1902 



(;i>KANiNGs IN bp:k culture. 



463 



M}' method of checking swarms when 

 running- for bees by the bushel, especially 

 at out-yards, where we have no one to watch 

 them, has been to put on an upper story ; 

 but before doing so I take out half the brood- 

 combs from the brood-nest, and put them 

 in the upper story. Then I put in one 

 frame of foundation, then one frame of 

 brood, alternating all through the upper 

 and lower story. In our locality I never 

 knew such procedure to fail to keep off the 

 swarming impulse, even during the height 

 of the honey- flow; but I have observed that, 

 when I put all the foundation in the brood- 

 nest or upper story, and combs and brood 

 in the other compartment, swarming would 

 result. So far our experience is the same 

 as yours. My theory is that the bees 

 realize the necessitj^ of bridging the two 

 brood-combs with another comb of brood. 

 The natural economy of the hive seems to 

 abhor a space between two combs of brood. 

 A frame of foundation that stands in be- 

 tween is speedily drawn out; the queen 

 finds it and deposits eggs. The eft'ect of 

 this is to get a large amount of brood and 

 bees. The honey, when it did come in, was 

 converted into brood, and that was what we 

 wanted when we were selling bees by the 

 colony and nucleus. When I want honey, a 

 month before the swarming season I spread 

 the brood as I have suggested, and, just be- 

 fore the honey-flow comes on, crowd all the 

 brood as far as possible into one brood-nest 

 and then put on a super of empty extract- 

 ing-combs. After the bees have got nicel}' 

 started to storing, I replace this with a su- 

 per or two of sections containing full sheets 

 of foundation. Such procedure with wide 

 entrances and plentj^ of room has enabled 

 us to keep swarming down to a minimum. 

 —Ed.] 



One of the essentials in the production of 

 first-class queens is the prompt acceptance 

 of the larvce. If it is ever neglected to the 

 extc?it that it is not floating in liquid food 

 during the early stages of development, it 

 fiever recovers from the check i?i growth 

 thus caused, and almost invariably results 

 in a dwarf or otherwise defective queen. 



THE OUEKNLESS AND BROODLESS METHOD 

 OF ACCEPTING CELL-CUPS IN A CON- 

 FINED BROOD-CHAMBER. 



Realizing this fact, it is the practice of 

 many to make a colony queenless, and, a 

 day or two later, take from them all the 

 brood, and immediatelj^ prepare the cups 

 and give them to the queenless bees. 

 This insures the prompt acceptance of cells 

 however crudely prepared by beginners; 

 but it is slower and less certain than when 

 the bees are deprived of their queen and 

 all unsealed brood at one and the same op- 

 eration. 



When this is done, intense excitement runs 

 high in a very short time, because the loss 

 of the queen is at once realized by all; and 

 those preparing food for thousands of larvas 

 no longer have them to feed. They at once 

 find themselves hopelessly queenless, and 

 become almost frantic in mourning their 

 loss. 



When placed in this condition they will 

 desert their hive and unite with other colo- 

 nies, if there are any near them, unless 

 they be confined, which can be done with 

 equally good results, if not better. 



The illustrations herewith show a conven- 

 ient hive-cover and ventilator; and it should 

 be remembered that it will not do to confine 

 them without ample ventilation, as their 

 restlessness increases the temperature of 

 the cluster, and soon leads to suffocation 

 without it. 



QUEEN-REARING. 



Preparing Bees to Accept Cups ; Two Methods ; the 



Importance of the Prompt Acceptance of 



Prepared Cups. 



BY W. H. PRIDGEN. 



One of the most difficult tasks for the 

 average beginner is the grafting of cups, 

 preparing Alley strips, or making transiers 

 of larvae in a manner that is acceptable to 

 the bees, regardless of the method employ- 

 ed, unless a more intense desire for a queen 

 is brought to bear than exists under the 

 swarming impulse, or any of the arrange- 

 ments usually employed for the best results 

 in cell-building. 



While some become sufficientl3^ expert in 

 imitating natural queen-cups, to be reason- 

 bly successful in having them accepted un- 

 der such conditions, a large majority con- 

 sider themselves amply repaid for the ex- 

 tra trouble or labor, in both quantity and 

 quality of the resulting cells, to adopt some 

 plan for overcoming the reluctance on the 

 part of the bees in receiving promptly the 

 larvae given. 



THE HIVE-VENTILATOR. 



The hive-ventilator is a square frame 

 with the end-boards wider than the sides, 

 so when placed on the ground or a flat sur- 

 face the air can pass under it. On this 

 frame is tacked wire cloth with ;js-in. strips 

 above to form a bee-space between the bot- 

 tom-bars of the brood-frames and the wire 



