238 



August, In 12. 



tries more honey is consumed by the 

 bees than in the north, yet tliey gather 

 it earlier in the season, so that it really 

 makes but little diflferencc. As to bee- 

 locations, if any one is contemplating 

 moving to another section he should, by 

 all means, go and visit the locality first. 

 Don't depend upon somebody else's 

 judgment, for what may suit one per- 

 son may not suit another. 



So far as Ontario goes, I know nutch 

 of the country well, but while willing 

 to give general information, I would 

 not think of directing any one to any 

 particular spot. A few years ago I 

 directed a friend, who was living in a 

 poor section, to a place where I knew 

 there was an abundance of alsike, and 

 very few bees to gather the honey it 

 secreted. While no one was crowded 

 by his moving there, it leaked out that 

 I had directed him there, and a few 

 men were pretty "sore on me " for it. 



There is lots of room in almost all 

 sections of the continent, I suppose. 



American Hee Journal 



and if one wants a location, the best 

 way is to look it up and judge of the 

 conditions before moving. 



Slow Yield from Clover— Basswood Just 

 Beginning 



At this date we are having a rather 

 slow yield from the clover, although 

 last week the flow was good in most 

 sections. Where bees were strong 

 enough to take advantage of the flow, 

 a fair surplus was obtained, even if 

 there is but little clover in the country. 



L^nfortunately in many apiaries the 

 bees lost their rteld forces during the 

 long, cool spell between fruit-bloom 

 and clover, and no matter how good 

 the flow would have been, little surplus 

 would have been gathered. Basswood 

 looks good wherever there is any, and 

 in another week it will open. Per- 

 sonally, we do not look for a big crop, 

 but already more is secured than was 

 looked for, so we are not complaining. 



Southern 



Beedom^ 



Conductud by Louis H. SCHOLI,. New Braunfels. Tex. 



Swarm Prevention 



While the amateur looks upon nat- 

 ural swarming with delight, so he may 

 count his hives in greater numbers, 

 and it seems to him the only way of 

 increasing his bees, the experienced 

 bee-keeper regards natural swarming 

 as a nuisance, and especially if his col- 

 onies run up into the hundreds, scat- 

 tered in several apiaries. It requires a 

 good deal of watchfulness and much 

 hard labor on his part during the 

 swarming season, as e.xcessive swarm- 

 ing may not only cause a loss of bees, 

 but a greater loss in the honey crop on 

 account of the weakened forces to 

 gather it. 



Swarming is, however, no longer 

 feared as it used to be, and although 

 it may always be a hindrance in keep- 

 ing a large number of apiaries, and in 

 the production of the greatest amount 

 of honey, it can be regulated and con- 

 trolled so that bee-keeping is profitable. 

 Many methods are employed for swarm 

 prevention. 



One of the chief requisites is a large 

 hive so manipulated that the bees may 

 be kept at work contented. A cramped 

 brood-nest, in which the egg-laying 

 room of the queen is restricted, the 

 otherwine crowded condition, and the 

 lack of storing room and improper 

 ventilation of the hive, are all factors 

 to iiroduce the " swarming fever." By 

 looking after these details properly, it 

 can be held in check to a marked de- 

 gree. 



Ventilation can be giveu by increas- 

 ing the size of the entrance, simply 

 placing a small stone or piece of wood 

 under the front of the hive after it has 

 been raised up by inserting the hive- 

 tool into the entrance and lilting the 

 hive. This will also give the bees a 

 better passage-way in and out during 



the working season. Shading the hive 

 will also aid in cooling it. 



Swarming can be delayed in many 

 instances, and often entirely discour- 

 aged, by destroying the queen-cells 

 every 9 or 10 days, but this must be 

 done carefully, and not a single cell 

 overlooked. These precautions only 

 help to allay the swarming desire. Once 

 they are determined, it is a difiicult 

 matter to prevent it. The only proper 

 remedy then is to satisfy their desires, 

 not by allowing them to swarm accord- 

 ing to their will, but by doing it for 

 them. 



The most successful plan is "the 

 brushed or shaken swarm," and one 

 that can be modified to suit local and 

 particular conditions. Briefly, colo- 

 nies that are found preparing to swarm, 

 and with queen-cells in the hives, are 

 treated by shaking nearly all the bees 

 ofT their combs as they are removed 

 from the hive and placed in any empty 

 hive, which is then set in a new place. 

 They are given a caged queen, or the 

 remaining bees allowed to rear a 

 queen from several cells left on a comb 

 that has not been shaken, and the in- 

 mates destroyed by the jar. There 

 should be enough bees to properly 

 protect and care for tlie brood, espe- 

 cially during cool temperature. The 

 combs removed are replaced in the old 

 hive by frames filled with full sheets of 

 comb foundation. The change has the 

 same effect upon the bees as if they had 

 swarmed naturally. They behave ex- 

 actly like a swarm, and no colony of 

 bees works with greater vim and vigor. 



This treatment results in an increase 

 in the n\unber of colonies, but if this 

 is not desired, the number can easily 

 be reduced after the swarming season 

 by reuniting as many colonies as de- 

 sired. It is not necessary to treat each 

 colony in the apiary as described. Only 



those that are actually preparing to 

 swarm receive this treatment, and the 

 number is small if the proper precau- 

 tions for keeping the colonies com- 

 fortable and contented are taken. Some 

 seasons the desire to swarm is greater 

 than in others, and consequently more 

 difficult to cciUtrol. 



If swarming can be kept in check 

 until the honey-flow begins here in 

 Texas, all swarming preparations will 

 come to an end. That a honey-flow 

 will put a quietus to the swarming de- 

 sires of the bees is recognized among 

 Texas bee-keepers. Instead of con- 

 tinuing swarming preparations they 

 divert all their activities toward gath- 

 ering and storing honey, and no more 

 swarming need be feared as a general 

 rule. 



This is entirely unlike the condi- 

 tions in the North and East, where the 

 opening of the honey-flow brings with 

 it wholesale swarming that is difficult 

 to control. 



■ ^ • » 



A Long Distance Moving Experience 



On the morning of March l!i, we 

 started for Llano county with 5 loads 

 of bees and bee-keepers' supplies, a 

 distance of about i\h miles. We had, 

 on the day before, brought the bees 

 from an out-apiary 14 miles away. 

 They were to be moved to a small 

 ranch we had bought in Llano county 

 for a bee-ranch. We had made the 

 usual preparations for giving the bees 

 ventilation by putting screens over the 

 tops of the hives and entrances. As 

 the spring was late, and the bees had 

 but little brood for this time of the 

 year, we were congratulating ourselves 

 on the way we had the bees fixed for 

 their long journey over rather rough 

 roads, and on common farm wagons 

 with bolster springs. 



On the morning of the above date 

 we were up on time, and had all the 

 teams harnessed and ready for the 

 move. The boys were furnished with 

 lighted smokers, veils, etc., and cau- 

 tioned not to drive close to each other. 

 I did not expect any accident from es- 

 caping bees, as I had closed and fixed 

 the hives bee-tight myself, since 1 have 

 had considerable experience in mov- 

 ing bees by wagon. 



All went well until near noon, when 

 we knew from the odor coming from 

 the bees in the hives, as well as their 

 actions, that they were getting too hot. 

 The boys were instructed to drive into 

 the shade as soon as possible, and as 

 we stopped near a running creek of 

 water for noon, we supplied all hands 

 with buckets and tin cups with which 

 to sprinkle and water the bees. The 

 mercury had risen from (iO degrees in 

 the morning to Uti degrees in the shade 

 by this time. We would certainly have 

 lost .•ill the strongest colonies had it 

 not been for the free use of water and 

 the faithful helpers who applied it. 



The next day was cloudy and most fa- 

 vorable for moving bees. All went well 

 until the third day, when we encoun- 

 tered a severe change of weather. We 

 were within .'i miles of our destination 

 when an old-fashioned Texas norther 

 struck us at -1 o'clock in the morning. 

 We were soon up and dressed, and had 

 a large camp fire burning, for with the 

 norther came rain which turned into 



