Jiiiip, 1915. 



203 



American T^ee -Joarnal 



FIG. 27.— ELM BLOSSOM 



of the hive, separating them with a 

 tight-fitting division-board. Right here 

 the writer often does something simi- 

 lar, so will tell a good way to effect 

 this separation. Saw grooves >s inch 

 deep, in which a tin division-board 

 may be slipped, or a queen-excluding 

 division-board as required. A strip, ^ 

 inch square by ID and 1-1(3 inch long, 

 makes the top-bar of the tin division- 

 board. Such a division-board occupies 

 almost no room, and readily gives free 

 communication of heat by conduction 

 and radiation. 



But Mr. Hand, starting his cells at 

 such a late date, in this locality would 

 lose out compared to our plan. If we 

 cannot have the laying queens ready 

 from a few days to three weeks before 

 our first flow, then we buy them. Each 

 layer that we can establish in a good 2 

 or 3 frame nucleus before our flow, 

 will, with but little help, soon build up 

 to a strong colony, then if our second 

 flow is good they will gather quite a 

 crop, while if we waited to utilize cells 

 of our own starting, say June 1. it 

 would be 11 days before our virgins 

 emerged, 8 to 10 days more before they 

 lay, and 21 days more before their bees 

 hatched Such nuclei, as a rule, do 

 well if they get winter stores. 



All the dividing of full colonies done 

 by Mr. Hand, and waiting for the 

 queens to mate and lay, constitute a 

 great handicap to his colonies. 



The writer must confess that he has 

 been compelled to make a great deal of 

 such late and unprofitable increase, 

 owing to non-arrival of ordered queens. 

 I fear that there are few localities in 

 which eight combs of brood may be 

 taken from parent colonies after they 

 have already had several combs taken 

 from each. In any event such vast 



production of brood after the opening 

 of or during the flow, must reduce the 

 crop from that flow. 



We have taken 40 rather poor colo- 

 nies in boxes, kegs, and odd-sized 

 hives, transferred all and secured nearly 

 200 percent increase, and taken enough 

 honey to cover the cost of the original 

 40, but without the increase, would 

 have had double the honey. If our 

 second flow had been heavy, we might 

 have had a large crop. 



The plan of "springing" two colo- 

 nies in one hive is good, though not 

 new, and will, if our experiments indi- 

 cate anything, give more early brood, 

 from each queen than any other plan, 

 as the other colony just beyond that 

 division-board will keep the division- 

 board brood as warm as a summer day, 

 so that each colony virtually has a fur- 

 nace-heated wall on one side, but if 

 this plan is adopted you lose all spon- 

 taneous prevention of swarming, as 

 the space occupied by each colony is 

 small, and conditions unusually favor- 

 able for breeding. 



When the old Quaker had pounded 

 his thumb, and his wife happened out, 

 he cried, " Go back into the house, 

 Mandy, I'm feared I'm about to express 

 myself." So after giving a little criti- 

 cism of Mr. Hand's methods, we will 

 give a hint of our own. 



Here early increase is the profitable 

 increase the same season. 



Get laying queens at any time from 

 the opening of the flow to three weeks 

 previous ; make a nucleus of two 

 frames of brood and bees from each 

 strong colony, shake in front as many 

 more bees, so there is no need to con- 

 fine them, as the old bees go back 

 while the young ones remain. 



Give each nucleus a queen, then as 

 forward colonies get strong give a 

 frame of hatching brood or a shake of 

 bees to each nucleus. A few "shook 

 swarms" when the flow arrives will 

 furnish brood to fill out any that are 

 weak. 



Now the rush is on, no time for 

 building up a lot of nuclei, so we make 

 our increase, either by the Coggshall 

 or Hutchinson plan. When bees are 

 flying freely, jerk a frame of brood out 

 of each strong colony. Shake the bees 

 in front of or into their old hive. When 

 you have six to ten such frames of 

 brood, then move aside a good colony, 

 into its place put the new hive with the 

 six to ten frames of brood, give them 

 a queen, and if the flow is good put on 

 a super of combs. 



The above is the Coggshall plan. 



With the Hutchinson-Coggshall plan 

 put your six to ten frames of beeless 

 brood above the excluder on a strong 

 colony. Then in a few hours, or bet- 

 ter, about five or six days, set off this 

 body of brood and young bees on a 

 new stand, destroy cells if any and 

 give a queen. Either of these two 

 plans is as far superior to the tedious 

 and laborious colony-depleting meth- 

 ods advocated by some as could well 

 be. No hunting for queens in a busy 

 time, no serious depletion of any col- 

 ony, and ready for some super work at 

 once. Then no "building up" with 

 tedious manipulation, but good colo- 

 nies will give a good accout of them- 

 selves. 



Meridian, Idaho. 



How I Produce Extracted 

 Honey 



BY A. P. RAYMOND. 

 {Rend tit the Wisrorrsin State Meeting) 



■ AM requested to give my method 

 of producing extracted honey. I 

 have not made any important dis- 

 coveries along this line. I simply put 

 in practice the discoveries of others 

 which I have gleaned from reading the 

 various publications relating to the 

 subject of beekeeping. 



I first endeavor, as soon as my bees 

 are on the summer stands, to give them 

 what aid I can in rearing young bees, 

 and getting all colonies as strong as 

 possible and as early as possible. In 

 doing this I have entirely discarded 

 the plan formerly practiced by many, of 

 taking brood and bees from the 

 stronger and giving to the weaker col- 

 onies. I believe a frame of brood and 

 bees is worth as much in the hive 

 where I find it as it will be when moved 

 to another and weaker one ; besides, I 

 save a large amount of useless labor. 



The weaker colonies are stimulated 

 by regular feeding at times when there 

 is no honey coming in from the fields. 

 For feeders for this purpose I use a 

 cigar-box worked over into a minia- 

 ture Miller feeder. I cut an aperture 

 l^-inch wide and as long as the feeder 

 in the enamel cloth, which I use on all 

 my hives in summer, and place the lit- 

 tle feeder directly over this, pour in 

 the feed, and place the telescope cover 

 over all. I think feeding in this way, 

 that is, placing the feed directly over 

 the cluster, the most effective of any ; 



