1903 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



261 



work ill supers. Had I not wanted 

 increuse I would only baA'e let them 

 swium once each. 



As they were all large colonies, they 

 sent out large swarms. These were 

 hived on sniall starters, 1 1-2 to 2 inch 

 strips, iu broad frames, and starlet's 

 in sections. Then, in one or two days, 

 1 gave another super of sections next 

 to brood frames. In a day or tvvo I 

 slipped another under these two. This 

 prevented pollen iu sections aud start- 

 ed bees in all supers. 



Now right here I emphatically want 

 to say I disagree with Mr. M. F. Reeve, 

 though he is right with small swarms. 

 If I have a very large swarm come 

 off iu a gocKl houey flow, no man could 

 run fast enough to give me either comb 

 or full sheets to put them on, as I want 

 them in the supers. If I give them 

 combs in bmod chambers they go right 

 into wholesale brood-rearing, which 

 takes lots of bees and honey that ought 

 to go into sections. Yes. 1 get some 

 drone comb, but that can be remetlicd 

 afterwards. I would rather have some 

 drone comb than to have good combs 

 and only one-half the honey. 



The second s^varms were large 

 enough to tfill or cover starters in brood 

 chamber and two supers. To the third 

 swarms I gave the shallow frame su- 

 per from the old colony with what 

 bi*ood there was left in it. 



Now, T don't want to take throe or 

 four pages to go into details, but one 

 thing I had in view was the late fall 

 flow from smartweed, which often 

 yields well, and when smartweed came 

 in bloom, I had (counting partly filled 

 sections on the hives) about 3,000 

 pounds, or, I think, nearer 3,500 

 pounds, with about fifty colonies work- 

 ing slowly in from one to fire supers. 

 If smartwee^l had behaved a« did 

 while clover, I never would have dared 

 tell of it, for fear of being branded 

 "the biggest liar iu seven States." But 

 cool nights came and colonies with four 

 snpei-s were croAvdcd down to two su- 

 pers, and othei-s in proportion; but in- 

 stead of getting any more surplus the 

 bees stopped brood-rearing and even 

 carried some honej' from supers and 

 tilled brood chamber, so they are well 

 supi^lied with honej'. But even now, 

 N^ovember 12, some hives have one su- 

 per of .shallow .frames partly 'filled 

 with honey, and the 8-frauie brood 

 chamber won't hold the bees. I expect 



to give each colony a cake of candy 

 over frames, as per Abbott's plan. I 

 am taking Mr. Reeves' advice and cov- 

 ering all hives with four thicknesses 

 of newspaper. Then I put a store box 

 over each to protect paper. I use quilt 

 aud lots of old clean rags over frames 

 and winter on summer stands. 



1 never expect to see as good a sear 

 s(m for honey as the past season; but, 

 judging from what experience I had, I 

 wish to just mention a few points. 



If there are good indications for a 

 goofl crop of white clover I most em- 

 liliatically believe in stimulative feed- 

 ing in spring. If in a good honey flow 

 the swarming fever overtJikes the bees 

 I would rather let them swarm once 

 and put them right to work in supers 

 than to try to prevent swarming aud 

 have the bees loafing until the houey 

 flow -is over. Of course, if you can 

 keep ti'iem from getting the fever and 

 keep them busy, that is still better- - 

 if you don't want increase. I have 

 some of the celebrated long-tongue Ital- 

 ifui?, also hybrids. 



There was lots of red clover hitc in 

 the fall in full bloom, but it did not 

 worr.y the loug-tongued bees. They 

 did not M'ork on red clover. Neither 

 did Ihe.v build as nice comb as the 

 Jiybrlds. However, I made several 

 nuclei from one colony of long- 

 tongued bees, and they did well, and 

 are fair comb builders. The colony 

 did not swarm at all; aud I got three 

 sup(4-s of comb honey from them— all 

 second grade, and some ptjirtly filled 

 sections. Prom a one-frame nucleus 

 made in May, I gx>t GO pounds of comb 

 honey aud some unfinished sections. 

 (Jthers did not do so well, but built 

 ap to good colonies aud were \\orklng 

 in supers when the hone.v flow stop- 

 ped, and were ready for the smartweetl 

 flow, which did not come except very 

 moderately. 



Williamsfield. 111.. Nov. 14, ino.",. 



FROM NEW^ ZEA3LAJfD. 

 . iG. S. J. Small).. 



CANNOT let tiiis cliance pass 

 without expressing my opinion 

 on this most interesting journal, 

 a paper that will stand its own against 

 all comers. Its editorials are as those 

 that come from a man of far renown 

 and long expeiience, the simi)Ie yet 

 instructive style with which its cor- 



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