Buzzing At Honey Crest Farm
plaque with many show ribbons
attest to his previous involve
ment in the industry.
Mathias teaches beekeeping
to students at Milton Hershey
School. He helps students set up
from start to finish.
“When the class is over, the
students have a product to sell,”
From discarded beehives, Mathias cuts out hundreds
of bluebird houses to place on his property. He enrolled
12 acres in the Forest Stewardship Program. The 10-
year plan to return the land to nature includes the es
tablishment of fence rows, brush piles, and more trees.
B 30th ANNUAL SPRING SALE m
MARCH 6th To MARCH 25th, 2000 U
r t
10% DISCOUNT SALE: HARDWARE - TOOLS - PAINTS - OIL - PIPE FITTINGS ]
IMMERGUT BATTERIES - RED BRAND FENCING - WHEELBARROWS - EXPRESS WAGONS
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4’ *3B 10’ *52 16’ *67
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LAWN CARTS, HOT BEDS &
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MARCH 7 & 8 *
(Continued from Page B 14)
Mathias said of the six students
assigned to his tutelage. Few
seem wary of the possibility of
bee stings while working with
the hives.
Although he gets stung occa
sionally, Mathias said that bee
keepers learn quickly to leave
bees alone before oncoming
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SPECIALS ALSO INCLUDE PAINT
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On Orders of $6OO or more. Plus your pick of free gifts.
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On orders of $1,200.
Quantity discounts must be paid by one check,
good by March 25.
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thunderstorms, high humidity,
and hot weather. It’s important
to be aware of the flight pattern
of bees so that one doesn’t stand
in that area when working with
the hive.
Because warm hives encour
age more bee activity, hives
should be positioned to face
toward the sun and protected by
tree or bushlines. One of his
hives in Clinton County was
molested by a bear. With a
buddy, Mathias devised a hive
placed inside an abandoned re
frigerator and cabled to a tree.
An opening cut in the refrigera
tor side allows the bees to come
and go. Despite markings show
ing that the refrigerator has
been scratched and clawed by a
bear, the hive remains protected.
“The hive is placed 2000 feet
atop a mountain and produces a
different tasting honey,”
Mathias said.
On a strong hive, Mathias
makes what he calls splits. He
takes the frame of brood bees to
another location and introduces
another queen bee, and the hive
process is repeated. Typically
queen bees are shipped from the
south where they appear earlier
Affool
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Rt. 1, Box 117 H
Blain, PA 17006
(717) 536-3861
in the season because of the
warm weather.
In addition to teaching classes
at the Hershey school and at
other places when requested,
Mathias often provides observa
tion hives for classroom usage
and for craft shows where he
also sells honey.
Mathias thrives on the inter
est students show in beekeeping.
“I don’t get paid for this, but I
enjoy it. My goal is to see one of
my students become the next
secretary of agriculture,” he
said.
Mathias has pictures of him
extracting honey before such ce
lebrities as Gov. Thomas Ridge
and his son.
Depending where bees feed,
he said, honey has a different
flavor. People looking for
asthma relief should use honey
gathered from the area where
they live. Honey produced from
the area helps prevent allergic
reactions to pollen and airborne
seed.
He bottles wildflower, locust,
and clover honey. He calls locust
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3 Sizes Available - 16’, 18’, 20’ with or without running gear
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Farm Gates Made To Your Specifications
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 4, 2000-817
honey the ideal honey.
Most of the cooking with
honey is left to Mathias’s wife
Carol, but he does experiment
with bread making. Using a
breadmaker and different varie
ties of honey, Mathias has dis
covered his favorite combination
is buckwheat flour and whole
wheat flour.
It seems that Mathias never
tires of finding new beekeeping
related projects. Parts of the
wooden hives that are saturated
with honey deteriate. Rather
than discard them, Mathias cuts
the pieces to form birdhouses.
A former president of the
Capital Area Beekeepers,
Mathias now serves as treasurer
of the promotional fund and as
assistant manager of the associ
ation’s booth at the Farm Show,
Ag Progress Days, and Keystone
International Livestock Exposi
tion. He initiated having logos
designed for both the county
and the state associations. These
logo patches are available to
attach to hats and shirts, and
other clothing.
• Tandem Rake Hitches •