S12 



a horse don't enjoy hitching up in a swarm 

 of bees. 



I'd much rather have that honey all ex- 

 tracted and put up in good tight tin cans; 

 for then when I get through I can thi'ow it 

 on the wagon, hitch up without any bees to 

 molest me, and hike for home as fast as the 

 jhorse cares to go — no trouble about break- 

 ing combs. 



Then, too, when I am working among 

 the bees before extracting time I often find 

 it to my advantage to take out certain combs 

 "of honey from a hive, and it is very handy 

 to have an extracting-house in which to 

 store these. 



In loading the extractor on the wagon I 

 set it flat on the bottom of the wagon, and 

 fasten it there with two or three screws, 

 and the pockets are tied to keep them from 

 rattling ; and when it is fixed this way there 

 is no trouble about driving as fast as you 

 want to. My extracting-house is built in 

 six pieces — two sides, two ends, one floor, 

 and one roof piece. These are bolted to- 

 gether at the yard, and strips nailed on 

 over the corners to cover un the cracks 

 which might otherwise let in some bees 

 where the building is joined together. There 

 is just one window which faces the yard; 

 and this is fitted with escapes. There are 

 two doors, one entering the yard and the 

 other facing out, which admits of driving a 

 team on the opposite side of the house from 

 the bees to load. These doors are both fit- 

 ted with foot latches — a verj' handy device 

 which allows one to open the door with the 

 foot instead of having to set down the hive, 

 or whatever he is carrying, in order to open 

 it. I should consider it a useless expense to 

 fit out each yard with extractors, etc., as 

 they can be easily carried along. 



Barryton, Mich. 



THE JEFFERSON AND ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY 

 CONVENTION 



BY R. F. HOLTERMANN 



The two-days' convention held at Ogdens- 

 hurg, N. Y., Feb. 20 and 21 did not lack in 

 'enthusiasm, and there were a goodly num- 

 ber of extensive beekeepers present. I shall 

 make no attempt to report the convention 

 •generally, but simply record a few points 

 -which impressed me. 



F. C. Hutchins, Massena Springs, upon 

 the subject of " The Management of Out- 

 apiaries," said that his home apiary con- 

 ■sists of 300 colonies, which he looks after 

 himself, getting the help of two or three 

 boys in extracting time. His experience is 

 that if bees winter well they will spring 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



well. He wants good queens, not more than 

 two years old. On account of European 

 foul brood he gives Italians the preference, 

 although so far he has found no disease 

 among his bees. 



Mr. Hutchins advocated equalizing colo- 

 nies by changing hives, putting strong colo- 

 nies in the place of weak ones, and weak in 

 the place of strong when honey is com- 

 ing in and the bees are flying. He has also 

 built up weak colonies by placing them 

 over strong ones with a wire cloth between 

 the two colonies. He has had some swarms 

 when producing extracted honey, but not 

 many. Swarming is kept down by means 

 of shade, large entrances, and plenty of 

 room. Where there are 200 or 300 colonies 

 in an apiary he recommends that some one 

 be placed in charge all the time. They can 

 liive any swarms that issue, and enough 

 work can be found to keep the attendant 

 out of mischief. Mr. Hutchins also recom- 

 mends a complete extracting and other nec- 

 essary outfit for each apiary. He feels 

 sure a good honey crop can be secured in 

 an apiary with several hundred colonies if 

 the bees are strong at the beginning of the 

 honey-flow. 



The question of breaking down queen- 

 cells to prevent "swarming came up. I stat- 

 ed that, when breaking down queen-cells 

 that are the result of the swarming im- 

 pulse, I make a point of removing all the 

 royal jelly, reasoning that, if any of it is 

 left, there will be a gi-eater chance of the 

 bees starting some more cells with the in- 

 tention of swarming later. I do not shake 

 a colony simply because it builds cells for 

 swarming, for often the swarming impulse 

 does not continue when the cells are broken 

 down. Sometimes, however, it does con- 

 tinue, and I find instances where it would 

 have been wiser to shake the bees instead of 

 thwarting them week after week. However, 

 on the whole I have gained more than T 

 have lost by delaying or not adopting the 

 " shake system." 



Mr. T. Davis, Ogdensburg, gave a method 

 which he had adopted, of destroying capped 

 cells — a method which Geo. B. Howe, Black 

 River, had also practiced for many years. 

 This method consists in tearing the capped 

 cells open at the side and destroying the 

 embryo queen. If the cells are destroyed 

 in this way the bees think their own queen 

 destroyed them, and they destroy any cells 

 the beekeeper might miss in the hive. Bees 

 do not destroy the remaining cells unless the 

 cells found are destroyed as described. Mr. 

 Howe stated he had been following this plan 

 for fourteen years with entire success. 

 Brantford, Canada. 



To be continued. 



