1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



221 



doing any damage. Well, the new model green- 

 house, it seems, bounded off the zero north 

 wind in much the same way, and came through 

 unharmed. If you have forgotten what it looks 

 like, just turn back to page 2(3, Jan. 1, 



DIVIDING VS. NATURAL SWARMING. 



WHY MK. HEWES PREFERS TO PRACTICE THE 

 FORMER IN CALIFORNIA. 



In the early days of my bee-keeping expe- 

 rience, dividing (or artificial swarming) was all 

 the rage among bee-keepers, and numerous 

 were the discussions relating thereto in the bee- 

 journals. To-day the subject is seldom men- 

 tioned in them, while the frequent allusions to 

 the how of swarm management evinces that 

 dividing is but little practiced by the best api- 

 arists in the Northern States. 



At this moment, among the prominent apia- 

 rists there who advocate dividing, I can recall 

 but the names of the Dadants. Hutchinson in 

 his otherwise most instructive book, " Advanc- 

 ed Bee-keeping," dismisses the subject in one 

 short paragraph, in which he pronounces 

 against it. In my experience, artificial swarm- 

 ing has proven much superior to natural swarm- 

 ing, and I can account for the divergence of 

 opinion between myself and those who pro- 

 nounce against it only by the differences of lo- 

 cality. As I understand the matter, in the 

 Northern States the bees are released from 

 their winter quarters about May 1st, and build 

 up into populous colonies, and swarm at the be- 

 ginning of or during the main honey-harvest. 

 If this is the case, all well and good. The 

 swarm will store an abundance of honey, while 

 the hive which swarmed will gather some to- 

 ward the end of the season, if it is prolonged 

 for three or four weeks. But with us in Cali- 

 fornia there is a moderate honey-flow for three 

 months previous to the main honey-harvest, 

 and most of the swarming takes place from two 

 to four weeks before the opening of the season. 

 The consequence is, when the honey comes the 

 swarms are so depleted in numbers that they 

 gather but little more than sufficient for their 

 own needs, while the hive which swarmed with 

 its young queen just beginning to lay, seems to 

 busy itself with raising vast quantities of brood 

 which will hatch at the close of the season, and 

 be consumers instead of gatherers of honey. 

 As a result of this early swarming, we have, at 

 the opening of the honey-harvest, more hives 

 with bees in them; but often the force which 

 goes into the fields is very much smaller than 

 that which went a month previous, when there 

 was but little honey to gather. 



Now, this three months of moderate honey- 

 tlow which occurs with us prior to the main 

 harvest, while nut conducive to our welfare if 

 we let the bees swarm, is very advantageous if 

 we divide, as, by making nuclei early in the 

 season — latter part of 5larch— we can build 

 them up into strong stocks in time for them to 

 gather much honey; and the old stocks, if they 

 have been properly managed, will be ready for 

 the harvest with a full force. 



To sum up, division is best in those localities 

 where a long season of moderate honey-flow pre- 

 cedes the main harvest: while natural swarm- 

 ing may be best in those localities where the 

 harvest follows close upon the heels of spring. 

 I emphasize "imry," because I have found so 

 many objections to natural swarming that I 

 can not believe it is best anywhere. Principal 

 among these objections is the serious loss which 

 does occur from absconding swarms, and in the 

 frequency with which the bee-keeper has to en- 



gage in the unpleasant occupation of disen- 

 tangling numerous swarms which have united 

 in one cluster. The difficulty of hiving swarms, 

 too, when they have alighted high in some tree 

 is another objection to the natural method; 

 and the compulsory quitting of more interest- 

 ing work to do it is another, which sometimes 

 amounts to a nuisance. 



Besides getting more honey by dividing, we 

 can, by raising our young queens from only our 

 best stocks, greatly improve the quality of our 

 bees. I practice pretty much all the methods 

 of dividing which are laid down in the text- 

 books, and some which are original. No one 

 method is best under all circumstances. I find 

 that the raising of good queens, and making in- 

 crease, requires more skill, care, and judgment 

 than any other branches of bee-keeping; at the 

 same time, there is no other work in which I 

 take so deep an interest. While under the 

 manipulations of an expert the advantages of 

 dividing are certain and positive, an unskilled 

 hand can do almost as much to make his honey 

 crop a poor one as will a failure of the flowers 

 to bloom. 



I heard of a Louisiana bee-keeper once who 

 used flour-barrels for bee- hives, and who tried 

 making artificial swarms by sawing the barrels 

 into two parts. Of course, it was not a success, 

 but some of the methods practiced by movable- 

 frame bee keepers result no less disastrously. 



In poor seasons, with us it is suicidal to at- 

 tempt division, as some of our bee-men have 

 found out. For two years I have not divided 

 a colony, but am in hopes that I shall divide 

 many of them the coming season. 



Wm. G. Hewes. 



Newhall, Cal., Feb., 1893. 



He/ids of Grain 



FROM DIFFERENT FIEUDS. 



HOW WE FIX THE CANDY FOR FEEDING. 



In the spring, lay a newspaper on the floor 

 or table, and form a box l3y putting square 

 sticks under the edges of the paper. Pour in 

 the candy; when cool, break it in pieces and 

 put it into your basket, and go to your apiary 

 and pull back the quilt from over the cluster; 

 give a piece according to your colony, with the 

 paper side up, and you can tell when it is gone 

 by the bees carrying the paper around the en- 

 trance — that is, if they can fly. 



J. O. Leinart. 



Clinton, Anderson Co., Tenn., Feb. 33. 



[Bees carrying paper out at the entrance 

 would certainly indicate when the food was 

 used up. A rather bright idea.] 



A GOOD REPORT. 



I have sold nearly $900 worth of honey the 

 past winter, which I consider pretty good for an 

 off year. My best returns was in 1889— nearly 

 12.300 from 2.50 colonies. I have never had an 

 entire failure since I have been in the business. 

 My location is only an ordinary one — white 

 clover, Spanish needle, and heartsease being the 

 only flowers producing honey in any quantity. 



Nauvoo, III., Feb. 27. E. J. Baxter. 



NOT a bee-disease, BUT OVERHEATED 

 • BROOD. 



Friend Root:— Do you not think the trouble 

 you mention in Aug. lath Gleanings, last 

 year, of dead brood that resembled foul brood, 

 was overheated brood, as you say it happened 

 in your hottest weather? Sometimes, I know. 



