28 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



case up. The end that had no strips 

 on projects and helps to guide the 

 smoke which is forced up between the 

 sections. This little invention will 

 be useful to those who remove honey 

 by the single super. Mr. Bayard has 

 our thanks. 



Mr. G. W. Demaree says, in Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal, " I have found by 

 experimenting with sheets of founda- 

 tion that they can be made strong 

 enough to bear large swarms by sim- 

 ply cutting them into two pieces and 

 lapping the edges together about one- 

 fourth of an inch and welding them 

 together by pressing a putty knife on 

 either side, thus forming a rib in the 

 centre of the sheet of sufficient strength 

 to prevent it from sagging. 



" A piece of fiue wire may be in- 

 serted between the lapping edges 

 which will add greatly to the strength 

 of the sheet." 



This is less expensive than wiring 

 the frames. 



Mr. G. M. Doolittle has a notable 

 article in Gleanings about drones. 

 Lack of space forbids reprinting the 

 entire letter, but the following con- 

 tains the main points : 



That much is lost by rearing drones. 

 That each colonj^ should have one or 

 two inches of drone comb (for the}' will 

 have some anyway) and this all in one 

 frame which should be placed outside 

 the brood-nest so that the queen will 

 not fill it easily and so it can be re- 

 moved every twenty-three days and 

 the young drones destroyed. That 

 drone cells in worker combs should be 

 replaced by patches of worker cells. 

 That old fruit cans, without top or 

 bottom, with one edge filed sharp, is 

 the thing to cut out the patches and 

 the places to fit them. That the 

 patching may be done by giving the 

 combs to nuclei after removing the 

 drone cells. And this last plan gives 

 the best results. These are valuable 

 hints. 



(HClucru department. 



Uniting swarms. 



Questions. I am thinking of uniting two or 

 more swarms wlien they issue and hiving them in 

 a small brood-chamber, say eight frames, and at 

 once place not less than forty sections on the hive. 

 It is my opinion that I can get double the section 

 honey that I can by hiving each swarm separately. 

 Would like the opinion of those who answer ques- 

 tions for tlie API. Header. 



It would depend somewhat upon the duration 

 of the honey flow. If short, you would get more. 

 J. D. Goodrich. 



I have had a little experience somewhat in this 



line, and it has not been as satisfactory as it 



might. If, however, tlie swarms are not very 



strong, I think it would be a decided gain to unite. 



C. 0. Miller. 



It is my opinion you will not get as much honey 

 as by hiving them separately. In my locality 

 doubled prime swarms are very apt to swarm 

 again at just the wrong time. If you manage bad- 

 ly enough to have a lot of small after swarms it 

 is best to unite several into one hive. 



Z. T. Hawk. 



The plan will Work well if you use a queen ex- 

 cluder to keep the queen out of the sections. 

 Brood and pollen are much more likely to be car- 

 ried into the sections by a very strong colony, 

 than by a weak one. I have hived two swarms 

 together in a few instances with excellent results. 

 Joshua Bull. 



These large swarms will prove unsatisfactory. 

 Sometimes tliey quarrel to begin with. Sometimes 

 they refuse to commence work with so small a 

 brood-chamber, and desert. Sometimes they 

 swarm about four weeks after being hived. They 

 need lots of ventilation. There are better ways 

 of preventing increase and getting a good crop of 

 section honey. J. L. Hubbard. 



We have experimented for several seasons in 

 this line and find it is not advisable as a rule. It 

 might work, to unite second swarms if you are 

 sure of getting all bat one queen ; but if two sets 

 of queens are left in the hive they make too much 

 work, especially in large apiaries, by swarming 

 out. Also if two large swarms are united they 

 are very apt to swarm out and make too much 

 work. Hilas D. Davis. 



I have quite habitually practised hiving two 

 prime swarms together, with excellent results, 

 as to honey gatliering, up to a certain point. But 

 the colony must not be made too large, or, with 

 me, they will either abscond, or soon begin prep- 

 arations for swarming again. Haifa dozen after- 

 swarms, thus hived together, have often proved 

 the best honey-gathering colonies of the season. 

 Mrs. H. Hills. 



