The American Apicultiirist 



% lournal htMtH to Stuntific anb practical §eckccj3ing. 



ENTERED AT THE POST-OFFICE, SALEM, AS SECOXD-CLASS MATTER. 



Published Monthly. S. M. LoCKE, Publisher & Prop'r. 



VOL. II. 



SALEM, MASS., MAY t, i; 



No. 5. 



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INCREASE. 



By L. Stachelhadsen. 



A VERY important part of the 

 management of the apiary is the 

 increase of the colonies, and on 

 this point the most prominent 

 apiarists are bj^ no means of the 

 same opinion. The very question, 

 if the number of colonies is to be 

 increased, in order to get the 

 greatest possible quantity of honey, 

 is met with more or loss conflicting 

 answers. Neither is there any har- 

 mony concerning the point, whether 

 natural or artificial increase is 

 preferable ; and it is even contro- 

 verted, whether the increase should 

 be attempted before, during, or 

 after the height of the season. 



Generallj^ the rule is adopted, 



that " one strong colony, if not 



allowed to swarm, will gather 



more honey than the same colony 



11 



and its increase would gather, if a 

 swarm were allowed to issue. ^ .But 

 this will only prove true, in cases 

 where the honey flow is short and 

 early without any fall harvest. 

 The contrary will take place, when- 

 ever the main honey flow is an 

 extensive one, and followed by a 

 fall harvest. We may see this con- 

 firmed by man}'- reports which are 

 made by beginners, of good honey 

 harvests, together with a strong 

 increase, and these results become 

 considerably larger, when we can 

 reduce at the right time in the 

 fall, b/ uniting the colonies to 

 the normal figure. Concerning 

 this question, every apiarist ought 

 to consider what Demaree says 

 in this Journal : " Each apiarist 

 must study and fully understand 

 his location and work square up 

 to its requirements, if he would 

 obtain the best results." 



Lately, several prominent Amer- 

 ican apiarists have declared in 

 favor of natural increase, in spite 

 of several well-known disadvan- 

 tages, from which artificial increase 

 is free. Some are even not afraid 

 to clip the wings of the queens, 

 in order to facilitate hiving the 

 swarms, although other disadvan- 

 tages are produced thereby. To 

 this they are certainly led by 



ij. E. Pondjjr. 

 (1)7) 



