246 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



March 30, 190S. 



does not come at once, but by renewing this annual advertisement — 

 this method of popularizing the consumption of honey — we slowly 

 create a good clientele that will remain faithful to the Association, 

 and will return annually to the honey market. E. Bonhote. 



It is, of course, more difficult to follow this method in a 

 sparsely settled country like the United States than in 

 Switzerland, where honey-producers are in great numbers, 

 but not extensively, engaged in bee-culture. But I believe 

 there are some hints in the doings of Europeans. There are 

 many things in which we could imitate them. For instance, 

 their street fairs in small cities twice or three times a year, 

 are the means of helping trades and purchases of all kinds. 

 Whoever wants to buy a horse, a cow, or sell one, goes to 

 the street fair and is sure to find all sorts of bargains. So 

 it might be with honey-sales. If local bee-associations in 

 the neighborhood of large centers would take advantage of 

 the cheapest means of advertising, and let the people know 

 that good honey — honey known to be pure, and guaranteed 

 by their local association — would be offered for sale on cer- 

 tain days at certain points, there would probably be enough 

 sale and enough additional advertising in those " markets " 

 to prove very beneficial to the fraternity. Many people 

 hesitate to buy honey because they fear adulteration, and 

 many of these would probably go readily to get their supply 

 from a local association that was known to represent the 

 honest producer of pure honey. 



Is not this matter worth considering ? 



Hancock Co., 111. 



# 



Shaking of Bees for Comb-Honey Production 

 Without Any Increase 



BY L. STACHELHAIISEN. 



ON page 19 I find an editorial note saying that the plan 

 for making shaken swarms is at least 39 years old. 

 There has been a general misunderstanding in this re- 

 spect for about five years, when the making of shook 

 swarms commenced to receive the attention of American 

 bee-keepers. 



The plan of making artificial swarms by shaking or 

 brushing the bees off of the combs is nearly as old as 

 the movable comb itself. I have made such swarms ever 

 since I commenced bee-keeping, 38 years ago, and saw other 

 bee-keepers make them some years before that. It is the 

 same thing as the driving of swarms from a straw-hive, 

 which has probably been known and practiced for 200 years. 

 Even the plan to make three colonies out of two is very old. 



Of newer date are only some modifications. It was the 

 rule that a shaken, brushed or driven swarm should be put 

 on the old stand to get all the field-bees. C. J. H. Graven- 

 horst, in Germany, about 1878, was the first who explained 

 how to operate when the shaken swarm should be put on a 

 new stand. 



So far the purpose of shaking was increase. I believe 

 I was the first one to use this manipulation for any other 

 purpose. 



Since 1880 I have been keeping bees here in Texas, and 

 I used at first the 10-frame Langstroth hive, but later a still 

 larger one. I soon found that these large hives are favor- 

 able for spring development, but not practical for comb- 

 honey production, while swarms, natural or shaken — espe- 

 cially if they are very strong and hived on starters only — 

 had always given a good crop of comb honey. 



There was only one thing I did not like — such swarms 

 were getting weaker all the time during the first 21 days, 

 because no young bees were gnawing out of the cells; the 

 brood in the swarm was increasing, and more bees were 

 necessary to nurse this brood. This, again, causes a dimin- 

 ishing of the field-force at a time when a large force is most 

 needed. If the bees which are reared in the parent colony 

 could be given to the swarm at the right time, we could have 

 the field-force as in an undivided colony. 



Heddon's method of preventing afterswarms had given 

 me the idea how to secure this. I put the shaken or natural 

 swarm on the old stand, and the parent colony close by its 

 side ; 10 days afterward the most bees of the old hive were 

 shaken in front of the swarm and the queen-cells cut out ; 

 and 21 days after the swarm was made all the bees of the 

 parent colony were united with the swarm. There is no 

 increase and no interruption in breeding. I used this plan 

 about 8 years ago, and as I found it a success I published it 

 in Gleanings. Nobody mentioned it till about a year after- 

 ward, when E. R. Root brought it more prominently before 

 the bee-keeping public. Now, from several sides we hear : 



" That is old ; somebody made shaken swarms some years 

 ago." But the shaken swarm is only a part of my plan, 

 and can just as well be a natural swarm. 



The whole thing is very simple, and it is very probable 

 that some used a similar plan at the same time or before I 

 did, but it was not published before I mentioned my plan in 

 December, 1899, and before I described it in Gleanings (1900, 

 page 840). I know of one such plan — that is, the parent 

 hive is set on top of the swarm and a connection is made by 

 a channel or otherwise from the upper alighting-hole down 

 to the lower one, so that every bee that flies out from the 

 upper hive will, after returning, unite with the swarm. 



I claim to be the first one who used a plan to unite all 

 the bees from the parent colony at the proper time with the 

 shaken or natural swarm, and in this connection used a new 

 management for comb-honey production, gaining the 

 advantage of large hives during spring development, and 

 of small hives during the honey-flow. Bexar Co., Tex. 



=^ 



Conxumtton 

 Proceebtn^s 



jf 



Report of the Wisconsin Convention. 



(Contlnaed from pa^e 231.] 



The convention took up the question of affiliated bee- 

 keepers' societies in Wisconsin with the State Association, 

 and a committee was appointed to consider the subject. 



Mr. F. Wilcox was recommended for judge of the api- 

 arian exhibit at the next State Fair. 



C. Spangenburg exhibited a single-comb honey-extractor 

 which cost 35 cents. He made it himself. It consisted of 

 a handle or pole about 4 feet long, around which swung a 

 wooden half-cylinder about 20 inches long, in which was sup- 

 ported a flat wire-cloth whereon was laid the comb of honey 

 to be extracted. This half-cylinder was attached at each 

 end of it to the pole by means of metal rings, and the whole 

 thing was swung around the pole by a peculiar movement 

 of the hand at its top, the lower end of the pole having a 

 sharp point, which was supposed to drop into a small round 

 hole in the floor. It is an ingenious invention, but hardly 

 practical for the specialist bee-keeper 1 



The first thing at the morning session of the second 

 day was the election of officers, which resulted as follows : 

 President, N. E. France ; Vice-President, Jacob Huffman ; 

 Secretary, Gus Dittmer, of Augusta ; and Treasurer, F. 

 Wilcox. 



It was reported that at ^he last Minnesota State Fair 

 there were 152 entries in the apiarian department, for which 

 $408 in cash premiums was offered. Wisconsin offered a 

 total of only $97 at its last Fair. A committee of three was 

 ordered on State Fair Apiarian Exhibits, consisting of 

 Pres. France, and Messrs. Putnam and Wilcox, with in- 

 structions to endeavor to secure, if possible, for the Wiscon- 

 sin State Fair, a premium list similar to that of Minnesota. 



Mrs. Millie Honaker read the only paper of the con- 

 vention, on the subject, "Who Is, and Who Will Make, a 

 Successful Bee-Keeper." It was an excellent paper. 



Practically all of the time of the convention was de- 

 voted to the discussion of questions, which is fast becoming 

 the popular kind of program for bee-keepers' conventions. 



In reply to the question about emptying barrels of gran- 

 ulated honey, it was advised first to lay a sheet of zinc or 

 heavy paper on the floor, on which place the barrel, and 

 then remove all of the barrel except the lower head. The 

 honey can then be shoveled into any large receptacle for 

 melting. 



Experience was called for as to feeding syrup and water 

 in the spring, in the open, for stimulating brood-rearing. It 

 was suggested that it might cause robbing. Some one ad- 

 vised putting combs of honey or syrup in empty hives 

 where bees can get at them. This was found to work well. 



For late feeding it was suggested that by elevating the 

 front of the hive a little the feed could be poured in at the 

 entrance on the bottom-board. This was found to work all 

 right, giving the feed in the evening, as the bees would 

 have it all carried up by morning. That is, provided the 

 nights were not too cold. One pint, or even half a pint, at 

 a feeding was mentioned. 



Do bees winter well on buckwheat honey ? Yes. :ZZ 



