108 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



Now, I know what it means when a 

 fellow "locks horns" with R. C. 

 Aikin, but, as I consider him one of 

 my personal friends, I am g'oing' to 

 take the chances. 



First, I am going- to assume that in 

 giving the above advice he is wrong, 

 both in theory and practice. Now, 

 why is the theory wrong ? Because 

 any young swarm of bees, either 

 natural or forced, should have at once, 

 a laying queen, in order to prevent the 

 building of a lot of worthless drone 

 comb; a thing they are sure to do if 

 queenless. 



Again, a queenless s\/arm never 

 works with proper vim until after the 

 young queen is hatched and mater" 



Now when a young swarm is put , 

 to a hive, it's goimt; to be a future ""sset, 

 and i' valuable one, if the combs are 

 worker, but nca.iiy worthless if mostly 

 drone. 



As friend Aikin so frequently speaks 

 of massing his bees, I assume that 

 when he makes a new swarm he makes 

 a good strong one, and I claim the 

 proper place for the laying queen is 

 with this 3'oung swarm, on the old 

 stand, in order to secure the best re- 

 results. First, because there is noth- 

 ing much for her to do if carried away 

 with the brood for a week, as all the 

 flying bees are on the old stand, and 

 that week is very iniporta>ii to the new 

 swarm. 



HOW TO SKCURI': THE BUILDING OK 

 WORKER COMB. 



Now, I want all beginners to note 

 one fact ih^t I shall bring out, and that 

 is this, if you can get a hive filled with 

 comb the lirst week of a swarm's life, 

 that comb will invariably be worker 

 comb, providing there is a la^'ing 

 queen, plenty of nurse-bees and a good 

 honey flow. With these conditions, 

 the incentive is for workers — there is 

 no desire or use for drones. 



Now, if friend Aikin had left the 

 queen with the young swarm, and 



used starters in the brood chamber 

 (with one comb to establish a brood 

 nest), and set the super over from the 

 old colony with partly drawn combs 

 (as there would be) I will warrant 

 that, in eight days, he would have had 

 a hive of brood more than he can get 

 with his plan, where the old queen 

 would be simply waiting for 3'oung 

 bees to hatch out to become nurses for 

 her brood. Better, by far, to let the 

 young queen be rai.sed by the brood, 

 as there is nothing to do there, for two 

 weeks, except to wait. 



Again, friend Aikin says a queen 

 cannot do much business brooding in 

 a colony under section supers. Strange 

 ihat two people, living as close to- 

 , ether as friend Aikin and myself, 

 should have such directly opposite ex- 

 perience. The most comyilete and 

 beautiful hives of brood I ever saw are 

 in my two-weeks'-old swarms (either 

 natural cr forced) that have been hived 

 on starters only; the honey going into 

 from one to three supers above the 

 brood. Why, it's an axioDi with me, 

 ahvays have a laying queen and a hive 

 of brood under every super, if much 

 surplus is to be secured when working 

 for comb honey. 



Now, to return to the question of, 

 where is the proper place for the old 

 queen ? Who has not noticed the mag- 

 nificent work of young natural swarms 

 with their laying queens, and who has 

 not seen the abnormal and imperfect 

 work of a young natural swarm that 

 has been so unfortunate as to lose its 

 queen ? Yet, friend Aikin would have 

 us produce these abnormal conditions 

 witii all our swarms. 



WHICH CELLS PRODUCE THE BEST 

 QUEENS. 



Again, he says, after a certain num- 

 ber of da3's, go to the swarm and cut 

 out all the cells but one, Jind advises 

 cutting out all the oldest cells, leaving 

 one of the 3'ounges- cells; here, again, 

 I think he is vrong, .^ ^je would raise 



