Mar. 15. 1912 



bloom. Of course it would be highly unde- 

 sirable to spraj'^ the trees when they are in 

 full bloom; but I simply make the state- 

 ment to show my confidence in the repellent 

 value of the solution. 



I should be very glad to hear the last of 

 the controversy concerning the killing of 

 bees by spraying; but I know that there 

 will always be beekeepers who will not read, 

 and fruitgrowers of the same class; and, 

 further, that there will always be the indi- 

 vidual who is ready to pick a fight with his 

 neighbor. I have no doubt that the spray- 

 machine will continue to be a sore point 

 with beekeepers for many years, just as the 

 stinging, stealing, and "eating" of fruit by 

 his neighbor's bees will continue to be a 

 thorn in the side of the unreading orchardist. 



In conclusion I will say that the Green- 

 horn bought some bees, thereby improving 

 his chances of success, and, incidentally, 

 opening the way to much ultimate pleasure, 

 although we will admit that beekeeping for 

 the beginner is not an unmixed joy. 



Indianapolis, Ind. 



♦-•-•^ 



THE RECENT NEW YORK STATE CONVEN- 

 TION 



Raising Cells without Queen Cups or Grafdng; 



a Simple and Practical Plan for a Honey 



Producer 



BY R. F. HOLTEBMANN 



Many years have passed since I attended 

 m.y first convention of beekeepers in New 

 York. I am told it was thirty years ago at 

 Rochester. Many beekeepers I have known 

 have since then fallen by the way to remind 

 us, too, of eternity. 



The convention which has just closed at 

 Syracuse, and at which the writer was pres- 

 ent (for the New York State Department of 

 Agriculture was largely attended) , there ap- 

 peared to be dozens of men who were operat- 

 ing from 400 to (if I am not mistaken) over 

 a thousand colonies of bees, and I heard of 

 more like them in the State. These bee- 

 keepers impress one; they know their busi- 

 ness: they are not content with going in 

 well-known and beaten paths, but they are 

 on the outlook for improved methods, be 

 they original with themselves or not. They 

 have an understanding that, to combat 

 ideas, is not to be antagonistic to individuals. 

 The fire may fly in mental combat, but no 

 friendships are disturbed by such conflict. 

 Notably among that class is W. F. Marks 

 and Geo. B. Howe, the latter one of the 

 State inspectors. 



Of the many good things brought out at 

 the convention, that which impressed me 

 most was the production of queen cells by a 

 method wliich does away with the necessity 

 of larva> transfer or the making of queen- 

 cell cups. In a private conversation the 

 writer had been informed of this process by 

 D. R. Hardy, Burrs Mills, N. Y. It appears 

 that no one present claimed to be the origi- 

 nators of this method; but the New York 

 beekeepers appear among themselves to 



have given out the idea on the quiet, and 

 Mr. Hardy, in the kindness of his heart, 

 and out of pity for the uninitiated, had 

 given me the wink. 



The plan was irade public when Mr. Os- 

 car Dines, of Syracuse, took the floor on the 

 morning of Feb. 1, following Mr. West on 

 the subject, "Some Things I have Seen," 

 and he made us sit up and listen when this 

 method of queen-cell production was de- 

 scribed. ISIr. Dines stated that he took a 

 suitable comb (or two combs) and inserted 

 it in the center of the brood chamber of the 

 stock containing the queen from which he 

 desired to breed. After the queen had laid 

 in this comb, and the larvae were ready, the 

 comb was cut to the midrib along the top- 

 bar. Then a similar cut was made between 

 the second and third row of cells from the 

 topbar; another cutting between the third 

 and fourth row; another between tlie sixth 

 and seventh; another between the seventh 

 and eighth row, and so on. The two rows 

 of cells are destroyed to the septum, leaving 

 rows one cell wide with a two-cell- wide space 

 between, over the entire one side of the 

 comb. A phosphorus match is now taken, 

 and in the remaining rows one cell is left 

 intact, and the larvae in the next two de- 

 stroyed, and so on throughout the comb. 

 This prevents the joining of queen cells by 

 the bees. 



I should have mentioned that, before the 

 comb is cut to the septum, it should be 

 shaved down so as to leave only a shallow 

 cell as in the Alley system. 



The comb is now mounted in a rim lyi 

 inches deep, and as wide and long as the 

 hive. This rim is then placed upon a hive 

 with the comb lying horizontally over the 

 brood nest. The comb is so suspended that 

 the upper side of it is level with the top of 

 the rim, leaving ample room underneath 

 the cut-down comb wall and the topbars of 

 the brood frames for the development of 

 queen cells. 



Mr. Dines stated that he had secured 65 

 fine queen cells by this method at one time 

 by placing the prepared combs and rim on 

 a queenless colony. Mr. Case, of New York 

 (I regret I did not get his initials), staled 

 that, by taking such a comb and giving it 

 to a strong queenless colony three days after 

 taking away all its brood, so that the colony 

 had no other brood or larvse to care for, he 

 had secured 105 fine cells. The septum of 

 the comb became the foundation for the 

 queen cell. It was thus readily handled. 

 The upper side of the comb should be cover- 

 ed over by pasteboard to prevent the bees 

 from paying attention to the larviP in Ihe 

 cells. When the cells started are ready, a 

 beekeeper who wants to requeen need only 

 go to the colonies he desires to requeen, re- 

 move the old queen, and insert between the 

 frames one of the- queen cells inserted in a 

 West cell-protector, and the colony will se- 

 cure a virgin queen when hatched. 



LARGE BROOD CHAMBERS. 



Many New York beekeepers are in fa\or 

 of ample brood-chamber capacity. One of 



