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The AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



Januartf 



subject fully. If the invention of it- 

 self is valuable no doubt any defect 

 may be overcome by a little patient 

 study, such as we are not able to give 

 in summer. Important discoveries as 

 a rule are the results of deliberate 

 study rather than of instantaneous re- 

 velation. And the study is not done 

 when the bees are in active protest at 

 our presence either. 



To illustrate ray own idea of the 

 best way of conducting experiments I 

 will relate one I am myself preparing. 

 Perhaps it is not an experiment with 

 some, but it is wholly so with me as I 

 have never heard of a similar method 

 being used : 



In my own apiary, which is by no 

 means a large one, is an eye sore, or 

 rather, two of them. Any one who 

 has ever had one or two old-fashioned 

 box hives in the midst of the later 

 patterns will understand what I mean. 

 Everything must be carried in three 

 sizes in ray apiary, and during such 

 operations as packing for winter, etc., 

 one finds about as large a list of incon- 

 veniences attached to such an assort- 

 ment as can well be imagined; in fact 

 I mentally, perhaps audibly, vowed 

 last autumn when I packed them that 

 it was for the last time. True, I said 

 the same a year ago, but dreaded the 

 job of transferring, besides I hadn't 

 the time when it should have been 

 done. I divided my year into busy 

 and idle seasons, you see, so had to 

 " get along" in more things than one 

 in consequence. 



My proposed experiment is to be in 

 connection with this transferring, and 

 part of it is to be done this winter; at 

 least the part of thinking it over and 

 talking about it with other apiarists. 

 Then I have carefully measured my 



box hives and am constructing a se- 

 cure but easily removable rim around 

 the tops of two of my empty Simplic- 

 ity hives. This is just right for the 

 other hive to rest on and includes a 

 strip so placed as to close the entrance 

 to the box hive when in place. 



Next spring these prepared hives 

 will be placed upon their summer 

 stands in the usual manner, the racks 

 already supplied with empty comb or 

 starter. No cover or cloth will be 

 used. Upon the top of this, on the 

 rim platforms, the box hive is to be 

 set when taken from the packing box. 

 The result will be simply a two-story 

 hive, the only unusual feature of 

 Avhich will be the two kinds of hives 

 used for the two stories, and the fact 

 that the colony is located in the upper 

 story. After a few days the top story 

 wdll be examined and any of the out- 

 side racks containing no brood or 

 honey removed, a cloth below, and di- 

 vision board at the side, shutting the 

 bees away from this empty part of the 

 hive. Frequent examinations there- 

 after will doubtless allow the removal 

 of more racks one by one. As the 

 bees begin their work I believe they 

 will direct much of it to the lower 

 story. Then only such racks above as 

 contain brood need be left. By this 

 time I hope the queen will have gone 

 below, or at least be easily driven 

 there. By constant care and a little 

 patience I do not see why the transfer 

 cannot be made with no shock what- 

 ever to the colony. This gradual 

 method may be objected to by some 

 on the ground that it takes up too 

 much of the bee's active season before 

 they are settled in their new quarters, 

 but I do not think it will be hardly a 

 disturbance to them at all. There will 



