10 



THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



ers only, and G. M. Doolittle has 

 discovered the fact that bees full of 

 honey and united to a swarm with 

 a queen do not, as a rule, go back 

 to the old homo, quite in the same 

 way as recommended by me in the 

 An, 1884. 



But littleattention has been given 

 as yet to one point which I think very 

 important. W. Z. Hutchinson's 

 plan of hiving swarms is to use in 

 the brood -chamber startersonly in a 

 limited number of frames and at the 

 same Time to give a case with sec- 

 tions, if possible, full of empty 

 combs or foundation. The queen- 

 excluding honey-board in such a 

 case is a necessity, but is not es- 

 sential to the principle. The bees 

 are compelled to store all the honey 

 in the cases, and it is claimed by 

 this plan that more honey can be 

 taken in the sections, but W. Z. 

 Hutchinson does not claim, as a 

 rule, to get more honey in all. 

 This latter is not correct for all lo- 

 calities. 



By our new ways of beekeeping 

 we try too much to improve upon 

 the instinct of the bees, and we 

 manage many times against tlie 

 proper instinct. One of their im- 

 pulses is the building of comb, 

 and if they are allowed to satisfy 

 this impulse they will be stimulated 

 to greater industry and energy, 

 and this will continue for some 

 time after the necessary combs are 

 built. On the other hand, if we 

 work against this impulse, the bees 

 'are dissatisfied and many times 

 become discouraged and do not 

 leave home at all. This has been 

 my experience for many years, and 

 generally the beekeeper has paid 

 too little attention to this point. 



To make use of this fact in the 

 management of bees much depends 

 on the location. In my locality 

 swarms will issue or can be made 

 b}' the middle of March and April, 

 and while we have a moderate 

 honey flow. The main season com- 



mences in the middle of Maj' and 

 lasts till end of June. I give a 

 swarm, according to its size, five 

 to ten frames with starters only and 

 the foundation is not only built 

 out long bofoi-e the season com- 

 mences, but the swaim too has 

 gathered at least the same weight 

 of honey as a swarm would if hived 

 on empty combs : so the five or 

 ten combs built from starters are 

 clear profit, and there may be some 

 honey too. If the five or ten 

 frames are nearly built out, I give 

 more frames with foundation or 

 empty combs. Should a swarm 

 issue just before or in the main 

 season this method would be wrong 

 (but with me at beginning of ti\e 

 main season all swarming is done 

 and the bees never think of casting 

 a swarm while the honey is pouring 

 in en ma^se). Here I find Mr. 

 Hutchinson's plan for comb honey 

 in the right i)lace. Now, the main 

 thing is to give the bees plenty of 

 empty cells to store the honey be- 

 ing gathered from the field, but of 

 course the bees can build combs 

 too, at this time with advantage. 



It is important that you give a 

 swarm no more frames than it can 

 quickly fill to the bottom-bar. In 

 this way only can you get good 

 combs free of drone-cells. If once 

 comb-building has stopped the bees 

 will build more or less drone 

 combs when they begin comb- 

 building again. Later, if you want 

 to enlarge the brood-nest, it would 

 be a mistake to give starters, as 

 foundation or empty combs shoidd 

 be given now. One or more 

 frames with starters between brood 

 or empty frames will give bad 

 combs every time. Swarms of 

 young bees having a young fer- 

 tile queen build tlie nicest combs 

 I ever saw, antl I prefer them to 

 combs of built-out foundation in 

 every respect. 



W. Z. llutciiinson says : "When 

 bees are gathering honey in the 



