186 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



July 



frame, handy hive far surpasses all 

 others with which I am acquainted, 

 for I can remove and return the combs 

 with au ease and dispatch that is im- 

 piossible in any other hive I have 

 tried. I have followed after false 

 gods for some years, but will wan- 

 der no more, as hereafter each swarm 

 will be hived in these hives. Mr. 

 Editor, I give you my word of honor 

 I do not use this language for any 

 other purpose than because I know 

 it to be the truth.) It is very easy to 

 find all cells at this time for there are 

 but few bees, and these young ones 

 that will scarcely try to fly. When 

 t the combs are returned I stick in a 

 queen cell, taken from the nursery I 

 have described, that will hatch in a 

 day or two, The cell is put between 

 the top bars of the hive directly over 

 the cluster of bees, because I can ex- 

 aminate it by simply raising the hive 

 cover, and it will hatch just as well 

 here as in the comb below. Let me 

 say here that if the queen cells are 

 not cut out of the combs at all, but 

 the nearly mature cell used just as 

 described, not one colony in ten will 

 destroy the introduced cell, but I 

 wish to make sure, not only that the 

 colony will not swarm again, but that 

 the introduced cell furnishes the 

 queen; for this, in my opinion, is the 

 natural and best method of improv- 

 ing the bees, within the reach of man. 

 It is the law of the survival of the fittest 

 to use the highest type of each kind 

 for parantage', and the colony that, 

 under the same conditions, builds up 

 and casts the earliest swarm has proved 

 its claim to first rank. 



The plan outlined will be the one 

 followed in the future to improve my 

 bees. I^will keep'introducing a little 



fresh Italian or other desirable blood 

 each year, and will keep some black 

 stock in the yard, but will not strive 

 for five-banded, three-banded, gold- 

 ens, or other arbritary standard but 

 will crown them that excel in good 

 works. 



There is another way of using some 

 of the brood from the medium early 

 swarms. With all our care, there 

 will always be some backward colon- 

 ies at swarming time. Indeed, this 

 seems necessary in all of nature's 

 works. I look upon the universe as 

 a growth ; always unfolding towards 

 a higher order. I regard creation as 

 going on as truly to-day as in any 

 former time, and if in bees and other 

 things there were no difference, and 

 all colonies were just alike there 

 would be no starting point from 

 which superiority could be detected 

 and utilized, so we want to build up 

 tuese backward colonies by working 

 out inferior blood and substituting 

 superior, and we take the brood from 

 our more vigorous colonies, remove 

 from the weak colonies the combs 

 that have no brood and fill up the 

 space with surplus brood. This not 

 only improves the strain of bees but 

 insures reasonably early swarms. 

 Please remember that by this method 

 we are not trying to suppress swarm- 

 ing : we are to accept the fact that 

 swarming is implanted by nature and 

 that the true ways of nature are the 

 voice of God which no wise person 

 will resist or try to injure when they 

 hear and understand it. I have tried 

 many plans to prevent swarming but 

 without profitable results, and I now 

 believe I can get the best results, not 

 by preventeng but by encouraging 

 swarming and then properly utilizing 



