40 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



possible, and not crowd the territory. 

 Some localities are best suited for comb 

 honey, and some for extracted honey, 

 but I think that, in most localities, it will 

 pay better to ru n for both comb and ex- 

 tracted honey. A locality where forage 

 comes into bloom early, and continues 

 sufficiently to keep up brood-rearing un- 

 til the main harvest comes is a very fa- 

 vorable one. 



Having selected the locality, the next 

 thing to consider are the bees and hives. 

 I think the best results can be obtained 

 with nothing smaller than a ten-frame 

 Dovetailed hive. There are a great many 

 reasons for this view, but they will be ex- 

 plained later. 



In starting, some may have bees to 

 transfer, and I will here give the plan 

 adopted and used by my father and my- 

 self in transferring over looo colonies. 



After securing the proper tools, prepare 

 a box the size of a box-hive to be trans- 

 ferred, and six to ten inches deep. Pro- 

 ceed to the box-hive to be transferred , 

 turn it upside down, place the transfer- 

 ring-box on top of the box-hive, pry open 

 a crack near the bottom of the box-hive, 

 smoke slowly, and drum on the hive 

 with a hammer or stick until the queen 

 and part of bees have passed up into the 

 transferring-box. Remove the old hive, 

 leaving the box of bees on the old stand. 

 Carry the old hive a short distance away, 

 into a room is better, and pry it open, 

 and cut out the best combs, fitting 

 them into frames, and filling the remain- 

 ing frames with foundation. Return the 

 hive to the old location, and dump the 

 bees into the hive. If there is a scarcity 

 of honey, feed until the hives are filled 

 with combs, brood and honey. This is 

 a modified Heddon plan; and I think will 

 come nearer suiting every body than any 

 other method. 



Another good plan, where the apiarist 

 is a careful man of experience, and is sure 

 of a honey crop, is to place the new hive, 

 filled with full sheets of foundation, over 

 the old hive, making the connection bee- 

 tight, by tacking on boards, etc, As sooa 



as the bees build into the new hive, and 

 have the combs pretty well along, drum 

 all the bees up into the new hive, and take 

 the old box-hive away. Twenty days 

 later drum the remaining bees into the 

 new hive. If any queens are not prolific, 

 or are dark, now is the best time to in- 

 troduce new ones. In three or four days 

 after the removal of the old box, if the 

 honey flow wan ants, put on supers. 



HuTTo, Tex. Aug. 7, 1899. 



^^ EES BITING CAPPINGS— IT 



|--^ MAY BE A MATTER OF LO- 

 \Jj CALITY AND STRAIN OF 

 BEES. BY F. GREINKR. 



In the November Review 30U criticise 

 what I say in the American Bee-Keeper 

 in regard to using bee-escapes after the 

 honey-season has come to a close. I am 

 thankful to anyone for good advice; and 

 in this matter I think I can see the reason 

 why I often fail in removing honey im- 

 harmed by the use of the escape. Our 

 honey -season generally closes by Septem- 

 ber 1st; occasionally it lasts till the 15th 

 of September — this late flow being caused 

 by honey-dew. The weather after this 

 time is cool, sometimes quite so, and we 

 are obliged to remove the honey anyhow; 

 although I always wait till it has warmed 

 up during the noon hours. Our bees 

 plaster on the propolis in great abun- 

 dance during the later part of the season, 

 and I do not find it an easy matter to pry 

 loose a stuck-up super without a snap. I 

 believe I am as careful in my operations 

 as is practicable; and I would say that I 

 do not in the least endorse the Coggshall 

 — kick-off-metliod, nor practice it. Still, 

 many supers I have taken off in past years 

 during the later season are injured; par- 

 ticularly near the center, next to the es- 

 cape. During the month of July supers 

 may be pried loose much easier, and with 

 less disturbance than during September; 

 that, I believe, you will have to concede; 

 and that ma3- be the reason why you suc- 

 ceed better than I have done. 



