THE AMEEICAN BEE JOUENAL. 



229 



fast age for improvements, "«(? callecV One man 

 already says— see Bee Journal, Vol. V., page 

 125— "Although I do not know the exact plan 

 of his (Quiuby's) new hive, in one thing I think 

 ours are superior. It is in not having the frames 

 connected in any way with any part (italics not 

 mine) of the hive." There we have it ! Frames 

 don't touch the hive, top, side, nor bottom ! and 

 not even '■'■connected''' by the ends of nails (or 

 standing on stilts) as the frames in Mr. Hazen's 

 hive. Probably suspended from a pole above, 

 by some "new but simple and ingenious device" 

 — but I am digressing. 



It is to be hoped that Mr. Quinby and Mr. 

 Hazenwill see proper to continue to give us ac- 

 counts of their operations, in the Amekicax Bee 

 Journal— that most excellent and impartial me- 

 dium of communication for all bee-keepers. 



I should like also to hear from those who have 

 used the honey emptying machine freely. What 

 effect has the repeated emptjnng of the comb 

 upon the swarming propensity of the colony ? 



Pelee Island. Thaddeus Smith. 



[For the American Bee .lournal.] 



Replies and Remarks. 



I have received several letters from correspond- 

 ents, requesting me to give my views on the pre- 

 vention of swarming ; also, how to secure the 

 most honey — whether by allowing a moderate 

 increase, or by preventing swarming altogether. 

 Among the rest. Novice asks a favor (see No- 

 vember No. of the Bee Journal, page 184). I 

 have always experienced the most difficulty in 

 the prevention of swarming, in seasons when 

 bees gathered sufficient to breed rapidly, yet not 

 sufficient to store surplus or to build comb. ,In 

 such a season, with a very prolific queen, pro- 

 viding there is not more brood comb than she 

 can occupy with brood, cutting out ciueen cells 

 was no preventive whatever, especially with the 

 Italians. With the black bees a sure preventive 

 has been to remove the old queen early in the 

 season, and substitute a young one. But with 

 the Italians that proves to be no preventive at all. 

 Provided they are gathering honey rapidly, I 

 have had no difficulty iclth this method and the hive 

 I use. Keep abundant box room, and as one set 

 are partly tilled, raise them and insert another 

 set under ; and in the meantime take out occa- 

 sionally a frame from the brood chamber, con- 

 taining brood or honey, or both, and insert an 

 empty frame for them to fill. This gives the 

 young bees full occupation below, and also makes 

 room for the queen at the same time. And here 

 a small frame is indispensable, for reasons which 

 I have before given. In times when they are 

 gathering just sufficient to brood rapidly, and not 

 sufficient to store, and you have a number of 

 colonies, you will find some of the queens have 

 more comb than they can occupy. Exchange 

 this empty comb with colonies that are full of 

 brood, until all are equalized. 



To a beginner Mr. Quinby's queen yard would 

 be an advantage, to prevent swarming. But in 

 that case you are obliged to cut out queen cells ; 

 for if you allow young queens to mature, they 

 will lead out a swarm. 



The reader will recollect that, in the spring of 

 18G8, I had thirteen swarms of bees, and eleven 

 of them were as good as Gallup knows how to- 

 make. Out of those swarms, I selected one, no 

 better in any respect that I could perceive, than 

 ten others, for the purpose of seeing what I could 

 make out of it. I was determinedVot to neglect 

 it in any manner, but to attend to everything at 

 the proper time. (You will understand that I 

 am a hardworking farmer, and can as yet only 

 devote leisure time to my bees.) Well, now for 

 the result. On the 20th of May I took out a 

 good swarm, Gallup fashion, hived them, and 

 gave them one frame containing brood and honey. 

 At the time I took out the swarm, queen cells 

 were capped in the parent hive. In four days I 

 took out two frames, each containing a queen 

 cell ; inserted each frame in an empty hive ; ad- 

 justed the division board ; -and drummed oat 

 sufficient young bees to occupy each frame com- 

 pletely. On the 20th of June, the first swarm 

 had its hive full of combs and brood. I then 

 took out two frames containing brood and honey ; 

 inserted a mature queen cell in each one of those 

 frames, put the frames in empty hives ; drummed 

 out young bees from the swarm sufficient to oc- 

 cupy those two frames ; and, mind you, I did not 

 have them half occupied; and on the 20th of 

 July I had four good swarms, all full of combs, 

 bees and honey, and seventy-five pounds of good 

 honey in boxes. (You will recollect that our 

 honey harvest was entirely cut off that season 

 on the 20th of July.) All this was the proceeds 

 of one swarm ; and our honey harvest scarcely 

 ever commences until the 20th of July ; but that 

 season it commenced on the 10th. The surplus 

 was all obtained from the parent stock and first 

 swarm ; the other three were all ready to com- 

 mence storing at the time the gathering ceased. 

 That honey extractor I have never yet had the 

 pleasure of seeing, for I had no use for one the 

 past season ; yet I do not hesitate to pronounce 

 the invention just what is wanted by the practi- 

 cal apiarian. 



I will answer Mr. Root's question,^ without ■ 

 giving the reasons at present. In my experience, 

 and in all localities wherever I have resided, a 

 moderate increase has always given the best re- • 

 suits, where surplus honey was the object. But 

 a great deal depends on how that increase is 

 brought about; and if done at all, it must be 

 done, the most of it, early in the season. A hive, 

 such as I use, with a frame taken out, containing 

 brood in the heiglit of the honey harvest, appears 

 to be an incentive to increased activity. Whereas 

 a large frame taken out at the same time, does 

 diminish the working force in the boxes. Those 

 advocates of a non-swarming hive, with box room 

 for 100, 200, or 300 pounds of surplus honey, -fail 

 to inform us of one fact, and it is one that has 

 been observed by others as well as myself, 

 namely, that in a cold season like the past, or in 

 high northern latitude, such as Lower Canada, 

 for example, with such amount of surplus room, 

 the bees are obliged to cluster on and around the 

 brood, to keep^ip the necessary temperature, 

 and will consequently not store any surplus. 

 Whereas, if they were restricted to 20 or SO 

 pounds surplus room, the same colony could and 



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