104 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Feb. 12, 1903. 



Forced Swarms— Questions About Them 

 Answered. 



BY J. K. CHAMBERS. 



ON page 819 (1902) are some questions about forced 

 swarms, in answer to which I will say that it does not 



matter in the least whether or not they are made before 

 queen-cells are started, for the reason that no swarm should 

 ever be made for the sole purpose of controlling the swarm- 

 ing impulse, when there is no honey-flow, for in the great 

 majority of cases no good results can reasonably be ex- 

 pected, unless there is a good, strong flow right at the time 

 the colony is swarmed, in which case it will not do to wait 

 for cells to be started, for we want to get the bees to work 

 in the supers at once, not even to lose a day's time. And in 

 order to do this, we must work our bees in a way that will 

 bring them up to the flow in the best possible shape for the 

 honey-gathering ; and, he who cannot accomplish this will 

 not succeed with the brushed-swarm method. But if you 

 have them in condition, and honey is coming, don't wait 

 a minute. Brush them, cells or no cells. Remember, the 

 main thing is lots of bees and a good, strong flow of nectar. 

 Reinforce them with a second drive in eight days, and again 

 in eight days more, if the flow continues. 



I find large starters are best in my locality, and full 

 sheets in sections. No frame of brood is ever needed with 

 me in order to control absconding, however, a comb of 

 brood will do no harm, and in many cases it will have a 

 strong tendency to prevent swarming-out. There is noth- 

 ing in the idea that a comb of brood must be removed on 

 the second day after it is given in order to prevent swarm- 

 ing-out. I speak of this in my own locality ; with others it 

 may be difl^erent. 



There is always more or less uneasiness among bees 

 that have been brushed, and unless the work is done rightly, 

 they will be apt to swarm-out. However, I don't think 

 there is any more danger of absconding than with natural 

 swarming, provided reasonable care is exercised. 



I do not consider that any advantage is to be gained by 

 the use of drawn comb. On the contrary I think it is a big 

 mistake to use it, for the reason that the bees will begin 

 work in the brood -chamber first, if drawn comb is used, and 

 may continue to waste time storing in the brood-nest when 

 they should be at work in the supers ; and that very loiter- 

 ing in the brood-chambers may induce swarming. And, 

 again, they always seem less inclined to enter the supers 

 promptly. For this very reason drawn combs are more con- 

 venient to cluster on than starters, and the queens will 

 start laying at once, thus occupying a large part of the 

 force in the brood-chamber. 



In conclusion I will say, that to get the best results a 

 shallow hive is Accessary. It is almost impossible to get 

 the full benefit of the brushed-swarm method with a deep 

 hive, with most of us. Contraction is the word. 



Concho Co., Texas. 



Apiculture in Germany vs. United States. 



BY J. A. HBBKKIvY. 



IT is interesting to note th§ difference of present-time bee- 

 keeping in Germany and the United States, but it is sur- 

 prising to see the great variety of hives, different sizes 

 of frames, to hear the loud praising of a particular form of 

 hive by one group, and the equally loud condemnation of 

 the same hive by another group of apiarists, and still all 

 pursue the same object — to induce the bees to store the most 

 honey. 



In Germany the hives are not set out singly in the gar- 

 den or field, but are put into bee-houses. Sometimes it is 

 only a wooden shanty to protect the hives from the weather, 

 with poor light, and bees having access to the interior ; 

 more commonly they are bee-tight, single or double walled, 

 mostly of wood, but sometimes of masonry ; some are quite 

 ornamental. 



In most of them the bees fly to the south only. Usually 

 there are but two tiers of hives, rarely three tiers, for hives 

 are operated on from the rear, styled Dothe or Berlepsch hive, 

 vulgarly called "breech-loader." For this form of hive the 

 bee-house usually has ample light from the opposite side 

 from where the bees have their entrance. For hives oper- 

 ated on from above, the light generally enters from the 

 same side the hives stand, and just above the body of the 

 hives. Generally there is but one tier of such hives, but 



some, to save expense, sacrifice convenience and put two 

 tiers, one above the other. 



Then there are bee-houses called " pavilions," where 

 the bees have their entrance from three or all four sides, 

 with only one tier, providing ample room and light for 

 hives operated on from above. This last is a late type, but 

 quite expensive compared with the pavilion or old, designed 

 for breech-loading hives. These consist of multi-hives for4- 

 or more colonies side by side with only a division-board be- 

 tween them. The front and two sides are double-walled, on 

 a solid foundation of masonry. Two, and sometimes three, 

 of these multi-hives are put on top of one another,thus form- 

 ing one side of the pavilion ; two more walls of multi-hives 

 at right angle to the first, and the sides of the pavilion are 

 finished. The fourth side of a small pavilion will be taken 

 up by the entrance. In a large one there is. room for a few 

 hives on one or both sides of the door, if it is not preferred 

 to put to the side of the door, a tier of drawers for imple- 

 ments, frames not in use, etc. Sometimes a row of drawers 

 is put on the foundation, and multi-hives on top of these, 

 because it is very inconvenient to work when the hives are 

 near the flocfr. The four sides do not touch each other, 

 there is a space of 6 to 10 inches left in each corner for the 

 windows which are as high as the sides of the pavilion ; 

 they are pivoted in the center, the middle on the base and 

 ceiling, so they readily turn on their long axis to the right 

 or left, that the bees may be let out which flew off the combs 

 while being operated on. 



A neat flat roof, provision for ample ventilation, and the 

 pavilion is finished. These are quite economical where 

 breech-loaders are in use, costing little more than the single 

 hive would cost, and are quite a nice addition in a garden or 

 park. It is claimed that bee-tight bee-houses and pavilions 

 are nice to work in, when nectar is scarce, without danger 

 of robbing, and that often work can be done that would be 

 impracticable on account of the weather where the hives 

 are in the open air. Germany. 



I Our Bee-HeeDin^ Sisters | 



Conducted bu EMMft M. WILSON, Marengo, III. 



The Bee-Cellar in Winter. 



Only two months or so now before those who winter 

 bees in the cellar will be thinking about taking them out. 



Are you keeping pretty close watch of your cellar ? 

 Does it smell sweet and clean ? Bees, the same as human 

 beings, need fresh, pure air, all the time. I am afraid that 

 a good many of the human family do not have it always, 

 and no doubt the bees are often in the same condition. 



What do you do when your rooms need ventilation ? 

 You open up the doors and windows and let in the fresh 

 air. If the weather is very cold you do not leave them open 

 very long, still you feel you must have fresh air even if it 

 does bring the temperature down for a while. Pretty good 

 plan to give the bees the same treatment. 



Queen Laying- in January — A Little Beg-inner, 



Did you ever have a queen that started to lay eggs Jan. 

 10? She has brood in all stages, and she is a young queen 

 of 1892, and was hived June 28. Her swarm was a weak 

 one, so I had her hived in a hive with the entrance all open. 

 Then next the hive got moth-worms. I cleaned her combs 

 and took out the brood, so that the bees could get all eggs 

 of the wax-worms. When that was done, in the beginning 

 of August, she started to lay again, and laid a lot of eggs. 

 When the honey- flow was almost over I started to feed 

 them until they had enough. So I was rid of the moth- 

 worms, and she had built up nicely by fall, with plenty of 

 young bees. Now she has not been fed for two months. 

 January lb I opened the hive, as I wanted to see whether 

 they had stores enough, and I found they had eggs and 

 brood in all stages. What is the reason she started to lay 

 so early 7 Our temperature was from 4 to 6 degrees above 

 zero. 



I am a beginner in bee-keeping. I get the American 

 Bee Journal and have some bee-books besides. I have 



