THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



171 



swarm, the queen was removed, also 

 one frame of bees and brood. If the 

 queen was an extra good one she was 

 put in an empty hive with the frame of 

 brood. The next six or seven colonies 

 dequeened had their queens killed and 

 one frame of brood from each taken to 

 put with the queen that was saved, 

 which made the increase. 



The eg^gs that these queens would 

 have laid if they had been left in the 

 hive would hatch after the main honey 

 flow. 



After dequeening began, each yard 

 was gone through and the cells re- 

 moved just before they would hatch. 

 Since there had been no eggs laid for 

 several days when the cells were de- 

 stroyed the second time, the bees had 

 given up all idea of swarming, but 

 were very anxious to have a queen. 

 We now select a cell from some colony 

 preparing to swarm, place it in a West 

 cage and give it to the dequeened 

 colony. This operation should be 

 timed so the young queen will begin to 

 lay at the time of the opening of the 

 main harvest, and this colony will have 

 its share of surplus honey, as this 

 plan prevents the bees from dividing 

 their working force at the beginning of 

 the best harvest; and also gives them a 

 vigorous young queen during the honey 

 flow. In destroying these cells we 

 must be sure that we don't skip even a 

 small one, or it may upset the whole 

 plan. 



The ease and rapidity with which the 

 combs could be examined was the most 

 important point about Mr. Elwood's 

 system. If we had tried to find the 

 same number of queens and queen cells 

 and do the other necessary work for 

 that number of colonies in some of the 

 hives, where you have to pyy and twist 

 and/>«// and keep prying and twisting 

 and pulling to get the frames out — well 

 we would get left, that's all, and would 

 have to "keep less bees." With Mr. 

 Elwood's hive there was no moving two 

 or three frames to make room to take 



out the first one, nor any rolling the 

 bees over and over in doing it, which is 

 liable to injure the bees and queen. 

 In fact, the first frame can be taken 

 out with as little time and trouble as 

 though it were the only frame in the 

 hive. When a hive is opened to find 

 the queen, there is no place where she 

 can hide on the sides of the hive, so 

 there is no time lost looking for her on 

 the combs while she is on the side of 

 the hive. 



Mr. Elwood made a business of the 

 bee business; not having even a pig or 

 a hen to take his time when the bees 

 needed it. The home-yard was worked 

 exactly the same as the out yards. 



TAKING OFF SURPLUS. 



An out-yard should be located if pos- 

 sible on sloping ground, and should be 

 approached from the upper side and 

 the wagon left at the upper corner. At 

 the close of the swarming season some 

 of the honey was ready to be taken off, 

 and this we did by blowing smoke in 

 at the top until inost of the bees had 

 gone into the lower supers or hive, 

 when such supers as were finished 

 were lifted ott and set on a board at 

 the upper side of the j'ard. This super 

 was covered with an empty super that 

 had a piece of burlap tacked across it, 

 and the light showing through the bur- 

 lap would attract anj' stray bees taken 

 with the honey. When more supers 

 are added to the pile, if any bees are 

 found in the empty super, they are 

 shaken out. When this pile is 10 

 supers high, another pile is started 

 farther down the yard, so when we 

 have the honey all off it is in piles 

 along one side of the j'ard. Later in 

 the season when robbers were about we 

 had some cloth tubes 8 or 10 feet long 

 and large enough to slip over this pile 

 of supers. One of these cloths can be 

 slipped up as the pile is increased, 

 which effectually prevents the bees 

 getting at the honey. Every bee wagon 

 should have a good brake, one that can 



