62 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



April 



above condition; it also provides for 

 re-quoenlng tlic colonies each year. 



I do not wish Mr. Doolittle to under- 

 stand that the U. D. system can be 

 inaujfiirated in "one day." The point 

 is, after these methods are once in 

 working order, one day's time will suifice 

 to prepare a yard of one hundred colon- 

 ies for box honey gathering — san^, the 

 anxiety caused by constant fear of 

 swarming and its disastrous results. 



I did not agree to give a detailed ex- 

 pose of this method until after I had 

 tested it another season ; but, if I find 

 I can safely do so sooner, shall certainly 

 write it all ont for The Bee-keeper. 



It would aid me in arriving at certain 

 conclusions if bee-keepers at large 

 would do me the favor to follow the few 

 directions given below and report re- 

 sults as soon as possible : 



Tier two colonies, placing between 

 the hives a honey board (at least one- 

 half inch thick) provided with bee- 

 spaces on both sides of the board ; have 

 the side cleats nailed fast and the end 

 cleats removable and interchangeable. 

 Cut four one-inch auger holes through 

 this board (one in each corner) and cov- 

 er said holes with wire cloth on both 

 sides. (These holes are to equalize the 

 heat and to similize the scent of the two 

 colonies.) 



Allow the bees in the lower colony to 

 _ fly from the regular hive entrance, be- 

 low, as usual ; remove the -upper cleat 

 in the honey-board, at the rear, to pro- 

 vide an (entrance to the upper hive. Re- 

 sult: The lower colony will use ther(>gular 

 bottom board entrance and the upper col- 

 ony will appropriate the entrance provid- 

 ed at the opposite end, by the removal of 

 the u])i)cr cleat of the honey-board. 



A few days previous to swarming, or 

 as soon as hanging-out and loaling is 

 evident— or 10 to 15 days previous to the 

 white lioney flow— con line the queen in 

 the upper ijive on a single comb at one 

 side of the hive, behind perforated 

 uietal. until the brood in the remaininj; 



eight or nine combs has passed the roy- 

 al age. At the end of 10 to 12 days re- 

 move comb and queen to a nucleus hive, 

 filling the space left with an empty 

 comb or a sheet of foundation; push a 

 queen cell down between the frames, 

 put on the honey boxes and close the 

 hive tight and warm. On the afternoon 

 following this operation remove the up- 

 per cleat in the front end of the honey- 

 board and close the entrance to the hive 

 below with a triangular bee escape, whose 

 apex comes well up to the entrance 

 just provided directly above, and thus 

 compel the gathering force of the lower 

 colony to enter the upper hive, aug- 

 menting the force of field workers there. 

 The lower colony will be drained of fly- 

 ing bees to the advantage of the upper 

 colony now equipped with boxes having 

 full sheets of foundation. In three days 

 remove the triangular escape and plug 

 the bottom entrance entirely; cut a 

 small hole through one side cleat of the 

 honey-board into the lower hive ; this 

 entrance the young bees in that com- 

 partment will soon appropriate. 



If the honey flow continues, at the 

 end of 10 days plug this last entrance 

 with an escape cone and open another 

 the same size just above, into the upper 

 hive, to further augment the working 

 force of the upper colony, which by this 

 time should have a young laying queen 

 on the combs. Watch the honey boxes 

 and provide plenty of super room. 



Swarthmnre. Pa. 



A CRIPPLED QUEEN. 



Her Method of Depositing Eggs and the 

 Conclusions of the Observer. 



ItV CHAS. H. PKTEHSON. 



I WISH to take a little space in your 

 valuable paper to tell of a little ex- 

 peri(!nce 1 had last spring in seeing 

 a queen bee deposit eggs in the cells ; 

 and to my mind the experience proved 

 that the queen lays drone or worker eggs 



