360 



THE BEE-KEEPEKS' REVIEW 



in thus building up 20 colonies into 104, 

 was to show my friends that all this 

 was not idle talk. I well-know that 

 much greater increase has been made. 

 I once made increase at twice this 

 ratio, but that was when I had a 

 bountiful flow from buckwheat. My 

 increase this year was made from 

 clover alone. If a good flow from buck- 

 wheat had followed, or if there had 

 been a fall flow from any source, or 

 if I had resorted to feeding-, it would 

 have been an easy matter to have 

 simply doubled the 104 colonies. 



A SAFE, SURE METHOD OK INCREASE. 



I think I have before described the 

 method of increase, but I will go over it 

 again briefl}^ As soon as some of the 

 colonies were full of bees, brood and 

 honey, and could easily spare two 

 combs of bees and brood from each, 

 that many were removed from each 

 colony until enough were secured to fill 

 a hive, which was placed upon a new 

 stand and given a laying queen bought 

 from a Southern feeder. By the way, 

 most of the queens were not released 

 until a day or two after the formation 

 of the colony, when most of the old bees 

 had returned to their old homes, leav- 

 ing mostly young bees, and I believe I 

 lost only three queens out of about 90 

 that were introduced. Of course, the 

 old queens had to be hunted up before 

 removing the combs of brood and ad- 

 hering bees, and this is about the only 

 objection that I have found to this 

 method of making increase. With pure 

 Italians of a peaceable strain, this is 

 not a serious objection in a small 

 apiary. It consumes time, however, 

 and, when doing things on a large 

 scale, a man would probably wish for 

 some quicker method. Another year I 

 think I shall try the plan of shaking 

 off the bees from the combs of bees 

 removed (then there would be no time 

 wasted in looking for queens) and 

 when I had a hive full of cornbs of 

 brood I would set it over a populous 

 colony, with a queen excluder between 



it and the lower hive. In a few hours 

 the combs of brood would be covered 

 with young bees, when it could be 

 given a queen and a new stand. When 

 combs of brood were removed, their 

 places were filled with full sheets of 

 wired foundation, 



I think nearly as good results might 

 have been secured if the queens had 

 been reared instead of being purchased, 

 but I had too many irons in the fire to 

 attempt that. A man who was simply 

 running an apiary, and trying to build 

 up another apiary, could easily rear 

 the queens for increase. Bees that 

 started in to swarm would easily fur- 

 nish the cells. When nearly ready to 

 hatch they could be given to newly 

 made colonies, or they might be first 

 given to nuclei, and, when the queens 

 are la3'ing, the nuclei built up into full 

 colonies. 



In the height of the season, sometimes 

 as man}' as four combs of bees and 

 brood were taken from one colony. Of 

 course, judgment must be used in this 

 matter. The principle is to take 

 combs of bees and brood from full col- 

 onies that are abundantly able to spare 

 them, and make up full colonies with 

 these combs of bees and brood, giving 

 them a queen. In a very few days 

 such a colony is the equalof an}' in 

 the yard. 



I did uo feeding except a little be- 

 tween fruit bloom and the opening of 

 white clover — perhaps 50 pounds of 

 sugar was fed. No surplus was 

 secured, but the colonies are abun- 

 dantly supplied with winter stores of 

 clover honey. 



A SIMPLE, YET DESIRABLE, ENTRANCE- 

 STOPPER. 



The apiary was located some four or 

 five blocks from my home, as there was 

 not room near the latter, hence the bees 

 had to be brought home in order to put 

 them in the cellar under the house. In 

 bringing them home the covers and 

 bottom boards were fastened on with 

 what are called crate-staples — double 



