308 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



May 17. 1900 



our success or failure in the matter. I have largely prac- 

 ticed it in the past, but of late I have discontinued it almost 

 altogether, for here with what skill, or perhaps I should say 

 what judgment, I possess, taking one year with another, 

 nothing is to be gained by the practice. 



It is true, some years a considerable increase in bees 

 can be secured by spreading, but it is equally true that some 

 years nothing is gained; while, again, some years I have 

 had the practice result in a serious loss of brood, which was 

 more valuable at the time it was lost than twice or even 

 three times the same amount %vould be later in the season. 

 The trouble is, that here in the spring, during the time 

 brood must be spread in order to secure much advantage 

 from the practice, the weather is too uncertain. A warm, 

 mild spell may be succeeded for a considerable time with 

 so low a temperature that colonies of ordinary strength will 

 hardl3' be able to protect what brood they would naturally 

 have, so if the brood has been spread during or just pre- 

 vious to the warm spell, some of it must perish, and in some 

 cases manj' adult bees will also be lost, for they may stay 

 spread out trying to protect the spread brood until they 

 succumb to the cold ; but it is only in very exceptional 

 cases that many bees themselves are lost, and this occurs 

 when the weather turns cold very suddenly. When the 

 change comes on gradually the bees keep contracting the 

 space occupied until, if necessary, they are as compactU- 

 clustered as they are during cold weather late in the fall. 



But I think there is no question but what a large in- 

 crease in brood-rearing can be secured, or at least started, 

 by spreading the brood. But it should be done with great 

 caution in localities that are like mine — subject to sudden 

 changes during the forepart of the season. 



To show the danger there is in the practice here. I will 

 brieflj' cite an instance in this respect that occurred with 

 me a number of years ago. That spring the weather until 

 the middle of April was cold and unfavorable, then it sud- 

 denly turned warm, and I expected the cold weather for that 

 season was over, and as there was but little brood in the 

 hives I commenced spreading it, and brood-rearing increast 

 very rapidly, but the last of April it suddenly turned cold 

 again, and we had quite a snow-storm, and it continued 

 cold until about the middle of Maj-. That spring I noticed 

 a number of farmers planting corn with overcoats and 

 mittens on. When warm weather came again I found, upon 

 examination, that a large part of the colonies were in a 

 deplorable condition ; they were very weak in bees, and a 

 large part of the brood had perisht. Besides this, spread- 

 ing of brood had caused them to use much more of their 

 stores than they would otherwise have done, so I had to do 

 a good deal of feeding that would not have been necessary 

 if the brood had not been spread. Besides the work it in- 

 volved, I lost by it that year, at a low estimate, $200. 



Perhaps most of those who read this will say. Well, you 

 spread too much and too soon. If they think so, my object 

 is gained, for I have merely described my loss as a caution 

 toothers. But it should be understood that all I have said 

 in regard to this matter refers to single-walled hives, for I 

 use no other. In the long ago, I made a number of double- 

 walled chaff hives, but a large percent of the colonies in 

 them, if the hives were left outdoors, perisht during the 

 winter or following spring, and if colonies in them were 

 wintered in the cellar I could not see that they did any bet- 

 ter in the spring, or gathered anj' more honej' during the 

 season, on an average, than colonies in single-walled hives, 

 so I discontinued their use, for they were much more un- 

 wieldy to carry into and out of the cellar, and more unhandy 

 to manipulate in the summer. 



Mr. Doolittle claims, I believe, that bees winter enough 

 better in chaff hives in the cellar to pay for the extra 

 trouble and expense of using them, but how or why they 

 can, in a cellar, be kept at the proper temperature is some- 

 thing I can not understand, except if the packing overhead 

 is arranged so as to absorb dampness that may arise from 

 the cluster, this might in a damp cellar be a benefit ; but 

 the same benefit could be more cheaply secured by putting 

 a packt super over a single-walled hive. Be this as it may, 

 at the time I had a few double-walled hives in use I knew 

 nothing about spreading brood in the spring, so I can not 

 say from experience whether as much caution would be 

 necessary when using them. It looks very reasonable to 

 suppose that a colon)- in a packt double-walled hive could 

 protect more brood during a cold spell than the same colony 

 could in a single-walled hive. However it would be in the 

 case of spread brood, probably all know that there is a con- 

 siderable difference of opinion between men of experience 

 in the matter as to whether a chaff hive is an advantage or 



not during the changeable weather of spring to a colony of 

 average strength left in normal condition. 



Of course, there are times late enough in the season 

 when there is no danger of brood being chilled, when the 

 brood in a certain colony can be spread to great advantage ; 

 in other cases it will result in great advantage to a colony 

 to have their combs rearranged early in the spring, for in 

 some cases there is so much honey in the combs next to the 

 cluster that brood-rearing will not increase as fast as it 

 naturally should, for thobees can remove and change hone)' 

 from one comb to another, sometimes they do this work too 

 slow in the early spring ; besides, there may not be any- 

 where to put it. 



When using a small hive like the 8-frame Langstroth, 

 one of the things that has to bewatcht and guarded against 

 is not to allow too much honej' in the brood-nest during the 

 time brood-rearing is desired, for brood-rearing can not, of 

 course, be carried on unless there are empty combs in 

 which the queen can deposit eggs. 



Dr. Miller would probably say, Give them another story 

 of empt)' combs, then at the beginning of the white flow, if 

 thought best, thej' can be reduced down to one story again. 

 This is a good plan to practice if one has the empty hives 

 and drawn comb, but there are probably many who run for 

 comb honey who do not have many of these extra hives un- 

 less a severe winter loss has occurred. This is the case 

 with me, and with frame hives I find this matter can be as 

 profitabl)' arranged here without going to the expense and 

 work of keeping a large number of extra hives and combs, 

 for there are usually enough colonies short, or that can at 

 least take more stores without curtailing their brood-rear- 

 ing, so that by exchanging combs enough brood-room can 

 be secured for all. 



There are exceptional cases, as when, for instance, the 

 brood-nests are on an average unusually well filled in the 

 fall; and again, when more than the usual amount is 

 secured from the early spring flowers. Under these condi- 

 tions the extractor is brought into pla)', which soon reme- 

 dies the matter ; but in other localities, like I imagine Dr. 

 Miller's to be, where there is a longer time from the begin- 

 ning of settled warm weather until the main flow, it might 

 be money well invested to have an extra story with drawn 

 combs for all strong colonies. Southern Minnesota. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. C. O. MILLER, Afareng-o, HI. 



(The Questions may be mailed to the Bee Jonrnal ofltice, or to Dr. Miller 



direct, when he will answer them here. Please do not ask the 



Doctor to send answers by mail. — Editor. 1 



Transferring— Bee-Keepers Mostly Non-Tobacco Users. 



1. My IS colonies came thru the winter strong. One 

 colony, tho, had no queen lately, and I feared they had foul 

 brood, but there was no smell. Some brood was brown, and 

 on one side of the cell, and would stretch out about '2 inch ; 

 some was dried up. I tried to transfer them, but they would 

 not be transferred. They were an immense colony. I tore 

 their box up atid let them scatter to the four winds, as I had 

 no queen and could not find theirs. I transferred 4 other 

 colonies the same day (April 15) quite successfully, I be- 

 lieve. This is the way I did it : 



I put a super where the old box stood ; turning the old 

 box upside down about S feet back, and setting the new 

 body on top. I drummed and smokt from the old box nearlj' 

 all the bees with the queen, I suppose, into the new body. 

 Then taking the body, I placed it on the old stand under the 

 super. I used about 3-inch starters. Did those homeless 

 bees go to other hives, do you suppose ? 



The colony I could not transfer had lots of moths on the 

 bottom, inside of the hive. I am worrying some for fear 

 they might have had foul brood. 



2. I am having some extracting-hives made with closed- 

 end frames l>'s inches wide. The bodies and supers are the 

 same size — Sfsxl4 '4x17, inside measure. I can put two to- 



