1HK AMERICAN BEE KEEl'tH. 



123 



for instance, hives containing nine or 

 ten combs where the bees are at work 

 on them, and should have at least two 

 less when stored for preservation; or, 

 in other words, the further you leave 

 them apart the safer, and should not 

 if possible be nearer each other than 

 one inch. 



Hives containing said comb- want 

 to be kept in a cool dry room, where 

 neither light nor air will harm them — 

 in fact, they are the better if the lat- 

 ter, but keep all doors and windows 

 screened, especially at night, and 

 should there not be hive storage 

 enough the construction of a rack to 

 place the overplus in should give the 

 apiarist of any ability but little 

 thought. 



Would not advise keeping combs 

 with much pollen in, as moths will 

 breed in them more readily than in 

 clean comb; but suppose they should 

 escape destruction in that way, you 

 will find that after a wnile said pollen 

 will either ferment and protrude 

 the ceils or ^\ry into a crisp In either 

 case it is unfit for use, and when given 

 to the bees the little laborers will 

 throw out all they can, and what they 

 cannot remove will be waxed over to 

 insure the uon-destructibn of honey 

 Or pollen which may be afterwards 

 placed in such cells. By all means, 

 break up those combs of that nature 

 — wasii well in warmish water, and 

 render into wax, which will keep as 

 long and perhaps longer than you 

 wish. — C. B. J. 



SWARMINi . ETC. 



I read lately where a man said that 

 be could tell when a swarm would is- 

 sue, and this was the way: If the queen 

 cells were capped before six in the 



morning, the swarm would issue that 

 day, but if they were not sealed until 

 later, not until the day following. 

 His bees must be a very different 

 strain from mine, or he could not tell 

 any thing about it. I wanted to pre- 

 serve all the queen cells in the hive, 

 from which the first swarm issued, as 

 the bees were line ones. The second 

 day alter the swarm issued I discovered 

 rather a small swarm clustered, and I 

 inferred that they were a second 

 swarm, following the first, which might 

 have peen confined to the hive on ac- 

 count of wet weather. After hiving 

 it, I went to the hive from which the 

 first swarm issued, and on opening it 

 and looking the combs over carefully , 

 ascertained that no second swarm had 

 issued, as there was no cell from which 

 a young queer, had emerged, and the 

 cells had not been long sealed. The 

 swarm had issued as soon as the cells 

 were sealed, according to the theory 

 of the writer named. 



Another swarm issued, and I want- 

 ed to preserve all cells in this also, 

 but on opening the hive I discovered 

 that there had not been one built; not 

 even started. Italian bees often 

 swarm, without starting queen cells, 

 if the weather is very warm and 

 honey plentiful, as I have repeatedly 

 ascertained when I opened the hive 

 to remove the cells. 



The books say that the ninth day 

 after the first swarm issues is the time 

 when a set cm may be ex] 



ed. It tal or a que< a 



to mature fron hi .gg ; three days 

 in th< ix day.- in the larval 



state, and seven days into the trans- 

 formation of the chrysalis or win 

 state. The time is not absolutely 

 fixed, as it varies according to warmth 



