236 



July, 1915. 



American Bee Journal 



swarmed on to a tree. You can do 

 practical'y anything with bees if you 

 throw them off their base. 

 S. Woodburn, N. S. Wales, Australia. 



Few More Words 

 Half Swarms 



About 



BY G. C. GRETNER. 



IN the March number of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, page 101. Mr. W. 

 C. Cunningham says : " But I hope 

 he will tell through the Journal about 

 half swarms, page 21. 



If Mr. Cunningham will read over 

 again that paragraph in which half 

 swarm is mentioned also the instal- 

 ment of " Doubling the Y eld of Surplus 

 Honey," in the June (l'.tl4) number of 

 the American Bee Journal, page 206, I 

 think he will understand without any 

 more explanation the theory of my 

 half-swarm management. However, a 

 few more thoughts, perhaps some repe- 

 tition of what I have already said on 

 the subject may make it a little plainer. 



The term "half swarm "is my own 

 invention. According to the rules of 

 mathematics, any number (or object) 

 divided by two is termed "one-half." 

 Thus, when I divide a swarm, making 

 two out of one, each half must be a 

 half swarm, which it really is at the 

 time the division is made. Adding a 

 laying queen, a hive full of brood- 

 combs, and applying proper manage- 

 ment, which builds these two halves 

 up to strong colonies for the white 

 clover flow, does not change their 

 origin of a few weeks ago, so that the 

 term half swarm, even if applied any 

 time later, is not entirely illogical. 



The main object of this p?rt of my 

 method is, as I have plainly stated be- 

 fore, to control swarming and increase 

 the yield of surplus honey. I do not 

 dispute that "rousing big" colonies 

 will frequently give enormous yields 

 (this I know from my own former ex- 

 periences), but, under like conditions, 

 my two halves will give more than any 

 one of the undivided ones. If I kept 

 the two halves together as one big 

 swarm, nine times out of ten, I would 

 have to spend my time hiving bees or- 

 waste pr tcious time to prevent it, in 



stead of managing section supers and 

 extracting honey. This is one feature 

 of my methods that enables me to 

 double the yield of surplus and not be 

 annoyed by the swarming capers of 

 our pets. They are not very strong 

 during the honey-flow, but that is my 

 aim ; they are just in the right condition 

 to expend all their energy and ambi- 

 tion in honey gathering, and let those 

 " rousing big ones " manage the swarm- 

 ing. 



After saying so much in favor of my 

 half-swarm system as a means of in- 

 creasing our surplus honey, I deem it 

 advisable to caution our young bee- 

 keeping friends against possible disap- 

 pointments by also giving my views on 

 tlie old orthodox strong-swarm theory, 

 which we have petted these many years. 



Alth lugh my new method seems to 

 work along different lines, I still be- 

 lieve that one strong colony will give 

 better results, will produce more sur- 

 plus honey than two weak ones, and I 

 make it still stronger, one strong col- 

 ony is worth a dozen of the other kind 

 during a honey-flow. Our success or 

 failure depends all upon the way we 

 understand the terms weak and strong. 

 Both are relative expressions, and must 

 be taken as they are meant. 



If we should divide the strongest col- 

 ony that ever existed in a common 

 beehive at the beginning or during a 

 honey-flow, expecting to double the 

 yield of surplus honey, our expecta- 

 tions would undoubtedly be crowned 

 with complete failure. At best we 

 would have two weak colonies instead 

 of one strong one. But I do not pro- 

 pose or advocate any such manage- 

 ment. My divisions are made about 

 May 10 to 12, and the white clover flow 

 begin-! in this locality about June 15 to 

 20. This gives me from five to six 

 weeks to build up the two halves to 

 fairly good swarms, and why should 

 they not be able to produce more sur- 

 plus than the original one swarm, if 

 left undivided .'' They have the same 

 laying queen, the same number of bees, 

 all the brood they had before the divi- 

 sion was made, and with the addition 

 of increased facilities, such as queen, 

 hive, combs, etc., it would be strange if 

 under the judicious management of 

 the beekeeper results were not in- 



creased also. 



However plain and simple as my 

 method is from beginniui to end, it 

 may require some experience for the 

 beginner to succeed in all its different 

 lines. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



APIARY OF G, C. GREINER, 



LA SALLE, N. Y. HIVES ARRANGED IN GROUPS 

 KOR WINTERING 



More About Swarm Prevention 



BY C. F. GREENING. 



ON page 171 of the American Bee 

 Journal for May, " Pennsylvania " 

 wishes to know how the "Green- 

 ing" method will work with comb honey. 

 I will say about the same as in raising 

 extracted honey. Simply use sect ons 

 open top as well as open bottom, giving 

 the bees a chance to pass to the top of 

 the last super, which must I e of frames, 

 not sections, and it must have the 

 brood the same as in the extracted 

 method. 



Being an extracted honey fiend, I 

 have not demonstrated the comb rais- 

 ing extensively, but have had no trou- 

 ble thus far, and no swarms. I do 

 away with the super of frames directly 

 above the hive, and have had the queen 

 lay in the sections, say three or four of 

 them, which cuts no figure, as I extract 

 the honey from them after the queen 

 has retired to the hive after the main 

 honey-flow is over. 



The above method I do not guaran- 

 tee, as I have not practiced it thor- 

 oughly yet. In using open top sec- 

 tions, the way to the top is not as di- 

 rect as with frames, hence the bees 

 would not always work as thoroughly 

 to the top as with frames, and the col- 

 ony might be more apt to get the 

 swarming fever. I shall test it thor- 

 oughly this season and report. 



In Dr. Miller's answer to "Pennsyl- 

 vania's " questions, he rather doubts 

 my plan, giving as a reason "too much 

 room before honey flow." I will try 

 and explain that point. I aim to have 

 my colonies strong wh n I put them in 

 winter quarters, with plenty of stores 

 and plenty of ventilation, but not draft, 

 leaving the whole entrance open ex- 

 cept wire cloth to keep the bees in. On 

 top of the hive I place four to six 

 thicknesses of burlap, which takes up 

 the moisture, and use no covers. With 

 my bees as near 40 degrees as possible, 

 the hive and super are not too much 

 room, provided we use a canvas or 

 cotton cover in addition to the hive 

 cover when we take them out of win- 

 ter quarters, and I keep the canvas on 

 until the honey-flow. I have them on 

 at this date. May 8, and shall keep them 

 on until white clover blooms. 



On April 5. when I took my bees out 

 of their maple leaf winter quarters, I 

 found several colonies with three to 

 five frames of brood in all stages and 

 scarcely any dead bees. .•\t this date 

 my bees are ready for the lioney-flow. 

 When that begins, I at once lift the 

 first super and place at least one, or 

 perhaps two under it. and let them go 

 to work. No watching for swarms, but 

 just see that there arc bees hatching at 

 the top, and plenty of room between 

 that and the hive- that's all. 



If the queen lays in the first supef 

 all right; by the time I extract there is 

 little brood there, as I have robbed it 

 for brood to place at the top several 



