (02 07) |
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– It will be observed from advertisement
that the Rev. Mr Kerr has convened a meeting of all who are favourable to the
institution of a Bee-keeper’s Association in the county. The object is one that
is deserving of all encouragement, and it is hoped a large response will be
made to the appeal of the minister of Dirleton,
whose sole object is to promote the study of an interesting, as well as
profitable, branch of natural history. With regard to its profitable
character, it may interest those who have never yet engaged themselves in bee
keeping to read the following, which we quote from a recent number of the Bazzar:- “Few pursuits can compare with
that of bee-keeping for combining pleasure with profit, and that, too, with
very small outlay in either money or labour; and it is probable that if these
facts were more generally recognised, a hive or two of bees would be the
common adjunct of our gardens, whether they be in the open country, in suburban
places, or even in towns. The management of bees is nowadays rendered
comparatively simple and inexpensive, and a beginner, with even a moderate
luck, in any but a bad year, may be almost certain of getting back the value
of all his outlay, and something beyond by way of profit, in the first year.”
For useful instruction in the details of beekeeping, |
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16.
FORMATION OF AN |
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– On Friday last, a meeting of those favourable to the formation of an Association for the purpose of promoting the study and practice of beekeeping, especially among the artizan classes in the county, was held at Haddington – the Rev. John Kerr, M.A., Dirleton, in the chair. The chairman, after explaining the objects of the meeting, stated that he had already received letters from over thirty gentlemen in different parts of the county, who were ready to join such an association as was proposed, and that, in addition, he was aware of others being favourable, who had not yet sent in any letter to that effect. Besides the primary purpose of such and association, it was also intended to arrange with certain merchants in the different towns in the county to dispose of the honey grown by members of the association, so that beekeepers who were members might have no difficulty in finding a market for their honey. The meeting then agreed to form an East Lothian Beekeepers’ Association, and appointed office bearers as follows:- Hon. President Sheriff Shirreff; president Rev. Mr Kerr, Dirleton, secretary and treasurer, Mr James Ovens, Haddington; who along with the following gentlemen – Messrs J. Stirling and Adam Paterson, Haddington; Bertram Gifford; G.T. Clarke, Kirklandhill; and Barnes, Innerwick – form the committee. After hearing several letters received by the chairman from beekeepers outside the county, read – all advocating the formation of an association – the meeting considered the draft rules of the Association, which were remitted to the committee for revision and for presentation to a future general meeting of the association for final adjustment. Some conservation then took place among those present on the proposal contained in the rules to have shows of honey and exhibitions of beekeeping appliances in connection with the shows of the East Lothian Agricultural Society and the Horticultural Society, of which the members present heartily approved. The chairman having been thanked for presiding, and for his exertions in promoting the Association, the meeting adjourned. |
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17 EAST LOTHIAN BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION - Haddingtonshire Courier 4.03.1887 (01 03) |
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THE RULES &c. of this ASSOCIATION are now in the hands of Mr JAMES OVEN, Haddington, who has been appointed Secretary, and to whom Names of intending Members, with Subscriptions, should at once be sent. Annual Subscription, . £0 2 0 Life Member’s Subscription 1 0 0 To include Free Entry to all Shows that may be held under the auspices of the Society, and Exhibition of Honey, &c. at said shows. Haddington,
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18 BEE-KEEPING AND THE PRICE OF HONEY - Haddingtonshire Courier 15.07.1887 (03 08) |
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SIR, - In the interest of county bee-keepers, and to forward one object aimed at by our county association, viz., to commend honey the public as a cheap and useful article of food, I think it advisable to ask you to insert a word as to the price of this season’s honey. So long as the impression is abroad that good honey is a luxury open only to the rich and denied to the poor, the industry will never prosper, and one of our objects it therefore to see that the best home-grown honey is available to all at a price that will both pay the producer, and furnish the consumer with good value for what he buys. Now, as far as this season has gone, the honey-harvest has been very plentiful. Honey should therefore be cheap, and it is to the interest of bee-keepers to sell it cheaply, that it may be placed within the reach of all, and its value duly appreciated. I have heard of very high and fancy prices having already been paid, and while I do not object to apiarians selling in the dearest market, and am aware that some apiaries have got specially high prices, I yet think that as a rule bee-keepers in the country ought to be satisfied at present with say 1s 3d per lb. for the comb-honey either in supers or sections, and with say 1s per lb. for second quality; while good run honey should be had at 10d per lb., and the very best (including bottle) should not exceed 1s. per lb. At such prices, I venture to say that people have provided for them an article of diet surpassing in value any other they can purchase from their grocer, and I am sure the members of our county Bee-keeping Association will readily furnish honey at such a price, and be glad to have the opportunity of doing so. I trust that in the direction of cheapening honey the effect of our Association will be felt in the county and elsewhere. Our first show, held on Saturday last, was a most gratifying success, and more than justified the efforts of its promoters. For my own part, I never saw finer examples of comb-honey than those from Whitekirk that were rightly awarded the silver and bronze medals of the British Bee-keeping Association, and yet I believe that in hundreds of gardens in the county similar results could be obtained. From the interest awakened in the subject by our first show, we may expect that in future years the bee-keepers exhibits will be as interesting as any other in the showyard of the Agricultural Society; and as the industry is so closely allied to agriculture, and so calculated to benefit agricultural labourers, as well as others, both financially and mentally, I hope the Association will now receive and retain the support of the landed proprietors of the district, and of all who are interested in the prosperity of the people. A few of these have been beforehand with their generous patronage, headed by the popular Lord-Lieutenant of the county; but more support is required, and in a tangible form, for at considerable expense the exhibition of our Association was opened free, so as to interest the masses of work-people that visited the shoe, and we distributed freely a large number of useful leaflets on the subject of honey and bee-keeping. The money-prizes, so far as I am aware, were returned by the winners to the funds of the Society; but withal a good deal has yet to be made up, and it is hoped that hose who are able to contribute will communicate their offerings to Mr Paterson, West Mills, Haddington, who has been appointed secretary in room of the late Mr Ovens, and by whom all contributions will be thankfully acknowledged. – I am &c. JOHN KERR President, Bee-keepers’ Association Dirleton, |
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19 INTERESTING TO BEEKEEPERS - Haddingtonshire Courier 24.08.1888 (02 04) |
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We
quote the following from Farm, Field, and Fireside. It appears under
the well known signature of “ “The old fashioned method of taking the honey from skeps, or ‘putting down’ as it was called, was to first suffocate the bees with sulphur, and then break or cut out the comb. But a better plan is now practiced, and the lives of the industrious insects spared. One plan is to drive all the bees into an empty skep, and then unite them to another stock standing near to the ‘condemned’ one. This operation has been described in most bee books. Another method called ‘bumping’ is coming rapidly into favour, because it takes less time, though perhaps a little more difficult at first. As the time for taking the honey is now here, I will describe it as well as I can. “If there are many hives in the garden where the operation is to be gone through, they should all have their doors closed with perforated zinc, or grass pushed in with the blades endways, to allow of ventilation. If this is not done, robbing is almost sure to be started, and its consequent annoyance. Have a few basins or pans in which to put the honey, and a few strong feathers or goose quills at hand before beginning. Give the condemned hive some smoke till the frightened hum is heard, then turn up the skep and withdraw all cross-sticks, if they cannot be withdrawn they must be cut between each comb. An empty skep may be put in the place where this one was for the flying bees to collect in. When the cross-sticks are removed the directions of the comb should be noted, and the skep held so that its crown may be bumped on the ground. It is in the peculiar method of holding the skep now that the success or failure lies. Hold it with the crown downwards, and the comb running towards the operator, now slightly elevate the right hand, and strike from right to left and downwards against the ground. If properly done the comb will break from their attachments to the roof, and will lie over like the leaves of a book. The bees will not be hurt, thought we might expect it. Each comb should now be taken from the skep, the bees brushed off into it with the feather, and the comb placed in a basin. The combs may be rested on the edge of the skep, when brushing off the bees, to assist in holding it up. Heavy combs are apt to break unless supported by something besides the mere hand. “The combs almost always break off close to the roof. When they are all removed, the skep should be placed on its old stand and left for a few minutes till the bees cluster and clear up any loose honey. It is surprising how quickly they clear up and settle in the crown of a skep just as a swarm would do. “To unite these bees to another skep, smoke its inmates till they are frightened, and then throw the bees down on a large alighting board, and they will run in and peaceably unite. Five minutes is all that it takes to deal with each skep by this method, while driving takes at least twenty. Be sure and liberate all the other hives when done. Bees may thus be got from cottagers and brought home and united to our stock to strengthen it. A sharp outlook must be kept for foul brood, as it is not desirable to introduce it to our stock by this system. |
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