JUKE 15, 1912 



to colonies having young queens just com- 

 mencing to lay. Colonies having young 

 fertile queens can be given a large amount 

 of brood. You can fairly pack it in, and 

 they will not swarm — at least this has been 

 my experience for the last 34 y6ars of con- 

 tinuous beekeeping. 



This last method, combined with the sec- 

 ond one, will keep bees in small loives from 

 swarming, and both should be employed at 

 the same time, as they are dependent on 

 each other. 



Troy, N. Y., March 26. 



SHALLOW DUMMIES IN TEN-FRAME HIVES 



Contracting the Brood - nest without Causing 

 Swarming 



BY LEON C. MILLEE. 



I have been using slatted dummies in my 

 ten-frame hives the last 'two seasons, and 

 find them a decided help. I have not tried 

 to use them with the idea of stopping 

 swarming entirely, but mainly to contract 

 the brood-nest without causing the bees to 

 swarm. I used them quite extensively this 

 way last summer. 



When the time comes to put on the comb- 

 honey supers I go to the hive and remove 

 any empty combs there may be (by empty 

 ones I mean those not fairly well filled with 

 either brood or honey). There will seldom 

 be more than one or two, and many times 

 none of these in the hive; but what there 

 are I don't want left in there to furnish a 

 jilace for the bees to store the honey that I 

 want in the comb-honey supers. These I 

 replace with the slatted dummies, and I 

 find that bees so treated are no more inclin- 

 ed to swarm than those that are allowed to 

 have their full amount of combs. On the 

 other hand, if I put the ordinary solid dum- 

 mies in the place of one or two combs it 

 makes the hive just that much smaller, and 

 just in that proportion has an eifect in the 

 tendency of the bees to swarm. Later, if I 

 find it necessary to shake a colony I put the 

 bees on about six frames of foundation, 

 and fill the rest of the hive with these slat- 

 ted dummies. A comb-honey super, filled 

 with full-sheet foundation and bottom start- 

 ers, a la Miller, or, better still, if there is 

 one already partly filled from the colonj' 

 before shaking, will make the work go on 

 apace. 



I think I shall try a few colonies this 

 summei' with tw^o hive bodies, the frames 

 alternating with the slatted dummies as de- 

 scribed by Mr. Small on page 278, 279, Lay 

 1. I am not very enthusiastic about it, how- 

 ever, as I am of the opinion that bees work- 



381 



ed on that plan will not go above as readily 

 as they should. I know they will not in a 

 hive arranged that way without the dum- 

 mies, for 1 have tried it. I experimented 

 with a few hives that way one year; and 

 when they had two stories fairly well filled 

 I put on the supers; but instead of going 

 right into it, as I expected them to do, they 

 seemed to think they had honey enough, so 

 they rested on their oars; and the conse- 

 quence was I got very little honey those 

 I Avorked on that plan. It may be that, 

 with the slatted dummies, the queen will 

 keep the frames better filled with brood in- 

 stead of allowing them to be filled up with 

 honey as they did for me, and this will have 

 a tendency to force them up into the sec- 

 tions more. At least it is worth a trial, as 

 I have plenty of the dummies on hand, and 

 will not have to go to any extra expense. 



I don't think it would pay any one to go 

 into this plan of mine on a large scale, even 

 though it might be a success, for I think it 

 would be cheaper and much more satisfac- 

 tory to buy the Aspinwall hive complete. 

 But sometimes one might have the other 

 equipment, and would not like to buy a 

 whole new outfit, but would still like to 

 make use of this principle. In this case I 

 think it would pay very well either to make 

 up or to hire made some of the slatted dum- 

 mies to be used according to the plan I have 

 outlined here, or as Mr. Small uses them. 



Barryton, Mich. 



FELLOWSHIP AMONG BEEKEEPERS THROUGH 

 ORGANIZATION 



BY HENRY REDDERT. 



I received a letter from a beekeeper in 

 Oklahoma in which he says, among other 

 things: "I understand, after only two years' 

 experience, that beekeepers are good broth- 

 ers. I should like to get deeper into their 

 fellowship." It sounds good. He is wel- 

 come. The first thing to do is to organize 

 a beekeepers' association in his vicinity. 

 Here is where good fellowship begins. Ev- 

 ery county in every State where beekeepers 

 dw-ell should have an association. Here is 

 where they can make themselves at home, 

 and a good home is the seat of good fellow- 

 ship. Questions jDertaining to beekeeping 

 in all its phases may here be discussed at 

 leisure. Good humor should prevail at all 

 times. 



In every country and clime where good 

 men and women keep bees, good fellowship 

 exists. This is an unwritten law. In a 

 small town there is no need of a public hall 

 to meet in. Halls are expensive. As little 

 expense as possible should be incurred at 



