I use a top chamber, 7 in. at the eaves, and 

 10 in. at the ridge ; hinged at the ridge for 

 convenience to work tlie hive. The cliam- 

 ber rests on cleats, running around the 

 hive, li in. below the top. In this hive I 

 keep 2 colonies of bees ; when I work with 

 one, I turn }4 of the chamber over on to the 

 other half, which saves lifting it off the 

 hive. When I use this hive for extracted 

 honey, I put in a movable division board, 

 and use from 12 to 15 frames or more, as I 

 choose, or can have a perfet colony with 

 only 3 frames. I wintered 2 colonies this 

 winter with only 2 frames each, and they 

 came through the winter all right. 



WINTERING. 



My manner of wintering is to put the 

 frames in the centre, and division boards on 

 each side of the bees, and then fill the 

 balance of the hive with chaff or fine straw. 

 I usually have 6 in. of chaff at each end of 

 the hive, 7 in. of straw overhead, in the 

 chamber. On the back side of each, that 

 is, on the other side of the partition, there 

 is another colony of bees, to help keep 

 warm. So there is only one side of each 

 colony that comes to the weather single ; 

 and that side can very easily be made 

 double. Here we have a big colony of bees 

 suiTOunded with someteing to keep them 

 comfortable ; and it is the best arrangement 



1 ever saw for out-door wintering. Some 

 other hive may do better in the •cellar, but I 

 always winter out of doors. 



KEEPING BECORD OF AN APIARY. 



When we have 1 or 2 colonies it is an 

 easy matter to remember all that is neces- 

 sary, or if we forget just what condition 

 they are In, it is no great job to look over 

 just a few hives, but when we have 100 or 

 more to work with, requiring the work of 

 several hands in the busy season, then it is 

 quite another thing. Then it is very neces- 

 sary to keep some kind of record, espec- 

 ially if we practice artificial division. I 

 have trieji sevei-al plans of keeping record, 



Eapers kept in the top of the hives, little 

 oards, slates, &c. I get my fingers danbed 

 with honey, have to keep a dish of water 

 handy to wash, so it is either honey or 

 water on my hands nearly all the time.— 

 That makes it bad to use paper or slate 

 either, so I take a nice piece of pine Inm- 

 ber, 1 in. thick, 2 ft. long, and from 12 to 18 

 Inches wide ; plane it smooth on both sides, 

 and then rule 4 or 5 columns on the left 

 hand side, from top to bottom ; in the the 

 first column write the month ; in the sec- 

 ond, the day of the month ; in the third, the 

 number of hives ; and as I use hives to liold 



2 or 4 colonies, I use the fourth column to 

 write the number of the division of the hive. 

 Then rule across the board, just wide 

 enough to write wth a pencil handy ; rule 

 both sides of the board alike and use it 

 until it is full. Then copy off in a book if 

 you wish to save anything there is on it ; 

 then plane the board and rule again. Two 

 or three such boards will last all the season 

 for 20 colonies of bees, without copying off. 

 I have drawn off a sample, which I send, of 

 last year's work. Have taken 2 new, and 3 

 old colonies and given the work of the 

 season. I always have my second board 



at home nights, and criticise the work done 

 by others when I am not along, so I know 

 how it is done. 



APIARY NORTH OF HOUSE. 



All extracted twice more; 2 outside combs; buck- 

 wheat honey. 

 Q. stands for queen; B. for brood; C. for comb. 



Grant Co., Wis. E. France. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



How to Prevent Swarming. 



With many bee-keepers, a most important 

 question is, " How shall I prevent my bees 

 from swarming ?" All who have any expe- 

 rience in the matter know how annoying 

 and unprofitable it is to have bees take the 

 swarming fever when we want them to 

 store surphis honey. Can swarming be 

 prevented ? I think it can. I am satisfied 

 that bees will not swarm if their hive is 

 comfortable, and they have plenty of room 

 to store honey 



Two years ago I had a swarm issue from 

 a populous and prosperous hive, and the 

 queen being clipped, they returned. 1 im- 

 mediately gave the hive a thorough ventila- 

 tion, and though I did not destroy any 

 queen cells, there was no further attempt 

 to swarm. A few days ago I opened the 

 hive, and found the same queen that came 

 out 2 years ago. The colony is now, and 

 has been ever since, one of my best ; and 

 during the 2 years, nearly, since ttie time 

 above referred to, there has been no sign of 

 swarming. Ventilation, to be effective, 

 must not only be at the bottom but at the 



