320 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



one lifting of the super, with not a 

 single comb to handle separately. I 

 have practiced this plan for years, but 

 I do not remember to have told any one 

 about it before, neither do I remember 

 having read about it for several years. 

 In this way the whole apiary can be gone 

 over, and all supers taken off in an hour 

 or so, and these supers collected and 

 wheeled into the storehouse, usually be- 

 fore the hees begin to fly. Then by de- 

 laying until cool weather comes, one 

 may avoid the possible development of 

 eggs from the wax-moth among the 

 combs after they are deprived of the 

 bees." 



The second has often been mentioned, 

 but the idea of uniting three or more 

 colonies in this way may be new to 

 many. 



"The old way was to move the colon- 

 ies toward each other a little each day 

 so that the bees would mark anew at 

 each flight, thus saving a loss by their 

 going back to the old location when fin- 

 ally brought together and united. But 

 few use that plan now. After a cool, 

 cloudy, windy, or rainy spell, bees gen- 

 erally mark their location more or less, 

 especially in the fall or early spring. 

 At such a time a newspaper should be 

 spread on top of the hive containing the 

 colony where;. one wishes the united col- 

 ony to stand, and one of the other weak 

 colonies should be placed on top of it, 

 then another newspaper on top of this, 

 and the third colony on top of this pa- 

 per, and so on, according to the number 

 to be united. When it grows warmer 

 the bees will eat or gnaw holes through 

 the papers, and the whole will become 

 one colony, flying out through the en- 

 trance of the lower hive, marking this 

 new location as does a new swarm, ow- 

 ing to the mixup of bees before their 

 flight. In a week or two, select combs 

 containing sufficient stores for winter, 

 and remove all other combs. The col- 

 ony should be confined to one hive for 

 winter." ' '" 



Ripening Honey Artificially. 



When everybody is shouting for a 

 thing, it takes nerve to get on the other 

 side of the fence. It is much easier to 

 go with the crowd, even though the 

 crowd is on the wrong track. We were 

 much interested in what I. Hopkins says 



in Gleanings in Bee Culture, regarding 

 the ripening of honey. We read in part : 



We all remember what a commotion 

 was created in the bee-world when the 

 late E. W. Alexander gave, early in 

 1906, in Gleanings, his method of ex- 

 tracting uncapped honey. Yet not one 

 of the opponents of his system ever put 

 forward one definite reason for his op- 

 position. I have watched very closely 

 all that has been written against the sys- 

 tem, for I have been particularly inter- 

 ested in all that could be said for and 

 against it, as I first adopted it in 1883, 

 and carry it out still at our government 

 apiaries. Out of all the correspondence 

 there has been nothing but vague state- 

 ments that honey can be properly ripen- 

 ed only within the hive. The opponents 

 of the system hold that honey ripened 

 outside is inferior. I would ask what 

 grounds they have for their assertion. 

 Against their loose statements we have 

 the experience of Mr. Alexander, who 

 was one of the foremost men in the bee- 

 keeping world. 



I have also proved by practice, to my 

 own satisfaction, the great advantages of 

 the system, and that absolutely no dif- 

 ference can be detected between honey 

 ripened outside and inside the hive. 

 Nevertheless I should like to learn that 

 chemical investigation of the matter is 

 likely to be carried out. I am of the 

 opinion that the chief factor in ripening 

 honey, aside from the possibility of some 

 chemical change in the sugars going on, 

 is the ridding it of its surplus moisture, 

 which can proceed outside as well as in- 

 side the hive in suitable surroundings. 



At one time I used large storage 

 tanks, holding 200 gallons each. I am 

 not sure but I would use them again. 

 These stood right out doors in the sun, 

 with a chance for ventilation. The thin 

 honey would raise to the top, and the 

 thicker could be drawn from the bottom. 

 The honey put in these tanks was not all 

 sealed before extracting, and I have 

 had prominent bee-keepers sample the 

 honey and they pronounced it first class. 

 It went to a fancy trade, giving the best 

 of satisfaction. These tanks, like every- 

 thing else, if used must be used with 

 judgment, ai:d not too much expected 

 of them. Let's hear from others who 

 use them. 



