June 23, 1904. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



439 



operation. It will be noticed that it is held, when drawn 

 across the section, at an angfle of about 4S deg^rees ; this 

 drops the points of the nails Jz inch below the edge of the 

 section, and if used from both sides, reduces the comb to 

 about one-half of its full thickness. By varying- the pitch 

 of the handle, the points of the nails can be raised or lowered 

 to suit the fancy of the operator. 



It requires a little experience to use the tool properly. 

 If the temperature is too low and the combs are brittle, 

 they are liable to break when not solidly attached at the 

 the sides. Niagara Co., N. Y. 



Double " Shook Swarms " and Comb Honey. 



BY JOHN- S. CALLBREATH. 



SUPPOSE a bee-keeper has several yards of bees, and 

 that the spring count is only about one-half what it was 



last fall. Suppose, further, that he hasn't any empty 

 hives and yet wants to run for comb honey and practice the 

 " shook-swarm " method. The rule has been not to hive a 

 swarm in a hive full of comb, because the bees would store 

 so much honey below, and, once started there, would en- 

 tirel)' fail to do good work in the sections. Should he cut 

 the comb out, excepting enough for a starter ? That would 

 seem like a waste. Must he then buy new hives when half 

 of the hives he has contain no bees? That would seem wise. 

 Of course, if he is going to run for increase, the problem 

 would be easy enough — just keep forming nuclei and re- 

 place the combs of hatching brood with empty combs. But 

 if he wants to run for comb honey and practice the "shook 

 swarm " method the problem is still unsolved. 



If a swarm is hived in a hive full of comb, w/iy do the 

 bees put their honey below instead of above in sections ? 

 "Because the queen can not at once fill all the cells with 

 eggs," is the substance of the answer usually given. But, 

 suppose all of the combs were full of eggs at the time the 

 swarm was put in, would they all be developed into bees ? 

 No. they wouldn't. How many ? Just as many as the 

 nurse-bees could care for, and no more. If there were twice 

 as many nurse-dees, would twice as many eggs be developed 

 into bees ? From practical experience I would say, yes. 

 That then solves the problem : Just hive or shake iwo 

 swarms into one full hive of comb, and with a double force 

 of nurse-bees to care for a// the eggs the queen can lay it 

 will very soon happen that, instead of the queen being 

 crowded for room to lay, the honey — not yet sealed over — 

 will be crowded gut to give her rootn to lay. 



With a double force of field-bees to bring in honey, and 

 a double force of nurse-bees to see to it that it goes where it 

 belongs, the results with me have been satisfactory. In 

 1898, at one time, I took off from such a colony, 96 finished 

 sections. 



Sometimes hybrids, after a few days, will start queen- 

 cells and swarm. The remedy for that is either not to have 

 the hybrids, or else hive on starters. 



Delaware Co., N. Y. 



Removing Supers Before All Sections Are 

 Sealed. 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



ON page 173, D. McCarthy makes some remarks upon this 

 subject, and is endorsed more or less fully by our genial 



Afterthinker, on page 297, and by S. T. Pettit, page 

 363. Some of the things said are excellent, but the total 

 trend is toward the advice that in no case should the supers 

 of sections be removed till all sections are completely fin- 

 ished, so long as the harvest continues. 



I believe the beginner who follows that advice — and I 

 would not blame any beginner for following the advice of 

 such good authorities — will do so at a loss. If I had followed 

 such advice last year, I think it would be a moderate esti- 

 mate to say that the loss would have been SIOO. 



It is said that in a rapid flow the honey is sealed before 

 fully ripened, and generally " it's better to leave all on until 

 the end of the season." No doubt the honey will be of be: 

 ter body if thus left on. A section of honey taken from tli ■ 

 hive during a rapid flow just as soon as it is sealed, unle^ ^ 

 properly managed afterward, is in some danger of becomi' 

 watery in appearance. But although the honey itself is r : 

 better for remaining on the hive, the capping is much t: ^ 

 worse for it. To get the top of the market, sections mi, -t 

 be snow-white. As a rule, that's the way they are wh i 



first sealed. Soon after that is the white surface begins to 

 be darkened — at least that is the way it is here — probably 

 caused by the bees bringing up bits of black from the brood- 

 comb below. If a super is left on till the corner sections are 

 finished, the center sections will be so darkened that they 

 must sell at a reduced price. 



My good friend Pettit will have the outside sections 

 finished the sooner by use of the dividers of his devising for 

 holding a body of bees outside the sections ; but dividers 

 and all, the sections will be darkened if, as he suggests, 

 they be left on until the end of the season. At least that 

 would be the case with all the earlier supers of my honey. 

 It looks just a little as if Mr. Hasty's experience was dif- 

 ferent, for he says he seldom takes off honey till it's done. 

 I wish you would tell us, Mr. Hasty, when you leave a super 

 on till the corner sections are entirely sealed, are the cen- 

 tral sections just as white as the outer ones ? I am free to 

 confess that every year some of my central sections are 

 darker than I like. 



You say, Mr. Hasty, that your experience is crippled, 

 so tell us what you //;/«/4' the bees will do. Let me tell you 

 what I fc7i02v they will do, or at least what they have done, 

 after having had experience of many years, not merely with 

 a few sections, but with thousands of them. If a lot of 

 supers are taken off during a full flow, the sections being 

 properly separatored, and the supers filled with the unfin- 

 ished sections, some of them half sealed and some less, and 

 returned to be finished, the work will be done so nicely that 

 a super of that kind can not be distinguished from others 

 except by seeing the penciled " Go-back " on one of the sec- 

 tions. I prefer, however, to have the work done by the 

 colonies that have made the best work at finishing sections, 

 and not, as you say, have them "put onto the next hive that 

 comes handy." 



I cannot say how it is with others, but one of the things 

 that I know is, that if I leave supers on till every section is 

 fully sealed, part of the sections will be too dark to bring 

 the highest price readily, and by taking off before all are 

 completed and returning the unfinished ones, I can get 

 them all to grade in the highest class. 



McHenry Co., 111. 



[ Convention ProceedinSs I 



Report of the Convention of the New York State 

 Bee-Keepers' Association- 



REPORTED BY MORLEY PETTIT. 



The New York State Bee-Keepers' Association met in 

 Syracuse, Friday morning, Jan. 15, 1904, Pres. W. F. Marks 

 occupying the chair. 



ORGANIZATION AND CO-OPERATION. 



In his opening address, the president spoke particularly 

 on the subject of organization. The system of organiza- 

 tion in that State is by County associations sending dele- 

 gates to the State convention. This reaches every county, 

 and enables all to attend conventions. Yet the vast ma- 

 jority of producers do not avail themselves of this oppor- 

 tunity, and are the losers thereby. He urged individual 

 members to take a personal interest in association develop- 

 ment and canvass for members. The United States census 

 report had grossly misrepresented and underestimated the 

 honey-resources of the State, which, in reality, were second 

 to none. New York State bee-keepers had the advantage, 

 also, said Mr. Marks, of possessing the greatest markets of 

 the country, right within their own State. What they 

 should do now is to make that market sure and safe by vig- 

 orously enforcing their pure honey law. 



To further their own interests. New York State bee- 

 keepers should be vigilant, active, and unselfish in promot- 

 ing organization. The State should be well represented at 

 the St. Louis Exposition. Thanks were due to Messrs. 

 France, Hutchinson, Holtermaun and Pettit for their pres- 

 ence and assistance at this convention. 



W. Z. Hutchinson— This is the only State that has 

 county associations which afliliate with the State Associa- 

 tion. This is what we want in the National. Then the 



