1908 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



35 



diameter of 4 inches or more. Pictures of 

 such buildings have already appeared in 

 Gleanings, but I think nothing like the 

 present illustration has been shown. Indeed, 

 it is the only case of the kind I ever saw; for 

 you will see at the central part, under the 

 top-bar, that the bees seem to be building in 

 mid-air. In reality that isolated piece of 

 comb is supported by wires, which do not 

 show in the picture because too fine. 



A very old comb in very bad condition had 

 been given in an upper story, and inciden- 

 tally the lesson is taught that, although bees 

 will clean up a very bad job, there is a limit; 

 and if the comb is too bad they will proceed 

 to tear it down. In the present case you will 

 see that nearly half the comb was gnawed 

 down. But at the part under discussion 

 there was left a piece of the septum about as 

 large as a silver quarter-dollar, and upon 

 this they built. This bit of old septum is in 

 the lower part, so most of the building was 

 done upward. You will notice on the under 

 side of the top-bar, directly over the floating 

 comb, that the bees have begun a deposit of 

 white wax, and the sharp point at the upper 

 end of the floating piece shows that the bees 

 would soon have united the two together. 



Notice at the right of our floating comb 

 that the bees are building upward upon the 

 old comb. 



Marengo, 111. 



[This is an odd specimen of comb-build- 

 ing, and, taken in connection with Dr. Mil- 

 ler's comments, makes a very interesting 

 study. We should be glad to get photos of 

 these interesting or grotesque comb curios 

 and pay for them. While some of them are 

 of only scientific interest others may lead to 

 some practical results. — Ed.] 



THE PLURAL-QUEEN SYSTEM. 



Why it is More Practicable with a Divis- 

 ible Brood-chamber than with an Or- 

 dinary Full-depth Hive. 



BY J. E. HAND. 



I notice that Mr. Titoff, in an article on p. 

 1328, asks for information about the two- 

 queen system, and then says that he doubts 

 whether the plan as a whole will ever prove 

 to be a success. I will only endeavor to 

 add what little information I have gained 

 from a limited experience in the use of a 

 plurality of queens in the same hive, although 

 in separate brood-apartments. In the first 

 place I would respectfully refer my doubting 

 friend to an article on page 1330, from his 

 own State, by Howard Davenes. I believe 

 that the only advantages claimed for this 

 system are in building up weak colonies for 

 an early honey-flow and in the prevention of 

 swarming when working for comb honey. 

 It should be remembered that this system 

 like the Stachelhausen plan of shook swarm- 

 ing loses its force when used in connection 

 with the full-depth-frame hive. This fact 

 should be evident to even a casual observer. 



I wish to go on record as saying that there 

 is but one system of contraction that is at 

 all practical when we take into consideration 

 the amount of labor involved and the results 

 to be gained by such contraction, and that 

 is horizontal contraction by means of shal- 

 low sectional hives. All other methods are 

 but makeshifts that, by the amount of labor 

 involved, are both expensive and inadequate. 



This same statement will also apply to the 

 two-queen system, as any one can see who 

 will use a little sober judgment that it would 

 be the height of folly to add to a colony of 

 bees in early spring another full-depth hive 

 with a queen, and only a small cluster of 

 bees, and viewing the matter from the stand- 

 point of the full-depth-frame hive. I can 

 agree with pretty nearly all that Mr. Titoff 

 has to say regarding the matter. 



However, with the sectional hive it is far 

 different, and a shallow brood-chamber con- 

 taining a queen and a small cluster of bees, 

 and some brood, if simply placed upon a 

 strong colony of bees as soon in spring as ' 

 the weather will permit, will soon build up 

 to a rousing colony of bees. Another section 

 of brood-chamber may be added if desired, 

 after the first has become well stocked with 

 brood and bees. Of course, a queen-exclud- 

 er is used to keep the queens apart. These 

 colonies, after becoming strong enough, may 

 be separated, or kept together up to or even 

 through the honey-flow according to the 

 time of said flow. 



For instance, if the honey-flow comes late 

 in the season it may be desirable to separate 

 the two-queen colonies as soon as they be- 

 come strong enough, and I believe this is the 

 method adopted by Mr. Alexander, who se- 

 cures a great part of his surplus from buck- 

 wheat. In a location where the main honey- 

 flow comes from clover and basswood it is 

 far more desirable to keep the bees together 

 up to the beginning of the honey-flow. Fur- 

 ther than this, there should be no iron-clad 

 rules governing the case, as the further dis- 

 position of the colony is a matter to be de- 

 cided by the operator according to the prob- 

 able duration of the honey-flow and the con- 

 sequent liability of the bees to swarm. 



If no swarming is desired, and the prospect 

 is good for a fair flow of nectar, I know of 

 no better method for the average bee-keeper, 

 under ordinary circumstances, than the fol- 

 lowing, which is the Stachelhausen plan of 

 shook swarming, only in our case there is no 

 handling of combs except by hives. 



A MODIFIED PLAN OF SHOOK SWARMING 



ADAPTABLE FOR BEGINNERS WITH 



THE DIVISIBLE HIVE. 



First we will begin at the top of the two- 

 queen hive by blowing a little smoke down 

 between the brood-combs, and fanning it 

 down with a Coggshall bee-brush. We drive 

 most of the bees down and out when we re- 

 move this section of brood-chamber, giving 

 it a quick jerk to dislodge the bees, and 

 place it on a bottom-board. We proceed in 

 like manner with the next, which is placed 

 upon the other. The queen in the upper 



