1917 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



159 



"Mailing Cage Method. — The ordi- 

 nary mailing cage, inverted over feed- 

 hole, is generally a safe and easy way of 

 introducing a new queen. The bees of 

 the hive liberate her in from 24 to 18 

 hours by eating away the candy. This 

 plan can be much more sure by adopt- 

 ing either one of the methods just de- 

 scribed, in addition. If at the same 

 time a slow feeder is placed on the 

 hive containing warm thin syrup, it 

 also helps considerably by putting the 

 bees into a favorable humor for accept- 

 ing a new queen." 



LESSENING THE RISK. 



Although the plans enumerated by 

 Mr. Sheppard may be successful in gen- 

 eral, yet with any one of them a certain 

 percent of failures may be counted on. 

 The number of these failures would be 

 considerably lessened if we could be 

 rid of the older bees of the colony to 

 which we desire to introduce a queen. 

 For it is these older bees that are espe- 

 cially antagonistic to any royal stranger. 

 Fortunately it is possible to rid a col- 

 ony entirely of all its older bees, the 

 field bees, and in the case of a queen 

 of considerable value it is well worth 

 while. 



If the hive be removed to some dis- 

 tance, and in its place be set another 

 hive containing one or more frames of 

 brood and honey, the bees that go 

 afield on their return from gather- 

 ing, instead of going to the old hive 

 in its new location, will go to the 

 old location and enter the new hive. 

 Taking advantage of this fact, we will 

 lift the hive from its stand, set it tem- 

 porarily to one side, and set in its place 

 an empty hive, and into this empty hive 

 put one or two frames taken from the 

 old hive, perhaps the two outside 

 frames which contain little brood. 

 Vacancies in either hive may be filled 

 with dummies or otherwise. Any 

 supers that may have been on the old 

 hive will now be put upon the new one, 

 and the hive-cover placed over all. 

 Upon this cover we will set the old 

 hive, of course covering it up. We may 

 safely count that within two days all 

 fielders will be out of the old hive and 

 in the new. Therefore, at the end of 



that two days there will be only the 

 younger bees in the upper hive, ready 

 to receive hospitably any queen that 

 may be offered. The queen may be 

 given in an introducing cage at the 

 time the change of hives is made, pro- 

 vided it takes two days for her to be 

 released from her cage; if the time of 

 releasing be less, then the giving of 

 the caged queen must be delayed ac- 

 cordingly. In three to five days after 

 the queen is out of her cage, the old 

 hive may be taken down and restored 

 to its original place on its stand ; any 

 comb or combs that had been taken 

 away being returned, and the hive that 

 has been upon the stand for a few days 

 entirely removed. The bees that have 

 become fielders in the hive that has 

 been on top will now, upon their return 

 from the fields, settle upon the top of 

 the hive where they suppose their en- 

 trance ought to be, perhaps forming 

 quite a cluster. Soon, however, some 

 bee of exploring turn will make its 

 way down the front to the entrance be- 

 low, others will follow, and all will be 

 well. 



ABSOLUTELY SAFE INTRODUCTION. 



There is, however, a plan of intro- 

 duction that is entirely safe. It is some 

 trouble, but may be well worth while in 

 the case of a valuable queen. About 

 eight days before you expect to intro- 

 duce your queen, go to a strong colony 

 and put all but one brood in an upper 

 story over an excluder, leaving the 

 queen with one brood below the ex- 

 cluder. Another way is to put an 

 excluder over a strong colony, over 

 this put an empty story, and fill this 

 empty story with frames of brood taken 

 from different colonies. This plan has 

 the advantage that you may choose 

 only the best frames, those that are 

 filled with well matured brood. Eight 

 days later, when all brood will be 

 sealed, brush every bee from these 

 combs, put them in an empty hive, set 

 this hive on a stand of its own, put in 

 your queen, and close up tight so that 

 you are sure no bee can get in or out. 

 If you think there is any danger that 

 the brood may be chilled at night, then 

 you must put the hive in a room that 



will be warm enough at night. 



A still better way is to put the bee- 

 less brood in a hive-body over an ex- 

 cluder upon the hive of a strong col- 

 ony, putting in the queen and covering 

 up without any bees. Of course young 

 bees will at once begin emerging from 

 their cells, having known no other 

 mother will be entirely friendly to the 

 queen. About five days from the time 

 the queen was given, these bees with 

 their brood and queen must be put 

 upon a stand of their own, in case they 

 were not at first put upon their stand, 

 and the entrance must be opened 

 enough to allow the passage of one 

 bee at a time. As more room for pas- 

 sage is needed, the entrance must be 

 enlarged. In a few days you will have 

 a good colony without having endan- 

 gered the life of the queen in the 

 least. 



ANOTHER NOMADIC APIARY OF THE SERICULTURE STATION OF THE 



CAUCASUS 



Why Some Beekeepers Fail 



BY H. B. PARKS, BIOLOGIST. 



THE following paper is the result 

 of an investigation as to why so 

 many of those who keep bees do 

 not make a success of the business and 

 why so many of those who have tried 

 have failed. 



The area covered by this investiga- 

 tion is the Grand River System of 

 Northwest Missouri. While this is not 

 a region of extensive orchards, it is a 

 section where small orchards are very 

 common, where alfalfa and sweet clo- 

 ver are most abundant. Of the 159 

 species of plants which are visited by 

 the honeybee for nectar, in a very simi- 

 lar location in Illinois, as reported by 

 Dr. Charles Robertson, who has done 

 more perhaps than any other man in 

 the Mississippi Valley in studying in- 

 sect visits to plants, 142 grow in greater 

 or less profusion here also. This re- 

 gion is so located that it partakes of 

 the character of both the prairie and 

 forest. The climate is favorable to the 

 bee, as the bee-trees cut each year 

 attest. 



A few attempts at interviews with 

 bee-men were so laden with results 

 that the writer adopted the census 

 method of gathering information. Few 

 men like to tell of their failures and 

 only a few who were successful would 

 talk. A reliable beeman was inter- 

 viewed, facts about his own experi- 

 ences and what he knew about others 

 were recorded, then these statements 

 were in a casual manner brought to 

 the attention of the one about whom 

 the statement was made. In almost 

 every case the statement was verified 

 and some additional material added. 



The writer attempted to foIlow,;the 

 outline given below: 



1. Time you have been engaged in 

 bee work ? 



2. How did you commence ? : 



3. Why did you start beekeeping ?^^ 



4. What kind of bees did you hzveTii 



5. What kind of hives did you use ?i 



6. What was your greatest trouble ?! 



7. Did you have disease in your hives? 



8. How many seasons did you fail to 

 get a honey flow ? 



9. What was the reason ? 



10. Would you advise others to keep 

 bees ? 



11. How many swarms should a man 

 keep ? 



12. Do you count yourself a success 



