236 



THE BEE-KEEPEKS' REVIEW 



the two or three weeks preceeding the 

 opening' of berries. The berries were 

 late in opening, perhaps two weeks 

 late, and some of the colonies not only 

 consumed some of their stores, but 

 greatly restricted breeding. It took a 

 good share of the flow from berries to 

 again put them in proper condition. 

 Why did we allow this ? We were too 

 busy moving bees until it was too late 

 to remedy the trouble. There is quite 

 a lesson to be leai iied right here. I 

 have before referred to the matter, viz., 

 that the man who is to practice long 

 range bee-keeping must have large 

 hives and plenty of stores. Then, 

 again, success can come only when the 

 locality is thoroughly understood. For 

 instance, here in Southern Michigan 

 we usually have a flow from fruit bloom 

 that gives the tees a big lift. In many 

 parts of Northern Michigan there is no 

 frnit bloom, and the bees gather little, 

 or nothing, until berries bloom in June. 

 It will thus be seen that there must be 

 a large quantity of honey left in the 

 hive in the fall, or else there must be 

 spring feeding. 



A MISTAKE WITH 0UKP:N EXCLUDERS. 



I think there was also one other mis- 

 take made. Queen-excluding honey 

 boards were placed upon '^ight-frame 

 hives at the opening of the harvi.t, 

 then supers pv.i on above the honey 

 boards. In a short time almost every 



colony was building queen cells and 

 preparing to swarm. A comb of brood 

 was then taken from each colony, the 

 combs being used in making up new 

 colonies. The honey boards were then 

 removed. The queens at once invaded 

 the upper story, but the swarming 

 fever was cured — probably not more 

 than one colony in ten swarmed. I 

 thinic it would have been better to have 

 left oft the queen excluders at hrsi, 

 and then put them on later, after the 

 harvest was well under wa}'. An ex- 

 amination a week later will tell where 

 the queen is, and that without hunting 

 her up, when she can be put in the 

 lower story, if not already there. As 

 the brood hatches out in the upper 

 story the combs will be tilled with 

 honey. In this w:iv we get :, Idi^je 

 working force earlj m the season, and 

 restrain the swarmi'ig fever. This is 

 the plan I followed at the hoi —-apiary, 

 and it worked to perfection. When ex- 

 tracting the honey at this Northern 

 Michigan yard, the queen excluders 

 were put on again, and the only bad 

 result of the putting of them on, and 

 taking them off" again, will be the rear- 

 ing of a lot of workers that come on 

 the stage of action after the berry har- 

 vest is past. However, this apiary is 

 in the buckwhccu region, and the^e 

 workers may yet be of some use. 



Flint, Mich., July 2b, 1906. 



^.©mmlbs Veirstis St^rter^ 



J. E. GRANE. 



Wfiiesi 



M' 



Y DEAR Mr. Hutcninson- Ad- 

 vanced Bee Culture rt'ne a da^' 

 or two since; and isn't it <j •: ■ "^ I 

 was not prepared to -■- o /:. and 

 CO'" iprehensive a w.;. s. .\s:.l vi:- lialf- 

 i^:\e. illustrations, are /)•■■'•• : iiut the 

 i^rint is coarse enough nv, that isn't 



the word, for there is nothing coarse 

 about it, it is large enough to make the 

 reading of it a pleasure for us who are 

 getting a little along in 3'ears. I 

 haven't had time to read it all, but 

 have read a.d re-read the chapter on 

 "The Use and Abuse cf routb Founda- 



