The American Apiciilturist 



EXTERED AT THE POST-OFFICE, WKXHAM, AS SECOND-CLASS MATTEIl. 



Piiblishecl Monthly. Henry Alley, Manageb. 



VOL. V. 



WEN HAM, MiVSS., FEB. 



No. 2. 



We deal in first-class npiari- I Established in 1SS3. Terms: I Any yearly subscriber is en- 

 an supplies of all kinds, lowest | $1.00 per year, 50 cents per six | titled to one of our best queens 

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Address all communications, AMERICAN" APICULTURIST, ^ATenham, Mass. 



i^or the American Apicultjirist. 



SIMMINS' ORIGINAL NON- 

 SWARMING SYSTEM. 



Samuel Cushman. 



The above is the title of a book 

 publislied in England a year ago. It 

 has since been advertised in the 

 "British Bee Journal" and for the last 

 three months in a prominent Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal. 



I have lately obtained the book 

 and eagerly read it through at one 

 sitting, meanwhile regretting that I 

 had not secured it six months before 

 when I first heard of it. Had I read it 

 last winter, I should last season have 

 followed with confidence methods 

 which I tried with success in only an 

 experimental way. Mr. Simmins 

 says of the method "It is based upon 

 purely natural principles and is the 

 only system that can ever be relied 

 upon, because no other conditions 

 exist in the economy of the hive that 

 can be applied to bring about the de- 

 sired result, a total absence of any 

 desire to swarm." 



The principle is to give the bees 

 more room than they require by al- 

 ways having unfinished combs in 

 brood-chamber nearest to entrance. 

 These combs are removed or cut out 

 as fast as made, the worker comb fit- 

 ted full size into sections, and the drone 

 comb is melted for wax. The author 

 admits the possibility of swarming if 



3 



such unfinished combs or space are at 

 back of hive or farthest from the en- 

 trance and insists that it always be at 

 the front or adjoining the entrance. 



Brood-frames with starters only 

 and sections filled with newly-built 

 combs are used to prevent swarming 

 and get all honey in supers. 



He believes that, during a honey 

 flow, bees secrete wax constantly and, 

 unless such space is given, there is 

 great loss of wax by the scales falling 

 to the bottom, there to be removed 

 and lost. 



He believes, as do many prominent 

 apiarists in this country, that founda- 

 tion is generally used in brood- 

 chambers at a serious loss ; that 

 starters in frames are more profitable : 

 and that if full combs are used in sec- 

 tions all the honey will be stored in 

 supers \ also that it pays to get all the 

 honey in the sections and feed sugar 

 syrup for winter stores. 



The system of contraction, as fol- 

 lowed by American apiarists, is sub- 

 stantially followed by Mr. Simmins. 



He fastens foundation in frames in 

 April, hangs them in the sun to 

 bleach, and claims that it makes no 

 difference as to the ease with which 

 bees work it out. He tells how to 

 improve the appearance of sections 

 with dark and soiled cappings ; this 

 is quite a point. 



In working for extracted honey his 

 extracting combs are used in supers 

 between dividers, similar to our sep- 



(25) 



