MARCH IS, 1915 



243 



I lieni a (iiieoii or ripe cell. Not only would 

 this re<|uire rather close attention, but it 

 would also necessitate opening- the hive throe 

 or four dilTei-ent times. Our plan is simpler. 

 We t^ar out the capped cells above, leaving 

 all tlie embryo cells, even those nearly 

 capped. The swarm may then be left for 

 seven or eight days, feeling certain that i^o 

 queen can hatch in the meantime. At the 

 end of a week the upper story is moved to 

 another location; and in case the stock is 

 poor they are given a cell from a belter 

 strain. Otherwise we destroy all but one 

 capped cell; but if time is pressing, even 

 this may be neglected, for the bees them- 

 selves will attend to the matter. 



For our locality we find this metliod more 

 efficient than any we have ever tried. Of 

 course we do not raise twice as much honey, 

 but no doubt we increase our crop consid- 

 erably, for the bees have been given no 

 opportunit}' to loaf. Moreover, we have 

 early in the season, in addition to the old 

 queen, a young x-igorous laying queen. In 

 the original plan, queens had to be provid- 

 ed in some other waj^; but with our varia- 

 tion of the method we obtain the very best 

 (jueens possible, for they are raised under 



I lie natural-swarniing impulse. We find, 

 too. that in running for extracted honey, as 

 we do, the extra supers between the new 

 and old swarms come in very nicely. 



It should be noted that the plan is not 

 wasteful. There is no loss of eggs, larvae, 

 or brood, since at the time the hive is moved 

 to the new location there is nothing but 

 capped brood in the hive. But, more im- 

 portant still, we are no longer worried by 

 natural swarms issuing at some outyard 

 when no one is there to attend to them; 

 because, except for very unusual cases 

 (supersedure, or a swarm with a virgin), 

 we liave no natural swarms, and conse- 

 quently are able to leave an apiary for a 

 week at a time right during the honey-flow. 

 Thus by a plan that is neither complicated 

 nor wasteful, we obtain with less work and 

 anxietj- better queens and more honey. 



We claim no originality whatever for the 

 jilan. We have probably combined the 

 methods of different writers. However, it 

 may be of interest to some to learn how 

 we have dispensed with the inconveniences 

 of natural swarming, and at the same time 

 have retained the advantages. 



Oberlin, Ohio. 



BEES AND FRUIT; TWO NEW TREATMENTS 



BY JOHN W. LOVE 



For many years it has been necessary to 

 attack an ungi-oundcd prejudice against 

 honeybees held by fruitgrowers who be- 

 lieved that beekeeping was detrimental to 

 horticulture; but now that the notion has 

 practically disappeared, beekeepers and 

 fi'iiitgTowers together are realizing how 

 closely connected are the interests of each 

 other through the service rendered by the 

 bees. One of the broadest discussions in 

 this field has been furnished b}' Mrs. Susan 

 M. Howard, who writes on the subject, 

 " Honeybees as Pollinizers — a Valuable Ad- 

 junct to the Horticulturist," in Apiarian 

 Inspection Bulletin Xo. 8 of the Massachu- 

 setts State Board of Agriculture (June, 

 1914). 



Along this same line, but narrower and 

 more scientific in treatment, is an investiga- 

 tion in the development of the apple from 

 the flower, and the value of the honeybee as 

 a fertilizing agent in a paper of the same 

 name, written for Better Fruit by 0. M. 

 Osborne, and reprinted by The A. I. Root 

 Company. 



" To-day the honeybee is more and more 

 considered an invaluable ally of the farm- 

 er," writes Mrs. Howard. " The orchardist 



and small-fruit groAvers consider their colo- 

 nies as a part of their equipment, and their 

 use as much a factor in the success of horti- 

 culture as is cultivation, application of fer- 

 tilizers, the growing of cover crops, prun- 

 ing, spraying, and the like. To the farmer, 

 especially if he be a fruit-grower, a honey 

 crop may be regarded as secondary or as 

 a by-product, while to the beekeeper it is a 

 primary product ; thus while the ultimate 

 aims of the horticulturist and beekeeper 

 mav be different, yet they are interdepen- 

 dent." 



On account of the uncertainty of service 

 by accidental visits of bees, the forehanded 

 fruitgrower now provides a sufficient num- 

 ber of colonies not far from his orchard, if 

 not actually under the ti*ees. Although bees 

 will forage for honey a distance of six 

 miles from the hive, if necessaiw, it is better 

 to have them at close range, since they 

 l)refer short trijis, and do not completely 

 work a circle of six miles in radius. 



Besides the nectar, bees are in search of 

 pollen as a food. This is a highly nitro- 

 genous substance supplying nitrogen and 

 phosphorus — two elements needed to sus- 

 tain any kind of life. To be sure, this 



