28o 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



doubt be a large factor in preventing 

 swarming; because, when given plenty 

 of ready built store-comb the bees will 

 not crowd so much honey in below; the 

 queen will be allowed more space to lay 

 in; and, unless a large brood chamber is 

 used, they are on that account apt to be 

 light of stores for winter. 



Wintering, too, is almost altogether a 

 matter of locality; some localities requir- 

 ing no management at all, and others re- 

 quiring the nicest management of any 

 phase of the business. 



Influence of locality! Who can com- 

 prehend it all? Touching us on all sides; 

 and scarcely any two seasons alike any- 

 where. Verily, the man who lives by 

 selling honey needs to be awake in all 

 his faculties; needs to be ever on the 

 alert with a weather eye even on his 

 "locality." 



Denison, Iowa, August 20, 1900. 



DAPTABILITY MUST BE 

 PRESERVED AMONG 

 BEES, HIVES, LOCALITY 

 AND MANAGEMENT. BY 

 G. W. McGUIRE. 



My Dear Editor — What subject of more 

 vital importance could you have placed 

 before the bee-keeping fraternity than 

 that of influence of locality? 'Tis the 

 key to our success or failure. All bee- 

 keepers should know the source from 

 whence their surplus is obtained, the 

 length of the expected flow, and the 

 number of flows expected. 



Here among the mountains of Western 

 North Carolina we have but two flows 

 that can be looked to with any degree of 

 certainty. First, poplar, which begins to 

 open about May 20th, and continues 

 about twenty days; second, basswood and 

 sourwood, which begins to open about 

 July 1st, and continues about twenty 

 days. Aside from these we have no cer- 

 tain flow. Sometimes we secure some 

 fall honey in September. The first prime 



essential to success here is the condition 

 of our colonies the fall previous. I want 

 all my colonies intended for comb honey 

 next season to have young, vigorous 

 queens, not over two years old, and either 

 black or hybrid. The pure Italian don't 

 suit me for comb honey. The best honey 

 gatherers for our natjve flora is a cross 

 between the German and the Italian. I 

 would prefer the mother to be pjre Ger- 

 man. The Germans seem inclined to 

 look ahead and hold some stores in re- 

 serve, which are so desirable in our 

 stormy, varying spring months. The 

 German mother seems to impart this very 

 instinct to her offspring. Their comb 

 building capacity is unquestioned. While 

 the Italians go ahead with such enormous 

 proportions in brood-rearing in late win- 

 ter and early spring, that frequently their 

 immense stores are consumed and they 

 succumb to their fate long before a 

 blossom is seen in the spring. 



The hive I have been the most suc- 

 cessful with is a modified Heddon, hold- 

 ing eight closed-end frames, six inches 

 deep, the length of the L, made to hang 

 in a rabbet like the Hoffman. We use a 

 follower and wedge to press the little 

 frames close together. Two of these sec- 

 tions form the brood-chamber. 



We want the bees to have the 

 upper section solidly filled with choice 

 honey and sealed at the approach of 

 winter. The under section we want 

 empty. To accomplish this, when our 

 last honey flow is in progress we go to 

 every hive and lift up the upper section, 

 and, after smoking the bees vigorously, 

 which causes the queens to run below, we 

 slip a queen excluder between the sec- 

 tions of each brood chamber. The re- 

 sult will be, very little honey below the 

 division, and the upper part will be solid 

 with choice honey. This excluder must 

 be taken out before winter, as the bees 

 would follow the honey up and leave the 

 queen to die. 



Here in this latitude we don't need any 

 cellar or winter repository or spring pack- 

 ing. We want just a plain board for a 



