OCTOBKR 15, 1915 



847 



the sunu'icr .stands. Tu this way we can 

 winter strong three-frame nuclei without 

 losing one, making sure, of course, that the 

 combs contain plenty of stores. 



A strip of rubberoid roofing-paper covers 

 up tlie openings for the fronts of the hives 

 in the suinmer time. 



After 35 years of experience we have 

 found this shed the most convenient ar- 



rangement of anything we have ever tried 

 for city bGckeeping. 



Walkerton, Ind. 



[Dr. Neville is an old soldier who served 

 three years in the Civil War, and who 

 marched with Sherman to the sea. His bees 

 are kept mainly for pleasui'e, but he pro- 

 duces some 500 to ]000 pounds of honey a 

 season from his bees on his back lot. — Ed.] 



MAKING SURE OF SUPERSEDURE 



BV F. A. HARRISON 



I^O^TI^SPXKB'PXSfSlK 



The photograph shows both sides of a 

 frame of brood which, according to my 

 count, had twenty- eight queen-cells. This 

 comb belongs to a new colonj' which swarm- 

 ed May 17, 1915, and 

 was placed in a new 

 hive with full sheets 

 of foundation. This 

 is absolutely all the 

 brood in this hive. Can 

 you tell me why so 

 many queen-cells are 

 built by a new swarm? 



The hospital at this 

 station has eight colo- 

 nies which are kept in- 

 side the walls of this 

 institution. I have 

 thought seriously of 

 sending a i^hoto to 

 compete for a prize 

 showing how bees can 

 be kept when closely 

 sui'ronnded by men at work. However, if 

 our apiary inci'eases as m.ueh next year as 

 it has this I am afraid we shall have to 

 move outside. 



Fort Iiea\en\vorth, Kan. 



[This was a rather unusual occurrence. 



\Vp assume that this was a prime swarm — 

 that is. the first swarm — therefore that it 

 contained the old queen. Probably this old 

 queen began to fail soon after the swarm 



Twenty-eight qneen-cells built by the bees of a new swarm. 



was hived. The fact that she had only a 

 small patch oE brood on each side of one 

 comb a month afterward is pretty conclu- 

 sive evidence that she had all but stopped 

 laying. The bees decided to supersede her, 

 and then '' got busy " with what little brood 

 they had. — Ed.] 



A PLANT THAT FORETELLS THE ALFALFA HONEY CROP 



BY GEO. M. HUNTINGTON 



I am sending two snapshots of wild 

 buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum, a very 

 important honey-plant to the beekeepers of 

 this valley wherever it is in the vicinity of 

 their apiaries. It comes into bloom just 

 before alfalfa, and is a good indicator of 

 crop prospects for the season. Coming just 

 before alfalfa it prepares the way for good 

 results from the alfalfa. It starts the bees 

 into the supers and provides the wax scales 

 for comb-building. If there is a cood flow 



from the wild buckwheat the condition is 

 sure to be such that alfalfa will also i)ro- 

 duce well. 



Swarming is about over at the height of 

 its bloom, and the earlier swarms have made 

 progress during the buokwhoat flow to 

 where they will be storing surplus when 

 alfalfa starts. Like the cultivation of buck- 

 wheat it Ls the best in the early part of the 

 day, and in cool weather (not cold) it gives 

 the best results. TVo or three hot days at 



