18 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



But first I will say that I don't 

 know how to control swarming with 

 small hives. I can't do it by any or- 

 dinary practical work. I use a large 

 hive, lo and 12 frames, the 12 frame 

 ,hive is 18 inches wide, 15 inches 

 front to back, and 13 inches deep, 

 all inside measure. The 10 frame 

 hive is just 15 inches square and 13 

 deep. Frames are made to fit ac- 

 cordingly. For my 60 hives I have 

 some 60 full depth, upper-story hives 

 full of empty comb, and 70 six inch 

 extracting cases (equal to 35 full 

 hives) also full of empty combs. 

 With these I also have 70 or 80 

 comb honey cases, holding from 21 

 to 2 7 one-half pound sections each ; 

 so that I can give each stock two 

 extra stories and have a reserve of 

 nearly another for each. When my 

 .honey flow begins (white clover in 

 first part of June) I watch the top of 

 the brood combs, and as soon as the 

 most of them are capped with new 

 white comb, I give all such an upper 

 story, and as my stocks are strong at 

 this time, and the combs are sticky 

 with honey from the previous sea- 

 son's extracting, the bees go at them 

 with a rush. So also with my cases of 

 sections for comb honey ; there are in 

 each a few partly filled with comb, 

 from which the honey was extracted 

 the fall before. In case I can't get 

 around to extract or remove full sec- 

 tions, and the honey flow continues 

 and the bees are capping the upper 

 story again, I place on another ; I 

 don't go to the trouble of lifting the 

 heavy stories, and rousing up the 

 bees, but quietly get it on top ; the 

 bees will "get there" fast enough. 

 By keeping ahead of the bees with 

 plenty of storage room, placing it on 

 before they begin to feel crowded, I 

 keep down the desire for immigration 

 to such a degree that not over ten per 

 cent of my stocks swarm at all. 

 When a swarm comes off, I wait till 

 they are nearly done coming out, 

 n then Hft off whatever upper stories 

 may be on, take out each brood 



comb looking it carefully over, pinch- 

 ing off every queen cell and incipi- 

 ent queen cell cup, also take out 

 three or four full combs of honey and 

 replace with empty ones, put back 

 the upper stories again, and hive the 

 swarm back into its old hive. It is 

 7'e7-y seldom that I am ever troubled 

 with such stocks swarming again. 

 Each upper story has an entrance, 

 and my bees may be seen working 

 out of two or three besides the lower 

 one. Let others' experience be what 

 it may, mine is that plenty of room 

 in time will prevent a large amount 

 of swarming. 



Hiving the new swarms and killing 

 off an equal number of old ones in 

 the fall, entail a deal of tiresome 

 work, extra combs of brood to dis- 

 pose of and keep the old queens, 

 killing off the new ones in the old 

 stocks. Returning swarms, and let- 

 ting queens take care of themselves, 

 will result in either that queen or 

 a young one hatched later coming 

 out again, with the vexation of sec- 

 ond swarms. Queens of new or old 

 stocks can be killed in August, queen 

 cells pinched out eight or nine days 

 later, and the stock will go on stor- 

 ing honey, and growing smaller in 

 numbers, till cold weather will find 

 but few bees to dispose of. But as 

 queenless stocks go on gathering 

 pollen as usual, with no brood to use 

 it up, the combs will have an excess 

 of it, so that this course has little to 

 commend it. 



PITCniCD OR FLAT-UOOF FOR TOP OF 



HIVES, COLOR TO PAINT THEM. 



QUESTION BY WM. C. R. 



Query No. 4. I am a novice iu 

 beekeci)iiig and desire to have a little 

 knowledge about hives. Please answer 

 the folfowing questions through the 

 Apicultukist. 



1. Would you advise one to make his 

 hives with a pitcli or flat-roof? There 

 are some disadvantages as well as ad- 

 vantages iu having hives with a pitch 

 roof. 



