370 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



wish to be understood as claiming that all 

 this is tlie result of organization, but we do 

 claim that it has been an incentive to it,and 

 a wider knowledge of them diffuse through 

 these means. It is true that they liave all 

 been heralded forth by the different bee 

 papers — they, too, are great helpers in dif- 

 fusing knowledge, and I wish that every 

 bee-keeper throughout the land were sub- 

 scribers and readers of our bee papers, but 

 we all know that many are not and proba- 

 bly never will be. When we meet in con- 

 vention our proceedings are usually pub- 

 lished in the political papers and copied 

 into agricultural ones, and through these 

 means reach the eyes of many who would 

 otherwise know nothing of them. A know- 

 ledge is also imparted to many by those of 

 us who do attend. 



In conclusion let me add that I am in 

 hopes that peace and harmony will prevail 

 during our deliberations, and that when we 

 come to separate that we will have no cause 

 to regret our meeting together, but on the 

 contrary we will part better friends than 

 when we met. 



The following essay by G. M. Doolittle 

 was then read: 



Increase and Prevention of Increase. 



It has been intimated by some that Doo- 

 little did not try new experiments, or in 

 other words, was not a friend to real pro- 

 gress. 



Now, this is not so; for we experiment on 

 everything that looks at all like a success, 

 and so should any apiarist that expects to 

 realize the most profit from his bees; for 

 there are in these days strong hints drop- 

 ped in all our bee papers, that if followed 

 up might prove of real value. Still, how- 

 ever mucli we may experiment, no one 

 should be foolish enough to devote liis 

 whole apiary to experiments, no matter 

 how feasible some new plan may look, but 

 a certain part of the apiary should be set off 

 for just these experiments, and the rest 

 worked in t!ie way known to produce good 

 results. When we have proven, with a few 

 stocks, that some new uiode of management 

 has advantages over the old, it is soon 

 enough to devote our whole apiary to it. A 

 noted bee-keeper once clianged (or tried to 

 change) all his queens in the month of 

 June, to prevent increase, upon the plan 

 given by Mrs. Tupper,' that a young, laying 

 queen would not lead out a swarm the same 

 year, but the experiment cost him nearly 

 his whole honey crop. 



Another buried his whole apiary in 

 manure heaps and came near losing the 

 whole. We could quote numerous failures 

 of like character; but these two will suffice 

 to put tiie readers of the Jouknal on tiieir 

 guard against experiments with a whole 

 bee-yard. It should also be borne in mind 

 that localities differ, and that what holds 

 good with one may not with another. We 

 know of no better advice than that given by 

 one of old: "Prove all things, and hold fast 

 that which is good." 



We have numerous inquiries as to how 

 the swarming fever may be controlled. To 

 try to prevent all first swarms disposed to 

 issue previous to ten days before your 

 honey harvest commences will result only 

 in vexations and loss of honey, where we 

 work for box honey; and we doubt if any 

 mode of artificial swarms, up to this time, 

 can be made to pay so well as to let them 



issue naturally. Therefore we say let all 

 first swarms that come ten or more days be- 

 fore your honey harvest commences, be 

 hived in a new hive, and as soon as the hive 

 is two-thirds full of comb, put on boxes; or 

 if you can furnish them with empty comb 

 put the boxes on at once. Prevent all after 

 swarms by some of the various modes 

 given, and as soon as the young queens get 

 to laying they will go to work in the boxes 

 and generally make more box honey than 

 the new swarm. What have not swarmed 

 ten days before the honey harvest is to com- 

 mence, may be made artificially, if we de- 

 sire increase upon the plan given by Mrs. 

 Tupper; namely, shake all the bees and 

 queen from a populous colony into an 

 empty hive, placed where the old one stood, 

 and put on boxes as before directed. Move 

 another populous colony to a new stand and 

 place a hive filled with the combs full of 

 brood that you have just shaken the bees 

 from, in its place, uiving them a laying 

 queen, and the old bees returning from the 

 field make up the colony. Thus it will be 

 seen we make one new stock from two old 

 ones, and they are all in the best possible 

 condition to make box honey. 



PKEVENTION OF INCREASE. 



It is expected that all apiarists will clip 

 all queens wings as soon as they get to lay- 

 ing, thereby saving all loss of swarms by 

 flight to the woods, and all uniting of two 

 or more swarms. If we have decided that 

 prevention of increase will be more profit- 

 able than increase (according to the time 

 our honey harvest commences) when a 

 swarm issues, we catch the queen as she is 

 found running round in front of the hive 

 trying to follow the swarm, and place her 

 in a wire-cloth cage, spread the combs a 

 little in the centre of the hive and by means 

 of a wire attached to the cage, suspend it in 

 the centre of the hive, and the bees will 

 soon return. You will want to be a little 

 spry about this operation or the bees may 

 miss their queen and return before you get 

 through, and in that case you will have a 

 job to close the hive without killing lots of 

 bees. In five days open the hive and cut 

 out all queen cells that are sealed, then wait 

 five days more and cut them all off again, 

 liberate the queen and the bees will go to 

 work in the boxes with a will that will sur- 

 prise you. In cutting out the queen cells 

 each time, you will want to shake the bees 

 off' the combs or you may miss some of 

 them. Still later when the caging of the 

 queen would come right in the honey har- 

 vest, thereby causing too great a loss of 

 honey, as with us bee's will not half work in 

 boxes without a laying queen. 



Swarming can generally be controlled by 

 extracting the honey from the brood combs 

 and cutting off all cells the evening after a 

 swarm has issued and been returned. If 

 they are satisfied with swarming out and 

 having their honey extracted (which they 

 generally are) they will go to work in the 

 boxes with a will. However, if none are 

 seen at work in the boxes, but are lounging 

 idly there, they will swarm again in a few 

 days and you will have to repeat the opera- 

 tion. In "the midst of the honey harvest 

 another and a very good plan is to watch 

 your opportunity and when two or three 

 swarms come out so as to cluster together, 

 hang one of the caged queens with them till 

 they get settled, and then hive them the 

 same as any swarm, putting on the boxes at 



