JL\Y 1, 1913 



293 



Playing with 'em." From Amos Harker, Cambridge, Iowa. 



awaits the hatching of a young queen, and. 

 when she is old enough, swarms again Avith 

 her. A young queen also takes the place of 

 the old one in the i^arent hive. Now% if we 

 shake a colony preparing to swarm with an 

 old or poor queen on empty combs, or even 

 start a nucleus with such a Cjueen. we shall 

 be almost sure to meet with disappointment, 

 for she will most likely fill a small patch of 

 comb with egg's, and disappear: and queen- 

 tells are started on these in order that the 

 colony may secure a queen to replace the 

 one which the bees recognize as no longer 

 of value. 



But what should be done with all the 

 combs of brood which have been taken from 

 those colonies which were shaken on empty 

 combs? Well, that is a part of my story. 

 Early in the season there are usually some 

 colonies that are not strong enough to be- 

 gin work in supers. Indeed, not more than 

 five or six combs of brood will be found in 

 ihem, and in some it may be even less. 

 AVhen one has plenty of surplus combs of 

 brood he can take out the empty combs or 

 combs of honey from these colonies and re- 

 place with combs of brood: and these back- 

 ward colonies, instead of spending the w-hole 

 season in building up and getiing ready for 

 business, Avill soon be able to enter tlie su- 

 pers and yield surplus. 



The combs removed from these Aveak colo- 

 nics can be utilized by giving to colonies 

 preparing to swarm which are fit subjects 



to shake. Brood can also be given to anj' 

 n.uclei you may have made, thus building 

 th.em up into good colonies. 



But how about increasing your stock if 

 you do all you can to i^revent swarming? 

 In almost eveiy yard there are some colo- 

 nies that are very forAvard — more so. even, 

 than desirable in order to secure the best 

 results in surplus. I know of no better Avay 

 than to take from such early in the season 

 a comb of hatching brood and bees — yes, 

 more than bees enough to care for it, for 

 some of them are likely to return to the 

 parent hive. Then confine the bees for a 

 day or tAvo in a neAv hive, or throAv Aveeds 

 over the entrance. Give them at the same 

 time a comb of honey and a brood-comb, 

 and a day later give them a queen-cell 

 nearly ready to hatch. If all goes well, in 

 a feAv days there will be a good nucleus 

 Avith a young laying queen: and if brood- 

 combs are supplied as fast as their strength 

 Avill admit you Avill soon have a colony ca- 

 pable of storing considerable surplus in 

 case the season proA-es to be favorable. 



If you have no maturing queen-cells, take 

 the first colonies that prepare to SAvarm, 

 and diA-ide them into three or four strong 

 nuclei, giving all except the one that has the 

 queen a queen-cell already built on the 

 combs; and, as soon as the young queens 

 are laying, build up as fast as you can. 

 Such colonies gave us a good surplus dur- 

 ing the season of 1912. These methods not 



