THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



63 



the young, the position of the two 

 hives should be reversed again until 

 both are well stocked. At the end of 

 the third day a young laying queen 

 seould be introduced to the new colony 

 and full sheets of fdn. added to the 

 hives from which the brood was taken. 

 In about fifteen days the operation 

 can be repeated doubly and so on until 

 all the colonies desired are secured. 

 Fdn. should be given to the new col- 

 onies thus formed as fast as they are 

 able to cover it. This is where the 

 queen-breeder comes into play and if 

 the queens are purchased of a first- 

 class breeder your new colonies will 

 be of the best. Directions for intro- 

 ducing are sent with each queen. By 

 the present method it is folly to lose 

 a queen by introducing. Simply fol- 

 low the printed directions. 



To the beginner my advice is not to 

 buy bees by the pound to start with. 

 Better send for two or three frame 

 nuclei if you cannot afford full colonies. 



In selecting a hive by all means take 

 that holding the standard frame. 



A standard frame is that whose in- 

 side dimensions will take eight stand- 

 ard boxes. The standard box is 4^x4^. 



Better results in comb honey can 

 be obtained with seven standard 

 frames to the hive. 



When you see honey all capped in 

 the brood frames during the honey 

 flow or after, take it with an extractor. 

 Honey left on the hive after the honey 

 flow will be wasted. In extracting, 

 however, be careful not to throw out 

 the brood. It is better to select those 

 combs having very little brood which 

 will generally be the comb next to the 



walls of the hive. If there is not a 

 great quantity in the central combs it 

 had better remain in the hive. Be sure 

 to feed those colonies extracted too 

 closely if the bees can not make a liv- 

 ing. When fall comes you have honey 

 to feed back for winter if the bees do 

 not "fill up," which is more pleasant 

 than to buy sugar. If the bees do 

 fill up well for winter on fall bloom, 

 why, simply sell the honey and it will 

 be just so much gained. 



I like my hives set about eight inch- 

 es from the ground, on stands for the 

 purpose. It does not make my back 

 ache to work the bees at this height, 

 As for bees crawling into a hive set 

 low, that is a lunacy. If a bee hasn't 

 the strength to get into a hive set 

 eight inches from the ground I don't 

 want her. In our climate we have 

 heavy snow storms and I like to have 

 my bees above snow ; thus the stands 

 serve a double purpose, and we have 

 none of that "raising" and "lowering" 

 business. Then there is another reason 

 that I will tell you of some other time. 



Yes, Bro. Merrill is correct in his 

 belief "that the winter cases will be in 

 general use in the near future," and 

 they will be made of thin stock with 

 movable tops. Those thin shells that 

 Earnest is thinking about to cover 

 down over the hives will not do the 

 business. Winter cases should be made 

 so as to protect at all times, and they 

 should be constructed so as to be com 

 venient as well as ( fficient. 



Bro. M. might have added, "and 

 hives of thin stock will soon rule the 

 market," for in combination with a 

 desirable winter case lliev are the 



