74 



THK AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



The Automatic Swarm Hlver. 



"A swarm of bees in May 

 Js worth a load of hay. 

 A swarm of bees in June 

 Is worth a silver spoon." 



It is a well known fact that bees will 

 construct queen cells and swarm from 

 their hive with the desire to form 

 another colony, when they become 

 crowded for room. This condition of 

 affairs comes on the latter part of 

 June, generally during buying time, 

 the busiest season of the year. 



For years there has been no ad- 

 vancement over the old method of hiv- 

 ing a swarm of bees, although several 

 attempts have been made to improve 

 them. 



When a swarm issues in the old way, 

 it will cluster in one mass on the limb 

 of some tree or bush near by and, un- 

 less given a hive soon, the bees will 

 very likely go to the woods and be lost, 

 or, as they often do, skip to parts un- 

 known without even saying bon soir. 

 Thus it is very important that we have 

 an implement to insure the self-hiving 

 of all our bees. The time and bees sav- 

 ed by using the self-hiver will doubly 

 repay its cost the first season. 



By referring to the cut, one will get 

 a good idea of the self-hiving arrange- 

 ment. 



Box A and C are provided with 

 metal, having perforations so small 

 that a queen cannot get through them. 

 The workers, being so much smaller 

 than the queen, can pass in and out 

 with no hindrance whatever. 



Box B is covered with wire cloth 

 and forms a passage-way from A to C 

 through the cone-tube at D. 



I MHWi" 



A swarm of bees will not leave the 

 premises without their queen, and the 

 queen being much larger than the 

 worker bees, the inventor of the auto- 

 matic swarmer has taken advantage 

 of this provision in nature and devis- 

 ed a wonderful invention that will suc- 

 cessfully hive all swarms that issue, 

 without the assistance of any person. 

 In fact the self-hiver is perfectly auto- 

 matic and needs no attention during 

 the entire swarming season, only so far 

 as to see that it is perfectly adjusted 

 to the hives. 



The reader, of course, understands 

 that box A is placed before the en- 

 trance of the hive from which a swarm 

 is expected. Box C is placed before 

 the entrance of the new hive, or the 

 entrance of the hive the new swarm 

 i's to occupy. The two hives are then 

 connected by placing box B upon 

 boxes A and C as shown in the illus- 

 tration so as to form a continuous pas- 

 sage-way between the two hives. All 

 outlets to the hives except those thro' 

 the metal must be closed to prevent 

 the queen from taking wing and join- 

 ing the bees. 



