340 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



not been used very extensively, and has 

 been quite severely criticised, but there 

 have been some very satisfactory re- 

 ports from the use of this plan. 



Of course, colonies can be divided 

 just the same if they are not making 

 preparations for swarming-, hut, as a 

 rule, the bee-keeper would rather not 

 disturb a colony that is working well, 

 and will not swarm, hence, the general 

 practice is to examine colonies once a 

 week, and manipulate those that are 

 starting queen cells. Theexamination 

 of colonies to see if they are building 

 cells is really the great objection to 

 this system of controlling increase, but 

 there are methods whereby even this 

 ditticulty may be greatly lessened. 

 For instance, Mr. F. H. Cy renins of 

 New York, has a simple clamp by 

 means of which the supers may be very 

 quickly and securely fastened to the 

 hive so that it may be tipped over back- 

 wards, and the lower parts of the 

 brood combs examined for queen cells. 

 Mr. K. F. Holtermann of Ontario also 

 has a cell detector, a hole in the back 

 of the hive whereby a view may be 

 gained of the edge of a comb in the 

 center of the brood nest— a most entic- 

 ing place for the building of queen cells 



when all of the combs are smooth and 

 perfect. Another prominent Canadian 

 bee-keeper has an arrangement where- 

 by the supers and upper section of a 

 Heddon hive can be tipped back, ex- 

 posing that portion of the brood nest 

 (the space between the two sets of 

 combs) where the queen cells are nearly 

 always built. This man manages sev- 

 eral apiaries, and he told me recently 

 that this device, that allows of this 

 quick, easy examination of the brood 

 nests, saves him one man's wages dur- 

 the swarming season. 



The tendency of the times is towards 

 specialty, towards the keeping of more 

 bees and the establishing of out-apia- 

 ries. With this system of management, 

 the prevention or control of increase is 

 the leading feature of the problem. Of 

 course, it has been managed, and can 

 be managed, but the question that the 

 Review now proposes to discuss, from 

 the ground up, is, how can it be man- 

 aged to the best advantage f In this 

 editorial I have gone briefly over the 

 leading features of the different 

 methods, and now I wish for a most 

 thorough discussion, and am ready to 

 pay liberally for articles on the 

 subject. 



BEE-KEEPING AS A SPECIALTY. 



Some Reasons Why it May be Followed 

 to Advantage. 



After years of pleading for specialty 

 there is no little gratification to occa- 

 sionally see some of the leaders falling 

 into line, as does Grant Stanley in 

 the American Bee Journal, where he 

 sa3's: — 



There has never been a time in the 

 history of this country in which the 

 service of the specialist was in such 



great demand as it is at the present 

 time. We see it on every hand; the cry 

 goes out all over the land for special- 

 ists; it goes out from all manufactur- 

 ing establishments, it goes out from 

 railroad companies, for men speciallj' 

 fitted for various lines of work; it goes 

 out from ever^' branch of the Depart- 

 ment of Ag-riculture, at Washington; it 

 even goes out from patients seeking 

 treatment for various diseases. The 

 cry today is for the specialist. We 

 fairlj^ seem to be passing through a 

 reconstruction period. The reason for 

 all this is not far to seek; surrounding 

 conditions have become remarkably 

 changed, and along with it various 

 questions of a complicated nature, as 



