November, 1912. 



American Hee Journal 



the upper super was lifted, there was a 

 sight that would delight the eyes of 

 any bee-keeper. It was a boiling, 

 seething, roaring torrent of bees. The 

 sections were nearly full, and every 

 bee was doing its best to complete the 

 job. 



Some practical bee-keeper will of 

 course say, " Why, man, don't you know 

 that was not good bee-keeping ; you 

 should have added two or three supers; 

 you should have raised them up and 

 given them a 10-frame hive ?" Admit 

 it, of course 1 should, if honey were 

 the only point of view, but in this case 

 I wanted to experiment and see what 

 would happen. I wanted to make a 

 record of the fewest possible days in 

 which the lower super, recently put on, 

 could be filled. I was literally screw- 

 ing down the safety valve to increase 

 the pressure, and what sometimes hap- 

 pens with other safety valves, after 

 such rash treatment, happened here. 

 The thing burst. 



It was so late in the vear that I had 



never for a moment contemplated the 

 swarming. The last time I examined 

 the brood-chamber there were no signs 

 of queen-cells. But the strain was too 

 great. .Along about !• o'clock of a very 

 warm day, when a strong aroma of the 

 golden-rod nectar extended for many 

 rods in every direction from the api- 

 ary, suddenly the whole thing boiled 

 over, burst, or whatever figure of 

 speech you see fit to apply to it. 



In brief, a cloud of bees burst out of 

 that hive. The air of the heavens was 

 full of lines darting, interlacing, weav- 

 ing in every direction. The whole mass 

 moved off to the northward and alight- 

 ed in an oak tree. Without any exag- 

 geration there seemed to be at least a 

 bushel basket full of bees. By the help 

 of a ladder I climbed up with saw in 

 hand, cut off the limb, and with diffi- 

 culty lugged it down. It was so heavy 

 that it was extremely difficult to handle 

 without jostling the swarm to the 

 ground. From the very weight of the 

 bees some of the lower ends did occa- 



sionally fall off, and I had to wait for 

 them to cluster again. Here was an 

 opportunity. Secretary and stenog- 

 rapher from the office came out first to 

 admire and then to assist. The branch 

 was clamped firmly to an upright sup- 

 port, and several photographic studies 

 made of it. 



Then we took it homeward to the 

 apiary, the young lady carrying it on 

 her shoulder— perhaps not for a long 

 distance, but far enough to supply a 

 good photograph. Gentlv the colony 

 was laid on the ground in front of a 

 light, .">-frame swarming hive. We did 

 not urge nor shake it off, as is often 

 the custom with swarming bees, but 

 laid the whole thing so carefully on 

 the sheet that not a bee was disturbed. 

 This was done to see whether they 

 would appreciate a new home, the 

 mouth of which was some 18 inches 

 away. It was almost grotesque to see 

 the mannerin which some of those bees 

 turned and gazed in. Don't O bee- 

 keeper, think I am taking poetic 

 license, nor speaking figuratively when 

 I say that the bees changed their ex- 

 pression of discomfort to one of joy 

 when they beheld the mouth of that 

 home so near. It must have been joy, 

 because it caused delight, even laugh- 

 ter, when the spectators saw how sud- 

 denly they stampeded toward the en- 

 trance to that hive. Into it they went 

 by the pint, and the quart, and the 

 peck, but the trouble was that the in- 

 terior of the hive would not hold much 

 more than a peck and a half, while 

 there was nearly a bushel of bees to 

 be accommodated. They covered the 

 front of the hive, and remained that 

 night an inch and a half deep over the 

 front, sides and top. The next day I 

 changed to a full 10-frame hive, every 

 frame being^early covered. 



Who can surpass that foi a large 

 swarm so late in the year ? Query: If, 

 according to the old nursery rhyme, a 

 swarm of bees even so late as July is 

 " not worth a fly," can anybody remem- 

 ber what they are worth in September ? 



Arcadia, Sound Beach, Conn. 



' By thf. HKi.i' (JK A Lauijek 1 Ci.i.mhew Ui' With Saw in Hand, Cut Off the Limb. 

 AND With Difficui.tv Lugueu it Down." 



The Conditions in Southern 

 California 



BV W. K. MORRISON. 



Bee-keeping in this part of the coun- 

 try is looking up. This is on account 

 of the rise in the price of honey. This 

 is not so high— about 7 cents— but it is 

 a good deal better than 4}i. I am very 

 strongly convinced that the price could 

 be raised considerably higher, but 

 many bee-keepers would have to mend 

 their ways. 



There are many here who must rea- 

 lize on thrir honey crop just as soon 

 as it is produced. They rush to town, 

 get the 5 gallon cans, and sell at once. 

 These men depress prices. To stop 

 this practice is the problem, but it can 

 be stopped. 



Southern California is fast settling 

 up with a good class of people. Los 

 Angeles is becoming a great masterful 

 city of splendid homes and factories. 

 No city in this country is growing so 

 fast, and San Diego follows suit. The 

 result is that there is now a fine local 

 market for honey. Curiously enough 



