1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



547 



gather much honey for themselves, and replaced with frames 

 having starters only. 



I determined last spring that I would keep such close 

 watch over the yard this season that no swarm should issue 

 unobserved. But the very first one that issued got away. I 

 had been expecting some swarms, and was careful to be 

 around where they could be seen or heard, but one day about 

 11 o'clock somebody who was canvassing for something or 

 other came along, and my attention was drawn from the bees. 

 Than the canvasser wanted some dinner. When we went out 

 from dinner a big swarm was just rising above an apple-tree, 

 where it had clustered, and taking its departure for some 

 hollow tree in the forest to the southward. I would have 

 refused ten dollars for the queen that went with the swarm. 

 Then I wished a murrain might take the whole canvassing 

 tribe, and all its relations near and remote. 



The ne-Kt day I watched until getting hot and tired I went 

 into the house for a few moment's rest. When I went out 

 again a swarm having at its head a daughter of the queen lost 

 the day before had gone to the southward, too. Then I con- 

 cluded that watching for swarms was a failure, and began to 

 think that I should have to resort to the clipping of queens' 

 wings, and the use of swarm-guards and queen-traps, but I 

 must confess that I would rather not. 



One of my big colonies in one of the big hives swarmed 

 unexpectedly, and the swarm was a big one. I resolved to 

 utilize it for the production of comb honey. I hived it on 

 nine frames with starters, in a hive 12 inches deep, and put 

 on a super filled with 28 sections. The old colony has filled 

 and sealed 20 such frames as are used in the Dadant hive for 

 extracted honey, and have 10 more half filled. The swarm 

 seems likely to fill the 28 sections besides filling the nine 

 frames in the brood-chamber. 



I have given my bees in both the small hives and large 

 hives unlimited room this season, and have had but two or 

 three second swarms, and not many prime ones. A good many 

 of the colonies in the little hives have not swarmed at all, 

 though the season has been the best one for honey I have 

 known. One colony in an 8-frame dovetailed hive has com- 

 pleted 72 sections, and will fill 2-1: more. This colony was not 

 stimulated. Another colony in the same kind of hive was fed 

 frequently in order that I might see what kind of a record it 

 would make. This is its record up to date: 



Before the honey-flow began two frames of brood were 

 taken from it to strengthen other colonies. Two supers were 

 put on the hive early, and partly filled. Then the colony 

 swarmed, the swarm was hived on the old stand, and the old 

 hive moved to another stand. Since then 48 completed sec- 

 tions have been taken from the swarm, and it has 48 more 

 nearly completed. The old colony had a super of 24 sections 

 placed on it, and it looks as if the bees would fill and seal 

 them all. 



I wish to take this public way of asking " The Dadants " 

 if the objection, that is made on page 240 of Langstroth Re- 

 vised, to the use of dividing hives — or what amounts to the 

 same thing, dividing colonies in half, leaving one-half without 

 a queen — is not greatly modified, if not removed altogether, 

 by the use of comb foundation. The objection is that the 

 queenless half will build cells too large for the reariug of 

 workers. Well, if the practice is heretical, then I am a here- 

 tic. I divided a colony in half that got very strong long be- 

 fore there was any work to do in the fields, and filled up the 

 hives with frames of foundation. The work of the half hav- 

 ing the queen will amount to about a hundred sections; the 

 work of the queenless half to 24, and as these 24 are about 

 completed, I shall take two or three frames of brood from the 

 hive to start another colony, of course buying a queen for it, 

 and helping it with frames from other colonies. I have not 

 had so much swarming as I would like to have had, but honey 

 will buy bees. 



I will not close without a word on the " use and abuse of ' 

 comb foundation." I shall never forgive Mr. Hutchinson for 

 the trouble he gave me in trying to find out where the abuse 

 comes in. After laboring laboriously to show when it may 

 profitably be dispensed with in the brood-frames, he gave the 

 whole case away when he says that if we would be sure of 

 straight combs in the brood-chamber we tnxist use full sheets 

 of foundation. We can sometimes get straight combs when 

 full sheets are not used, but then we cannot be sure of them. 

 Without straight combs we, might as well not have movable 

 frames. In the absence of foundation, Mr. Langstroth's in- 

 vention would not be nearly so valuable as it is. 



I know that straight combs can be secured by hiving 

 swarms on a reduced number of frames with starters only, but 

 that is a practice I would not care to follow to any great 

 extent. 



In the use of foundation I give the preference to the 

 heavy grade. I know that Mr. E. R. Root pronounces it too 

 expensive, but there is a satisfaction in using it that the use 

 of the lighter grades does not give, and which goes far to 

 compensate for the additional cost. Besides, where the 

 honey-flow comes, as with me, almost wholly from white 

 clover, I believe it pays in dollars and cents to use the heavy 

 f6undation. 



While writing the above I thought of one other incident 

 of my bee-keeping experience this season. One of my colonies 

 swarmed June 14 ; I expected another swarm to issue eight 

 days after, but none came out. Three or four more days 

 passed and then a swarm came out, lit on a tree, and then re- 

 turned to the hive. Two or three days more passed and then 

 the swarm issued again, and again returned to the hive. This 

 performance was repeated the same day. The next day the 

 swarm came out and staid out. The day after another swarm 

 issued from the same hive. Then I thought I would find out 

 if possible what the rumpus was all about. I went to the hive 

 and took out a frame of brood having on it ten queen-cells. 

 Three of these were empty. The rest were sealed, but the 

 cappings of three of them could be seen to move. I took the 

 frame to another colony which I thought might be queenless, 

 and cut out some cells to put in the supposed queenless hive. 

 While doing this one queen issued and flew away. I cut out 

 the other cells, using them where I thought they were needed, 

 and returned the frame to the hive. Then I took out another 

 frame having on it three queen-cells, which I gave frame and 

 all to a queenless nucleus. Since making these manipulations 

 that colony which swarmed so much has behaved very re- 

 spectably. 



When the weather began to get up into the 90's, some of 

 my hives developed a " beard " of considerable size with great 

 rapidity. I " shaved it off" promptly by placing J^ to % inch 

 blocks between the hive and bottom-board in front. 



Leon, Iowa. 



^ 



Fifteen Years' Experience in Bee-Keeping. 



BV MRS. SALLIE K. SHERMAN. 

 (Continued from page 5.'5.3.) 

 I never tried sulphuring combs but once. That experience 

 satisfied me. I tiered the hives up six stories high, having the 

 bottom one empty. Into it I put the skillet in which was the 

 fire and sulphur. I took every precaution possible that I 

 knew of to keep from inhaling the fumes, but, unhappily for 

 me, my olfactory organs are so well developed that I could 

 not help smelling the terrible scent. My ! my ! but it almost 

 took my breath away. It seemed that I was near Gehenna. 

 It reminded me very much of the time that I slyly took a sul- 

 phur match and run out behind the negro house and struck it, 

 and took a good sniff just to see how it smelt. It almost took 

 my breath away. That was when I was a little child away 



