212 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



August 



being able to remedy the matter, when 

 I otherwise might not know it, or not 

 before the colony was considerably 

 injured. 



That not nearly as nice comb is 

 built when a colony has no laying 

 queen in the hive, is one of the reasons 

 why I do not like the plan of taking 

 away the queen in swarming-time to 

 prevent swarming. Of course, where 

 sections are filled with thin comb foun- 

 dation, better results are obtained, but 

 even then the combs built by any col- 

 ony not having a laying queen, are 

 not nearly as nice as the same colony 

 will give when the mother-bee is doing 

 full duty in the hive. 



Goor> Queens. — Another corres- 

 pondent writes me this, regarding the 

 book, "Scientific Queen-Rearing:" 

 " A friend tells me that you claim in 

 your book on bee-rearing, that queens 

 reared by what you term a ' natural 

 process,' are better than those reared 

 by other methods. Is this a fact ?" 



My book was put before the public 

 with the sole purpose of benefiting the 

 public, without any claims for it save 

 a careful trial of the plans outlined in 

 it by the one who was not fully satis- 

 fied with his or her present attain- 

 ments along the line of rearing queens. 

 1 only wish to take space here to say 

 that I do not claim for the queens 

 reared as I advised in the book any 

 superiority, because they are cradled 

 in artificial cradles, or because these 

 cradles are supplied with plenty royal 

 jelly into which the selected larva? are 

 transferred, or anything of that kind. 

 No, nothing of the sort. These are 

 only conveniences to pave the way for 

 having the queens reared just when 

 and where we wish them, by that good 



and inexpensive way of having them 

 reared in upper stories of hives hav- 

 ing a laying queen below, to supply 

 bees to care for these cells all summer, 

 so that we need not keep making col- 

 onies queenless every little while to 

 rear queens, thus avoiding lots of 

 labor, and throwing many colonies out 

 of their normal condition, only to 

 shorten our surplus honey crop to the 

 extent which we unqueen colanies for 

 that purpose. 



What I do claim as superior is in 

 bringing the colony into that condition 

 where they will rear queens leisurely, 

 and under the safe conditions that they 

 do in superseding their own queens 

 without the interference of man, as 

 all know the very best of gueens are 

 reared. When this can be done, and 

 that, too, without having a queenless 

 colony at a loss on our hands, I think 

 that all will concede it to be of ad- 

 vantage to do so. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



[From the Bee-Keeiiers' Review.] 



AETinOIAL INCREASE Or COL- 

 ONIES. 



KY L A. ASPINWALL. 



In view of the inherent tendency of 

 bees to propagate themselves by 

 swarming, any method of artificial in- 

 crease will be favorably received by 

 the majority of bee keepers ; unless it 

 follows the advent of a perfect non- 

 swarming hive. HoAvever, there are 

 many, who, for various reasons, pre- 

 fer it. 



In considering a method, it is of 

 supreme importance that we conform 

 as nearly as possible to the natural 

 means of increase in order to obtain 

 the best results. This being under- 

 stood, let us note that natural swarm- 

 ing takes place during a period when 



