^e l^ee-J^ff peps' jHc^^ic^- 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to the Interests of Honey Producers. 

 $L00 A YEAR. 

 W. Z. flOTCHINSON, Editor and Proprleloi. 



VOL. XIX. FLINT, MICHIGAN, APRIL. 15, 1906. NO. 4 



©ipimiii^ 



or s3Ti 



L. A. STAFFORD. 



TN making- artificial increase, my 

 i practice is as follows: As early in 

 the spring as the weather will permit, 

 a colony is lightly fed until full of bees 

 and brood ; then the second story of full 

 drawn combs is put on, the queen hav- 

 ing access to all. I let them alone un- 

 til a swarm issues. The queen being 

 clipped, she is caught and caged and 

 safely put away until wanted. While 

 the"^swarm is in the air this hive is 

 moved to another stand, and the weak- 

 est colony in the apiary is placed on 

 the old stand, and receives the swarm 

 in the air, a super being put on, and I 

 have a colony' that will reap the har- 

 vest if such a thing is possible. 



Next, the queen is taken to the 

 colony from .which she came, the cag^e 

 containing her placed between two 

 combs, and the hive closed and let 

 alone for five days if the previous 

 weather has been favorable for swarm- 

 ing-, if not, she is left three days. 



At this time there are as many 

 nucleus hives placed handy as there 

 are frames in the hive, which, with me. 



are 19. Then I take out the cage and 

 queen and lay to one side, also two or 

 three combs, and place one in a hive to 

 make room to handle the remaining- 

 frames, which are all looked over, and 

 every cell cut out and placed in a box. 

 I now make up as many nuclei as 

 there are cells, the remaining- combs, 

 if any, being^ left in the hive and the 

 queen liberated on them. If there are 

 cells enoug-h to use all the combs, then 

 the queen is left in the cag-e, and the 

 empty hive supplied with one frame of 

 honey and three empties, until the re- 

 turning bees from the nuclei are enough 

 to take care of the queen, when she is 

 let loose among them. As we use the 

 Carniolan bees for this purpose we 

 hardly ever have less than a dozen cells; 

 and, many times, every comb in the 

 colony can be used. 



These nuclei have young bees, all 

 brood is matured and hatching, and 

 there will be a queen in a few days. 

 There is no loss of bees, to speak of, 

 befoie the brood of the young queen is 

 coming- out. These are some of the ad- 



