April 26, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



261 



deep. If more room is allowed where there is but a sliort 

 flow, it decreases the amount of surplus ; it might then, by 

 some, be naturally supposed that if the queen was still inorr 

 confined the results in surplus would be larg-eryet, but as a 

 rule my experience has been that such is not the case. A 

 colony that has a strong' force of both field and house or 

 nurse bees seems to work more willingly, and accomplishos 

 more and better actual results in comb honey if their queen 

 is allowed about the space mentioned, than when she is 

 confined to less room, or caged. 



There are a number of metliods of keeping or throwing 

 nearly the entire working-force with the swarm, but they 

 are so well known that it is not necessary for me to take 

 space to explain them. I often hive two artificial swarms, 

 and throw most of the working-force of the two colonies 

 into one hive, allowing only one section of these box-hives 

 for a brood-nest, and the number of sections these allied 

 forces will fill in a good season is astonishing; but their 

 force rapidly decreases, so that at the end of the white flow 

 they will often be but a small colony, most of the force hav- 

 ing sacrificed their lives in filling super after super of white 

 honey in order to satisfy the greed of their owner, or per- 

 haps a greed of their own. 



During the season of 1895 I took ofi^ 19 filled supers 

 from one of these shallow brood-chambers. It was the pro- 

 duct of three swarms — two were hived together, and another 

 put in with them some time later. This was all white 

 honey, and not a dozen sections in the lot but what would 

 grade No. 1. That season, however, we had, with one e.\- 

 ception, the best white flow that there has been here in my 

 time. 



If a range is fully stockt, and it is desired to reduce the 

 number of colonies for winter by uniting, the best time 

 to unite is at the end of the white flow ; this gives strong 

 colonies for the fall flow, and if plenty of brood-chamber 

 room is given during this fall flow, it insures strong colo- 

 nies for winter, and some seasons considerable surplus, 

 when any surplus from the fall flow is secured here. I in- 

 variably get much more when I unite at the close of the 

 white harvest, if (which is usually the case) I have enough 

 colonies in one yard to stock fully its range. This is owing 

 to the reason that here a range well stockt during' the fore- 

 part of the season will be somewhat overstockt during the 

 fall flow even with the same number of colonies. 



But if increase is desired when using these hives in 

 localities where there is a fall flow, another section can be 

 added to the brood-chamber at the close of the white flow. 

 My practice with these hives usually is to unite at the close 

 of the white harvest what bees there are left in each sec- 

 tion, with the weakest colonies in frame hives, and then 

 any honey these shallow hives may contain is used for fall 

 oi" spring feeding. The combs are rendered into wax. 



Colonies wintered in two sections of these hives are 

 allowed to occupy both sections until the commencement of 

 the main flow, then the section containing the least brood 

 is removed, and surplus cases put on. It is ati easy matter 

 to get practically all the bees out of one of these sections. 



If I wish to get them out of the upper section the cover 

 is removed, then as many of the bees as will go readily are 

 driven with smoke into the lower storj'. The upper section 

 is then set on end on top of the lower story, and strong 

 volumes of smoke from a cold-blast smoker are driven be- 

 tween all the combs, and it takes the bees left but a short 

 time to decide to come out. A section can be cleared of 

 bees in this way more quickly and more easily than a frame 

 hive can by taking the frames out and shaking and brush- 

 ing the bees off. If it is the lower story that is to be cleared 

 it is reverst, or put on top, before beginning operations. 

 The removed sections that contain brood can be profitably 

 used to strengthen weak colonies, if there are any such in 

 the yard, or with a queen and a few bees a new colony can 

 be formed with them. 



There are different ways in which the queen in these 

 hives can be found, one of which I will describe. If the 

 hive is in two sections, a good volume of smoke is driven in 

 at the entrance, and at the same time the lower section is 

 rapt with a stick, first on one side then on the other, for a 

 minute or two. This on an average of nine times in ten will 

 drive the queen into the upper story. This upper story is 

 now carefully lifted off, and a queen-excluding honey-board 

 placed over the top of the lower section. (An all-zinc board 

 is much better for this purpose than a wood-zinc.) On top of 

 the queen-excluder an empty super is placed ; the removed 

 section is then placed on top of it, and what bees will go are 

 smoked down into the super, where they pass thru the 

 zinc into the lower section. If the queen is not now found 

 on the zinc, the upper section is set on end on top of the 



super, and such a volume of cold-blast smoke is driven be- 

 tween the combs that the bees crawl out and are brusht 

 down into the super below. If the queen can not now be 

 found on top of the zinc, the lower story is set to one side, 

 bottom-board and all, and the upper story set in its place 

 on a new bottom-board, the queen-excluder and super placed 

 on top, and the lower story treated the same as the upper 

 one was, when, if the queen can not be found on the zinc, 

 she must have fallen otf while the sections were being han- 

 dled, and, if care has been taken not to step on her, she will 

 be found near with a small cluster of bees, for there is no 

 danger of her taking wing unless the colony was just about 

 ready to swarm. If a colony is in only one section, an 

 empty one is placed under it, and the one then treated as the 

 upper one was. 



Qome may think that if the queen was not readily found 

 so that the full operation described had to be performed, so 

 much smoke as it would subject the bees to might injure 

 them. There is no danger whatever of this if a cold-blast 

 smoke is used ; on the contrary, I have often thought that 

 a colony workt with more vim and energy after a thoro 

 overhauling with cold smoke. Unless care is used, tho, a 

 colony may be greatly injured with a hot-blast smoker. 



Southern Minnesota. 



A Defense of the Queen-Breeders. 



BY HENRY ALLEY. 



ONCE in awhile some bee-keeper who has purchast a 

 queen and has had bad luck in introducing her, and bad 

 luck in other ways, feels like giving vent to his disap- 

 pointment, and so he sits down and writes to some of the 

 bee-papers and gives the queen-dealer a "blowing up." 

 The purchaser is disappointed in several ways : He ex- 

 pected a large, golden-yellow queen, and, above all, had no 

 idea that his queen would not be accepted by the bees, as 

 he had adopted a method for introducing that some promi- 

 nent bee-keeper had recommended, and there could be no 

 doubt about the success of the undertaking ! 



But the queen was received ; she was small, dark-col- 

 ored, and the accompanying bees " were just like hybrids." 

 About the loss in introducing the queen I will say but little. 

 But does a purchaser expect to get a queen-bee whose con- 

 dition shall be as good when received as when the queen 

 was put into the cage ? Just consider for a moment what a 

 hard time those bees have had while they were coopt up in 

 the little box, and being rusht about for a week or more in 

 a mail-bag while the temperature is nearly up to 100 de- 

 grees in the shade. Is it not a wonder that the bees are 

 alive? Just think of a mail-bag being grabbed from a 

 crane while an express train is traveling 50 miles an hour I 

 Then, again, how does it affect the bees when a mail-pouch 

 is kickt out the door of a car and the train going at the rate 

 of 40 or more miles an hour ? Sometimes the pouch isleft 

 at a station in the hot sun while the temperature is 115 de- 

 grees in the clear sunshine ; and, sometimes, too, the mail- 

 pouch is placed upon the top of an old stage-coach, and is 

 carried for miles into some back town, and all the while 

 Old Sol is doing his best to cook the contents of the pouch. 



Well, now, all these things are done all thru the warm 

 season. Some of the people who handle the mail in the 

 cars have lots of fun with the bees they find in the bags, 

 and many queens meet injury and death in that way. 



But these things are overlookt by the purchasers oi 

 queens, and they accuse the dealer of sending them inferior 

 queens. Does any one for a moment suppose a queen- 

 dealer would put out and knowingly mail an .inferior queen ? 

 I do not believe it. The reputation of the dealer is at stake. 

 Every queen-dealer is trying to send out queens that will be 

 superior to those sent out by his competitor. 



"Handsome is that handsome does." Well, now, 

 queens when in the nuclei of the queen-breeder do look and 

 appear beautiful ; in fact, they arc beautiful, and give 

 promise — so far as one can judge of appearances and all in- 

 dications that the queen-breeder must judge quality by — of 

 being superior. I always like to have people come to my 

 yard and select their queens. Then the queens can be seen 

 in all their glory. Of course, all who desire to purchase 

 queens can not avail themselves of this suggestion. 



Bee-keepers must not be too hasty to accuse the queen- 

 breeder of wrong doing. Be a little charitable, and treat 

 them as you would like to be treated under the same cir- 

 cumstances. Every advertiser of queens stands ready to 

 make good his guarantee, and there is no need of fault-' 

 finding until the dealer refuses to do so. 



Now a word about rearing queens. I have seen good 



