In the northeastern states June is the high tide of the year. It is the month of action and growth. The grass is green, the birds are teaching their young to fly, the bees are humming among the clover blossoms and the children are released from school.

June is the time of honey harvest in a vast area where the crop comes from the white Dutch clover in the pastures. It is impossible, however, to write about activities which will be timely in all the region from Maine to California. In California and Florida, the harvest from orange will be over. It will be over likewise in such sections of the East as depend upon the tulip-tree which blooms in spring. In the sweet clover districts of the Northern Plains region and the alfalfa country of the Rocky Mountains the harvest will not come until July or August.

Beginners with bees who depend upon the books and magazines for information as to time for essential operations are often much confused when these suggestions do not happen to fit their particular location.

The author has seen such incidents when the crop was lost because the supers were not given at the right time. Sometimes they are given too early and after numerous visits to find them still empty the novice loses interest and then permits the harvest to pass without sufficient storage room ready to hold the honey when it does come. Many a time such a beekeeper finds a single super packed to the last inch with honey and the field force lost through swarming when there was no longer any place left to put the incoming honey. Perhaps there might have been three or four supers filled instead of only one had they been provided at the proper time.

It requires some knowledge of the blooming of the flowers in the neighborhood to estimate the time of honey flow. No book can tell one when to put on supers in his particular neighborhood. One must know what plants yield honey in surplus quantity and when the flow comes. If he does not have this information he must provide supers as soon as the colonies become strong and watch closely enough to add more when the bees need them.

Usually the main crop comes from one or two principal plants which can be depended upon to yield something year after year. Then there is likely to be an occasional crop from some plants which are the source of surplus only occasionally. Such surprise flows often catch even experienced beekeepers unaware. The author well remembers times when he has examined the bees and found them idle with hardly enough honey in the hives to supply needed food for the brood, only to find copious quantities of honey ready for the supers two or three days later.

A good rule to follow is to put on the first super as soon as the bees seem strong in spring. When they are working well in this first super, give them another which may be set on top of the first. As fast as the bees are found to be working freely in the top super another may be added. The extra room at the top is good insurance that no honey will be lost for want of room.

When to expect swarms is another problem to the novice. In the old days of small hives, we looked for the big clusters of bees on the outside as a sign of approaching swarming. The bees clustered outside because there was insufficient room for them to work within and, of course, they swarmed since there was nothing else for them to do.

The practical beekeeper avoids such waste of labor by giving the bees additional room or better ventilation. Of course, there may be loafing at times because there is no honey to be had in the field and, of course, there is nothing to be done about that.

When the swarm leaves the hive.

Preparation for swarming in properly equipped hives can only be determined by examination of the interior. If queen cells are started, swarms can be looked for. Where swarms are anticipated it is usual for the bees to start several such cells. If only one or two have been built, it may be that the old queen is failing and another is being reared to supersede her.

An empty hive should be prepared in advance to receive the new swarm. When the swarm has enjoyed its flight and settled in a compact cluster it is usually a very simple matter to put them in the new hive. If the bees have settled in an accessible situation, it is only necessary to spread a canvas or blanket on the ground and set the new hive on that. Shake the cluster of bees in front of the hive and in most cases they will immediately start moving inside. If the queen goes in, they are likely to settle down quickly and within a few hours will be busy flying back and forth to and from the fields as though they had always been there. As soon as the bees are settled in the new home, the hive should be moved to the place where it is expected to remain. If left for several days before moving, some of the field bees will be lost because of returning to the position where the hive was first placed instead of to the new location. It is important that the bees become familiar with the permanent location before they start work in the fields.

Too often beginners are impatient to secure the new honey and remove it before it is properly ripened. Unsealed honey is seldom ready for removal. This, however, depends much upon climatic conditions. Honey is ripened much more rapidly in dry climates than in humid ones. In the dry regions of the west, honey is sometimes ripe enough to use before the bees have sealed the cells. In the southeast, on the other hand, it is often best to leave the honey with the bees for some days after it is all sealed over.

If the hive is large enough to provide sufficient room a strong colony of bees will take care of itself surprisingly well. The amount of honey varies so greatly under different conditions, however, that one can make no estimate of the quantity which should be secured without close acquaintance with the flora of a particular region. There are places where a single super of perhaps twenty-five pounds is all that can reasonably be expected. There are other places where less than two hundred pounds from a strong colony is a disappointing return.