

la^^ 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



/anuaty 



go to your " sacrifice" and secure one 

 rack built full of comb and well filled 

 with honey. Place this in the new 

 hive about the center. The effect is 

 obvious and magical, No more de- 

 serting swarms, unless gross negli- 

 gence is tolerated in some other re- 

 spect. No starving bees. No trouble 

 of feeding the young swarm through 

 a run of stormy weather. 



There may be people who will say 

 that they have already adopted the 

 practice of giving at least one full 

 rack when convenient. Exactly , and the 

 "sacrifice " is intended to make it al- 

 ways convenient enough, that it will 

 always be done. No sections are ever 

 to be allowed upon it, as they make 

 it very inconvenient to get at the 

 frames. Keep everything about that 

 hive as convenient as possible for re- 

 moving frames. 



The number of swarms required for 

 this office depends upon the size of 

 the apiary. One good colony ought 

 to furnish fifteen or twenty frames 

 before the swarming season is over, if 

 conditions are at all favorable and 

 they are got to work in good time. 

 In some cases much better has been 

 done ; in others, much worse. Tow- 

 ard the end of the swarming season it 

 is not at all necessary to confine one- 

 self to the frames filled in the upper 

 story. Of course empty frames are 

 to take the place of those removed, 

 but if the swarms issue too fast and 

 one is sometimes called upon to hive 

 young colonies when the upper racks 

 are all exhausted, just remove a lower 

 one and proceed as before. In most 

 seasons it will be safe to reduce the 

 old colony in that way down to four 

 or five racks. 



This method obviates the necessity 

 of disturbing some colony of honey 

 producers. It is better to disturb one 

 swarm often than to interrupt the op- 

 erations of several occasionally. Brood 

 rack filling is then their regular work 

 and they are never called from the 

 sections to fill a missing rack, as no 

 sections are ever given them. Say 

 what you will, every change of this 

 sort causes delay, especially when it 

 requires shifting the work from one 

 story to another. This is an age of 

 specialties and he is most successful 

 who is readiest to adopt the modern 

 system. And it is profitable to make 

 specialists even of our bees, allowing 

 some to make a specialty of comb 

 honey, some of extracted, some of 

 new swarms. Why then should we 

 not go another step and retain some 

 specialty for producing a necessity in 

 any well regulated apiary, extra brood 

 racks for young swarms ? The other 

 specialties require different arrange- 

 ments in the hives for the very best 

 results. Experience will also prove 

 that many little details may be so ar- 

 ranged for the removal of the racks 

 from a hive kept for that particular 

 purpose that will render the process 

 much more convenient. There is no 

 necessity of spoiling a colony for the 

 production of honey as soon as its du- 

 ties as brood-rack filler are done. But 

 none the less is it a matter of economy 

 to set aside enough hives prepared 

 and arranged in the most convenient 

 manner for this purpose, and then 

 confine that duty strictly to those col- 

 onies, never disturbing others for a 

 similar purpose ? 

 Pa. 



Subscribe for the Am. Bee-Keeper. 



