18 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 9, 



fore, very much prefer to cut part of the crop in June and be- 

 fore it blossoms. By so doing the period of blooming will be 

 lengthened from two to four weeks. Sometimes it may do to 

 cut the plants while in bloom — say between the middle of 

 July and the first of August — but much depends upon the con- 

 dition of the weather and the roots of the plants. If both 

 weather and roots are just right, the latter will be able to seud 

 forth a new growth of plants. 



My experience is that the roots of sweet clover are not so 

 difficult to destroy, by cutting off the top growth when old 

 enough to bloom, as many seem to suppose. 



St. Charles, Kane Co., Ills. 



Uuqueeuiiig and Requeening— How Practiced. 



BY E. C. AIKIN. 



On page 358 of the Bee Journal for 1895, is an article 

 by C. H. Chapman, on dequeening. Both the editor and Mr. 

 Chapman asked that I give an article on the subject. As it 

 was then right in the swarming season, and when I was very 

 busy, it was too late to get an article before the readers in 

 time to be of benefit last year (1895). Mr. Chapman seems 

 to understand the method pretty well, yet he is open to two or 

 three criticisms. I will give my method, and ofl'er criticisms 

 in the proper connection. I will also try to point out the kind 

 of a location in which this method would not be suitable. 



Our honey-flow begins about June 15. Since I have been 

 in Colorado, the earliest opening was the 12th, and the latest 

 the 25th. These dates apply only to this part of the State. 

 When the colonies were not strong enough I have sometimes 

 delayed unqueening until the flow was on for a week or more; 

 but experience has shown me that it is best to remove the 

 queen right at the beginning of the flow, and more especially 

 if the flow be abrupt and short. If the flow lasts for a num- 

 ber of weeks, unqueening later would mean more workers for 

 the latter end of the flow. After 2 L days from removing the 

 queen the colony will rapidly decrease until the new queen 

 gets brood to hatching. I try to have the hive full of brood 

 and field-bees when the flow comes. As soon as I know that 

 the flow has begun, I remove the queens, and at the same 

 time look over every comb, and cut out every cell. (On page 

 406, Mr. Getaz says I cut out all but one cell at this time ; 

 but he either misquoted, or else I have blundered, for I never 

 meant to give such advice.) If a cell be left at this time, 

 there is no certainty about it, for there is no way to tell cer- 

 tainly the state of advancement— how soon it will hatch. 

 Make thorough work, and cut out nil cells at the removal of 

 the queen, then there will be no swarming before the 10th or 

 12th day. 



A queen hatches the 16th day from the laying of the egg. 

 There is no diQiculty about rearing a queen from larvae two 

 and three days old, or five to six days from laying the egg. If 

 the colony begins cells the day the queen is removed, and uses 

 a three-day larva, such queen will hatch the 10th day. Some 

 colonies will do this very thing, while those that have not had 

 the swarming instinct yet aroused, will be more slow, and use 

 less advanced larv;c. Some will even start from the egg, and 

 so will not hatch a queen till the 16th day. 



Since the colonies will be all grades, from the weak to the 

 very strong, there will necessarily be those ready to swarm, 

 and those with no thought of swarming. The work must be 

 arranged to make all safe between certain dates, and we ar- 

 range those dates to cover the whole apiary. I find it does 

 not pay to have colonies of all grades of strength, but rather 

 to unite till all that are run for surplus are made very strong 

 in both bees and brood, and the remnants made into colonies 

 of sufficient strength to fill their brood-chambers, and yet not 

 trouble us about swarming. The uniting is done just as the 

 flow is opening, and the unqueening being done, so there is no 

 trouble about quarreling or robbing. 



As each colony is made queenless — whether an original or 

 a united colony — I cut out all cells. As explained in the third 

 paragraph, we may expect some to have queens ready to hatch 

 the 10th day, and from that clear up to the 16th day. I have 

 reason to believe that some colonies whose swarming instinct 

 has been fully aroused, will use a seven-day larva in their 

 eagerness to rear a queen, and such would hatch the 9th day. 

 The great majority will start queens three to five days from 

 the egg, which will bring hatching queens from the 11th to 

 the 13th days. We must then be in the apiary not later than 

 the 10th day from unqueening. Mr. Chapman says " in seven 

 or eight days" cut out cells. Seven days is too soon. The 

 brood will not be all sealed the 7th day, and a colony hope- 

 lessly queenless will make a desperate effort to rear a queen 

 and use the yet unsealed larva, but the result will be a worth- 



less queen, and yet go with the swarm the same. This is Mr. 

 Elwood's experience, as well as my own. I cut out cells the 

 8th, 9th or lOth days, as pressure of work or weather will 

 permit. I plan to work them the 9th day, and cut out all 

 cells, or all but one if I want to requeen from their own ceils. 

 Cells that are built when a colony is making preparation for 

 swarming, are nearly — if not aluniys — built from the egg ; and 

 if I have such from choice stock, I prefer toinsert one of these 

 when I cut out the others. It will do no harm to cutout all 

 and leave the colony hopelessly queenless awhile, as Mr. 

 Chapman recommends, but I cannot advise this method. 

 Three or four days will do no harm, but if left six or seven 

 days there is danger of laying workers beginning, and a col- 

 ony hopelessly queenless will very soon lose energy. 



I do frequently requeen by leaving one of the colony's own 

 cells. Mr. Chapman asks if this will not give very poor 

 queens. The quality of the queen depends very largely upon 

 the selection of the cell. Of course, when the queen is re- 

 moved there are always eggs in the hive. A colony, as before 

 explained, will use some of the more advanced brood in the 

 construction of cells, yet they almost invariably build some 

 cells from the egg, too. When I cut out out cells I look for 

 the less mature cells — those that will hatch the 14th, 15th or 

 16th day — and so get as good queens as are furnished by 

 the thousand by breeders, and as good as a large per cent, of 

 those reared in natural swarming. 



Mr. Chapman also says : "Allow the swarm to issue the 

 same as in natural swarming," and cut out cells while the 

 swarm is out. It is so easy to do the work while the hive is 

 thus depopulated that one is tempted to do this (Mr. Chapman 

 clips his queens, and so do I), but it requires watching for 

 swarms that we don't want to do, and that we cannot do in 

 two or more apiaries at one time. It also allows the colony to 

 become excited with the swarming-fever — another thing we 

 do not want. Aim to cut out cells the 9th day, and keep ab- 

 solute control of the bees. Very few queens will begin the 

 movements within the cell before the 9th day, and the work 

 of the colony goes on the same; but the maturing queen soon 

 begins to move about in the various cells, and then begins the 

 excitement that comes with swarming. Sometimes this ex- 

 citement runs so high that they will swarm before the queen 

 hatches. Such a condition is very detrimental to the work of 

 the colony. If there is prospect of bad weather, cut out 

 cells the eighth day. If you plan for the 9th day, you will 

 have the lOlh and 11th to come and go on. A very few 

 queens will hatch the 10th day, and more the 11th day. 

 These queens usually do not leave the hive till the first— and 

 sometiuies the second — day after hatching ; so waiting till the 

 I 1th day will not risk much in the loss of swarms, but is not 

 recommended because of the excitement caused by the pres- 

 ence of the queen. 



If yon work the whole apiary in one day, and treat all 

 alike, you may get along without numbering hives ; but if the 

 unqueening of an apiary is doue at different dates, a system of 

 numbering and recording is a necessity. As outlined in the 

 foregoing, there is no need of failure ; but the work must not 

 be sHolilcd—FiSD every cell. 



This article is now too lengthy to permit of details about 

 the care of queens and making nuclei or increase; location, 

 convenience and wishes of the apiarist enter into this. In 

 locations having but one flow during the season, there is no 

 question in my mind about the desirability of this method. 

 Where there are two or more flows it may be applied by other 

 methods. Loveland, Colo. 



Tests for the Purity Qf Beeswax, Etc. 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



Referring to the article on beeswax, by Mr. Gregg, in a re- 

 cent number of the Bee Journal, we will say that the test giv- 

 en — to try the purity of beeswax by chewing it — is a good one 

 if the adulteration is quite flagrant, for most of the adulter- 

 ants do not chew like beeswax, but it is a very poor grade of 

 goods that will not crumble in the mouth. If in chewing, you 

 can make it hold together and stretch, like chewing gum, you 

 may be sure that there is less beeswax in the sample than any- 

 thing else. 



We do not know that there is any very good popular test 

 except the above and the alcohol test. To make the alcohol 

 test, put water in a wide-mouth bottle, and put into it a piece 

 of pure beeswax. Then add alcohol till the wax readily falls 

 to the bottom. You are then ready for the test. Pieces that 

 will float are of a different specific weight. Although there 

 are some grades of beeswax that have a lighter speciflc weight 

 than others, this test is fairly safe, but one must be sure, in 



