AiiRust, lfn2. 



243 



American Hee Journal 



strengthened my belief that the cause 

 of our losses often lies back of the 

 winter, in the previous season. 



W'itli several yards of bees I have 

 abundant proof, as it seems to me, that 

 my conclusions are correct. I find 

 this spring that our winter losses in a 

 number of yards were almost in exact 

 inverse proportion to the amount of 

 honey gathered by each yard during 

 last year. In one yard where a very 

 fair crop of honey was gathered, our 

 loss in wintering has not been any 

 larger than usual — one colony out of 

 (iO — while two others were broken up 

 from queenlessness. However, the 

 colonies in this yard are not so strong 

 as a year ago, showing that the severe 

 weather had its effect, but not enough 

 to be of any serious account. In other 

 yards, where the yield of honey last 

 year was the lightest, I find the per- 

 centage of loss the largest, amounting 

 to about :i."> percent. Where there was 

 some honey, or a better yield, the loss 

 has been lighter. The winter loss has 

 been in almost exact proportion to the 

 dearth of honey last season, and con- 

 sequent loss of vitality, and number of 

 bees and strength of colonies. 



When the season is very poor bees 

 swarm less, there is a very much larger 

 proportion of old queens carried 

 through, queens which are liable to fail 

 —and many such do fail — causing the 

 loss of the colony. A large number of 

 our losses come from this cause. 



What can be done to remedy the 

 trouble ? In poor seasons we neglect 

 our bees, as they are not likely to 

 swarm, and as little surplus is to be 

 taken. This is a great mistake. Un- 

 less honey is sufficiently abundant the 

 latter part of the season to keep them 

 breeding freely, they should be fejd 

 sugar syrup early enough to give them 

 an abundance of food, so they may 

 rear a good supply of bees to withstand 

 ♦he cold. 



Even with all our care the colonies 

 are likely to be weaker than in years of 

 plenty. Where bees are wintered out- 

 of-doors they should be crowded onto 

 a less number of combs so that a small 

 colony can keep up the necessary 

 warmth. If wintered in cellars, they 

 should be kept a little warmer than in 

 other years, or the weakest colonies 

 carefully sorted and given the warmest 

 place in the cellar. It would be well 

 also to replace old queens with young 

 queens of the season to prevent super- 

 seding of such queens during the win- 

 ter and earlv spring. 



Middlebury, Vt. 



How Best Qaeen-Cells Can be 

 Secured 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



It is easy for the bee-keeper who runs 

 for honey to understand that he should 

 rear queens from his best stock, but in 

 nine cases out of ten, he has an idea 

 that the matter is too complicated for 

 him to undertake. He reads about 

 artificial cells and grafting into them 

 larv,-e from the best stock, but says, 

 "That's not for me," or if he does un- 

 dertake it his first trial is a failure, and 

 he concludes the best thing for him to 

 do is to depend upon swarm-cells. 

 These will be good cells, yes, excellent, 



Apiary of E. LeMaire, Bas( o, Ii.i.. 



but they are likely to be from those 

 colonies most given to swarming, and 

 these are not the colonies that will pile 

 up the most honey. 



If he would only persevere he might 

 succeed, and that success in getting 

 queens from his best stock would re- 

 pay him well for all his trouble. Yet it 

 is not necessary to use artificial cells. 

 The plan I use for rearing queens for 

 myself requires notliing of the kind. 

 And it gives as good queens as can be 

 reared. I do not say it is the best plan 

 for those who rear queens on a large 

 scale to sell. But for the honey-pro- 

 ducer who wishes to rear his own 

 queens I have no hesitation in recom- 

 mending it. I have reared hundreds of 

 queens by what are considered the 

 latest and most approved plans for 

 queen-breeders; and so I think lam 

 competent to judge, and I feel very 

 sure that this simple plan is the best 

 for me as a honey-producer. I will 

 give it as brielly as possible. 



Into an empty brood-frame, at a dis- 

 tance of 2 or 'd inches from each end, 

 fasten a starter of foundation about 2 

 inches wide at the top, and coming 

 down to a point within an inch or two 

 of the bottom-bar. Put it in the hive 

 containing your best queen. To avoid 

 having it filled with drone-comb, take 

 out of the hive, either for a few days 

 or permanently, all but two frames of 

 brood, and put your empty frame be- 

 tween these two. In a week or so you 

 will find this frame half filled with 

 beautiful virgin comb such as bees de- 

 light to use for queen-cells. It will 

 contain young brood with an outer 

 margin of eggs. Trim away with a 

 sharp knife all the outer edge of comb 

 which contains eggs, except, perhaps, 

 a very few eggs next to the youngest 

 brood. This, you will see, is very sim- 

 ple. Any bee-keeper can do it the first 

 time trying, and it is all that is neces- 

 sary to take the place of preparing 

 artificial cells. 



Now put this " queen-cell stuff," if I 

 may thus call the prepared frame, into 

 the middle of a very strong colony 

 from which the queen has been re- 

 moved. Tlie bees will do the rest, and 

 you will have as good cells as you can 

 possibly have with any kind of artificial 



cells. You may think the bees will 

 start " wild cells " on their own comb. 

 They won't; at least never any to 

 amount to anything, and, of course, 

 you needn't use those. The soft, new 

 comb with abundant room at the edge, 

 for cells, is so much more to their 

 taste that it has a practical monopoly 

 of all the cells started. In about 10 

 days the sealed cells are ready to be 

 cut out and used wherever desired. 

 Marengo, 111. 



IThe front-page picture illustrates 

 Dr. Miller's method described above. 

 During the preparation and rearing of 

 the queen-cells, in the picture, the 

 weather was cool and rainy, and most 

 unfavorable to queen-rearing. How- 

 ever, there were 39 cells built and sealed 

 on both sides of this comb, .3.3 of which 

 show in the half-tone, some of them 

 very slightly. We have no doubt that 

 50 or more would be reared on such a 

 comb in favorable circumstances. — 



EliITllR,] 



How to Secure a Good Crop of 

 Honey 



BV A. C. ALLEN. 



VViis tssav /ook first prize at the Wisioiisin State 



life- Keepers' .-Usoiiation meeting in 



Febriiarv. /y/^. 



When this subject is mentioned, there 

 naturally passes before our vision fra- 

 grant orchards of apple bloom, through 

 \vhich spring zephyrs play and robins 

 sing. Pastures and meadows, white 

 and pink with clover blossoms, and 

 later on the buckwheat, golden-rod, 

 hearts-ease, etc., with sunshine and 

 showers, just at the right time to make 

 it possible for the busy bee to secure 

 the winter supply of sweets for herself 

 and man. 



This is pleasant to dwell upon, and 

 while a few apiarists have land of their 

 own on which to grow some of these 

 nectar-yielding plants, in view of the 

 fact that it is impossible for but a small 

 percentage of us to have any control of 



