106 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIHT. 



them either a queen or cell ready to 

 hatch. In this way the robbed col- 

 ony will act like a new swarm and if 

 populous will work wonders in honey. 



Swarming can be held at bay by 

 either of these methods and rapid yet 

 healthy increase secured. 



A plan for securing small two or 

 three-frame nuclei is to dequeen a col- 

 ony and leave it until it has cells 

 capped when it can be broken into sev- 

 eral parts and each given a virgin queen 

 or hatching cell. 



In any of these operations full 

 sheets of foundation should be used 

 or quantities of drone comb would be 

 built which we do not want. 



In forming nuclei it should be 

 done late in the day so that a long 

 confinement in the hot sun will be 

 avoided. All we have to do is to 

 block them in until dark and during 

 the night the bees will become aware 

 of the queen in their presence and 

 very few will go back. 



If the colony broken up is a strong 

 one better success will crown your ef- 

 forts and enough old bees will go back 

 to the old stand to warrant your giv- 

 ing five or six empty combs and a lay- 

 ing (pieen. 



Some of these small colonies will 

 do better than others but can be equal- 

 ized in a few days by the jumping 

 metliod which has been a great suc- 

 cess with us at any season of the year 

 and was higlily recommended by Fa- 

 ther Langstroth. It is a splendid 

 method for equalizing 30ur colony in 

 spring. 



By taking a full colony to some farm 

 about a mile away, a few weeks be- 

 fore wanting nuclei one can bring them 

 home just as lie wants them without 

 losing a single bee. Or the nuclei 

 can be made up in the home yard and 

 carried a mile away. 



If nuclei are strengthened with bees 

 from other colonies care should be 

 taken not to give theui old bees, and 

 bees just coming from a laying queen 

 should never be joined to a nucleus 

 having a virgin queen. Queenless 



l)ees can be put anywhei'u without 

 fighting. 



A bee master will find plenty of 

 ways to fill out shortage and make 

 improvements that suit him liest. 



Equalizing can be carried on with- 

 out lifting a comb or even opening a 

 hive. Queenless bees will abandon 

 strange cells if not about ready to 

 hatch. It is always safer to introduce 

 a just hatched queen by the use of to- 

 bacco smoke. If the virgin queen is 

 quite old when given to the nuclei she 

 should be put into a little cage made 

 by boring a one-inch hole into a seven- 

 eighths inch block and covered with 

 wire cloth. Provide a three-eighths 

 inch passage at one side to be plugged 

 with candy. By the use of these cages, 

 queens can be introduced with perfect 

 safety to any colony. 



Bees taken from upper stories wliei'e 

 cell building is going on will not 

 quarrel if dumped directly into a 

 strange hive with a virgin queen, but 

 if taken from the bod}' of the hive 

 they would kill eveiy bee if a quantity 

 is given and then ball the queen and 

 at last clear out with the honey, leav- 

 ing the very young bees queenless and 

 starving. 



Plenty of food should be left with 

 all colonies, to last them at least two 

 weeks. 



Swarming and prevention of increase. 



Having detailed several methods 

 for securing increase, I will endeavor 

 to tell how increase may be kept down 

 and large crop of honey produced. 



One of the best plans is to hive the 

 swarm on the old stand and transfer 

 the surplus arrangements thereto ;i.t 

 once, using starters in the brood- 

 frames below, so as to allow the bees 

 to satisfy their desire for comb- build- 

 ing and at the same time securing a 

 nice set of combs at very little cost. 

 (Allow me to add here that we bee- 

 keepei's are cornering the markets on 

 wax by the use of so much founda- 

 tion, consequently that product luu-i 

 been getting so scarce that all dealers 



