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THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



vent all swarming- or not, is a problem 

 that I have not as yet tested out. Per- 

 haps if one-third or even one-half of the 

 sealed brood was allowed to remain, the 

 over-crowded condition of the brood 

 nest mig-ht be relieved sufficiently to 

 cause the bees to abandon swarm prepa- 

 rations. My experiments ranged between 

 leaving two frames of sealed brood and 

 uncapping all there was in the hive. If 

 a less amount of uncapping would 

 "knock swarming in the head" it would 

 be an advantage to the timid bee keeper 

 who might have some compunctions of 

 conscience about destroying so much 

 sealed brood. Personally, 1 do not con- 

 sider the matter of material importance, 

 as the plan outlined gives all the work- 

 ers needed for the clover and basswood 

 flow in our northern climate, and the 

 open brood left undisturbed, together 

 with the newly laid eggs that have been 

 deposited in the cells from which the un- 

 capped brood has been removed, gives 

 an army of workers for the late fall flow, 

 without having a hive full of consumers 

 right after the first honey flow is over. 

 The plan can be adapted to southern 

 conditions where the swarming season 

 begins a month or so earlier than the 

 main honey flow. Can see no reason 

 why the plan cannot be adapted to any 

 locality where bees are kept. It is bound 

 to revolutionize bee keeping all over the 

 world, or I am woefully mistaken in my 

 judgment. 



It is hardly necessary to caution the 

 reader not to use this method if his 

 apiary is mfected with foul brood, owing 

 to the danger of carrying the disease 

 from infected to healthy colonies. 



And now, brother and sister bee keep- 

 ers, allow me to state in conclusion that 1 

 have outlined a simple plan of swarm 

 control that the bee keeping world knows 

 nothing about so far as I am aware, 

 and I offer it to you for your approval 

 or condemnation. At a rough guess 1 

 expect nine out of ten of you will read 

 the statements herein made with a good 

 deal of suspicion, furthermore I expect 

 all of you to accept them with a "grain 

 of salt." All 1 ask of you is that you 

 give the plan a fair trial, for 1 know that 

 you will be surprised at the results. The 

 treatment being so simple and easy and 

 the results so surprising, it was a difficult 

 matter for me to believe it myself, even 

 after having proof right before my eyes. 

 After you have given it a trial I feel sure 

 that you will not consider my statements 

 extravagant and when the full extent of 

 its possibilities are realized the bee keep- 

 ing world will render their verdict in 



accordance with the claims I have made 

 for the treatment. 



The Jones method of swarm-prevention 

 is now before you for discussion. I ex- 

 pect that it will be both approved and 

 condemned. That it is effectual I have 

 not a particle of doubt, but as to whether 

 it is a desirable and profitable method of 

 prevention is an open question. Quite a 

 number of subscribers have written and 

 expressed surprise that I should endorse 

 the Jones method. I have not endorsed 

 it further than to offer the book for sale 

 and copy it into the Review. It is a 

 novel, radical, and, I believe, effectual 

 plan for preventing swarming, and I con- 

 sider it worthy of consideration and trial, 

 but that it is free from objections I think 

 no one will assert. To my mind, the 

 most serious fault is the rearing of brood 

 that must be sacrificed. It costs honey 

 and the time of the bees to rear this 

 brood, and the loss in this direction must 

 certainly be serious. 1 will admit that 

 the plans that may be carried out when 

 swarming is absolutely prevented, might 

 be of sufficient value to offset this loss. 

 I have had some correspondence with the 

 Doctor on this point, suggesting- the 

 removal of the brood and its use in 

 building up weak colonies, or the making 

 of increase, instead of destroying it, but 

 he believes that the same results will 

 not be secured. He says that the 

 destruction of that brood, and the carry- 

 ing of it out, puts the bees in a far 

 different mood from simply removing 

 the brood — and I can well believe that 

 it might. Mr. Coverdale, however, re- 

 moved the brood (all of it) by cutting it 

 out, and setting it in a box by the side 

 of the old hive, where it hatched and the 

 young bees eventually joined the old 

 colony. Of course, there are similar 

 plans that prevent swarming, but they 

 bring in extra hives, and appliances, and 

 more or less complicated operations. 

 The question is, which will you choose? 



The next objection is the disag-reeable 

 nature of the operation. To open the 

 hive and slice off the heads of the sealed 

 brood is far from pleasant. Of course, 



