J907- 



AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



35 



coming at a time when normal col- 

 onies will be at their best. Probably 

 most white clover localities would 

 come under this head. 



Far otherwise if the chief flow 

 comes early or comes late. Let us 

 consider briefly the conditions offer- 

 ed by the early and the late flows, 

 and seek a method of meeting those 

 conditions. 



By an early flow I mean one com- 

 ing within six or eight weeks from the 

 time bees get their first natural pollen. 

 For such a flow it is practically im- 

 possible to get all the colonies into 

 fit shape, and even the strongest are 

 not at their best. Only a meager 

 surplus can be secured, even though 

 the flow may be such that under other 

 circumstances it would yield a fine 

 >urplus. It is obvious that by the 

 work of one queen only an insufficient 

 force will be matured for the harvest, 

 l)ut that by doubling up colonies 

 >hortly before the harvest we 

 could get a force capable of yield- 

 ing a good surplus. To double up 

 thus would mean to cut down the 

 number of storing colonies just half. 

 To avoid that it would be necessary 

 to have before the doubling-up exact- 

 ly twice as many colonies as the lo- 

 cation would normally support. Thus 

 it would seem that one should for an 

 early flow winter twice as many colo- 

 nies as he is to run for the harvest. 

 If the field will profitably care for 

 100 colonies, then he should winter 

 200 colonies in order to get the max- 

 imum results in surplus honey. 



The reverse is true if the apiarist 

 banks his all on a late July or early 

 August flow, such as the buckwheat 

 regions oflfer. Under normal condi- 

 tions the bee-keeper finds his colo 

 nies reaching their best strength in 

 late June. To keep them up to this 

 excellence for three or four weeks 

 till the harvest opens is beyond the 

 skill of most of us, and will try the 



wisdom of the best of us. We may 

 tliink that our bees are still strong, 

 but when the flow begins we may sec 

 them die off like flies. 



The investigating honey-producer 

 discovers that he can divide one of hi^ 

 strong colonies in early June, and bj' 

 the judicious use of vigorous new 

 queens get each half into better shape 

 for the late harvest than the old colo 

 ny would have been if left to it-el! 



.ADJUSTED FOR USE. 



Why then winter so many colonie-. ? 

 If the locality will support for sur- 

 plus honey 200 colonies, why winter 

 more than 100? Surely, it would be 

 far better to double up in fall, wititer 

 strong colonies, rear a fine lot ot 

 early queens, and divide and requeen 

 in early June. This is not the place 

 to describe in full detail such a proce- 

 dure, and I can but outline the plan 

 I freely acknowledge that these 



