170 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIE"W 



combs with or without honey as most 

 convenient; or, if no such combs are at 

 hand with foundation. 



This way has the advantage that 

 colonies so manipulated quickly get 

 over the swarming fever, and work on 

 with renewed energy; and, if the 

 brood chamber is not too large, con- 

 tinue work in supers almost as though 

 nothing had happened. This method 

 has the disadvantage, however, that 

 unless honey is abundant in the fields, 

 the population soon dwindles or is 

 worn out, and it becomes too weak to 

 do the best work. This can be reme- 

 died by giving them young bees, or, 

 better, by giving them combs of matur- 

 ing brood a little later. 



NO HARD AND FAST METHODS. 



As a matter of fact, I am following 

 no o«^ method very closely; bnt rather 

 try to so manage as to keep all colo- 

 nies, so far as possible, busily at work 

 in the supers, and yet get sufficient in- 

 crease to keep my yards well stocked. 



If you wish to know how I manage, 

 just come into one my yards in the 

 midst of the swarming season, and 

 see for yourself. I visit each yard 

 every eighth or ninth day, and hold a 

 bee convention as we go from hive to 

 hive, although there are but two of us, 

 my helper and myself. You would 

 soon see that I have no royal road to 

 success in controlling increase, and, 

 not unfrequently, meet with failure by 

 leaving some colonies too long to their 

 own sweet way, or from the peculiarity 

 of some colony. 



To be brief, I have, for many years, 

 depended very largely upon the removal 

 of the queen and all maturing queen 

 cells, or of combs of brood, either few 

 or many, as circumstances seemed to 

 require, replacing such with old combs 

 with or without honey as most con- 

 venient, or, if the supply of combs has 

 been exhausted, with frames of founda- 

 tion. Would prefer newly drawn 

 combs fromfoun/!.(tion. If •'< third full 



ci good honey it is no disadvantage, 

 but rather a help. 



Of course where a colony is queen- 

 less for two weeks, a queen must be 

 introduced. For this I use virgin 

 queens, believing, as a rule, where a 

 colony is expecting a virgin queen they 

 will accept of one more readily 

 than a laying queen. Such has 

 been my experience. I run them right 

 in at the entrance without my ceremcny 

 or formality. Occasionally one will be 

 lost, and then I give the colony two or 

 three combs of brood, and let the bees 

 raise one for themselves. 



As I have noticed, for the last few 

 years, that strong colonies from which 

 1 have taken their brood, and replaced 

 with broodless combs, have given me 

 rather better results in surplus than 

 colonies under other treatment; or even 

 those that have made no preparation 

 for swarming. 



Colonies not very populous, (and 

 there is quite a difference even in those 

 preparing to swarm) we better manage 

 by reducing the size of the brood cham- 

 ber to not more than six dry combs, and, 

 a week later, giving them two combs of 

 sealed, just-hatching brood. ihere 

 will then be little interruption of work 

 in supers. 



An ideal way, perhaps, would be to 

 stimulate all colonies by judicious 

 feeding from early May till clover 

 opens, and then make half as many 

 nuclei as there are old colonies, mak- 

 ing them from the strongest colonies 

 and then, when swarming begins, 

 build them up into strong colonies with 

 brood taken from colonies preparing 

 to swarm early in the season. Even 

 then, some colonies whose brood you 

 have taken away and replaced with 

 dry combs will be liable to swarm 

 later; and some of the nuclei you have 

 built uj) into strong colonies will mani- 

 fest the swarming instinct to 3'our 

 disgust. 



So I know of no other way except to 

 examine once in from seven to nine 



