72 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



honey stored in the lateral cnmbs. Hence, if, 

 when dest'oyins the queen chIIs, I find one or 

 two combs neaily filled with capped honey, I do 

 not insert the divi&inn board between the "brood- 

 ing apartment and honey space, but place one 

 of these full combs of sealed honey in its stead ; 

 and if there be more than one, placing the 

 second next to the first, on the side towards the 

 honey space, and then fill out that space with 

 empty combs — using drone combs in preference 

 for this purpose, if I have any. The Queen, 

 when ovipositing, rarely passes beyond combs 

 filled witii capped honey, in her search for 

 empty cells ; and the workers will use the space 

 beyond for the storage of honey. 



Were all the brood contained in the combs 

 now permitted to mature in the hive, the colony 

 would speedily become over-populous, and the 

 multitude of workers interfere with the due 

 storage of hone}'. Too dense a population may 

 thus be almost as disadvantageous as one that 

 is too sparse. "We must therefore be careful at 

 all times to have the hive so stocked with bees 

 that the combs are duly covered, but not so 

 crowded that the masses must cluster below the 

 frames and oh the front of the hive. To pre- 

 vent this latter we must seasonably remove two 

 or three combs with sealed brood derived from 

 the old queen, «nd replace them by empty 

 worker combs. From the removed combs, I 

 take off the bees in the following manner: I 

 open the pnrent hive, take away the hon^j'^ j 

 board, and wiih a band brush sweep down the 

 bees on tlip tops of the frames. They will at 

 once re-unite with the colony. The combs thus 

 deprived of bees are then given to the nucleus 

 hive, containing the old queen ; and to make 

 room for them I transfer frames from the 

 nucleus to "a larger colony. Should I subse- 

 quently deem it necessary to do so, I take some 

 additional combs from the parent hive, now 

 containing tlie young queen, and insert them in 

 a nucleus or artificial swarm. It is wonderful 

 to see how prolific such a young fertile queen 

 will prove to be, when placed in favorable cir- 

 cumstances. She is able to furnish ecgs for at 

 least two colonies. But the old queen also, if 

 she has not passed her second or third year, 

 will once more display her productiveness in all 

 its pristine amplitude. He who has a lirge api- 

 ary, and knows how to avail himself of this, 

 can readily multiply his colonies <is though by 

 steam— quickly building up nuclei and weak 

 stocks to powerful colonies. Nor need any 

 diminution of honey-gathering and storing be 

 apprehended, while this rapid multiplication of 

 stock is going on. The presence oF brood will 

 only incite the workers to increased activity, 

 and honey will soon be seen glistening in the 

 cells, if pasturage is plentiful ; and then the 

 honey comb-emptier may come into play, which 

 in poor seasons will not be much used ; though 

 even in such seasons a strong colony, managed 

 as it should be, will be able to lay up stores 

 enough for the winter. But in a good season, 

 such a colony and its artificial swarms will be 

 able to produce splendid results ; and he who 

 has once seen them achieve these, will have 

 learned properly to appreciate the new system 

 of management, and be ready and anxious to 



make further progress in the course on which 

 he has entered. 



It is of course understood that the foregoing 

 is a mere hasty outline sketch of practical oper- 

 ations. He, for example, who engages in bee- 

 culture with movable comb hives, must, as his 

 first object, endeavor to secure the multiplica- 

 tion of colonies ; and he must consequently 

 proceed in many respects differently from -ft hat 

 is indicated above as proper tor a different pur- 

 pose. Of this more hereafter. 



[From the Blenenzeitnng.1 



A Companion for Hrusehka's Ventila- 

 ted Hive. 



(See American Bee Journal, vol. 3, page 26.) 



When a second swarm issues from any of my 

 hives late in the season, I usually seek for and 

 remove the queen and let tlie bees return to the 

 parent Stock, to avoid the necessity and troulile 

 of re-uniting them in the fall. I 'did this with 

 one issued on the 12th of July, 1867. It had 

 hung clustered in the window of my garden 

 house, when I shook it down on a table late in 

 the afternoon, hunted for tlie queen, removed 

 her, and brushed the bees out at the window. 

 One portion of them returned to the parent 

 hive, but another portion — a cluster about as 

 large as my two fisis, le-entered through a small 

 hole in one of tlie window panes, aud settled 

 Avhere it bad hung before. I was not aware of 

 this, however, until next morning, when I ag'iin 

 brushed them out; but unwilling to be thus 

 summarily expelled, they quickly returned, ia 

 angry mood, and clustered as before. I con- 

 cluded to let them have their own way, under 

 the impression that, after they had gratified 

 their whim, they would withdraw of their own 

 accord. But they did not leave, and to keep 

 them from starving, I supplied them with some 

 small bits of hon<'y in the. comb. On the l!)th 

 of July I chanced to find an expelled queen, 

 which, being then of no value to me, I intro- 

 duced to this destitute and exposed swarm, and 

 she was readily accepted. On the 20th, at two 

 o'clock in the afternoon, this diminutive swarm 

 suddenlj took French leave, rushing out, and 

 then settling on a lower limb of a tree in my 

 orchard. I succeeded in catching the queen, 

 removed her, and left the bees to their fate. 

 But, behold, in ten minutes after they returned 

 in a body to their old location in the garden- 

 house ! On the 21st, I found another expelled 

 queen, which being young and yellow, I. gave 

 to the now queenless colony, where she was 

 kindly received. They now remained content- 

 edly in this exposed location, and began to 

 build combs — passing out and in through the 

 hole in the window. On the 28lh, another 

 second swarm issued from one of my stoclis, and 

 being secured, was carried in and shaken down 

 on the table at the window in the garden house, 

 that I might search for its queen. But almost 

 instantly the bees began to ascend the window, 

 in orderly procession, aud in fifteen minutes had 



