THE BEE-KEEPERS- REVIEW 



233 



tion. We should be able to demonstrate 

 just how much honey, if any, we lose 

 directly, by dequeening the field workers 

 for 10 days during a flow. 



Over against the above testimony we 

 have what is known as the Sibbald sys- 

 tem, involving dequeening, and the ex- 

 tensive and successful practice of such 

 authorities as R. C. Aikin and Dr. Miller. 



REMOVING MOST OF THE BROOD AND HONEY, 



AND LEAVING THE WORKERS 



QUEENRIGHT. 



This puts the two parts of the divided 

 colony in almost the conditions that pre- 

 vail after natural swarming, and usually 

 seems to satisfy the demands of the 

 swarming impulse. The supers, the old 

 field workers, the queen and a little of 

 the brood, are left on the old stand, and 

 the honey crop is expected from there. 

 The old hive with most of the brood and 

 some young bees is either removed to a 

 distance, as in shook swarming, or it is 

 placed in close proximity to the queen- 

 right, with some sort of restricted com- 

 munication between the two that pre- 

 vents or discourages the bees from 

 returning to their brood after once leaving 

 it; or the relative position of the two 

 hives is changed from time to time, the 

 object being to throw the young workers, 

 as they develop and start out as fielders, 

 into the queenright colony. 



The restricted passage plans have the 

 advantage that the heavy hive need not 

 be carried far away— some bees will dis- 

 cover and follow their brood a long ways 

 off. Then again, if the brood is carried 

 away, once for all, the young brood is 

 likely to suffer for a few days for lack of 

 nurse bees and workers; and, after that, 

 there is an increasing horde of workers 

 maturing that might better be at the 

 working station. The other plan should 

 turn them over as they can be spared. 

 The brood hive may be placed on either 

 one of the six sides of the queenright 

 colony, excepting in front of it. If there 

 are hive covers enough, I prefer to place 



the brood at the rear, with communica- 

 tion between the bee spaces of the 

 bottom boards or floors of the two parts. 

 This arrangement permits of easy exam- 

 ination of either part at will; does not 

 interfere with supering, and the workers 

 from the rear must pass under the entire 

 queenright colony before they can return 

 to the rear. 



DO NOT DEPRIVE THE BROOD OF ITS 

 PROPER CARE. 



It seems necessary that a few of the 

 working bees should return to their 

 brood at first, while a part of it is open. 

 They seem to need water back there or 

 something — or both. I have found many 

 dead bees on the bottom of a hive so 

 arranged with ample ventilation, but no 

 exit save a Porter bee escape between 

 the two parts, which was not clogged. 

 Then, again, I have fancied that I 

 noticed indications of dissatisfaction on 

 the part of the bees which seemed to 

 arise from the consciousness that their 

 babies were just beyond a too closely 

 restricted passageway for their proper 

 care. We know very little about the 

 practical effects of "prevailing senti- 

 ments" in a bee hive. And now here 

 comes "Swarthmore" with a startling 

 discovery. He says: "Right here 1 

 should like to make an important state- 

 ment which all should bear in mind 

 when rearing queens. It is this: It 

 matters little, so far as the loss of brood 

 is concerned, what you may do with a 

 queen when you separate her from her 

 brood. The loss in egg laying, the death 

 to open brood, and the removal of fresh 

 laid eggs will occur to the same extent, 

 whether a queen is placed below a zinc 

 honey board, caged in the hive, or placed 

 into one's coat pocket; the bees feel they 

 are queenless and thousands upon 

 thousands of future bees are lost to the 

 colony in the removal of young brood and 

 eggs by the bees. Never remove a 

 queen, therefore, unless absolutely 

 obliged to do so." 



