AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



769 



ceived them, the cold weather prevent- 

 ing it, also being ill at the time myself. 

 I was fearful that it would be a failure, 

 but now the young Italians are to bo 

 seen on the wing from both queens. The 

 first flight the young beos had was just 

 30 days from the introduction of the 

 queens. 



We have had fine weather for the bees 

 during the past three days, and with a 

 few more such days the bees will have 

 recruited their stores, and will make 

 another start on the road to prosperity. 



We have white clover in abundance 

 now, and yielding honey, besides rasp- 

 berry and blackberry, and many other 

 honey-plants in bloom. The bees ought 

 to do well, and I believe we shall have 

 from this date on a continuous honey- 

 flow, if not too dry during the summer. 



I do not know when my bees will 

 swarm, if at all. At this date last year I 

 had secured four prime swarms. Three 

 weeks ago the drones were all killed off, 

 which was then a puzzle to me, but now 

 I think I understand their motives. 



Prairie duRocher, Ills., May 26,1892. 



Manapffleiit of Oul-Aplaries. 



AAKON BENEDICT. 



Have ready as many hives as there 

 are old colonies, and All with combs or 

 foundation. As soon as the hives are 

 full of bees at the commencement of the 

 honey-flow, commence smoking the bees 

 at the entrance a little to quiet them. 

 Lift the hive from the stand, put a new 

 one in its place; now drum the bees up 

 into the cover or box, and shake them 

 out on a cloth in front of the new hive, 

 and as the bees run in, look for the 

 queen (be sure she is in the new hive). 



Place a wire screen on top of the new 

 hive ; put the old hive on top, minus the 

 bottouj-board ; all the hives should have 

 loose bottoms. 



After the bees get to work in the 

 lower hive, remove the screen, and let 

 the bees go together. The queen will 

 generally remain in the lower hive where 

 there is ample chance to deposit eggs, 

 and the bees will store the honey in the 

 upper hive. This honey may be ex- 

 tracted from time to time, or left until 

 the honey season is over, and then ex- 

 tracted. I like the latter plan the best, 

 because we get good, ripened honey ; 

 and here in central Ohio our honey har- 

 vest ends about the middle of July. We 

 have no fall honey here, and the upper 

 hive holds all the honey the bees can 



gather, consequently we do not have to 

 extract until the honey season is over. 



In running an out-apiary, keep the 

 bees separate for seven or eight days, 

 then overhaul the old hive and destroy 

 all the queen-cells ; this will stop after- 

 swarms. Remove the separator, and 

 let them go together, and the work is 

 done. No need of any one to watch for 

 swarms. 



After the honey season is over, smoke 

 the bees down into the lower hive, take 

 off the upper hive, then examine the 

 lower hive ; see how much honey they 

 have, and if not enough for winter, take 

 sealed honey from the upper hive and 

 give them suf3Bcient to winter. Extract 

 the balance, put the hives and combs in 

 a dry place secure from mice, for next 

 year's operations. In managing bees 

 this way, we have large colonies to go 

 into winter quarters, and also large col- 

 onies for next year's operations. 



Running bees in out-apiaries for comb 

 honey is more difficult unless we divide 

 the bees. Drum out the bees as in the 

 other case. (I like the drumming process 

 best, as it causes the bees to fill their 

 honey-sacs, and this gives them some- 

 thing to go to house-keeping with.) Let 

 them run into the new hive, put them 

 on the old stand, and place the old hive 

 on a new stand. In seven or eight days 

 go through the old hive and cut out all 

 the queen-cells bat one, to prevent after- 

 swarms. 



At my home apiary, in running for 

 comb honey, I would rather the bees 

 would not swarm. If they do, I hive 

 and place the new swarm on the old 

 stand. If the bees have commenced 

 storing honey in the sections, and if they 

 are not finished before swarming, I 

 place the sections on the new swarm to 

 finish; or if running for both extracted 

 and comb honey, and they swarm, put 

 the new swarm under the old one, take 

 off the sections, and put them on any 

 strong colony that is not working in the 

 sections, then extract from the upper 

 hive, as before mentioned. 



Bennington, Ohio. 



A Visit Among Iowa Bee-Keepers. 



THOS. JOHNSON. 



In the forepart of April I visited Mr. 

 O. ?. Miller, of Glendon, Iowa, who has 

 an apiary of 45 colonies. On account of 

 insufficient stores to keep the bees, I 

 would not be surprised if he lost nearly 

 half of them, not having as good a 



