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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



187 



l)r;u-tiL'<^ fin- tlu^ l)ngin;n'r, until h(^ lias 

 learned just the propor iiKivoiiKMit. In 

 the picture is slmwii a s(^V('ll-vea^ old 

 l)()y who h.is elipped many queens with 

 a kuil'e. and is here inthcactof clipping;- 

 a valuable breeder. While it probably 

 would not be advisable to allow such a 

 rliild to pick a (pietMi olf the comb with 

 line hand and transfer it to tho other 

 hand, and then >;d at her with a pair of 

 scissors: to do it with a knife. aft(M- 

 some instructions and practice, there is 



I'OSITIO.X 



IN' CLIPPING 



no j:;ood reason why he should not clip 

 two hundred queens in a day without 

 endangering one of them, and doing it 

 as well as an experienced bee-keeper. 



The twentieth century bee-keeper 

 will smil(! at the thouf^ht of tisin<r 

 scissors and such contrivances as the 

 ••Monette"" device, and takin{>: queens 

 from the comb to clip them, as is yet 

 advocated — and well lie may. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



S. FKKU IIAXTOX. 



AFTER the honey harvest, and be- 

 fore winter sets in. the successful 

 bee-keeper will have examined 

 liis colonies, feedinj^' those in need of 

 stores on sugar syrup or j^ivini( them 

 well-tilkul combs from hives that can 

 spare them. 



The best lilh^d combs, which are 

 nsually ne.vt th«! walls of hive, should be 

 shifted to the cent(!r, as tlie bees clust<n' 

 there during wint<;r, and in very cold 

 weather will not move to the outer 



frames even to escape starvation. In 

 order that the bees may move from one 

 frame to another without going to the 

 top or bottom of the frame, it is a good 

 plan to cut holes an inch in diameter 

 through the combs. 



If the b(>es are in single-walh^d hives 

 they are apt to suflfer loss in winter, un- 

 less the hives are placed close together, 

 thus forming a protection for each 

 other, or are so constructed that an 

 outer case can be slipped over the hive 

 and the intervening space filled with cut 

 straw, leaves, or some other packing 

 material. The value of the honey pro- 

 duced by one colony saved, in a fair 

 year, will pay for several cases to pro- 

 t(^ct the hives. 



Many apiarists winter their bees in 

 cellars, and this is a good plan if the 

 cellar is dry and can, without trotible, 

 be, kept at a temperature of from 45 to 

 0.5 degroK'S. 



In th(> early spring the bees begin to 

 rear brood and if there is any honey to 

 be gathered (for in some years this 

 qualitication is necessary), those colon- 

 ies rearing the most brood, and conse- 

 ly the strongest, will gather the most 

 hon(>y and thus yield the greatest profit 

 to their owner. 



To promote rapid brood production, a 

 little stimulative feeding is very bene- 

 ficial. A half pint of sugar-syrup, fed 

 warm in the middle of the day two or 

 three times a week, will make a marked 

 difference in the state of the colony. 

 When the frames in the center have 

 l)e(n fairly well filled with brood and 

 - <-ggs, the frames should be separated 

 and a couple of outer ones placed in 

 their midst. If they are well filled with 

 honey, the cappings should be broken, 

 causing the bees to remove the honey 

 to another part of the hive and fill 

 those in the center with brood, thus in- 

 creasing the size of the brood-chamber 

 and the strength of the colony. Empty 

 hives should b(^ on hand when the time 

 comes for their use. as swarms will not 

 HMuain clustered mor(» than twoor three 



