No G. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 3C3 



does not swarm by the time white clover i» fairly in bloom, you may 

 drum out the majority of the bees as already instructed, putting 

 them in the new hive, just the same as ft natural swarm. Twenty- 

 one days after the colony swarms, or twenty-one days after the 

 time of drumming out the swarm, drum out all the bees left in the old 

 hive, and run them into the hive containing the swarm. At this 

 time there will be no brood left, unless it be a little drone brood 

 of no value, and there will be probably some honey in the hive. 

 Set it somew^here about 100 yards from the apiary and close it up 

 except an entrance large enough for one or two bees to pass at 

 a time. The bees will clean out all the honey, and you can melt 

 u}) the combs for wax, unless you find some nice, straight worker 

 comb that vou want to save. 



If the bees do not ©warm as soon as 3 on desire, and you can ob- 

 tain a frame of brood from some other colony, there is another 

 plan that may suit you. Take from the stand the box-hive and set 

 in its place the new hive in which you will put the frame of brood, 

 and after filling up the hive with frames of foundation put a queen 

 excluder over it. Drum the bees out of the box-hive and let them 

 run into the entrance of the frame hive. Now set the box-hive over 

 the other, closing up in some way any opening that may be between 

 the two. Four or five days later look to see if there are eggs in the 

 lower hive. If not, you have left the queen in the old hive, and 

 must drum again so as to get her in the new hive. Three weeks 

 after giving the new hive, the old hive may be removed and treated 

 as before instructed, or you may leave it where it is till the bees 

 have filled it with honey. 



COMB FOUNDATION 



Is much used in bee-keeping nowadays. A thin sheet of bees- 

 wax is run through a foundation-mill, which embosses it in exact 

 imitation of the base or midrib of honev-comb, as built bv the bees. 



When this comb foundation is given to the bees, 

 they accept it readily and build out cells upon it. 

 This saves the bees time, labor and wax, and 

 makes sure of having combs built just where 

 they are desired. When used in the brood 

 chamber, it makes sure that all the comb built 

 upon it shall be worker-comb, a very important 

 COMB FOUNDATION matter. If a strip of foundation only an inch 

 (By permission from Roots' ^.jj^g ^jg fastened to the top bar of a brood-frame, 



A BCof BeeCulture.) *^ ' 



it will secure a straight comb by having the 

 comb started in the right place, but most bee-keepers think it is 



