158 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



June 



ing them reared above queeu-exclud- 

 ing metal by the thousand, while the 

 old queen was doing her duty below, 

 I am just as sure that this plan would 

 work as if I had tried it and proved 

 the same. 



2nd. "By using the plan which I 

 have outlined above, will it not pre- 

 vent the original colony from swarm- 

 ing? If so this will do away with 

 some one to stay at home all the 

 while to watch for swarms during the 

 swarming season, besides proving a 

 bonanza to those having out apiaries 

 which they wish to work for comb 

 honey ? 



Well, as I said before, I do not 

 think it would work as the questioner 

 gives it, but by using the suggestions 

 given as I have explained, 1 see no 

 reason why it should not stop swarm- 

 ing entirely. As soon as the young 

 queen gets to laying, or before the 

 old colony is a very strong one, take 

 more combs of brood from it arid put 

 in their places frames of foundation 

 or frames of worker-comb, so they 

 will have no chance to build drone- 

 comb, putting the brood thus taken 

 out over into the hive having the 

 young queen. Sections should now be 

 replaced over the part of the new 

 hive where the brood and combs are, 

 so that in no case the bees lack for 

 room to store all tne honey there is 

 coming in; and I would have these 

 sections in every case filled with 

 foundation, so that the bees would 

 have no excuse for any desire to 

 swarm by being loth to build comb. 

 Occasionally, or as often as the out- 

 apairy is visited, move more frames 

 of brood over to the new hive, put- 

 ting frames filled with foundation in 

 in the place of the frames taken out 



each time until the new hive is full, 

 always putting on sections as the bees 

 seem to require. If I am correct in 

 thinking the above will do away with 

 swarming, we shall have something 

 of great advantage, at least to all 

 those working out apairies. 



3rd. "Will a colony thus managed 

 store as much honey as they would 

 had they been kept in the old hive, 

 and by some means not allowed to 

 swarm ? " 



If we had that " some mea?is " which 

 would allow the bees to work with a 

 will all summer long, with no desire 

 to swarm, then I should say that they 

 Avould produce more honey in the 

 original hive, and with only one 

 queen ; but inasmuch as bees are, as 

 a rule, determined to swarm where 

 worked for comb honey, it looks to 

 me as if the above would give more 

 honey than could be obtained either 

 by letting them swarm, or so throw- 

 ing them out of their normal condi- 

 tion by manipulation so that swarm- 

 ing can be prevented. 



All cutting of queen-cells, caging 

 of queens, etc., to prevent swarming 

 seem to put the colony into an abnor- 

 mal condition , so that the work that 

 they do while so placed seems to be 

 done with a protest ; hence it often 

 happens that the season is mostly 

 consumed by the bees sulking the 

 time away, instead of their working 

 with a will. Such a state of affairs 

 always results in a small crop of 

 honey, and, as a rule, that which we 

 do get is of poor quality. If there is 

 a short-cut route to prevent swarm- 

 ing, and at the same time secure a 

 good yield of a good quality of honey, 

 which can be used at any out-apiary, 

 it will be a great boon to all those 

 wishing to keep bees more than what 

 the home-yard will accommodate. 



