320 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May 15 



ackerman's apiary, showing ventilating-blocks under the brood-chamber. 



Although we ha\e had some bad ones we 

 have never yet tailed to get tlie swarm, no 

 matter liow diflicult their location, although 

 it is no simjile matter to get the sack over a 

 large cluster on the end of a limb forty feet 

 above ground. 



Atlantic, Iowa. 



[You don't say any thing al)out clipping 

 your queens' wings. If you i)racticed cli])- 

 ping all your queens in the first ])lace, there 

 should be little or no climbing of these tall 

 trees. All you would have to do would be 

 to wait for the swarms to return to their re- 

 spective queens, when the rest would be 

 easy. — Ed.] 



INCREASED BOTTOM VENTILATION TO 

 STOP SWARMING. 



The Plan of Raising the Hives from Bottom- 

 boards Practiced Four Years with Good 

 Results. 



BY WAIiTER ACKERMAN. 



When the weather gets hot, and bees liang 

 out around the entrances, I jnit blocks un- 

 der the hives toward evening, varying the 

 thickness of the blocks according to the 

 strength of the colonies. For instance, if 

 the bees hang out just a little I use >^-inch 

 blocks; in other cases I use ^-inch; and for 

 colonies that are very strong, l>^-inch. By 

 the next day the bees begin to act different- 

 ly; and so far as preventing swarming is 

 concerned, if this work is done not less tlian 

 a week before there are signs of swarming, 

 it can be stopped. One needs to be careful, 



however, and not let robl)ing get started. 

 Even though my hives are i)retty well 

 shaded 1 have Ijeen providing this extra 

 ventilation for about four years, and I would 

 not think of doing any other way. 



In regard to comlj-building between the 

 combs and bottom-board, my experience is 

 like that of Mr. J. A. Yeomans, as given 

 on i)age G38, October 15. I ha^ e never had 

 such trouble. The bees use either side of 

 the hive or the ends for entrances. 



The illustration shows my yard as it was 

 two years ago. Some of the hi\es are raised 

 from the bottom-board. The one marked 

 with a cross had four two-inch blocks imder 

 it, besides the extra ventilation atTorded by 

 reason of the super being moved back. 

 Some of the other hives had %-inch blocks, 

 while still others, being nuclei, were kept 

 closed on accouiit of danger of r()V)l)ers. I 

 had shade-l)oards over the hives, but re- 

 moved them when the picture was taken. 



It is very windy here at times, and I need 

 plenty of weight on the covers to keep them 

 from blowing olT. 



Portsmouth, Ohio. 



[Several have already rejiorted favorably 

 on this kind of l)ottom ventilation to keej) 

 down swarming. The Irick is so simple, and 

 so easily ai)i)lied, thai we h()i)e many will try 

 it and reiK)r1. Di^i't forget that the remedy 

 must be ai)i»lied fx fore tlie bees make prep- 

 arations for swarming. In the meantime, 

 there are doul)t less others who have tried this 

 ventilation i)lan for checking swarming. If 

 so, we hope they will rei)ort their experi- 

 ence. — Ed.] 



