714 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1. 



full colony which has had all summer to pre- 

 pare for winter in, the more assurance of suc- 

 cessful wintering we have. A hive which has 

 its combs all overhauled after the 15th of 

 October, and put back promiscuously, is in poor 

 shape for winter, as the nest prepared for win- 

 ter, with unsealed honey surrounding it on all 

 sides, is thrown out of shape and made as un- 

 comfortable to the bees as a bed would be to a 

 man were it thrown over a pile of stones, in- 

 stead of being smoothly placed over a mattress, 

 and thai mattress resting on woven wire 

 springs. No disturbing of the winter-nest of 

 the bees should be done later than October 1.5th 

 to 20th, unless it is a positive necessity, north 

 of 40° north latitude. 



Well, how shall we unite ? The old way, and 

 the one adhered to by very many still, is to 

 move the hives gradually together by moving 

 them a few feet each day, or after the bees have 

 had a flight each time, till the nuclei are gotten 

 close side by side, when both colonies are 

 smoked thoroughly, and the bees caused to fill 

 themselves with honey by pounding on the hive, 

 or otherwise roughly using their home. The 

 bees, being filled with honey, are not liable to 

 quarrel, especially if they are mixed by inter- 

 changing frames when putting them in the 

 hive in which they are to soay. Put in their 

 permanent home only such frames as contain 

 the most honey, and place the fullest frames 

 near the outside of the hive; and those contain- 

 ing the least, in the center. This leaves them 

 more nearly in the shape a full colony would be 

 in when undisturbed, and causes the bees less 

 work in getting their winter quarters arranged. 

 After having all the combs that the hive will 

 contain, in the same, shake the bees off the 

 remaining frames in front of the hive, shaking 

 frames from alternate hives each time, so as to 

 mix all the bees thoroughly as they run in. If 

 any bees stick to the sides of the hive, brush 

 these out also, that all may go into the hive 

 together. 



If you have not disposed of all the queens but 

 one, you should do so before uniting, keeping 

 the one which is the youngest, and therefore 

 liable to be the most prolific, where you can 

 have your choice to do so. 



Probably there are more bees united by this 

 plan than by any other known; still, I have 

 always considered it as slow and tedious, not 

 giving any belter results than a shorter plan 

 which I have adopted for the past few years, 

 which is as follows: When the lime comes to 

 unite I select the hive having the queen I wish 

 to retain, as the one to contain the united col- 

 ony. I now open this hive and take out what 

 combs I think will be neces>ary, leaving those 

 containing the most honey, or otherwise, as the 

 circumstances may direct, although it is seldom 

 that united colonies have too much honey, 

 when those which are left, being sure the queen 



is on one of them, are placed next one side of 

 the hive, as closely together as I wish them to 

 be left for wintering. 



The bees which are on the combs to be taken 

 are now shaken off the combs and allowed to 

 run into the hive, when, after closing, it is left 

 as it is, ready to receive whatever is to be unit- 

 ed with it. 



I next go to the one or more colonies which 

 are to be united with this first one; and if they 

 have a queen she is hunted out and disposed of 

 as I desire, when all of the frames are removed 

 but one, two, or three, in accord with the num- 

 ber of bees there are in this colony; few being 

 so small that only one comb is left, and in no 

 case is a colony weak enough in bees to need 

 uniting, unless they can all crowd on three 

 combs fixed as I am about to tell you. 



The combs left are generally those contain- 

 ing the most honey, although some years there 

 is little choice of combs on account of all being 

 liberally supplied with honey. The combs (two 

 or three) are now spread apart from 1 to 1}4 

 inches, and placed in the center of the hive, 

 when the hive is closed and the bees shaken off 

 the combs taken out so that they can run in 

 with those left on the spread-apart combs. I 

 fix any others that are to be united in the same 

 way, in some cases putting as high as four or 

 five in with the one having the queen, but not 

 usually more than one, two, or three, according 

 to the number of bees each contains. 



I now wait till some cool, cloudy, raw, windy 

 day, or some morning when there has been a 

 frost, or nearly so, when I am ready for the 

 uniting, which is very simple. The hive hav- 

 ing the queen is uncovered; or if the cover is a 

 mat or quilt, this is rolled back till the comb 

 next the vacant side of the hive is exposed, 

 when I go. smoker in hand, to those ready to be 

 united with it, blow a few dense puffs of smoke 

 in at the entrance, quickly uncover the hive, 

 blow in freely of smoke over and around the 

 three spread-apart combs, when I place the first 

 finger of each hand between the first two combs; 

 and if three, the big fingers between the next, 

 when the third and little fingers clasp over on 

 the outside of the outside frame, the thumb 

 tightening on the other side at the same time, 

 when the three frames, bees and all, are lifted 

 out all together and carried to the open hive, 

 having the queen, and all lowered into said 

 hive in a body, the same being placed close up 

 to the side of the exposed comb. The quilt is 

 now rolled over all the frames but the last, 

 when another and another lot is brought in the 

 same way till the required number are in, when 

 the hive is closed and the uniting accomplished. 



If the day is cool and raw enough, or the 

 night before has been cold enough, the bees 

 which are to be carried will all be compactly 

 clustered on and between the spread-apart 

 combs; and after you get the "hang "of the 



