1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



301 



[The greatest obstacle we see in the way of 

 artificial comb (and we speak from a manufac- 

 turer's and shii)|ii'r"s point of view) is that, on 

 account of its great bulk in comparison with 

 foundation, it would hardly be within the reach 

 of most bee-keepets. Foundation is, in a sense, 

 artificial comb in the //at. which, on being put 

 into the hives, is built out. in many cases, in a 

 few hours, and what more could we ask for? 

 Sheets of foundation would take only about a 

 tenth of the box room of the artificial comb, to 

 say nothing of the extra cost of boxes; and on 

 account of the bulkiness of the comb, if it went 

 hy fi'eightit would have to go at probably four 

 times first-class freight. If it were shipped at 

 all it would have to go by express; and the mar- 

 gins (or, rather, profits) on the sale of honey 

 will not warrant such great expense. Aside 

 from this, the comb would have to be packed 

 very carefully, and even then it would be quite 

 likely to be damaged in shipment.] 



KEEPING DOWN INCREASE. 



HOW TO LET THE BEES SWAUM. AND KEEP 



THEM ALL IN ONE COLONY, AND AT WOKK 



IN THE SECTIONS THE WHOLE SEASON. 



When a colony swarms, I generally have one 

 crate of sections or more on it; but if I do not, 

 I take one from somci otlu^- hive, or one vviih 

 the sections with full combs in them. I now set 

 the old hive off the stand and put on another 

 iaive-body on the old bottom-board, with five 

 brood-frames in it. with starters in them spaced 

 only l^g" from center to center, and fill up the 

 space with dummies. 1 next put on my queen- 

 excluding honey -board, and then the crate of 

 sections from the old hive, after which a half- 

 depth body; oven* this is placed another honey- 

 board, and. last of all. the old hive on top of the 

 whole. I now run in my swarm that will show 

 box honey if there is a good ttow of honey. I 

 next bore a one-inch auger hole in the old hive, 

 on the opposite end from tin? entrance below, so 

 the young queen, when she comes out to mate, 

 won't go in at the bottom entrance where the 

 old queen is and get lo'>t. Seven days after the 

 hive swarms I take out the top brood -frames 

 and pinch off all the queen-cells but the best 

 one. Ten days after the colony has swarmed I 

 remove two dummies in the bottom hive and 

 put in two b'-ood-frames with starters in them 

 in the center. In seven days from this I take 

 out the other two dummies and add the other 

 three frames with starters, placing them in the 

 center as before. As soon as the young queen 

 begins to lay I take the old one out and put the 

 young one in her place in the bottom hive. The 

 old queen I sell, kill, or make a nucleus with. I 

 thus get a young queen every year. Moreover, 

 in 17 days from the time my hive swarmed I 

 have ten new frames in the bottom body, and 

 all worker combs if I have a good qu^en in the 

 hive to start with. If they build a little drone 

 comb I cut it out and put in worker. 



If I had all the combs I wanr(>d T take the 

 combs from the to]) story to add to the bottom 

 body, simply using the top for a nucleus to raise 

 the young queen in. 



The reason I think most bee-keepers failed in 

 this plan was. they left five brood-rrames in the 

 hive till the end of thi^ season, and took all the 

 honey they could get in the sections, and then 

 were disappointed because there was so small a 

 swarm of bees left, and no honey to spi'ak of to 

 winter on; and then they had to be fed. and the 

 swarm was not strong (^nousli to wintci'. My 

 way is different from any other I ever heard of, 

 and it works better than any plan I ever tried, 



because it keeps the swarms big and strong all 

 the time. Calvin C. Phelps. 



East Windsor Hill. Ct., March 10. 



THE "SMILERY.' 



THE DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCES OF A BEGINNER 

 DELIGHTFULLY TOLD. 



Mr. Editor: — You may give me a corner in 

 the Smilery, if you please. My application for 

 this exalted sphere is based, not upon a big 

 honey-flow which inducts so many into the 

 mysteries of the Smilery, but upon my success- 

 ful manipulation of the foundation comb you 

 sent me. The process was so simple, and the 

 comb -<o flexible and accommodating, that it al- 

 most jumped iii'.o place without giving me a 

 chance to exercise my skill, which had been so 

 laboriously acquired by studying the illustra- 

 tion, which tips the frame up this way and 

 then turns it down that way, pushes it and 

 pulls it and presses it, tips it and turns it and 

 tightens it, then runs the imbedding-machine 

 over it. Well, it is all right, Mr. Editor, to be 

 precise, and we could not get along without 

 precision; but every thing seems so simple 

 about the process now, since I have caught on, 

 and this, too, after I had studied the directions 

 until my head turned around like an old-fash- 

 ioned fanning-mill, I can not help giving vent 

 to a little flippancy, even at my own expense. 

 I hope a smiling Providence may pursue the 

 man who invented that successful little tna- 

 chine, made otit of a stick, and a nail with a 

 little notch in the end of it. It works with so 

 much "felicity " that I had the comb nearly 

 sawed in two before I could stop it. 



I have 15 or 18 swarms of bees prospectively. 

 I say '• prospectively," because I have bought 

 some which have not been delivered, and in- 

 tend to buy some more. I have them of all col- 

 ors, sizes, and shapes— black, brown, yellow, and 

 some are inclined to be white. My hives cor- 

 respond very well with the different races of 

 bees, only more so. I have some in boxes which 

 stand on the end, while others hug the ground 

 longitudinally. I have one in a log. one in a 

 tree, one in a candy-bucket, and one in a beer- 

 keg. A man living a mile from here has one in 

 a nail-keg, which I am going to try to buy; and 

 when they swarm I want to get one into a salt- 

 barrel, and then I shall be fixed. Would you 

 transfer them or not? J. J. Temple. 



Lewisville. Tex., Mar. 28. 



[Yes, assuredly.] 



THE PAST SEASON IN ADSTRALIA. 



HOFFMAN FRAMES RAPIDLY HANDLED, ETC. 



The honey-flow generally in this colony has 

 been very good; some of us lost the first part of 

 the season through wet weather; others have 

 had an almost continuous flow from July last 

 until now, and it is likely to continue until June 

 next (midwinter). The winter in and around 

 here (the Hunter River Valley) is hardly cold 

 enough to prevent bees flying every day the 

 year round. I fancy I hear some one say, 

 "What a glorious country !"' It has its draw- 

 backs, as there is no rest for the bee-keeper. 

 Our spotted gum (of the eucalyptus family) 

 will probably give us a good winter flow. We 

 have swarming according to flow, from the 

 middle of August to the middle of March. The 

 bees never have a rest. Im|)orted queens may 

 stop laying for a week or two, but colonial-bred 

 que(Mis never do so if the bees can get out and 

 bring in a little nectar. This applies to the 

 Hunter Valley and northern rivers. 



