For the American Bee Journal. 



The Season Commenced. 



G. M. DOOLITTLB. 



In my last article I told you all that I 

 thought necessary to be done up to May, 

 unless it was to set the bees out of the 

 cellar during April, if the weather be- 

 came warm enough so bees could gather 

 pollen. Of course, I have omitted de- 

 tails in many things, and shall have to 

 do so, for I cannot give all the items for 

 a season's work in 7 or 8 papers. 



Our first work is to know that each 

 colony has honey enough for brood- 

 rearing to go on rapidly, and put them 

 in proper shape to rear brood advan- 

 tageously, for the brood reared through 

 this month constitutes the working 

 force which gathers honey from white 

 clover. To this end, we go over all our 

 colonies some cool morning, and all that 

 do not occupy six spaces between the 

 combs, with bees, are shut on to as 

 many combs as they have brood in (by 

 means of the division board before de- 

 scribed), as soon as it is warm enough 

 to work at them. If they are very 

 small, so as to have brood in only two 

 or three combs, and small patches at 

 that, we take away all extra combs, so 

 as to take precaution against robbing ; 

 but if they are a fair colony, we leave 

 the extra combs the other side of the 

 division board, so the bees can carry the 

 honey over as they need it for brood- 

 rearing. Contract the entrance to each 

 colony as soon as they have their first 

 flight in the spring, to suit the size of 

 the colony, giving the very strongest 

 not more than 3 inches in length of the 

 entrance, while the weakest should be 

 contracted so as to let out but one bee 

 at a time. If, after all precautions our 

 bees get to robbing, I know of no better 

 way than to carry the colony that does 

 not protect its stores into the cellar, and 

 leave it a week or so, or until the bees 

 are getting pollen freely, when they will 

 rarely ever attack them again unless 

 they are so weak as to be worthless. 



Now suppose you have your bees 

 all fixed as I have suggested, that is, 

 they all have honey enough, and those 

 occupying less than 7 spaces between 

 the combs shut on to only as many 

 combs as contain brood, our next work 

 is to increase this brood as fast as possi- 

 ble. To this end, we go over them once 

 a week and spread the brood, as it is 

 termed. The way we work with the 

 strongest colonies'! those not having any 

 division boards), is to change the brood 

 nest right over, that is, to place the cen- 

 tral sheets of brood, or those having 

 the most brood in them, in place of the 



outside brood combs or those having the 

 least brood in, placing those having the 

 least brood in the center. Thus we get 

 every frame full of brood that has any 

 brood in it at all. The next time over, or 

 in about a week more, we take one 

 frame from the outside of the brood 

 and place it in the center, and so on till 

 all the 9 frames are full of brood. Those 

 that are contracted with the division 

 boards are kept as they are until they 

 have every available cell for brood filled 

 with brood, when an empty comb is 

 placed in the center of their brood nest 

 also. If we wish to build all up to 

 strong colonies, we take from those hav- 

 ing their hives full of brood a frame of 

 hatching brood, and give it to the weak- 

 est (if not too weak to care for it), and 

 place an empty comb in place of the 

 frame of hatching brood taken, and so 

 on till all are built up to strong colonies, 

 each having a hive full of brood; that 

 means, have the brood so it comes out 

 to the side-bars of the frames, even the 

 cells bordering on the bars at both sides 

 and top, should have brood in them, 

 and do not stop short of this. If you 

 have queens that will not keep the hives 

 filled with brood like this, mark them, 

 and as soon as convenient replace them 

 with those that will. 



Now, I will tell you of a way of using 

 all those colonies that were so weak as 

 to need the division boards, which we 

 find very profitable. By so doing, I 

 will have to carry you in this article 

 well into the month of June ; but it will 

 do no harm, as I shall have more than I 

 can get in one article to say in the June 

 number. To return to those colonies 

 we shut on to as many frames as they 

 had brood : As soon as those having 5 

 frames have them full of brood, take 

 from them a frame of hatching brood 

 and give to the next strongest, say one 

 that has four frames, and put an empty 

 comb in the place it came from, and so 

 keep working till you have each hive 

 contain 5 frames, and those frames com- 

 pletely crowded with brood (a queen 

 that will not keep 5 Gallup frames, or 

 their equivalent, crowded with brood is 

 not worth a cent), which should occur 

 about the 10th or 12th of June in this 

 locality. Now, go to No. 1 and open it, 

 and look the frames over till you find 

 the queen, and when you have found 

 her set the frame she is on one side, 

 then take the 4 remaining frames and 

 all the bees to No. 2. Spread the 5 

 frames in No. 2 apart, so as to set the 4 

 frames brought from No. 1 in each al- 

 ternate space made by spreading the 

 frames in No. 2. Close up No. 2 now, 

 and you will see that in 10 or 15 days it 

 will be one of the strongest colonies you 



