1901 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



85 



tooted and a lost written record makes 

 no tiouble. 



Now. do not grab at this iiiti'oducing 

 inelhod as infallible, and if it fails blame 

 me ; for bees go contrariwise most 

 always, and the circumstances of local- 

 ity ct cetera, alter cases. As for my 

 theory, you may pepper It with experi- 

 ments just as I intend to continue to 

 do, and I believe it will prove to be 

 correct; but if later I lay it quietly 

 away, don't say things to me. 



Providence. R. I., April, 1901. 



[How about virgin queens, Mr. Miller? 

 Does your own or Mr. Simmins' experi- 

 ments extend to them '? Have you ever 

 tried the fasting method upon eitlier 

 laying or virgin queen-* introduced imme- 

 diately upon the removal of the mother? 

 Why " at night ? " Have practical tests 

 actually proven the nocturnal shades to 

 be an advantage ? Some of our own ex- 

 perience has left a very decided convic- 

 tion that at night may not be the bes<t 

 tim(^ for "running in queens." The 

 foregoing questions are propounded 

 purely with a view to bringing out some 

 real and positive information upon this 

 subject. We shall be pleased to hear 

 farther from Mr. Miller and others in 

 regard to the same matter. — Editor.] 



"A thorough study of the marvelous 

 economy of the honey-bee must from its 

 very nature bring delight and admiration." 



STRENGTH OF COLONIES. 



A Consideration of Various Methods in 

 Obtaining Uniformity. 



BY G. C. GKEINER. 



THE importance of strong colonies is 

 a matter so well understood by 

 all the bee-keeping fraternity that 

 it hardly needs any discussion. The 

 point on which bee-keepers vary more 

 or less in their views is the ways and 

 means to have and make them strong. 

 For instance, Mr. Doolittle advises to 

 change combs to bring them up to the 

 required standard of populousness ; 

 other bee-keepers exchange colonies to 

 strengthen weak ones, and still others 

 unite to accomplish their purpose. 

 In looking over any apiary in the 



spring, no inatter where it is located, we 

 find three. grades or classes of colonies. 

 First, those that we know, under ordi- 

 nary circumstances, will winter or spring 

 through ; second, those that we know 

 will survive but a short time ; and third, 

 a class which we may call "doubtful," 

 our best judgment leaving us in the 

 dark as to what their final destiny may 

 be. The first kind are the only ones from 

 which we can expect any paying re- 

 turns ; and even among those may be 

 some that will fail to come up to our 

 expectations. But what shall we do 

 with the others ? They are no good as 

 they are. The only way to deal with 

 them and receive any benefit at all is to 

 unite them — two and two or three and 

 three, according to their remaining 

 strength, and if it takes more to make 

 one respectable colony, it is better for 

 their own as well as for their owners 

 b.;nefit to put them together. We are 

 not always sure of succes? in perform- 

 ing operations of this kind ; sometimes 

 these so-treated fragments will do well, 

 build up rapidly and yield a fair amount 

 of surplus honey ; at other times they 

 will not; conditions seem to be unfavor- 

 able. But at all hazards we give them, 

 by this uniting process, a chance for 

 their existence, which they would not 

 have if left to themselves. 



Any colony from which we may reason- 

 ably expect, under favorable circum- 

 stances, a fair yield of surplus honey, 

 must be crowded with bees and all the 

 combs filled with brood in all stages, and 

 capped honey. To this we may add that 

 the stock must be of some good, honey- 

 gathering strain. Unfortunately, our 

 colonies, even if wintered well, do not 

 all come up to these requirements by the 

 time our honey-flow opens, especially if 

 it is an early one, as is the case from 

 white clover. No matter how much care 

 and patience the bee-keeper and queen- 

 breeder may bestow upon the production 

 of his stock, there is and always will be 

 a diflference in the general business pro- 

 pensities of different queens and their 



