68 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 30, 



brood-nest, and bees quickly to enter the surplus department. 



As my hive-body measures 14 inches in width inside, I 

 divide that space by fitting in a ?^-inch division-board, having 

 previously cut out a circular hole 6 inches in diameter, cov- 

 ered with wire-cloth, which permits the air to pass from one 

 colony to the other, causing the same sceut, and no fight will 

 ever occur with each other. The bee-entrances should be at 

 opposite ends. Place six %-inch top-bar frames l?s inches 

 from center to center, previously filled with full sheets of 

 comb foundation ; after which two swarms of bees are allowed 

 to enter upon nearly 1,750 square inches of comb founda- 

 tion, or 875 square inches to each colony, which cannot be 

 drawn but a trifle beyond the brood capacity, consequently 

 the surplus sections must be promptly put on in two or three 

 days after the bees commence work ; for every bee-keeper has 

 observed how quickly a swarm of bees will draw out a set of 

 combs, even when allowed to the standard width. 



I learned from my experiment that if the bees were not 

 promptly supplied with sections filled with comb foundation, 

 they would crowd the queen to the smallest laying capacity, 

 take the swarming fever and sulk ; and then the two-queen 

 project will prove a failure so far as surplus honey is con- 

 cerned, for when bees once get it into their little heads to 

 swarm, they will either swarm, or sulk and die. 



I also discovered that narrow frames and narrow spacing 

 caused the entire full capacity of the brood-comb cells to be 

 so near the proper length of brood-cells that the queens seemed 

 to double their egg-layiug capacity, until the 12 frames con- 

 tained full sheets of brood, and so long as plenty of room was 

 provided above, the bees gave no fears about swarming ; but a 

 large per cent, was gained in honey, over the one-queen 

 colonies. 



I have thus given, In as few words as possible, my two- 

 queen system. 



On examining my two-queen colonies to-day (Jan. 7), 

 when the mercury registers 2° below zero, I find them clus- 

 tered together as one cluster, except the wire-cloth that keeps 

 them separated ; and as my combined hive-cover admits sufB- 

 cient ventilation, the combs are dry, and the bees in the best 

 possible condition. If all goes well, I expect great things the 

 coming season of 1896, from my two-queen colonies. 



Reinersville, Ohio. 



Hive-Contraction aad Management. 



After reading Mr. Doolittle's article on contraction of 

 hives, in the Bee Journal of Dec. 25, 1895, Mr. I. N. Hoag- 

 land, of Brooklyn, N. Y., wanted to ask him a few questions, 

 which follow with Mr. Doolittle's answers to them : 



QuES. — 1. When you contract the brood-nest to 4 or 5 

 frames, and those frames are pretty well filled with eggs, 

 brood and honey, will not the colony go to work and prepare, 

 and soon swarm ? 



Ans. — The contraction spoken of, is used only with newly- 

 hived swarms, or colonies having a poor queen, as all good 

 queens will keep from seven to nine frames filled with brood 

 previous to and during the forepart of the honey harvest. In 

 case of a new swarm the queen will keep the comb filled with 

 eggs as fast as built by the bees, so there will be little or no 

 honey in the combs in the brood-nest, providing ample room is 

 given for work in the sections ; in which case the bees will 

 have no desire to swarm till after the young brood begins to 

 hatch, or 24 days from time of hiving. The honey harvest is 

 then nearly or quite past, and at that time the hive is to be 

 filled out with drawn combs or full sheets of comb foundation. 

 With a poor queen, swarms are not very likely to issue, in any 

 event. 



QuES. — 2. If you give them those 4 or 5 frames filled 

 with empty comb or merely starters, will they not fill them 

 with brood and honey, instead of filling the section-case with 

 honey ? And would not the colony be the better and stronger 

 if they could retain the brood that you remove in contracting? 



Ans. — If you put bait sections in the surplus apartment, 

 and contract the hive at the time of hiving new swarms, no 

 trouble will be experienced along the line of honey in the 

 brood-combs, whether empty combs are given, or starters. 

 However, I prefer to use only starters in the brood-frames 

 when working on the contracting plan, as I secure beautiful, 

 all-worker combs in this way, with scarcely a cent of cost to 

 me of honey or otherwise, as far as I can see. 



QuES. — 3. At the time of contraction do you place a 

 queen-excluder between the brood-nest and section-case ? 



Ans. — When any hive is contracted to less than the full 

 egg-laying capacity of the queen, it is well to use a queen- 

 excluder between the brood-nest and the sections, otherwise 

 the queen may enter the sections, and brood in the sections 

 will be the result. Such result is neither profitable nor 

 pleasant. 



QuES. — 4. If at the commencement or during the honey- 

 flow a colony should swarm, and you removed the old hive, 

 and gave a new one to the new swarm on the old stand, would 

 you then contract to 4 or 5 frames ? And would you give the 

 frames of empty comb, or merely the frames with starters ? Or 

 would you give them frames partly well-filled with brood, 

 eggs, and honey? 



Ans. — I would give the swarm in the new hive only 4 or 

 5 frames, and those having starters only. I consider it a fal- 

 lacy to give any prime swarm brood in any stage of advance- 

 ment. Nature never provides any to the newly-hived swarm, 

 and it is well to follow Nature in this case, instead of theory. 

 So says an experience of 27 years in bee-keeping as a spe- 

 cialist ; although I have practiced the giving of brood to 

 swarms very largely during that time. 



QuES. — 5. Would you proceed the same way with a very 

 strong colony which you expect soon to swarm, and most of 

 which you have removed with the queen to a new hive on the 

 old stand ? 



Ans. — Artifically-made swarms are treated the same as 

 natural, but the advantages of the contraction system are not 

 as apparent with such as with the natural swarms. 



QuES. — 6. If you have frames that are mostly filled with 

 capped honey, would they not be as good as dummies to use 

 in contracting ? 



Ans. — Combs of capped honey may be used in hiving 

 swarms, but they will not answer the purpose of dummies, for 

 as soon as the queen reaches them the bees will be likely to 

 uncap the honey, and remove it to the sections, and thus as 

 much of the combs be filled with brood as her prolificness re- 

 quires. If the honey in these capped combs is not of the 

 same consistency and color as is that coming in from the 

 fields, you will be likely to get a mixed product in your sec- 

 tions which will injure the sale of it and cause dissatisfied 

 customers. G. M. Doolittle. « 



THin. J. K. DARLINO. 



The subject of this sketch was born within 15 miles of 

 the city of Kingston, Ont., in 1843. The country was then 

 new, and he can well remember hearing the wolves howl 

 around the house during the night. He did not have the ad- 

 vantages of securing an education that the boys of the present 

 day are surrounded with ; however, by making a good use of 

 the means within his reach, he acquired what might be termed 

 a good, common school education. He was brought up on a 

 farm, and a bush-farm at that. Being the oldest of a family 

 of nine, it fell to his lot to do a large share of the "chores," 

 and as part of his father's stock consisted of a few colonies of 

 bees in box-hives, he had some acquaintance with them when 

 quite young. He was frequently told to " watch the bees," 

 and one of the first things he remembers was placing some 

 pieces of boards over a swarm that had settled on a hill of 

 corn. His father and mother were away from home, and a 

 shower coming on, he was afraid the wet would drive them 

 away. 



Mr. Darling always liked the bees, and as he grew older 

 he thought he could manage them as well as the most of the 

 people whom he knew. He never read any bee-literature, be- 

 cause he did not have it, and did not know it was obtainable. 

 When he was 20 years of age he could break and cut the old 

 black combs from a box-hive, or perchance a salt-barrel, in 

 April — " to give room for the summer's work, you know," just 



