THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 7, 19C4 



named, to pay for moving the apiary up to the bloom dur- 

 ing the time of the blooming of the flowers, and back 

 again for the rest of the year. , From many times of watch- 

 ing at the top of a hill near my apiary, over which the bees 

 pass, I find that they fly very rapidly when from one-fourth 

 to one-half mile from the apiary, and the exercise seems to 

 be invigorating ; and if those who argue depopulation of the 

 hives when the bees have long distances to fly, could be 

 here in years when the bees work on basswood from four to 

 eight miles away from home, following the flow back and 

 up to the top of the high hills, as the bloom fails here at 

 home, and then further and further away, and see how the 

 honey in the sections grows as if by magic, with hives gain- 

 ing in number of bees while this work is going on, I think 

 they would incline to the same opinion I do, namely, that 

 the claims which they have been putting forth are only fal- 

 lacious. 



From this experience of mine, and the many proofs 

 given in the back volumes of the different bee-papers, I 

 am convinced that bees go from one to three miles from 

 home for nectar, from choice, during the summer months, 

 during which months the larger part of the storing of honey 

 is done ; and if I were in the questioner's place I would not 

 give to the amount of ten dollars in sacrifice, in changing a 

 position a mile and a half from the honey-flora to one right 

 in its midst. 



A few years ago it rained all through the apple-bloom, 

 while it was at its height at my home, which is situated in 

 a valley, the rain stopping only about a day before the 

 bloom fell here. At the same time the bloom was just open- 

 ng on the hills five mile away, and the orchards in the in- 

 termediate or intervening space were all the way from just 

 failing in bloom to just opening. The weather now became 

 fine for nectar-secretion and the bees began to roll in the 

 honey, and kept right at it day after day till the bloom failed 

 on the hills, the farthest being eight miles away. And I 

 thought the yield was even greater, if possible, when all 

 bloom was gone up to four miles away, than it was during 

 the first three days, when the bloom was nearer the apiary. 



Then I have had good crops of buckwheat honey stored 

 -when there was not a square rod of buckwheat in sight of 

 the apiary, and not to exceed 13 acres within the distance 

 stated by the questioner (a mile and a half), while hundreds 

 of acres lay from three to five miles away. 



These experiences, together with having tons of bass- 

 wood honey stored from the top of the heights seven or 

 eight miles away from my apiary (these same being those 

 from which the apple-blossom honey was gathered as 

 spoken of above), during the past 30 years, lead me to think 

 that the center-location parties are not entirely sure of the 

 premises they have taken. 



Of course, where one could have things just as he would 

 like them, a location in a valley full of honey-producing 

 flora together with rising hills on either side, the same be- 

 ing covered with all manner of nectar-yielding flora clear to 

 their summits, the summit of which would be from one to 

 eight miles away, would be the much-desired location for 

 the person who is to keep bees for a living. But as it is im- 

 possible for all to enjoy such a location, and as other envi- 

 ronments are likely to enter into any location in which we 

 are placed, or must be placed on account of our own welfare. 

 or the welfare of those whom we love and wish to help to a 

 schooling or a business, or something of the kind, it is well 

 to accept the situation as it comes to us, and not be stam- 

 peded from it by the " scare crow " of the thought that it is 

 positively necessary that flowers must be in abundance 

 right where we are located. Onondaga Co., N. Y. 



Three-Bottom-Board Plan of Handling 

 Swarmimg:. 



BV W. C. I.YMAN. 



I HAVE been using, during the past season to some ex- 

 tent, a method of handling bees during the swarming sea- 

 son and honey-flow which might be called the "three- 

 bottom plan;" and I will say first that the bottom-boards 

 used were the B bottom as sent out by The A. I. Root Co. 

 the past season, excepting that the side-pieces on both sides 

 of the board on which the brood-chamber rests extend the 

 full length of the board instead of being cut the length of 

 the brood-chamber only. 



The illustrations given on the first page will help to 

 make my description plain ; and the one showing a hive 

 and brood-chamber resting on three bottom-boards is the 



one I wish to describe. The hives were set up on a large 

 box for the purpose of taking the picture. 



The illustration in which I am shown holding two parts 

 of a bottom-board on top of the hives, shows another form 

 of bottom-board used for the same purpose, and which is 

 similar to the Miller bottom-board, but as it is more expen- 

 sive, and no better, I would not recommend it. 



The whole idea is to hatch out brood in a rear hive, and 

 to run the bees under the bottom-board of a front hive and 

 unite them with the bees in the front hive at the entrance. 

 I accomplish it as follows : 



When the time comes to make a shaken swarm I go to a 

 hive and move it back on its stand (I use the Dr. Miller 

 stand), letting the front end rest on the back edge of the 

 stand, and rest the back end on bricks to hold it up in place ; 

 and on the stand in front of it I put another bottom-board 

 with its open end tight up against the front end of the one 

 moved back. On this one I put a third and this I draw back 

 just far enough to leave a ,'i-inch crack at the front end of 

 the two, so that bees can pass under between them, and 

 come out at the front. 



On this third board I put a brood-chamber prepared as 

 for a shaken swarm, and the honey-board and supers, with 

 what bees may be in them, from the hive moved back. 



I have now only a brood-chamber containing bees, 

 queen, and brood, on the rear bottom-board. I next find the 

 queen and put her, and also a fe«v bees, into the front hive. 

 There will be a small space over the front end of the rear 

 bottom-board, between the two hives, left open. This I 

 close up bee-tight with a small piece of board. No bees can 

 now get out from the rear hive except by running the length 

 of the hive in front, and out at the little crack left between 

 the two bottom-boards in front. 



I don't want the field-bees to find that little entrance to 

 the rear hive, so I take a three-cornered stick as long as the 

 bottom-boards are wide, with the lower edge "s-inch thick, 

 and running up to a sharp edge just on a level with the 

 floor of the upper board, and put it on the projecting end of 

 the lower board, leaving a bee-space between it and the 

 front edge of the upper board, for the bees from the rear 

 hive to come up between to the level of the upper bottom- 

 board. When they get there they are right at the entrance 

 of the front hive. The hive is now as shown in the cut, and 

 this season's experience indicates that only steady work 

 need be expected from that colony for at least three weeks, 

 and nothing need be done with it but to give needed room. 

 For the first few hours there will not be so many bees in 

 the front hive that they will swarm out, and there are no 

 ^•babies" (very youug bees) to bother as with a shaken 

 swarm, for they won't come out from the rear hive until 

 they are old enough to fly. 



The old brood-chamber being placed directly behind the 



new one does not distract or take the attention of the field- 

 force as is the case where two hives, or brood-chambers, 

 are placed side by side. This I first observed when using 

 the Heddon method of preventing after-swarms. 



There is nothing on top of either hive to prevent the 



free and easy manipulation of either. 



The hatching of young queens in the rear hive made 



little or no difi'erence, but I think it would be better to cut 



out the queen-cells made there unless they are wanted for 



use. 



Some bees return to the rear hive, and I think it is best 



for them to do so, but in no case was any honey stored there. 

 I am aware that it takes time to test new plans, also 



that this plan is similar to some older ones, but slight 



changes sometimes make quite a difference, as I think will 



be found in this case. 



If there are cold nights when the brood in the rear hive 



is nearly hatched out, it would be well to look after it. 



After three weeks, when the brood begins to hatch 



freely in the front hive, if the honey-flow still continues, 



the bees may swarm unless looked after. 



And, lastly, if the season is a long one, and the process 



of moving back the brood is repeated to give the queen room, 



one may get quite a new idea of what a good queen can do 



at producing bees, and what the prospect is of breeding up 



a race of non-swarmers. Dupage Co., 111. 



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